The Mystery of the Gospel
Bible Passage
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.” (Ephesians 3:1-7, KJV)
What Is a Mystery
Simply put, a mystery as it is used here is something that was hidden in the past but is now revealed. The mystery was that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with the Jews. That was not a change in God’s agenda for He had previously declared that all families would be blessed in Abraham.
“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3, KJV)
Likewise, Isaiah prophesied: “And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.” (Isaiah 49:6, KJV)
However, it was a mystery because the fulfillment of those prophecies was not made clear until the incarnation of Christ. Paul calls it the dispensation of the grace of God.
Lessons To Learn
Lesson One
The Jewish leaders did not see, or did not wish to see, the grace of God toward others. The Jews ideal of a Messiah was a military leader to deliver them from Roman oppression. They were not looking for a God-Man who would deliver them from their sin.
Many people today look to Jesus as a way of escaping hell. They want their ticket to heaven, but they don’t want Jesus. One might call this legal repentance. If you just want Jesus to solve your problem, then you may very well fall into the same condemnation as the Jews.
Lesson Two
The Jews were bigots. They stayed aloof from the Gentiles. There was a court for the Gentiles in the temple, but a Jew would never enter it. This could be said of their attitude toward Samaritans, also. The Jews saw the Samaritans as unclean. This strict sectarianism fostered a superior and hateful attitude toward anyone not Jewish. While God dealt with the Gentiles in a special way, He never intended for God’s people to hate others. The second great commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.
Therefore, let us not become bigots. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, KJV) Jesus doesn't want us to separate ourselves from the world. Paul gave this instruction: “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10, KJV) We must remain holy before the world, but not aloof.
Lesson Three
Walk in unity. “He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:10-13, KJV)
Dearly beloved, seek to be at peace with others. Strive for unity in the faith and not uniformity. Clearly others will vary on interpretations of passages. Of course there is only one correct interpretation of a passage, but not all Scripture is clear and simple. Believers will differ on passages, especially the difficult ones. However, we can all seek the perfecting of the saints. We can all act lovingly toward others. We can all pray for others. We can all seek the Lord’s will for others. This we will do if God permits.
The Jews were blind to the truth, and that ignorance spurred them on to crucify our Lord. Let us not hate, but love one another while we preach the Gospel to a lost and dying world.
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