Colossians 3:4

When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.

Here the verb phaneroo is used twice. And here we find plainly stated the hope of the members of the body of Christ, the church. It means to shine forth, to make manifest. From this verb comes the noun epiphaneia, The Appearing or Manifestation. Only once is this latter used in the pre-Acts 28 epistles of Paul. And there, it is used to describe the parousia, hence the brightness of His presence or coming. On the other hand, bema, the judgment seat, does not appear after Acts 28:28. But is there any judgment for members of The One Body?

It is for this reason that we write this article. Some folks, not knowing the secret too well, have gotten the idea that members of the Body of Christ are so perfect that they cannot sin, hence no need for judgment.

But if that be so, then why all the warnings, such as beware, let no man beguile you, and the like? This is just another version of the sinless perfection error so common today.

2 Timothy 4:1, I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His Appearing and His kingdom.

This verse is a puzzle for those who rely on words for their theology rather than the verse's intent. But it is clear that at 'the appearing' of Colossians 3:4, some will still be living. Others sleep. And there will be a judgment (of rewards) as in the past dispensation. But this judgment will be where they are resurrected, in Heaven.

And the word Kingdom has stumped a lot of folks, thinking that the millennial kingdom is all the kingdom there is. Note in Colossians 1:13 members of the body have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into The Kingdom of His dear Son. Surely something must be wrong here too. But looking back after the divorce of Israel in Acts 28:28, in Acts 28:31, Paul preaches (proclaims) the Kingdom of God. In looking all thru for this expression, we must come to the conclusion that it may mean anything from the kingdom of heaven in Matthew to all that is under the sovereignty of God, in the earth, in Heaven, and in the heavenlies.

So do not be surprised if you find that the Church of The Mystery is also a part of the Kingdom of God, and specifically the Kingdom of His dear Son.

You would do well to search and see other usages of the kingdom in the post-Acts epistles of Paul. You might be surprised. Just look at Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 4:11; 2 Timothy 4:18. Now you can better appreciate what was being said in Acts 28:31.

Not only do we have the judgment of the quick and the dead in 2 Timothy 4:1, but we have a judgment mentioned in 1 Timothy 5:24. So there is a judgment for us today. And that is where Paul expects to receive the prize of the high calling.

Col. 3:4 When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory.

We repeat our text, as it must be remembered and kept in mind as the great Hope of The Church, which is the Body of Christ. This is in glory, not here on the earth. It is where Christ sitteth. It is where heavenly beings are.

After this appearing will then be realized the mystery of God's will, that all things in heaven and earth be brought under one Head, even Christ. And all these things are the new creation, including the church on earth and the church and powers in the heavenlies (see Ephesians 1:9-10).

The new creation is spoken of again in Colossians 1:16-20 and consists of things on earth (the body of Christ, the church) and things in heaven (thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers). They meet there in heavenly places, for they have a reconciliation, an introduction to each other for mutual living together in high places. And this occurs after 'The Appearing.'

In Colossians 1:27, it is evident that the saints then were to know, what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ among you, the hope of glory. Note what the hope of glory, the heavenly places, is. This takes us right up to 'The Appearing.'

And this all prepares us for the admonition in Titus 2:11-14. We must repeat it in full here for the reader to ponder. Here is practical living with a living hope. Read it slowly and with a sincere feeling. Do not miss any of the blessed words.

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Now pick out the skeleton of this quote. Live looking for That Blessed Hope. What Hope? The Glorious Appearing (epiphaneia). This is not the rapture. This is not the revelation. And this is not Israel's hope. It is the hope of the Gentiles with their heavenly calling.

Where will we be when we really look for that blessed hope? Philippians 3:20 tells us that it will be where our citizenship is, and that is not here on the earth but in Heaven.

There is an inheritance in the Holy of holies (Ephesians 1:18). And it is in this most holy place that the household of God is, of which those who are looking will have a part (Ephesians 2:19). Members are made meet to partake of this inheritance in the Holy of holies in the light, the Shekinah glow (Colossians 1:12). The inheritance will be awarded after The Manifestation. A Glorious Hope. Not many are interested in it. But it will be a great event for The Lord and His Body.

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Ephesians 1:18

. . . that ye may know what is the hope of his calling . . .

Before we can tell what The Hope is, we must settle the question of His calling, what it is, and where it is. Then, whatever that may be and wherever it may be will tell us The Hope of our calling. Those that are in Christ are identified with Him very closely. In fact, this is their baptism. So now for the context.

Our question comes from Eph. 1:18. Beginning with Eph. 1:20, we read of Christ being raised from the dead, set at the right hand of God in Heavenly Places, far above all principality, power, might, dominion, and every name that is named, both in this age and the age to come. All things are put under His feet, and He is Head over all to The Church. This church is His body, His fullness.

Please note that there is nothing here about Christ being a high priest in the heavens, that He will take the throne of His father, David, or that He will be King of kings and Lord of lords. He was all of that in the Dispensation of The Promise, and those that were in Him in that dispensation would have a hope in keeping a place on the earth or land which was promised to Abraham; they would look for a great millennial kingdom here on earth, and if they were overcomers, they would look for a ruling position under the Great King. They would also look for His coming and the so-called rapture as a part of their hope.

But there is no such context in Eph. 1, and so then these things of another dispensation cannot possibly be a part of His calling, and that being the case, these things cannot be a part of our hope.

Our hope then is definitely linked with His session in the heavenly places - made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. If we suffer (endure), we shall also reign with Him - this is in connection with principalities and powers in the Heavenly Places.

When we are exhorted to walk worthy of our calling, it is with these things in view. Have we made our calling and election sure?

Furthermore, the hope of His calling is connected to a promise made in Him before age times concerning eternal life. This had nothing to do with the promise made to Abraham. It was not mentioned anywhere in connection with the dispensation of promise. The reason; it had to do with all creation, not just the earth. It included the heavenly places. So it was not revealed till Eph. 3:6, 2 Tim. 1;1, and Titus 1:2. It has to do with the church, not the kingdom. There is a difference.

We do not see Him as yet meeting His hope in its entirety, for He is still sharing His Father's throne. But someday, He will be manifested in glory, but not without the church, which is His body and of which He is the Head. So again, our hope is intimately linked with His hope. So we cannot know the hope of our calling until we have first learned what is the hope of His calling. Why all the confusion about this? Confusion is ignorance.

Ephesians 1:18

Paul is praying that ye may know what is the hope of His calling. Naturally, our question will be, What is the hope of His calling?

We are prepared by the will of the Father (Eph. 1:4), the work of the Son (Eph. 1:7), and the witness of the Spirit (Eph. 1:13). These form a basis for the prayer. At the beginning of the prayer, Paul asks that three gifts be ready for the recipients; the spirit of wisdom, revelation, and enlightened eyes.

The three main parts of the prayer are that we may know; What is the hope of His calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance, and the greatness of His power.

These all give us a setting for our subject, What is the hope of His calling?

There was a time when Gentile believers attending the Synagogue had no hope (Eph. 2:12). What hope there was belonged to Israel. After Acts Chapter 10 the Gentiles could, by faith thru grace, share in the hope of Israel. But actually, the Gentile believer of that time was without hope.

Even in Acts 28, Paul was in bonds for the hope of Israel, even after he had been preaching to Gentiles for many years. And that was Paul's hope.

So there was a time or season when Gentiles were without hope. But now Eph. 2:13 marks the change, and the Gentile believers have had hope ever since.

But this is God's hope in our text. So what was it? We find calling and hope linked together in Eph. 4:4. There must be a close relationship. Colossians 1:27, Christ among you (Gentiles) the hope of glory, shows that ultimately Christ is the hope. And where our hope is, marks the place where our calling is. We are called to be in heavenly places where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. We also note in 2 Timothy 1:9 that our calling is a holy calling and is connected with a purpose that goes back before age times.

Our choice was also made before age times, before the overthrow (Eph. 1:4).

Israel had a calling and hope. But they were connected with a land and a people here on the earth awaiting the coming King of glory. That was when salvation was of the Jews.

But now, after Acts 28:28, salvation is sent to the Gentiles, and there is a new hope and calling. So we dare not confuse the two. We can preach Christ today without referencing Israel or Israel's covenants. We can preach Christ today without referencing the earth and the coming kingdom.

This hope of His calling was a part of the secret or mystery that was hidden in God for ages and generations. But it is NOW made manifest to the saints. These saints are members of one body. And this secret, the dispensation of the mystery, completed the Word of God. It is the last word.

Our hope? When Christ, Who is our life, is made manifest, then shall we also be made manifest with Him in glory. His calling and our calling have placed us far above all principality and power.

The hope of His calling has such a high spiritual level that there is little historical detail as to how, when, and where it will be completed except to watch for the end of this dispensation when Israel once again takes up where it left off this time believing Jesus Christ is The Messiah.

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Colossians 1:5

For The Hope which is laid up for you in Heaven,
whereof ye heard before in The Word of The Truth of The Gospel;

Mystery comes from the Greek word musterion. It means 'a secret.' Today the word mystery means, to most folks, something that cannot be understood. But in the Bible, it is a secret that is kept hidden till the time comes to reveal it. There may be a little parallel between the ancient mysteries of Babylon and other heathen religions. The initiates were led to the inner truths or secrets by stages or degrees, which might run from 7 in the worship of Mithra to 33 in the Babylonian mysteries. Paul addressed the Epistles containing the mystery to initiates which he called saints and faithful.

To Whom? Not only to saints and faithful but ...to make all men see what is the Dispensation of The Mystery... {Ephesians 3:9) The expression 'all men' does not mean all men everywhere regardless, but rather is confined to those addressed at the beginning of the Epistles, no difference where they might be; we might confine this today to those who have believed John 3:16 unto everlasting life. We soon learn by experience that not all can receive it; no more than all of Israel could receive the Messiah when He walked with men on earth.

The Initiates. These are the members of the body of Christ, of which He is the head. This body is the church of the dispensation of the mystery. These members have died with Christ, have been buried with Him, have risen with Him, have been quickened with Him, have been raised with Him to the heavenlies, have been seated with Him there at the right hand of God, and someday will be glorified with Him. They will live with Him. Some will reign with Him if so be that they have endured or suffered.

When First Revealed or Known? A special dispensation by the grace of God was given to Paul that he should preach this mystery. It was revealed to no one else with that purpose. There is no evidence that Paul knew anything about it until he told the Jewish leaders in Rome that ...God's salvation is sent to the Gentiles... (Acts 28:28) Up to that time, Paul's ministry was to 'the circumcision' outside Jerusalem and Judea, preaching the kingdom for Moses and the prophets. When they rejected the message, then he turned to the Gentile believers in the Synagogues and announced to them the good news that they might partake of the blessings of Israel on the ground of faith without the works of the law. This was no secret, and Paul went to great lengths to show that it had been foretold. See especially Romans 11. But this experiment did not work. Israel did not repent. God rejected them, postponed the kingdom program, and began the church program, which had been in mind from before the overthrow of the world.

The Messengers. When the mystery began, the risen Savior gave gifts to the church. They were apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors who were teachers. As indicated in Ephesians 2:20, this structure was built on the foundation of these apostles and prophets. After the foundation came the work of the evangelists, and Evangelists went to the groups telling the good news and edifying the body. Pastor-Teachers took charge of the smaller groups and taught the believers.

Various Secrets in the NT. Take, for example, the eight parables of Matthew 13. They are the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is evident that in the 12th chapter, the King and the Kingdom were being rejected. So the mysteries have one thing especially to reveal. It was that there was to be an interval between the cross and the crown. If they had carefully looked at Daniel 9, they would have understood that this interval would have been 56 years. Since the cross came in A.D. 29, then the crown would have been in A.D. 85. All this was given in parables so that the people might not understand, but to the disciples, it was given to know, and the Lord explained what was meant. We cannot tabulate all the secrets or mysteries mentioned here but note one especially, the mystery of iniquity {2 Thessalonians 2:7). That will manifest in a person.

The Wider Gap of Hosea 6. Because of the parenthesis of the Dispensation of The Mystery, the gap of 56 years has been widened to 2056 years. This is found by adding the two days or 2,000 years. Although the time element was not a secret, the character of that time as to the nations was kept secret. A dispensation such as now in force was never made known until after the events recorded in Acts ended. Until the end of Acts, all prophets, men and angels, and even satan were unaware that the nations of the earth could be blest other than through Abraham. Neither did they know at any time that redeemed men could have a part in and enter into the heavens.

Other Related Mysteries. One is the mystery of godliness as set forth in 1 Timothy 3:15-16. This can make a good study in itself. Another mystery is the mystery of Christ {Ephesians 3:4). This could never be fully known till the dispensation of The Mystery was revealed. Not all was even told concerning Christ till the dispensation of The Mystery showed Him forth as Head, not only of the church but of all things in Heaven and the heavens and earth (Ephesians 1:9-10).

We Know in Part. Prophecy is always hard to understand till it has been fulfilled. As an example of that, consider the prophecies concerning Christ. Some spoke of His sufferings, and some spoke of His glory. The Rabbis of Israel could not see how both the suffering and the glory could belong to one person. So they said that there must be two Messiahs, one a suffering One, Ben-Joseph; the other a glorious One, Ben-David. (Ben=son of). Maybe this is why they asked, ...do we look for another? (Matthew 11:3) The mystery is not revealed in Romans. It speaks of the partial blindness of Israel and the grafting of Gentiles. So Romans 11:25 does not answer the question of how long as some think. Isaiah 6 does speak of blindness, but not of its duration and the character of what would take its place. See also Matthew 13:14,  John 12:40, and Acts 28:26.

Usage of Ekklesia. In the LXX, the Hebrew word qahal is translated by the Greek word ekklesia. So we can see that the church in the wilderness (Acts 7:38) was the congregation of Israel. It is this church that Christ said He would build on the foundation-Peter"s confession (Matthew 16:16). This church was no secret.   

"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; that by the Spirit the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, 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. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what the dispensation of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord." Ephesians 3:1-11 with the parenthesis concerning the mystery of Christ left out.

"And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for His body's sake, which is the church: whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the Word of God; even The Mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." Colossians1:21-28.

This mystery and its revelation completes or fulfills the Word of God. We never could stop at the Revelation, for it only shows Christ forth as King of kings and Lord of lords regarding the earth. The Word of God is not completed till we learn that Christ is not only The Head of the church but The Head of all things in Heaven and in earth. So it is Paul who finished the canon of Scripture as we have it. Read through the above quotes several times, weighing the words and noting the intent.

It was a mystery or secret never before known or suspected. It is not found even by type in the Old Testament. Neither can it be found in the witness of the stars or signs of the zodiac. Satan had known well enough that there was an earthly program and that someday the heel of the Seed would crush his head, but he did not know that his domain, the heavens, would come under the rule of the Seed and a church of which He was to be the Head. He now knows!

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Satan knew this. He probably was there, for the stars sang, and sons of God shouted for joy when the foundations of the earth were laid. That the Lord claimed all power in heaven and earth may not have disturbed Satan too much, for up to that time, all the redemptive purpose seemed to be directed to the earth, not the heavens. So Satan was probably not very much worried until the events of the time of the Acts were completed, and it was revealed that there was a chosen people who go to heaven someday.

That the dominion given to Adam should someday extend into the heavens probably never entered the mind of Satan. He knew that Israel was to be a channel of blessing to the nations of the earth. He knew that during the Pentecostal economy, Gentiles had been grafted into the olive tree and partook of the blessings of Israel. He knew that they were blessed with faithful Abraham. None of these things was a part of the mystery or secret.

So today, Satan is fighting for rule over the earth and maintaining his position in heaven (the air). But he will be cast out someday soon. He probably does not believe that. He does not have the capacity to believe anymore. He chose his own way and questioned the Word of God. So like many today who do not take God seriously, Satan is blinded and cannot know the truth. He is the liar and the father of lies.

Like Satan, many Christians today have been deceived and have not come to The Truth because they rejected the facts long ago. Many of them are leaning on being blessed with Abraham, not knowing that the dispensation of promise is not in effect and that no one can enter into the kingdom or be blessed with faithful Abraham. The Church is blessed with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly Places in Christ.

Many have been blinded and think that being joint heirs in the church means that Jews and Gentiles have been joined together and made partakers of the blessings of Abraham, not the church. But in the church, there is no wall of partition; Jews and Gentiles are one, and the whole is called Gentiles after the new creation is related in Ephesians 2.

The final capstone of the mystery of Christ is the dispensation of the mystery. It is not that He is King of kings and Lord of lords, but that He is Head of all things to the church and also Head of all creation, both heaven and earth. This revelation was given by a special dispensation of the grace of God to the apostle Paul so that he might make it known to the nations. And so the salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles; no longer is salvation of the Jews as it had been before.

Those who receive the gospel of the mystery and believe receive the adoption of sons and are placed among those chosen from before the overthrow of the world. So it is that one is saved by faith through grace and created in Christ Jesus unto good works which befit the calling and dispensation. Those under age and not sons have no work or responsibilities. They are still children and have life. Many children do not want to work, so they do not receive 'the adoption'.

Paul's all-day testimony in Rome ended the first course of his ministry. Until that time, he had been proclaiming the kingdom to Jews first and then to Gentiles. This Kingdom Gospel was a part of the Dispensation of Promise, which began in Genesis 12 with the call of Abraham. It primarily concerned the Millennial reign of Christ here on the earth. This was, to begin with, His coming with clouds of angels and the gathering together of Israel up into the air. There is no reference in the Scriptures to a gathering together of The Church, which is His Body. Those who are caught up in the air to meet the Lord come back to earth as He comes and so spend The Millennium with Him here on earth.

Upon Israel's rejection of the King and the Kingdom in Acts 28, the offer of the Kingdom was terminated, and the Dispensation of The Mystery started. It started with a special dispensation of Grace being given to Paul to proclaim it. He claimed that he was made a special minister of the Dispensation of The Mystery according to the gift of the Grace of God given unto him (not to others). A part of this ministry was to preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, to make all men see what is the Dispensation of The Mystery, and even to make known to principalities and powers in the heavenlies the manifold wisdom of God.

Paul told the Colossians that he was made a minister of The Church by a Dispensation of God, given to him (not to others). Also, he claimed to have the distinction of finishing the Word of God. In spite of this, many think that John finished the canon.

Paul claimed that This Mystery had been hidden in God for ages and generations. The Glory of This Mystery was to be among the Gentiles, not the Jews.

Christendom generally denies the claims of Paul and the inspiration of the Scriptures, which testify of The Mystery. The apostasy which Paul had foretold has set in long ago and holds Christendom fast in its clutches today.

Now in the Dispensation of Promise, there were synagogues and assemblies, which were called churches. These were local assemblies. Seldom was the whole spoken of as a church. But with the coming in of the Dispensation of The Mystery, there is One Body or Church. This is not the property or a chattel of Christ, as you find in 1 Corinthians 12. It is His Own Body of which He is The Head. This is a relationship never before mentioned or known.

But there is another and most important distinction that must be made here. The Church, which is the Body of Christ and of which He is The Head has its citizenship in Heavenly Places, and is blessed with all spiritual blessings there, and hopes to be soon manifested with the Lord there. This is far different from and higher than anything that had ever been revealed before. So the great difference between the two dispensations is the place of their Hope; one on The Earth, and the other in The Heavenlies.

Then the most common question that follows is: How can one join this great Church? Simply believe the Gospel concerning it, and God has already joined you to it. This is set forth in Ephesians 2:8-10.

The Salvation of Ephesians 2:8-10 is the Salvation we read about in Acts 28:28, Be it known therefore unto you, that the Salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. Salvation up to this time had been of the Jews, as we learn in John 4:21-22; Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

The Jew had priority in the matter of salvation up till the end of the Book of Acts. Salvation had to do with a calling, an adoption, and a blessing. This was not everlasting life. The Jew had no monopoly on that in any way whatsoever. Everlasting life is not dispensational but true of all times. Everlasting life was no part of The Mystery. It has always been found in Christ. It was made known in Deuteronomy 8:3 so that all of Israel could know about it.

There is a very close relationship between the Head and The Body. So if He is seated in The Heavenlies, then The Body is also seated there with Him. He is not yet manifest there. Principalities and powers, and mights and dominions can not see Him until He Manifests. But a Glorious Day is soon coming when He will be manifested there and His Body with Him (Colossians 3:1-4) for all the Heavenly ones to adore.

This is The Church's Hope, but it was never the hope of Israel. They will see Him when He comes to the earth to take up His Kingdom over the kingdoms of the earth. But when He comes, He will have many crowns. Where does He get them?

Now we are plainly told in 2 Timothy 2:11-12 that if we have died with Him, we shall live with Him; that if we suffer or endure, then we shall reign with Him; but if we deny Him our service and faith, He will deny us the prize or reward. Fair enough; in fact, this is most gracious. It is a gift from God for members of The Body to suffer for Him (Philippians 1:29).

Growth of the Body of Christ is expected; it is normal. It grows into a habitation (Temple) of God (Ephesians 2:21). It is fitly joined together, all the parts working in such harmony that it increases and is edifying itself in love (Ephesians 4:16), growing into Him, Christ. This is repeated in Colossians 2:19.

We have already noted that it is a Temple (Ephesians 2: 21), and it is for the habitation of God in Spirit. He will dwell in His people, the Body of Christ!

God has a great inheritance in the Holiest of all, that Gentiles have been made fellow citizens of the Holy of Holies, and finally, that God has made us meet to partake of that inheritance in the Holiest of all, which is in the Shekinah glory. These are certainly untold riches and are hard for us even to imagine. And this Great Good News was never told until after Acts 28:28. It was kept a secret. There was a reason, but that will come later.

Since the saints are to dwell in the Holiest of all (look at Ephesians 1:18; Eph. 2:19; Colossians 1:12), we find that they are to walk as children of light, that Shekinah light associated with the Holiest of all (Ephesians 5:8).

Having made known unto us The Mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the Dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in Heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him. Ephesians 1:9-10.

This means that it has now been revealed that 'all things have been headed up in Christ.' This had been a secret. But it was a secret concerning the will of God. Now in the fullness of seasons, it is being made known and also made a reality. He has not taken over that power yet, but the day is coming when He will be manifested, and then He will be seen not only as The King of kings and The Lord of lords here on earth but even more as The Head of all things both in Heaven and Earth. This is the goal, the end, and the Purpose of God.

This Secret or Mystery is closely related to the Dispensation of The Mystery, where He is Head of the Church which is His Body. This is also the finish of the Mystery of Christ, which has been unfolding thru the ages and is completed by Paul when making known The Dispensation of The Mystery.

Matthew 28:18 almost tells this secret. The Lord claims that all power is given to Him in heaven and earth. And when He takes over that power on the earth, that will signal the Apostles to begin their great commission, and He will be with them personally unto the end of the age (1000 yrs.).

So from Genesis 1:1, where the Creator, Christ, is first mentioned, to this point, there has been a steady unfolding of the Mystery of Christ.

So again, in Ephesians 1:22, we read And hath put all things under His feet. This repeats Matthew 28:18. But it goes on farther, And gave Him to be Head over all things to The Church. This is over, and beyond anything the Apostles knew about. They were taught about the Kingdom till the day the Lord ascended (Acts 1:3). But they never knew that there would be a Church called the Body of Christ, and its members would be blessed in Christ in heavenly places. To them, all blessings were in Abraham and in a land that was promised to him.

So we must conclude that until The Mystery was made known, no one Hoped to go to Heaven or be blessed there with all spiritual blessings. This was kept secret.

Paul wanted the Ephesian saints to pray for him that he might open his mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:19). Today, we have the grand and glorious privilege of making known these secrets. Satan would like to keep them secret, and he has a lot of workers who cooperate very well in this endeavor. That is why you seldom hear of it.

Today our hearts can be comforted. We can be knit together in love. There are riches of the full assurance of understanding. But they depend upon our acknowledgment of the mystery of God, yea, even of the mystery of the Father, and of the Christ. We can go on to perfection by learning and acknowledging the truth of the mystery. Or, we can live a wilderness experience and become lean in spirit. Let us also speak boldly when we ought to speak.

That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God; even Christ, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:2,3).

Check the above translation with marginal notes and the RV. The mystery of God, then, is Christ. And to that agrees the mystery of godliness in 1 Timothy 3:16. The mystery is made known when God is manifested. The mystery of Christ is not complete without the revelation of the dispensation of the mystery.

On the other hand, the mystery of iniquity is manifested in a man, the man of sin. To him, Satan will give his power and authority. The great conflict of the ages then is between these two mysteries.

Checking our text above with the definition of The Mystery in Ephesians 3:1-6, we have to conclude that the Mystery of Christ is finished and completed by the Dispensation of The Mystery, which declares Him as Head of all things in Heaven and Earth.

Knowing this Mystery of God, which is the full revelation of Christ, is one of the most satisfying and comforting things in human experience. It gives rise to an experience of love that transcends all human knowledge (Ephesians 3:19).

Holding The Mystery of the faith in a pure conscience (1 Timothy 3:9). At the beginning of the Dispensation of The Mystery, there was still a corporate testimony. It is in the context of the requirements for church leaders in this state of affairs that the above text finds itself. We are beginning to see that The Mystery, which is the subject of Paul's ministry after the end of Acts, is expressed in various ways. Here it is, The Mystery of the Faith. And at the beginning of this article, it was the mystery of God. The active workers in the early days of The Church of the Dispensation of The Mystery were to hold or guard this mystery of the faith in the setting and atmosphere of a pure conscience. Need we explain? The Christian who has a pure conscience has been doing that which is right.

Now we must face the question that so many ask. Why was this Great Dispensation kept secret? Why was it not mentioned in the Scriptures before Ephesians? Why was it not shown in the stars? Why did God not mention it to Abraham? These, and many more, are frequently asked, and they should be.

Was the Truth kept secret so that the Jews would have no excuse when they finally rejected their King at the end of Acts? That might be a part of the answer. Was it kept secret so that satan could not know it and step in and spoil things? Satan can step in and spoil nothing unless God allows it. But it may be that it would have set up a train of events that would have let the secret leak out in some way. Was it because God did not want to reveal all His goodness and blessings at once but to distribute them out over a period of time? This has been His practice, but it may not answer our question. Was it kept secret because principalities and powers were not to know it? This is probably the best reason of them all; We may look further into it.

The first rejection of the Messiah of Israel had been foretold in the prophecies. His death and its manner also was known. And in Matthew 13, there are parables that reveal the fact that the Kingdom is to be postponed to some future date when the Lord should come again. But that there should be a second rejection was kept secret. It was not made known.

There is nothing to indicate that the long time period mentioned in Hosea 3:4 comes after a second rejection. So it must have come as a shock to the religious leaders of the time when Paul made his famous announcement of Acts 28:28. The Jewish theologians were totally unprepared for such an event to take place. We may well wonder what went on in the mind of Paul when this was revealed to him. His entire previous ministry had been in view of the coming of the King and the Kingdom and that he hoped for in his own lifetime. He expected to survive till the second coming of the Lord. But in just one sentence of Scripture (Acts 28:28), Paul's hope was dashed to the ground. And the world was left without a channel of blessing. There was not a theologian or prophet in the world at that time who could tell what the next move would be - except Paul. This was one of the darkest moments in the world's history. What was to happen next?

The stage had been set for the prophecy of Daniel 9 to go on. Only about 21 years remained till the Lord should come and set up His Kingdom. But just as it was at Kadesh-Barnea, the time was not yet. The unbelief of Israel made further progress at that time impossible. They have had another wilderness experience for close to 1900 years. But with this difference, now they are Lo-Ammi, not God's people.

For the time being, the Gospels concluded prophecy. Acts was a testament to the King and Kingdom. And Acts was the acts of Christ which He began while walking among men on this earth. The Acts were spoken of time after time as the last days. Today tradition holds that these were the first days. The real truth has been lost and buried under the traditions and ignorance of the dark ages.

When Peter said at Pentecost, this is that he was only explaining that what was happening there was because of the Holy Spirit, which Joel talked about. Peter was not telling them that the prophecy was being fulfilled that day. Pentecost has no relation to the church. It was a feast of Israel, and they looked forward to the blessings of the Kingdom.

Men have mixed things up and made a mess of the records because they have tried to place later revelations into former times or ages. Rahab dwelt among Israel when the book of Joshua was written (Jos 6: 25), not until this year of 1971. Such an idea is as silly as imagining that Paul learned the mystery on the Damascus road. No Scripture says so.

It is going to be pretty hard at this late date to tell the religious world that a Thanksgiving feast called Pentecost, which was exclusively for Jews, was not the beginning of the Gentile church. Centuries of tradition are hard to break down.

The average dry goods merchant usually knows the difference between cotton and wool. The grocer can be expected to know fowl from fish. The farmer is sure to know cabbage from corn. But the average Christian, and even the theologian, does not know the difference between the Kingdom and The Church. It is because they do not know The Mystery.

There are all kinds of debates about whether The Church would go thru the tribulation. If these debaters knew The Mystery, there would be no question left to debate.

The last few verses of Mark's gospel have been a great puzzle to many sincere folks who want to do the will of God. But that commission was given to the 12 apostles, and the record goes on to say that they did it and the signs followed. If they completed the task given to them, why would folks want to start it all over again and do something they were never told to do? It is because they do not know The Mystery. Furthermore, the words mission and missionary are not in the Bible. Did you know that?

During the last 1900 years, countless good sincere folks have tried to obey the sermon on the mount. Many have found that it is impossible and cannot be done in the present world. Why? This Sermon on the Mount was the Magna Charta of The Kingdom, The Millennium, and has to do with a citizenry entirely different from what we have about us today. These folks could have saved all this trouble and disappointment if they had known The Mystery.

You hear much talk about the coming judgment of the nations, as recorded in Matthew 25. You hear a great deal about the dead being raised for the judgment, and evangelists lay great stress that all who hear them will have to appear in that great judgment. But we find after careful reading that it is a judgment of living nations at the time of the return of the Lord to earth. There is no resurrection in connection with it. If only folks had known The Mystery, this confusion would not be.

You hear much about the first resurrection, especially at funerals, and how blessed are those who have a part in the first resurrection. But reading the Bible, we soon learn that those who are in the first resurrection are Israelites, overcomers from the great tribulation, and that every one of them has been beheaded for His witness at that time. If folks knew The Mystery, they would not make such foolish mistakes. Their eyes are veiled.

Preachers have played great rhapsodies on the theme of the great white throne. So they do not know that those who appear at the great white throne are also those who went through the great tribulation but were not overcomers. So they will miss their inheritance and be raised when the kingdom is over after 'the 1000 years'. If folks knew the mystery, this would all fall into place.

One of the greatest errors taught in Christendom today is concerning the rapture. It is based on the meaning of the word "meet." One only has to look it up in a concordance to see its usage to determine this once and for all. The common interpretation of it is that The Church is going to heaven and that Christ meets it in the air and escorts it back to heaven. But that is not what the Bible says. It is the believers who have an earthly hope that is in view. This is primarily Israel, not the church. They look for the coming or presence of the Lord on earth (parousia). So when He comes, they meet Him in the air and come back to earth with Him. They never get any farther than the air. If Bible students had only known the meaning of the word 'meet,' they would have escaped this error. And if they had known the mystery, they would not have thought of it.

Nothing has done more harm to the knowledge of The Mystery than the heathen idea that at death, one realizes his hope instead of at resurrection. Our Lord was dead in the tomb until His resurrection. The same is true of all who believe. The heathen idea that man has a soul, instead of being a soul, has perverted much of the truth. Now the hope of the member of the church, which is the Body of Christ, is to be present at the great manifestation in the heavenlies, to be at the coronation of the King of kings and Lord of lords. That is the place of his resurrection, his citizenship, and his blessings. He looks forward to Colossians 3:1-4, not the rapture or death. Every effort, and then some more, has been made by the evil one to obscure the truth.

Israel, in the flesh, was promised all blessings in the promised land here on the earth. But Gentiles, in spirit, are joint heirs, members of a joint body, and joint partakers of God's promise of eternal life in Christ made before the ages began (Ephesians 3:6). They have a unity of the Spirit that they are to keep, and a unity of the faith to attain to. Gentile believers never, from Adam till now, had a Sabbath to keep. They were strangers from the covenants of promise. They have no law, except that of the new nature implanted in them when they believe (Romans 2:14). Rituals and ordinances are for the flesh. The Church of The Mystery is above that (Colossians 2:16-23).

Counterfeits have been plentiful, not only in the present age but in past ages. One of them was the worship of Mithra, who was supposed to have been born from a rock at sunrise on December 25. There were seven mysteries, a baptism, and worship with bread and wine. This was, and is a popular religion. The reader might like to look up Isis as Cybele. She was the great mother, the queen of heaven. Her husband was Horus, and the child, Seb. So you have the holy family of Egypt, IHS. Those who know the mystery do not get involved with these heathen religions.

As a final word, The Mystery has to do with a program for the Heavenlies, the principalities and powers there, the Headship of Christ, the redemption of the whole universe, and the placing of sons with a Heaven-Home Hope. This is the great salvation that was sent to the Gentiles (Acts 28:28).

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How The Church Began

Ephesians 2:11-22

We are told in Gal. 3:5-7 that at that time, the covenant God made with Abraham back in Gen. 12 was in no way affected or annulled by the law, which came 430 years after at Sinai. The Epistle to the Romans has much to say about Abraham and the covenant and the law.

The question then that comes to mind is the relation of the covenant made to Abraham and The Mystery. Did the mystery annul the covenant? Did Abraham have any knowledge of the mystery? Will he have a part in it? The law was added to the covenant because of transgressions or great transgression (the worship of the Golden Calf). Was the dispensation of the mystery added to these things? Not many seem to know the answers to these questions. They are confused.

Peter had opened the doors of the Kingdom to Israel at Pentecost in Acts 2:38-40, and again he opened the doors of the Kingdom to Gentiles in Acts 10:34-44 at the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion. But there is strong evidence that Paul closed these doors of the Kingdom in Acts 28:26-28 and that Israel as a nation was set aside. How long was that setting aside going to last? Hosea 6:2 says that this period is to be two days.

There is a vast amount of prophecy concerning Israel that has not been fulfilled yet today. And there are some people who think and teach that Israel is finished, written off the books, and will never again be in God's favor. But what say The Holy Scriptures?

If Israel has been set aside now for approximately 2000 years (2 days), then what of their law, their rituals, and their obligations? What of the New Covenant, which was promised to them and ratified by the blood of their Messiah whom they murdered? If they are now out of God's program, then certainly, there must be a new and entirely different administration or dispensation in force today. Christendom, with one voice, says that there has been no change of dispensation and that the covenant has been sent to the Gentiles. But the Bible says that the Salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles, not the new covenant, declares Acts 28:28

Most of us have a lot to learn and to unlearn in regard to these things. Tradition is a veil that covers the eyes of Christendom today lest they should see The Truth and give God the Glory. And who is it that veils the eyes and blinds men to the truth? It is the god of this world, the evil one, satan.

We have had these days revealed to us The Mystery, a Secret that had been hidden in God for ages and generations but made known for the first time by the Apostle Paul. See his claim in Col. 1:25-28. A special Dispensation of Grace was given to Paul alone so that he might make known this wonderful Gospel of The Mystery. This Truth from The Word of God says only believers in Christ Jesus in the last two thousand years know about this Good News, and Abraham and Israel never knew about it. It was no part of the promise, and all clergy that teaches that This Mystery was known and is the adding of Gentiles to Israel and her Hope, teach what is utterly false and thus a lie.

Before The Mystery was made known to Paul, the blessing upon Gentiles, as well as Jews, was Abrahamic, Millennial, and the New Jerusalem was in view. The promise was still in effect. Salvation was still of the Jews, and the earth was their Hope (the New Jerusalem will be on the earth; see Rev. 21:2-3). But we must now turn to Romans to check this.

During the times of the Gospels and the Acts, Gentiles are mentioned in connection with the synagogues. The synagogue was a place of meeting to study the Scriptures. It was also a law court and could condemn accused ones and mete out punishments. But in the synagogue was a congregation or assembly. It was made up of males of 12 years and over who were of 'the circumcision.' Women and children attended the synagogue but sat in a separate room or behind a partition of some kind. Gentiles who attended were in another room or behind another partition. So there were three divisions or groups in the synagogue.

These Gentiles who were believers and attended the synagogue were looked down upon by the Jews as being 'the uncircumcision'; without a promise of the Messiah, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; therefore without hope of their own, and even Godless in the world. For all those advantages belonged to Israel, and the Gentile could only partake of them as a wild olive branch could partake of the sap of the true olive tree (Rom. 11:13-21).

But now, since the beginning of The Church, which is His Body, all this difference is put away. No more middle wall of partition in view. Men, women, children, Jews, and Gentiles make up one congregation and are no longer separated, for there is no difference.

The 'middle wall of partition' was broken down, and the Jew and Gentile reconciled and made one. They have been created as one new man, The Church. So the beginning of The Church was a creation associated with doing away with Jewish and Gentile differences. Gentile believers are no longer strangers and foreigners.

There is another tremendous truth associated with this new creation. Before this, the highest revelation of Christ was that of the King of kings and the Lord of lords. But now it is revealed that He is the Head of this new creation, The Church. And further than that, He is revealed as Head of all things in heaven and earth. So the beginning of the Church has a vital relationship with The Mystery of Christ and its full unfolding.

Before this time, God had dwelt among His people in the Holy of Holies, in Tabernacle and Temple, but now The Church is likened unto a Temple in which God is to dwell by the Spirit. This Temple grows, so it is made of living stones, its members.

This Church was built as a Temple on the foundation of Apostles and Prophets, those given by the ascended Christ Eph. 4:11. There is no place for the Apostles and Prophets since that time, for once their work was finished, there is no need to continue to build the foundation but to build thereupon. Nor is there any more combining of Jew and Gentile as at the first. Any believer today may come in by the door of Eph 2:8-10 says, but how many, because of false teaching, find the door?

This chapter of Ephesians is a natural sequence to the statement of Acts 28:28 announcing that The Salvation of God is sent to the Gentiles. They still hear Eph 2:8-10 and enter into the household of The Mystery. The old rule faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God is still in full force.

Paul, The Able Minister

In 2 Cor. 3:6, Paul was still an able minister of the New Testament, but not of the Dispensation of The Mystery yet. Now we open the Epistle to the Romans, which undoubtedly was his last Epistle before Acts 28:28. We look to see if there has been any change since 2 Cor. 3:6. We find in Rom. 1:16 that Paul is still preaching the Gospel of Christ, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The Greek here, as in verse 14 above, refers to non-Jews or Gentiles.

Evidently, Paul has been consistent in his preaching since Acts 13:46, for it is there that he says that he was to speak to the Jews first, and when they rejected the message, then he turned to the Gentiles in the same synagogue and preached the Good News of The Kingdom to them.

It is interesting to see the prominence of the Jew in the Epistles before Acts 28:28 and their almost lack of mention after that. The terms Jew, Israel, Israelite, and Abraham occur 61 times before this great boundary and only three such occurrences after. Surely this in itself should have made the clergy and all of us sit up and take notice, it is very significant.

So in the Roman church, the Jew is first and has every advantage, except in the matter of sin. In that, there is no difference between the Jewish and Gentile believers; all had sinned and come short of the Glory of God. So in Romans, we see the unfolding of the promise made to Abraham that through his seed, all the nations of the earth are to be blest.

We must digress long enough here to clear up any misconceptions some may have. We must note that the word blest is used. Nowhere does it say that through Abraham will the nations of the world receive life? Salvation, not life, was of the Jews. And Gentiles received blessings only through Israel from Abraham till Acts 28:28 and in no other way. These blessings were either as crumbs from the children's table or after Peter in the house of Cornelius; the Gentiles received blessings as described in Romans as 'the wild olive branch' in relation to 'the true olive tree.' The Gentile was dependent on Israel for blessings but not for eternal life. As an example of this, the people of Nineveh repented and will be resurrected to life everlasting.

Also, we must remember that Romans was written on the other side of the frontier of Acts 28:28, and we do well to hesitate in claiming any blessings written in Paul's Epistles penned during the time of the Book of Acts for ourselves. They do not fit in with our Dispensational setting at all. Many doctrines from the Acts period are repeated in The Prison Epistles. If so, then they are valid for us today, but it is best to go to The Prison Epistles to find them and apply them. We can not stress this enough for some traditionalists speak of Roman stones for the Ephesian temple. The Ephesian Temple is a new creation and contains no used materials. The old temple had to be completely demolished and the ground cleared before a new one could be created and which is still growing.

To the Jew first for Romans 2:9-10 does not refer to the historical or chronological order. It was the fact that the Jew had a priority in both blessing and judgment. This gives a good picture of the character of the administration of God at that time.

A Hint Of The Present Age?

In the prophecies of Hosea and others, there is a hint of the present age, two days in which Israel will be out of God's plan and purpose. But these prophecies do not tell of the Salvation of God that has been sent to the Gentiles, for it is no longer of the Jews.

But in Millennial times, there is a great deal to be said of the advantages of the Jews. They were first in Acts, both in blessing and judgment, and again they will have a first position, but then even to a greater extent than at any time before. The Book of Revelation is a Hebrew Book, and this is made clear from its Scriptures.

If you read Isa. 60 and 61, you will discover some glorious things still ahead for God's people Israel. Then they will assume a position among the nations in which they will be the head and not the tail. The nations will speak of them as being The Ministers of their God. The nations of Gentiles will stand and feed the flocks of Israel and also be their plowmen (and that very willingly). The sons of strangers will build up the walls of the Hebrew cities of the land. Even Gentile kings shall minister to the Jews. And the law of God in that day will be that those nations who refuse to minister to Israel shall perish.

In times past, Israel, in some instances, dwelt in Jerusalem, holding to their dispensational position, being a channel of blessing to those Gentiles who came to Jerusalem to worship, and so were blessed people. So in the Millennial Kingdom, Israel will be a people dwelling in their cities in the nation of Israel, being a blessing to the nations of the earth as was promised to Abraham.

One fact that must be noted is that when Paul wrote to the Romans, the Jew was first dispensationally. But as to sin, there was no difference between Jewish and Gentile believers. All had sinned and come short of the glory of God. We further learn that this was recognized, and God was able to deal with both Jews and Gentiles in grace as far as the sin question was concerned. We must not overlook this fact. God was not the God of the Jew only but of every man who bore the image of God. Eternal life has always been available to all men, but salvation or Dispensational Privileges and its blessings belong to those who are chosen. We find in Ephesians that this same principle works today in relation to the world and The Church of the Dispensation of The Mystery. We must be very careful to search and see the Foundational and Dispensational Truth in all of Scripture.

Churches today who believe that The Church began sometime before Acts 28:28 are strangely silent about the dispensational argument in Rom. Chapters 9,10,11. The Jews had been taught that because of the fact that they were children of Abraham, their dispensational position was always safe. They were sure that they would inherit The Kingdom. But an inheritance and its rewards can be forfeited (but never everlasting life). And so in Romans, the Gentiles who believed and were 'grafted into the olive tree' were warned that they could lose that position. The Jews who had been 'broken out of the tree' had lost their position. Those who would not accept The Messiah would not enter The Kingdom for it is for the faithful. But the Gentiles were told that they could also be torn out of this position, and the Jews then grafted back in again if they repented and believed in Christ. Remember that all this has nothing to do with everlasting life; we can't repeat that too often. Also, never forget that a son of Abraham might be a Gentile (Gal. 3:7).

The Dispensation of Promise

Our main ground for this series is the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. It has to do with the dispensation of promise. So it naturally would have to do with the covenant, the old one, and also the new one, which was made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Jer 31:31). No covenant ever with Gentiles.

The saints at Rome have to learn that the promises were to and for the seed. And then the Romans are reminded in 9:8 that only the children of the promise are counted for the seed. It was in Isaac that the true seed was to be called.

If you will notice carefully, that is exactly what Paul is trying to explain in Romans. Paul had a further revelation, a gospel which he called his gospel and also the gospel of the grace of God. And this was that a Gentile who believed and met with the Jews at the synagogue, by faith, could be a son of Abraham and partake of the promise made to Abraham. This Gentile no longer needed to follow the directions of the law and be circumcised. This was the burden of Paul's argument in Galatians.

Now if the dispensation of the mystery had begun, as some argue, before this time, then we have some weighty problems on our hands. For in it, the covenant has no place, and being a son of Abraham would have absolutely no advantage.

In Rom 9:24, the Romans are reminded that God had called not Jews only but Gentiles. Keep in mind that the non-Jewish believers are called Gentiles when you come to chapter 11. And, as we have said before, the Gentiles of Romans are believers, not the heathen who had never heard the gospel. This will clear up many a difficulty in Romans.

Paul quotes freely from the OT Scriptures to show that the relationship of the Gentile believers to the promise in Romans is a matter of prophecy, not a secret hidden in God from ages and generations, as was The Dispensation of The Mystery.

So in Rom 10:20 is a quote from Isaiah telling that sometime the Lord would be found by a people who sought Him not, and would be made manifest to those who had not asked after Him. And the next verse calls Israel a disobedient and gainsaying people. They were warned in 10:9,10 to confess Jesus as Lord and believe in their hearts that God had raised Him from the dead so that they might be saved from the terrible events of A.D. 70 when Titus finally came and destroyed many of them and their temple.

We now are at Chapter 11 of Romans. This Chapter has been sadly treated, or mistreated, by expositors and commentators. If the church began at Pentecost or any other time before the end of Acts, then this chapter can be an unsolved enigma. And few ever mention this at all. Again we must insist that Gentiles in this Chapter are believing non-Jewish people. We must see and realize that believing Gentiles during Acts and up to Acts 28:28 were blessed with faithful Abraham. The present time in Rom. 11:5 means at the time when Paul was writing, about A.D. 58, not 2,000 years later. We must keep to the facts, not indulge in fancy.

Election By The Grace of God

The 11th chapter of Romans deserves a lot more space than we can give it here. But in the hope that readers will carry on the study, we give a bare outline and leave it with you.

At the time of the writing of Romans, God had not cast away His People, Israel. The reason; is a remnant believed. This is likened to the 7,000 men who had not bowed the knee to Baal in the time of Elijah. The remnant had obtained what Israel had been looking for for many centuries but did not know the day of their visitation when their Messiah came and tabernacled among them.

This remnant was an election by the grace of God, and we know that election is based on foreknowledge. The blindness of the major portion was foretold in the OT. It was also prophesied that the fall of Israel would be a blessing to the Gentiles. Paul tells them that this is now taking place at the time of his writing.

The reason for this speaking to Gentiles is explained: that it might wake up the greater part of Israel and provoke them to jealousy. Paul is still very zealous for his nation, Israel. So he hopes that his preaching to Gentiles and grafting them into the hope and blessings of Israel might shake Israel up and awaken them so that they might believe.

Rom. 11:15 gives us a little hint of the future, for he asks what will happen to the Gentiles when all Israel is saved if their partial falling away is a blessing. This is a little glimpse into the future when the great commission of Matthew 28:19-20 goes into effect.

All these Gentile believers who have been grafted in are warned to be careful that they do not boast of their great privilege. For if God had broken out the natural branches, He also could break out the wild ones. He could also graft the natural branches back in. In fact, this very thing was in their future if the prophecy had gone on according to the schedule laid down in Dan. 9. Paul expected the Lord to come in that generation, and then all Israel would have been saved (preserved). See Romans 11:26.

Paul is preaching the Gospel of The Kingdom, and to the Gentiles, he is telling the Gospel of The Grace of God. All Israel is beloved for the sake of the fathers and the promises made to them, but at the time of Paul's writing, the enmity of the bulk of Israel to the Gospel turned out to be a blessing to the Gentiles. The Gentiles obtained mercy because of the unbelief of Israel. There is a further statement in Rom. 11:32 that is not generally understood. God has concluded all Israel under sin, both the believing remnant and those who are enemies, so that He might have mercy upon all of them! Now go back to Rom. 11:30, where it is made plain that Gentiles had obtained mercy because many of Israel did not believe. And conversely, in Rom. 11: 31, unbelieving Israel obtains mercy because the Gentiles have believed.

The whole Chapter goes to show that The Great Commission has not yet begun but is foreshadowed. Paul is preaching a Gospel to Gentiles, which is similar to that which The 12 Apostles will preach in The Great Millennium, and all this is under the covenant.

Wild Olive Branches

We have noted that in Romans 11, the Gentile believers are spoken of as 'wild olive branches that are grafted into the true olive tree,' or Israel. We can better understand this picture if we go to Galatians, where instead of the olive tree, we have Abraham. Here the Gentiles finally can have a part in the promises made to Abraham. See the following:

Gal. 3:9. Blessed with faithful Abraham.

Gal. 3:14. That the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles.

Gal. 3:29. If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

In the next Chapter, Gal. 4:24-26 we have the New Jerusalem, the Jerusalem which is above and which Abraham looked for, as a mother to those that believe, both Jew and Gentile.

So beginning at Acts 10:24 and ending at Acts 28:28, the Gentile believer could partake of the promises to Abraham and come into a covenant relationship with God. Before that, the Gentile was just a dog that could only eat crumbs that fell from Israel's table. But Paul shows that in this attempt to make Israel jealous, Gentile believers can sit at the table with Israel and partake of all thereon.

In being grafted in, the Gentiles had no equality with the natural branches in many ways. Rom. 9:3-5 shows how the Jew was superior in that respect. Dispensationally the Jew was first, but in standing before God in Christ, the Gentile believer was equal; there was no difference. And there was another aspect in which they were equal. Both Jew and Gentile had both sinned and come short of the glory of God. We must take notice of these things.

We also might add that there is a great deal of Doctrinal Truth in Romans that has been repeated in the Epistles written to us Gentiles today. But there is no time to try to go through Romans now and sort out these things. Those that are valid are repeated, and we need to be careful in sorting out the things which are the same from the things that differ.

Another thing we must keep in mind when reading Romans, or any other Epistle of that era, is that when Jewish and Gentile peoples are spoken of, usually The Word is referring to believers. All too often, people have thought that Gentiles in Romans always meant the Gentile world in general, and that cannot be true. The whole of the Gentile world was not grafted into the olive tree; just such as believed.

We might add here that the Gentile believers were not obliged to observe any of the Jewish rituals or feasts. It was not necessary that they be baptized in water or partake of the Passover. The council in Jerusalem had made a decision about these things (Acts 15:1-29). The council then made it plain that there were four things that the Gentile believers were required to do and no more. To them was The Gospel of the Grace of God preached (Acts 20:24). This gospel was never preached to Israel, even though Paul was accused of it by his enemies (Acts 21:21).

According to Jer. 31:31, the New Covenant was to be with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Summary and Conclusion

It was not possible that Gentile believers could partake of the blessings of Israel (as was the case from Acts 10 to 28) and be in The Church of The Dispensation of The Mystery at the same time. This is made clear in Eph 2:12, for that passage tells us that when the Gentile believers were 'grafted into the olive tree' and partook of Israel's blessings; nevertheless, they were without Christ the Messiah. The reason for it was that by virtue of the fact that they were Gentiles, this made them aliens from the commonwealth of Israel to whom pertained the covenants and the promises. At that time, they could know Christ as their Savior but not as their Messiah.

Also, at that time, they had no hope. Hope is here used as a goal or something to look forward to. The hope of Israel was the Resurrection, King, and Kingdom. Gentile believers all had the prospect of a resurrection, but certainly not at the time of Israel's resurrection, but much later. See Job 14:12 and compare with Rev. 20:11, Rev. 20:12. So the Gentile believers that were grafted in just partook of Israel's hope; it was not their own by any means.

Furthermore, those Gentile believers during Acts were said to be without God in the world. That was because that God had given up the Gentile nations (Rom. 1:24, Rom. 1:26, Rom. 1:28) and chosen Israel as a new nation to be His people and said that He would be their God. So they, like Ruth the Moabitess, could only say, 'Thy God shall be my God.' God, all the way through to Acts 28:28, was the God of Israel. But Gentiles could call upon Him and receive blessings. So did Nebuchadnezzar and others we might mention, look and see.

So we are forced to the conclusion that Gentile believers never have had any covenant relationship with God, nor do they now. That was Israel's sacred property, and no other individual or church had any right to it.

The Gentile believer today, then, can make no claim to any covenants of any kind. He cannot be blessed by any promises made to any of the OT believers. He is left only to lean on the grace of God and to benefit from the finished work of the Lamb of God, Who came to take away the sin of the world.

The law was given to Israel because of the great transgression (the golden calf). The law was never given to Gentiles, and they were never subject to it, either then or now. The council at Jerusalem realized this Great Truth (Acts 15), and so, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, sent letters to the churches telling them that the Gentiles were not obligated to keep the law in any way. Four things were enjoined upon them, which would make their associations with the Jewish believers a little less obnoxious.

Any church or group of believers today who will claim any of the promises of Abraham, or the covenants, or even the law, are simply thieves and robbers. It is such that Paul speaks of as having departed from him, which means that they departed from the Truth that God, by a special dispensation, had entrusted to Paul. So we are obliged to conclude that the covenant and The Mystery have nothing in common; they do not overlap, and neither do they have the same hope nor time of resurrection.

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