tian, and the corporate collective body of Christ, the Church, of which Jesus is the head. Paul is not boasts ing of himself but pointing out why he has been entrusted with the mes sage. Beginning with Ephesians 3 :2, he begins to validate his own minis try. Paul was steward over the mys tery which God had revealed to him. The Apostle was most anxious to present the truth of the Church. God through Jesus Christ was going to break down the middle wall that existed between Gentiles and Jews spiritually. A personal Saviour, our Lord brings us together into one Body. No one can get into this Body unless he has accepted Jesus Christ as his own personal Saviour from sin. This is vastly different from joining a visible church down here on earth. When the Apostle Paul, according to the book of the Acts, went about establishing churches across the known world, he was doing this in local communities. These assemblies met in definite buildings, the local representations of the heavenly body into which every born-again person finds his membership. Ephesians 3:5 indicates that this truth was not revealed in the Old Testament. Verse 6 explains that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs of the same body; partakers of His prom ises by the gospel. There now fol lows eleven great points which are a part of the mystery. The first is the salvation of the Gentiles, placing them in Jesus Christ, on an equality with the Jewish Christians. They are raised to a much higher place. We have here a picture of the equality of all nations in Christ. This is a truth running through the entire Word of God, well known to the writ ers of the Bible. The next point is that the Gentiles would be elevated to a position of equality in this glorious body, par taking of everything in Jesus Christ. Paul was not onlj? a minister of the 26
grace of God which gives individual people salvation but also a minister of the Gospel which teaches that there is a Body, called the Church. Paul was saved by the grace and mercy of God. His ministry was giv- ep him according to the gift of the 4frace of God, according to the in working of God’s power. In Ephesians 3:8, Paul shows and demonstrates his devastating humil ity. This is the way that he looked upon himself. He says that he was the demonstrator and spokesman for this tremendous New Te s t amen t mystery. Here are “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (3:8). No one can humanly trace or search this down. This comes as a revelation of the Holy Spirit to man. Any other way would never suffice. C hapter T welve E phesians is a masterpiece of in spiration, dealing in chapter three with God’s workings with man dur ing this dispensation of grace. Here we find the spiritual enlightenment of the New Testament Body of Christ. All of this Paul penned under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Sal vation is extended to both Jew and Gentile alike. The Gospel is intended for the whole world. The evangeliza tion of the world is no modern proj ect. It formed a part of the divine plan in God’s creation of the uni verse. Man has been slow to under stand His eternal purpose. When re demption was accomplished through Christ’s death on the cross, God opened Paul’s eyes, as well as others, to see the wideness of His mercy and grace. The final effect of Paul’s mission was upon men and upon angels (Eph. 3:10). The church is designed to be an object of wonder and amazement to heavenly beings of every station and rank. They, too, realize the manifold wisdom of God. God never designed that only one race of people should be recipients of Christ’s redemption. The Gospel
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