Promises and Mysteries

Ephesians 2:11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

The people in the passage MATCH you and I. And there are five things said there about us, notice: IN TIME PAST we were:

1. Without Christ

Now some say that what that means is that you were "without Christ" because that was before you "got saved" or got "born again." But that is NOT the case, because the verse is plain. It tells you the REASONS that in time past you were WITHOUT CHRIST:

2. Being aliens from the commonwealth of Israrel.

So the Ephesians, instead of blessing Israel, and blesing the seed of Abraham...instead of being ALLIED with Israel..as SOME in the bible were, that the Ephesians, and you and I, were ALIENS FROM Israel. We never blessed Israel...since, by the time we came along there was NO Israel to bless.

3. Strangers from the promises

A stranger is someone who knows nothing about the promises of God, they are strange to him and he is a stranger from them. That was the case with the Ephesians. They knew NOTHING of God's promses...they were STRANGERS from them. So were you and I.

4. Without God

These people were FAR OFF from God, the God of the bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Ephesians, in time past, had their own gods and goddesses. They were worshippers of a FEMALE in Heaven. She was called DIANA, and they said "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." They were VERY religious people, as most of the world is today, but they were LOST. They were WITHOUT GOD.

5. Without hope in the world.

In time past they HAD NO HOPE. What hope could there possibly be in worshipping a female in Heaven, and in many cases a statue or an image. There is ONE GOD and there is ONE MEDIATOR between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. But these Ephesians didn't know that, and many religious people today don't know that.

Now the good news for the Ephesians, and for you and me is BUT NOW:

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

The purpose here is the idea of verse 14: BOTH...and the MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION.

Some say that the BOTH in the passage is a reference to BOTH Jews and Gentiles, and that the middle wall of partition there...is a reference to the Law of Moses. But that is not the case. Notice further in the passage:

Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Keep in mind that there were ordinances in effect in Paul's ministry during the time period ot the book of Acts. Those ordinannces prohibited the very things that these Gentiles were involved in.

Ephesians 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Ephesians 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

So YOU...in other words...the Ephesians, and the Ephesians MATCH you and me. YOU, he says, were AFAR OFF. And then notice also that there were some others and he says "them that were NIGH."

Now one indivdual CANNOT fit both descriptions. You can't be AFAR OFF and at the same time be "them that were NIGH." So there MUST BE two groups of people involved. Now notice back in chapter one:

Ephesians 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

There is a group of people there. It is referred to as WE. We who FIRST TRUSTED in Christ. Paul is obviously included in that group. Paul FIRST TRUSTED in Christ when he met the Lord on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter nine. Later on, he began to write letters to the people he had preached to. Notice in:

Galatians 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

Galatians 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So the gospel preached by Paul was given to him by DIRECT revelation from Christ. He was not taught it, neither did he recieve it from some other man. And he said he RECEIVED IT:

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1 Corinthians 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

So as the result of preaching THAT message, the message that Christ had died for OUR sins, according to the scriptures, and was buried and rose again the third day. people were being saved.

Paul traveled about during the time period of the book of Acts and he went to different cities and in those cities he WENT INTO the synagogues of the Jews. Now IN those synagogues were PEOPLE. Those people are DESCRIBED, both by Luke, in the book of Acts, and by Paul...in his letters that he wrote to those people during that time, during the time of the book of Acts. Notice Paul...and Barnabas is with him:

Acts 13:4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

Acts 13:5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

Acts 13:14 But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.

Acts 14:1 And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

So we find Paul, with Barnabas, going into the SYNAGOGUES of the Jews. In those synagogues Paul found Jews, Jewish proselytes and he found GENTILES who feared the God of Abraham. Notice:

Acts 13:16 Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.

The MEN OF ISRAEL in the verse would be JEWS. The YE THAT FEAR GOD would not be Jews but they would be Gentiles who worshipped the God of Abraham. Now if a Gentile FEARED GOD then you couldn't very well say that he would be like one of the Ephesians who was WITHOUT GOD:

Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

You couldn't make a "God fearing Gentile" be the same ONE who was without God and without hope in the world. Notice again:

Acts 13:26 Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent.

The WHOSOEVERS in the verse just don't match those in the book of Ephesians do they? Well then, who are they? They would be THEM THAT WERE NIGH:

Ephesians 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

Them that were NIGH would be people who HAD HOPE, they were not WITHOUT HOPE. They are NIGH because, instead of being ALIENS from the commonwealth of Israel, they have ALLIED themselves with Israel, fearing the God of Abraham. Why would they EVEN be in the synagogues otherwise?

Acts 17:1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Acts 17:3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

Acts 17:4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

Do you see the DEVOUT GREEKS. What were they devoted to? Obviously the God of Abraham.

Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Acts 17:12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

So there again we see many Jews believing Paul's message, and we also see GREEKS, both men and women. Now Paul leaves Berea and he goes to Athens:

Acts 17:15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed.

Acts 17:16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

Acts 17:17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.

Once again you see Jews, and what else? DEVOUT PERSONS. Obviously the "devout persons" are not aliens from Israel then are they? Come on to:

Acts 18:1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;

Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Acts 18:8 And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

We find that Paul spent more than 18 months in Corinth, and later he wrote the 1 Corinthian letter, notice:

1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

1 Corinthians 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

1 Corinthians 1:23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

So from the time that Paul was saved, on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter nine, where do we find him? In synagogue after synagogue:

Acts 18:19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews.

Now THIS synagogue, the one in Ephesus, is the LAST synagogue in the bible we find Paul going into. He leaves Ephesus in Acts 18, goes to Jerusalem, and then in Acts 19 he comes back to the same synagogue:

Acts 19:8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God.

Acts 19:9 But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

Acts 19:10 And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

So, from the time of Acts chapter NINE until this point, where do we find Paul? In the synagogues of the Jews:

Acts 9:20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

So from Acts chapter NINE until Acts chapter NINETEEN the focus of Paul's ministry is IN the synagogues of the Jews. And in those synagogues you find TWO KINDS of people. You find JEWS and you find GENTILES. But these people are NOT afar off. They are NIGH. These would be "them that were nigh."

Ephesians 2:17 And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

These, that we have been looking at, these Paul found in the SYNAGOGUES of the Jews would be the ones who FIRST trusted in Christ:

Ephesians 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

But the EPHESIANS, to whom the Ephesian letter was written, and people like you and me...WE would be the YE ALSO:

Ephesians 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

So when Paul refers to TIME PAST we can see that the TIME PAST must have included the time of most of the book of Acts.

Ephesians 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

And THAT has to do with the TWO SENDINGS of Paul. Paul was SENT, the first time, on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter nine. Notice what the Lord said to Paul:

Acts 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

Acts 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

Now we are reading in Acts chapter 26. But Paul is talking about what happened in Acts chapter nine. Notice the two groups involved; THE PEOPLE, that would be the Jews, AND the Gentiles...and look what he says, unto whom NOW I SEND THEE.

And so there Paul goes, into city after city, through the book of Acts from Acts chapter nine, all the way over to Acts chapter nineteen...in synagogue after synagogue, preaching the gospel of Christ, preaching the power of God...to TWO GROUPS of people.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

1 Corinthians 1:24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

Notice to the JEW FIRST...and also to the Greek. Notice them that are called BOTH Jews and Greeks. Both means BOTH. It means that there were two groups of people. Some were JEWS and some were GENTILES CALLED GREEKS.

Now those GREEKS in the King James Bible are Gentiles. All Greeks ARE Gentiles. But not ALL Gentiles are Greeks.

Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Now there are many people who try to change that word so that it says "Gentiles" instead of what it does says, which is GREEKS.

During the time period of the book of Acts, there were Gentiles out there, Gentiles who were being saved by Paul's preaching, but who WERE NOT aliens from Israrel and who WERE NOT strangers from the PROMISES. Instead they were IN the promises. Now compare two verses:

Acts 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee,

Remember that the verse refers to what happened in Acts chapter nine. But notice here:

Acts 22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

Notice the difference there. One verse says NOW SEND and the other says WILL SEND. Does it make sense to you that the Lord would tell Paul, on the road to Damascus in Acts chapter nine: I NOW SEND you to Gentiles, and then later on, appear to him in a vision and tell him I WILL SEND you to Gentiles?

Does that make sense at all, UNLESS there are TWO SENDINGS of Paul and that there are TWO GROUPS involved?

There were those, during the book of Acts who FIRST TRUSTED in Christ, and then later on the ALIEN Gentiles who ALSO TRUSTED. There were those, during the book of Acts, called THEM THAT WERE NIGH, and later on there are YE THAT WERE AFAR OFF. There were those who were IN the promises and there were those with NO HOPE. They had no promises.

In Paul's ministry there are several things about PROMISES.

Romans 1:2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

1. God PROMISED the gospel of God.

Romans 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

2. God PROMISED Abraham that he should be the heir of the world

Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

3. God PROMISED Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. Paul says to the Romans that Abraham is the "father of us all."

2 Corinthians 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Corinthians had PROMISES from God.

Galatians 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The Galatians had the blessing of Abraham.

Galatians 3:29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The Galatians were called Abraham's seed.

Galatians 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

The Galatians were called the children of promise.

Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

The scripture FORESAW the justification of the Galatians.

But NONE OF THAT can be said of the Ephesians, or of you and me. Why? We were ALIENS, we were STRANGERS...we were without Christ, without God, and without HOPE in the world.

During the book of Acts you have the MYSTERY OF CHRIST:

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

Paul's gospel is that Christ died for our sins, ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES. He couldn't say to the Ephesians that Christ died for THEIR SINS according to the scriptures. Their salvation was never hinted at in the scriptures.

The revelation of the mystery, the preaching of Jesus Christ...has to do with the FALL of Israel and Gentile salvation THRU their fall and not their rise. It has to do with a JOINT BODY of believers, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, but in which, in the body there is NEITHER, because it is a spiritual body.

But the salvation of SOME of the people who are IN the body of Christ was HIDDEN in the scriptures;

Romans 16:26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

A mystery, made known, by the scriptures of the prophets. But you CANNOT make known by the scriptures of the prophets, a MYSTERY which is NOT IN the scriptures of the prophets. Hence Paul says:

Ephesians 3:8 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;

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

And what you have THERE is the mystery OF THE GOSPEL:

Ephesians 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Ephesians 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

And what is that mystery:

Ephesians 3:5 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;

Ephesians 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

They "mystery OF the gospel," the unsearchable richs of Christ, the fellowship of the mystery which was hid in God, not in the scriptures, is that these Ephesians and people like us in the world today, by simply trusting Christ, have become fellowheirs and of THE SAME BODY, right along with Paul, Titus, Timothy, and the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians and Thessalonians. The middle wall of partition is gone. The grace of God that bringeth salvation has appeared to all men. God would have all men to be saved and come unto the knowledge of the truth.

So we see here the gospel of the grace of God in the dispensation of the grace of God which was given exclusively to the Apostle Paul FOR YOU GENTILES.