The Mystery
by, Adrienne Jason
First of all, a mystery is a secret. Our dispensation of grace was a SECRET kept hid in God until it was revealed first to our Apostle Paul. It is no longer a secret since it was revealed but it is referred to as "the mystery" because it had previously been a secret. Satan is blinding most people from knowing anything about it!
Ephesians 3:1-11 in the KJB says,
1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
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;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 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.
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;
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:
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
Here is what the mystery is all about:
✝️ First, that any person in this dispensation of grace can be saved freely by Gods grace through faith in Christ Jesus and what he did for us through His death, burial and resurrection as atonement for our sins.
Romans 3:24 KJB
"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"
✝️ Second, it is in regards to not just our individual salvation but also the formation of the "one new man", the Church the Body of Christ. This church, with Christ as our head and believers are members of His body, will inherit the heavenly places.
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;"
Colossians 1:18
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
Ephesians 2:6
"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
✝️ Believers in this dispensation are to preach the gospel of the grace of God (also called the gospel of Christ and referred to as "Paul's gospel"). Believers have a "ministry of reconciliation" and are now "ambassadors for Christ". Believers are citizens of heaven who only temporarily live here on the earth to share the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5:18
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
2 Cor 5:20
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.
✝️ The rapture was also a secret. The church the Body of Christ will be raptured out before the tribulation begins.
1 Cor 15
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
✝️ The ONLY real reason we remain here on earth after our salvation, is to 1)preach the gospel so that others might be saved 2)mature spiritually through the word and allow Christ to live in and through us so that we gain rewards in heaven, 3)help other believers to be properly established and edified in sound grace doctrine as well so that they too earn rewards for heaven.
✝️ We do NOT inherit the earth. We have inherited the heavenly places. The believers from Israel's program will inherit the earth in the ages to come. The church the Body of Christ will rule and reign with Christ in the Heavenly places forever.
✝️ We do NOT inherit physical, earthly blessings. We have all SPIRITUAL blessings in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
✝️ Paul is our appointed Apostle for this dispensation and the mystery was first revealed to him by the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Paul is also our pattern. We are to follow Paul as he followed Christ.
1 Cor 11:1
Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.
Col 1:25-27
"25 Whereof I [Paul] am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 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:"
✝️ This mystery took Satan and his angels completely by surprise because they did not expect that the crosswork of Christ would be the way for people in both Israel's prophetic program and our mystery program to be saved and they also had NO CLUE that God would even insert a mystery dispensation and form the church the Body of Christ to rule and reign with him in the heavenly places!
1 Corinthians 2:8
“Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
It was literally a SECRET, or MYSTERY, kept HID in God UNTIL it was revealed exclusively to our Apostle Paul, who has now shared it with us through the word and preaching the word. This is why Paul's Epistles are DIFFERENT.
✝️ Because of this, Satan now works differently in this dispensation, by trying to:
• Blind people from hearing and believing a clear gospel message - he does this primarily through religion and false gospels.
• Blind believers from hearing, knowing, understanding and believing the mystery - again, by using religion, the traditions of men and all false doctrines.
• Attacks rightly dividing grace believers in a variety of ways by trying to get them to stop sharing the Gospel and to stop them from teaching others about rightly dividing and grace living.
2 Corinthians 4:4
“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
✝️ We are told to RIGHTLY DIVIDE the scriptures.
2 Timothy 2:15 KJV
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
There are 3 main divisions in the Bible. Prophecy, mystery and prophecy, and also referred to as "time past," "but now", and "ages to come."
Times past and ages to come have to do with God's "signs and wonders" (prophetic) program with Israel. They were also under law in times past and will be in ages to come as well, though they are saved by grace through faith PLUS works of faith (they cannot take the mark of the beast during the tribulation for example).
The current UN-PROPHESIED program called "But now" has to do with God forming the church the Body of Christ. We are under GRACE. People today are saved by grace through faith alone PLUS NOTHING. Also, God isn't pouring out His wrath today on our world. He isn't chastising the nations. When believers are raptured out, that is when this dispensation ends and God will resume His program with Israel, which will begin the 7 year tribulation on the earth.
So again, why is OUR gospel called THE MYSTERY ?
1. Because it was KEPT SECRET.
Romans 16:25
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,
2. Because it was HID IN GOD
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:"
3. Because it was HID from ages and from generations as well.
Col 1:26
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Eph 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;"
You might now ask, WHY HAVEN'T I HEARD THIS BEFORE?
Because Satan has a policy of evil against us and is keeping people blinded from the gospel truth! He hides the gospel of the grace of God from people. His deceptions have crept into churches and so most churches do not preach Christ according to the revelation of the mystery. If you aren't hearing it in your church, your church is deceived.
2 Cor 4:3-4
"3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
There are some preachers today as well as all throughout our dispensation of grace history, who have been clearly shown the mystery or maybe even saw it themselves, but most of them flat out reject it or refuse to preach about it and Paul tells us WHY:
Romans 16
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.
18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Most theologians and apologists do NOT see the mystery either because they are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." (2 Tim 3:7) They are NOT Bible believers, rather, they just follow and study specific theological systems. They don't even believe that God is capable of perfectly preserving His word for us!
True "Midacts Pauline grace believers" have always existed in this dispensation of grace, but were a minority and were also persecuted because Satan wants to keep the mystery hid. God has always had a small remnant of believers all throughout history (sometimes even extremely small like Noah and his family being the only believers right before the flood!). This doesn't mean that God has failed, rather it shows how stubborn and prideful fallen man can be!
Articles Copyright Adrienne Jason 2024. All bible verses are with a King James Bible. Feel free to share this article with others.