INTRO: We have been looking at Paul's second digression from telling the Ephesians about his prayers for them. We will come back to the subject of his prayers for them soon. The second digression has to do with the revelation of the mystery, and this mystery is a revelation of the Church of Jesus Christ. It was a mystery because it was not revealed in the OT. The letter to the Ephesians is, I think, the most important letter with regard to the doctrine of the Church.
We saw that this is called a mystery because it was never revealed in the OT. That does not mean there may not be some glimpses of it such as the idea that Gentiles will be brought in. But that it is the Church that will become God's primary work on earth, that was never revealed before. So Paul says it was not revealed as it has now been revealed.
And what is the mystery of the Church? It is that Jew and Gentile form one body. The nation of Israel as a theocracy through which God worked would come to an end until the Church age is over. Jesus had prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed. The Church was born around 30 AD, and by 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed and lay dormant for almost 2,000 years. Today the fig tree is budding. Soon the Church will be removed, and Daniel's 70th week will begin. So the mystery is the revelation of the Church, and the Church age.
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