THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH

     Eph. 3:2-6 - "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: (as I wrote afore in few words whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ). 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: That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel."
     The "mystery" which Paul refers to in the above Scripture is something other than a revelation that Gentiles would be saved and share in the blessings of the immortal state. The declaration of Gentile salvation is many times stated in the Old Testament, and Paul quotes a number of these references in his epistle to the Romans (Rom. 15:9-12). While there are numerous references in the Old Testament which speak of Gentile salvation, it was through Israel, God's official body on earth (from Moses to Christ), that a great host of Gentiles realized their covenantship with God.  But the "mystery" Paul refers to is the New Testament ecclesia, wherein Jews and Gentiles would be on equal footing, for the partitioning wall had been taken away by the sacrifice of Christ (Eph. 2:13-16; Gal. 3:26-28).
   Eph. 3:9-11 - "And to make all (kinds of) 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: 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."
     The "mystery" which Paul refers to is the Lord's church, but it also includes the gospel, which the Lord commissioned His churches to preach.  And it is the proclamation of the gospel of Christ that brings hope to the hearts of God's elect (Mark 16:15; Col. 1:23-29).
     The gospel was given to Israel in symbols and types, but, as a nation, Israel was never able to see what or who their animal sacrifices foreshadowed. Nor could they see or realize that the Lord would set them aside as a nation and give His glory to another and different institution; to whom He would give Bridal status, and in whom He would be glorified throughout all ages, world without end (Eph. 3:21). Israel had utterly forsaken God, and, in so doing, breached her covenant with Him. This breach nullified her covenant, but it is not irreplaceable, for God will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah (Heb. 8:8). This reestablishment of Israel is a future event, but God is not left without a covenant people, for He has made an unimpeachable covenant with a people whom He refers to as "My ecclesia" (Matt. 16:18). And it is this very same people He metaphorically refers to as His Bride (John 3:29; Rev. 21:2).
     The law which God gave Israel was both holy and just. But Israel was forevermore transgressing the law and was never able to see that the law, in and of itself, was never designed to bring salvation; but it was given to typically reveal the Lamb of God, Who would be the sacrificial substitute for all of God's people, both Jew and Gentile. It needs to be said, so as to avoid antinomianism, or any other erroneous conclusion: It was only the civil and ceremonial law of Israel that was abrogated. The moral law is eternal and binding forever, for only God can make a moral law. The moral law was given to restrain the evil nature of fallen man, and from such restraint, society in general would benefit. A moral law may be on the statute books of various governments, but no government can make or unmake a moral law. They can declare it, but they cannot make it.
    The New Testament church and its glorious gospel was hid from Israel, and it is yet today a mystery to that little and struggling nation. But one day soon, the veil will be lifted from the mind of Israel, and for the first time, the tribes of Israel will see the Messiah in all of His majesty and glory. Israel will see the scars of her redemption and repent of her part in condemning Him to the cross. Israel will, at the return of Christ to earth, own the veracity of the gospel and own her secondary position to that of the Lord's blood bought church. Israel will acknowledge that the affinity of the church with Christ is like that of a faithful Bride to her loving and protective Groom.
     The church and Israel will never unite and become one body. Neither will the church and the family of God merge and become a singular institution. Israel, the family of God, and the church will maintain their God given distinctness throughout the endless ages. There will be perfect accord and cooperation between them, but. they will never become a corporation. As the church and its gospel is in our present age a mystery to the family of God and Israel, it inexorably follows that these separateness of these bodies in heaven is an enigma to them. Yet, it is truth; otherwise the many typical references in the Old Testament which depict the church as the Bride of Christ, and the various New Testament references which give emphasis to the Bridal relationship of the church to Christ would be without significance or meaning.
     The far greater part of Bible commentators give synonymy to the church and the family of God; not mere equation, but sameness. These same commentators compound their erroneous concept of the church by giving it a mystical nature, which simply means that the church is not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence. And it is not merely obscure, but it is impossible to recognize. It is true, the Lord's churches fled from the face of Rome's hellish and brutal persecution to refuges of obscurity and seclusion, but they never became invisible or mystical. Since John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ (Mal. 3:1; Isa. 4:3; Matt. 3:1-3), pointed toward the Messiah and said to his disciples: "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:36), many of John's disciples followed Jesus. And since that time until now, there has not been a day, no, not one, wherein there was not a visible Baptist church on earth; and the Lord's churches will be here until their loving Groom calls them to the Bridal chamber in glory.
     In a detailed study of the history of Baptist churches, from our present time unto the church which Jesus established in Jerusalem, we do not, and cannot, find any destructive inflection nor a nullifying lapse of continuity. So, it unequivocally follows: New Testament Baptist churches are still on the earth, and their presence on the earth is proof positive that they, as well as their ancestors, are keeping the faith once delivered unto them. This is a mystery to the religious world, but it is a known and comforting truth to His little flocks scattered throughout the earth.