I am endeavoring to polish my
understanding of 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;
Paul mentions the mystery not revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets. I
deduce that by the time Ephesians was written that Peter had also come unto the
knowledge of the mystery.
Galatians 2:7-9
But
contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed
unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For
he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision,
the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And
when James, Cephas [Peter], and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived
the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right
hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the
circumcision.
Therefore,
Peter, James and John would be among these holy apostles referred to by Paul. My question regarding Ephesians 3:5 is
two-fold:
Are there any other
apostles that Paul is referring to? and
Who are the prophets
Paul mentions? (I know that Paul
functioned in a prophetic capacity, but I can’t see a specific passage that
would prove this point.)
In Ephesians Chapter 3, in fact in the entire book, the Apostle Paul is dealing with this special revelation of the mystery given to him regarding the church which is his body, or the church the body of Christ.
Colossians
1:24
Who now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of
Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:
We’ll
begin with verse one to get the context for Chapter 3:
Ephesians 3:1-6
For this cause I Paul,
the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 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 fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his
promise in Christ by the gospel:
So Paul is talking about this
revelation of the mystery.
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,
He is talking about what God promised before the world began.
Titus 1:2-3
In hope of eternal life, which God,
that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But
hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is
committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;
Colossians
1:25-27
Whereof I am made a
minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you,
to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: 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:
The church the body of Christ was a
mystery. God dealt with the nation of
Israel in time past up until the time of Paul who was saved, or as he says,
born out of due time.
1 Corinthians
15:8
And last of all he was
seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
The Apostle Paul’s salvation which was
by grace through faith plus no works was a mystery. He was the chief of sinners.
1 Timothy
1:15-16
This is
a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit
for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth
all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe
on him to life everlasting.
Paul was the chief persecutor of the
Jewish believing remnant, the Little Flock, the kingdom saints. The Apostle wasn’t qualified to be saved
under that past dispensation.
1 Timothy
1:13
Who was before a
blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because
I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
Mark 3:29
But he that shall blaspheme
against the Holy Ghost [Acts 7] hath never forgiveness, but is in
danger of eternal damnation.
But God began a new dispensation, the
Dispensation of the Grace of God in which he is now dispensing grace and peace.
1 Corinthians
1:3
Grace be unto you, and peace,
from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is no longer dealing with humanity
under the law. With the salvation of
Saul of Tarsus (the Apostle Paul) in Acts 9, God is sending out a new message
of grace and peace to the Gentile world.
That is what Paul is talking about here in Ephesians 30+ years into that
ministry. He is now in a Roman prison
when he says:
Ephesians 3:1-2
For this cause I Paul,
the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
God gave Paul this information about
the church which is his body. That is
what is important in this passage.
The way Peter, James and John learned
about his mystery was by Paul.
Galatians
2:7-9
But contrariwise, when
they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as
the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter;
(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the
circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who
seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to
me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship [at
the Jerusalem council]; that
we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.
That is when Peter, James and John
began to understand Paul’s ministry. So
when Paul mentions the holy apostles and prophets, he is not referring to those
before him. Paul is talking about those who were in the
church the body of Christ. When God
created the body of Christ, the one new man…
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;
…he also created apostles and
prophets. When we are dealing with
prophecy – the information that God gave the nation of Israel for the earth
before Paul was saved – and apostles and prophets are mentioned in
scripture outside of Paul’s epistles, they are listed as prophets and then apostles.
Luke 11:49
Therefore also said the
wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them
they shall slay and persecute:
2 Peter 3:2
That ye may be mindful of
the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the
commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
The only exception to that order
(prophets and then apostles) is
written by John in Revelation…
Revelation
18:20
Rejoice over her, thou
heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on
her.
…in reference to the heavenly places
where the body of Christ will then be.
It is true that when Paul wrote
Ephesians late in his ministry, Peter already had knowledge of the
mystery. He at least understood the
change in the program.
2 Peter 3:16
As also in all his [Paul’s] epistles,
speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be
understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do
also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
Although Peter, James and John were
holy apostles and prophets in the Lord’s earthly ministry to the nation of
Israel in prophecy, I don’t believe that is who Paul is referring to in
Ephesians 3:5 and I will show you why.
Peter, James and John were not in the church the body of Christ
which is what Paul is talking about in Ephesians 3:5. There is a distinction.
To
be continued…..
Hopefully this
helps...Maranatha!
†††
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