What's So Mysterious about the Church?

August, 2003

by: Jeff Jones

The Bible teaches that the existence of the church was a mystery in the Old Testament, only to be revealed by the Apostles and Prophets of Christ in the New Testament. According to Ephesians 3:6, this previously hidden mystery is that “the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” But what is so mysterious about that?

Well, to understand the mystery involved here, you must understand what God revealed in the Old Testament about his plan for the Gentiles. First, God made a promise to Abraham that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through his descendents, namely the nation Israel (Gen. 12:1-3). Second, within history God preserved and delivered the nation of Israel, setting her apart for Himself, so that she might mediate God's blessing to the world. Israel, however, would only be such, if she herself would obey God's covenant (Ex 19:5-6). Third, God promised Israel that if she would not obey, she would be cursed, captured by another nation, and scattered all over the world (Deut 28:15-68). Fourth, God promised Israel, that after being cursed, she would be restored as a nation, when she returned to the Lord with all her heart (Deut 30:1-10). The Old Testament teaches that Israel's restoration would be accomplished through the Messiah (Is 11:1-10); and that it would involve heart changes in Israel (Deut 30:2; Jer 30:31-34), the destruction of Israel's enemies (11:11-12:6; 24:21-23), the reestablishment of Israel's kingdom (Is 9:6-7), and blessing for the nations (Is 2:1-4; Zeh. 2:11; 8:13, 20-23).

Of the four general promises described above, only the fourth has not yet happened. We know from reading the Old Testament, that the blessing and the curse has come upon Israel, but not her restoration. Even though Israel did return from Babylonian exile, this was not the restoration promised in Deuteronomy and the Prophets. Even after Jesus came, his Disciples recognized that the restoration of Israel had not happened yet (Acts 1:6). All of which means only one thing for Israel, she is still under the curse of God. And with Israel currently under the curse, it would seem that God's plan to bless the world through her is temporarily frustrated.

Here is where the church comes in… It is not so much a mystery that Gentiles would be part of God's plan and that they would even be His people, but it is a mystery that the Gentiles could get in on the blessing of God while Israel as a nation is under the curse. So, in His manifold wisdom, grace, and goodness, God made a way for Gentiles to become partakers of the promises in the church through the Gospel. In the church, Gentiles can attach themselves directly to Christ and share in the promises of God. After Christ came, God could have immediately ushered in the final consummation, but instead he delayed it, providing more time for Gentiles to be saved. This is something to praise God for!!