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.The phrase "by Jesus Christ" cannot be found in any Greek text except the Stephens text from which the King James version is translated. Since these words don't appear in the other 12 critical Greek texts, it should certainly be disregarded and deleted from this verse. "Men" was added by the translators also, so "men" can also be deleted. Therefore, this verse should read, "And to make all see what is the fellowship of they mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things."
The Greek word that was translated as "fellowship" in this verse is koinōnia, which means " fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse, the share which one has in anything, participation." This basically boils down to fully sharing. Backing up within the chapter, verses 5 & 6 give the mystery in detail. It says:
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his 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.There is tremendous unity within the Body of Christ due to the mystery in motion in this administration of grace. This unity was hidden from the world and everyone to preserve the possibility of the mystery. What was not hidden was that there was going to be something between the suffering and glory of Jesus Christ. The subject of the whole Word of God, in fact, is Jesus Christ and what he would accomplish for the Judeans.
Ephesians 3:11-12
According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.The mystery was hidden because it was God's eternal purpose. Think of what had to happen for the mystery to be initiated.
For this, let's establish first that Jesus Christ was the subject of God's Word. Then we'll look at what that has to do with the mystery of grace, then we'll look at our response by considering that we take the place of the absent Christ.
Jesus Christ was the red thread (the subject).
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word (God), and the [revealed] Word (that would later be penned by holy men that spake as they were moved by revelation from God) was with God, and the Word (His Will) was God.(For more on John 1:1, read the chapter entitled "Who is the Word" from The Word's Way.)
John 1:45
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the (legal, not biological) son of Joseph.Philip knew that that the Moses and the prophets wrote about the messiah who would come for Israel. They were waiting for Christ. He was their hope.
Luke 24:44-49
And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye he endued with power from on high.He taught his disciples about himself and that unlocked the scriptures for them. This prepared them for the day of Pentacost when they would get born again of incorruptible seed.
John 1:11-18
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.Grace and truth came because of Jesus Christ's birth, sinless life, death, resurrection, and ascension. God gave grace to us through His only begotten son. Our big brother, Jesus Christ gave so much for us. That is why Christ being the subject of God's Word is so important. Hebrews 12:2 says that Christ is the author and finisher of our faith.
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.Jesus Christ gives insight into our lives as members of the body of Christ. That means that knowing who Jesus Christ is tells us who we are today. Who God says that we are.
Colossians 1:18-20
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. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.Colossians 2:9-10
For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead ( HeadGod) bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.That is who we are in Christ. Christ is also in us!
Colossians 1:27
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:Without understanding Jesus Christ, confessing him as Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we cannot understand the mystery. Without him, there would be no mystery.
II Corinthians 5:17-6:1
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 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. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.Our response to God giving us this grace through His son is to know who we truly are and be ambassadors for Christ. What does that entail? An ambassador is (according to dictionary.com), "a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative." An ambassador carries with him the rights, authorities and privileges that he has in the country that he represents. It's the same with our Christian ambassadorship. Everywhere we go, everything that we do, we are witnesses and ambassadors. We always have those rights and responsibilities because we are resident representatives for our lord and savior Jesus Christ. We have Christ in us, and we literally take the place of the absent Christ in this world every single day. It's up to us how good we are going to be at our job. Where we are, there also is Christ. When we talk, Christ is talking also. If a diplomat goes to another country, he speaks for the country that he's representing. His actions are on behalf of his country. It's exactly the same with us in this grace administration. So, what exactly do we need to do to be good ambassadors?
John 14:12
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.What are those greater works?
II Corinthians 5:17-6:1
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 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. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.As we operate our ministry of reconciliation, we are literally saving people for all of eternity!
Romans 10:9-15, 17
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!...So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.I Corinthians 12:27
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.We have been called today to be God's ambassadors and members in particular in the Body of Christ. IN this fellowship (full-sharing) of the mystery, we are ambassadors of Christ reconciling others and showing them how to live abundantly, sharing fully in God's matchless grace!
Let's bring this back to the beginning now with this further understanding:
Ephesians 1:3-4 & 3:9, 11-12
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:...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...According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.Kind of blows your mind, huh?
Jesus Christ is the red thread. God created us and had foreknowledge of this fellowship of the mystery before the foundation of the world. Everything from before the beginning was leading up to this, the mystery of grace. "Everything" includes (but is not limited to) all of the prophecies about Jesus Christ, how God has worked in people leading up to Christ (King David, various prophets, Ruth, Samuel, John the baptist, etc.), the life and accomplishments of Jesus Christ, the victory in his resurrection and ascension, and the day of Pentecost and the beginning of this administration as well as the making known by revelation to Paul the understanding of the mystery in the Church epistles. It's all led up to right now, this moment, where we can live the mystery together as the body of Christ and as his ambassadors!
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