How the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by His Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel (Eph 3:3-6).
We never saw it coming. Blindsided. Seems like it came out of nowhere. Like the unexpected twist at the end of movie or book, Paul tells us that no one could have predicted the spectacular twist God cooked up in His story. "How the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by His Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel" (v3-6). Jesus clued the Apostle Paul in on a part of His plan of salvation that took everyone by surprise. Non-Jews are invited to the party. What the what!?!? That came outta nowhere.
Blindsided.
Paul calls it "the mystery" (v3). This is the Greek word musterion. It describes something hidden. A secret. There's a bit of a problem trying to translate this term. It actually means something just a bit different than something unknown. Instead of a mystery that someone works to unravel, it's a truth that was completely unknown or unrealized until now. Nobody tried to figure it out because nobody saw it coming. We were blindsided.
Here's the problem we have. We know how the story ends. We know all about Jesus. We look at the Old Testament through the lens of the cross and the empty tomb. We see how Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of every promise and prophecy from God. For just a moment, let's fire up the Flux Capacitor back to the first century. We don't have the revelation of the New Testament. But we've heard crazy stories about this resurrected Rabbi/Carpenter named Jesus from a former Pharisee named Paul. He's says that this Jesus has personally selected him to tell non-Jews everywhere that they are part of His plan of salvation. He's traveling all around the Mediterranean rim asking folks to believe and something unbelievable. A secret divulged. A mystery revealed. They never saw it coming.
Blindsided.
Let's back up a couple of thousand years and look for clues. It's like watching a movie with a radical twist at the end a second time. You start noticing hints and clues along the way that you never saw before. The Bible is no different. God had graciously reached out to the descendants of a dude named Abraham. They earned the nickname of God's chosen people. He promised to bless them in big ways. Yahweh would give them a land to call their own. He pledged to send His Messiah to save them. This long awaited One would come to rule the Jewish people forever. The Israelites thought that God's blessings stopped with them. This was for Jews and Jews only. They were His handpicked people after all.
But throughout His revealed Word, Yahweh dropped hints that something crazy was going happen. Something incredible would shock the world Something amazing would come out of nowhere. If you go back to one of the original exchanges with Abe, God told him that He had something up His supernatural sleeve. "All the nations of the earth shall be blessed in Him" (Gen 18:18). All the nations. Not just Abe's family. Every race. Every ethnicity. Later He whispered another clue into the ear of the prophet Isaiah. "I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Is 49:6). Hmm. Sounds like there’s to be a few more folks included that just the Hebrews. And there's a lot more where those verses come from. Hints and clues in God's Word about something big that's on the way.
But over the centuries, God has revealed more and more of His divine plan to His handpicked messengers. "The mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by His Spirit" (v4-5). In other words, this great story is all about one Person. Jesus. Christ is THE Hero of THE Story. Jesus Himself told folks that the Scriptures “testify about Me” (Jn 5:39). When Moses wrote the first five books of the OT, he was telling the story of Jesus (Jn 5:46).
God pulled back the curtain on the story of Christ to His “apostles and prophets” (v5). Paul equates OT prophets and NT apostles. Same office. Different name. God's direct spokesmen. His handpicked representatives. They are a key part of the foundation of our faith in Jesus(Eph 2:20). And the One who actually pulled back the curtain of revelation is God's Holy Spirit (1Cor 2:8-10). It's His job to let folks know just exactly who Jesus is (Jn 14:26; 15:26). And it’s His job to get the attention of the prophets and apostles.
So what in the Sam Hill is Jesus’ big mystery? Well, sit back. Paul’s about to tell you. "This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel" (v6). What?!?! Gentiles?!?! Talk about being blindsided. They get their share of the heavenly inheritance. They are part of the very same body of believers that includes God’s chosen people. They get in on the blessings and promises of Messiah. This is HUGE news. It’s THE controversy in the book of Acts. Shouldn’t Gentiles have to convert to Judaism in order to be a part of God’s kingdom? The folks at the home office determined that if God was personally reaching out to non-Jews, who’s to tell them otherwise (Acts 15).
Blindsided.
So what does some first century church argument have to do with you and me? Chances are that you and I wouldn’t have been invited to the party without God blindsiding folks like Paul 2,000 years ago. If you’re Jewish, then it would’ve been no unexpected surprise that you’ve found a place in God’s kingdom. But if you’re a Gentile like me, you’ve got a reason to be VERY glad. Let’s thank Jesus that he caught folks when they weren’t looking.
Blindsided.
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