A mystery hidden for ages, revealed in Christ, and made known through His Church.
Weekly Devotional
The Mystery of the Church
September 1, 2026 · Anne Barkley
Scripture focus:
> “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:
> To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”
— Ephesians 3:9–10
Today we hear the phrase “It is a mystery” in relation to events and circumstances. In the Old Testament it referred to “the initiated” which had its roots in the “secret knowledge” in which Satan tempted Eve. In the New Testament it denotes that which can be made known only by Divine Revelation and is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God, and to those only who are illumined by His Spirit.
The Bible is the story of human history and God’s work in it. Paul was uniquely called by God, as we will see, 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.” (Eph. 3:9)
Paul refers to God as the one “who created all things.” He goes back to Genesis 1:26-27 where we learn that God created man as male and female to rule over creation and to reflect His image. We might ask, “reflect His image to whom?” There weren’t other people on the earth yet.
According to Ephesians 3:10, God wanted Adam and Eve to reflect His image to “the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places,” to the angels, both good and evil to resolve the sin problem for both mankind and in the angelic realm. Behind the scenes of human history is this cosmic spiritual battle between the forces of good and evil that we continue to witness today.
God’s purpose was a mystery hidden for ages but brought to light through Paul to the saints (Col. 1:26) as the intent of the “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.” (Eph. 3:14-15) This sheds new light on Luke 15:7 as “the angels in heaven rejoice over one sinner that repents!”
Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…for Thine is the Kingdom, the power and glory forever.”
THE MYSTERY CONCEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The creation account shows us God’s sovereignty over His creation. The Fall shows us why we need a Savior. The history of Israel shows two significant things: 1) the historical context of the coming of the Son of God incarnate, and 2) humanity’s inability to save itself through works, thus, its need for a Savior.
Christian theology identifies Old Testament foreshadowing of Christ through typology, prophecy, and symbolism. Key figures include Adam as a type of Christ (the Second Adam), Abraham and Isaac (where Isaac carrying wood and being provided as a sacrifice mirrors Jesus’ crucifixion and role as the Lamb), Moses as a deliverer and lawgiver, and King David as the eternal ruler whose lineage fulfills the Davidic Covenant and will be fulfilled during the millennium reign of Christ.
Specific events and symbols also point to Jesus: the Passover Lamb’s blood sparing Israel prefigures Christ’s atoning death; Jonah’s three days in the fish foreshadows the resurrection; the bronze serpent lifted in the wilderness anticipates the crucifixion; and the Tabernacle’s mercy seat and sacrificial system illustrate Christ’s role as the ultimate High Priest and sacrifice.
Prophetic texts provide detailed anticipations, most notably Isaiah 53, which describes the suffering servant bearing sins, and Psalm 22, which details mockery and piercing of hands and feet. Other key prophecies include Micah 5:2 predicting Bethlehem as the birthplace, and Psalm 16:10 foretelling the resurrection, which the New Testament explicitly cites as fulfilled in Jesus.
The prophecies of His first advent are found throughout the Old Testament. One scholar, J. Barton Payne, has found as many as 574 verses in the Old Testament that somehow point to or describe or reference the coming Messiah. Alfred Edersheim found 456 Old Testament verses referring to the Messiah or His times. Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry.
THE MYSTERY REVEALED IN CHRIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
“The mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4) refers to God’s eternal plan to sum up all things in Christ, the Savior (1:9-10).
If we ask the question, “Why did God hide this truth for thousands of years?” The answer is, “Because He so willed.” He is the sovereign of the universe, and as the Sovereign, He has the right to do as He pleases.
In Acts 14:16 Paul tells the pagans of Lystra, “In the generations gone by He permitted all the nations to go their own ways.” He could have intervened much sooner and made known His way of salvation if He had chosen to do so, but He didn’t.
As Paul puts it in Gal. 4:4, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son…” God knew the right time to send His Son and He did it right on schedule. He has a purpose and nothing can thwart it. Although His purpose was hidden for ages, now it has been revealed. With Paul, we should always be amazed that we have become the objects of His grace!
God’s Purpose was fulfilled through Christ Jesus our Lord through His death and resurrection. It was at the cross, especially, that God demonstrated His manifold wisdom.
People often wonder, why did God allow the fall of man into sin? He easily could have made man like the elect angels, so that we would not have sinned and then would be incapable of sinning. God permitted the fall and ordained the cross because it demonstrated His wisdom and glory in a way that no other plan would have shown.
God’s sending His own Son to bear the penalty that we deserve displays His wisdom, love, and justice in ways that would not have been seen otherwise. His wisdom is displayed in choosing a person who is both divine and human, because no other person could have fulfilled the role of mediator and substitute for our sin.
He had to be infinitely holy and apart from all sin. He had to be a person infinitely dear to the Father, to give infinite value to His sacrifice. No created person, whether man or angel, would have been fit for this task. Only Jesus, the eternal Son of God, qualified.
Ephesians 1:9-10 makes it clear:
> “Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him.”
— Ephesians 1:9–10
The Gospels tell the story of Jesus the Savior on earth, and much of the rest of the New Testament teaches how to live in this age in light of Jesus’ work on our behalf. The prophecies of the Bible, particularly in Daniel and Revelation but also elsewhere, show what Jesus as Savior is saving us to (eternal paradise) and from (eternal damnation in hell).
THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH REVEALED TO PAUL
The Church is not a continuation of the Jews under another name, nor does the Church take the place of the Synagogue. Some religious bodies believe that the Christian church is but another phase of what they call the “Jewish Church,” that they insist on a “Ceremonial Ritual” and retain the Priesthood with its altar, vestments and Temple-like buildings and call the ordinances of the Christian Church “Sacrifices” and “Sacraments.”
The church is not to be confused with the “Kingdom” which is promised to Israel as the fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant.
The Church is Christ’s Body, the union of redeemed men and women with God in Christ. (Eph. 5:32) The Church is compared to a “House” (1 Tim 3:15), to a “Temple” (I Cor. 3:16-17), and to a “Body” (1 Cor. 12:27-31). Christ is the “Head” of His Church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15) and the “Cornerstone” (1 Pt. 2:4,6).
- Christ is the “Rock” stricken (Ex. 17:6) that the Spirit of life may flow from Him—living water.
- Christ is the foundation and cornerstone of the Church (Eph. 2:20).
- Christ is the Stone of stumbling to Jews who rejected Him (1 Cor. 1:23).
- Headstone to Jews—2nd Coming Zech. 4:7.
- Smiting Stone to the Gentile world powers—nations deceived by Satan.
- Stone that will rule—Daniel 2:35.
- Crushing stone of judgment to unbelievers.
We come to an important part of the revelation of the mystery that was the previously hidden aspect of God’s uniting the Jews and Gentiles on equal standing in the one body of Christ (Eph. 3:6).
The OT predicted the salvation of many Gentiles, but it did not reveal that God would unite them as one body with the Jews in the Church, seat them with Christ in the heavenly places, and display His manifold wisdom through them throughout the ages.
ONLY GOD could take a proud initiated Jew, born in the Roman city of Tarsus, “Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in observance of the law a Pharisee” (Phil. 3:5) and Christian hater and use him to be the “apostle to the Gentiles.” (Rom. 11:13)
Paul would literally understand the Divine mystery of the blindness of the Jews as his life was totally changed by seeing a vision of Jesus Christ that caused temporary blindness.
He says in 11:25 that the majority of Jewish people suffer from “blindness in part” or hardening of the heart “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” God gave Israel a “spirit of stupor” and eyes that could not see because they rejected Jesus as Messiah. (11:8)
This is what we are seeing daily in our news as the antichrist spirit permeates political Israel.
When the Church returns with Christ according to Revelation 1:7, 19:14 after having been raptured as His Bride, the Jewish remnant will recognize Jesus as Messiah—Him whom they have pierced and believe! (Zechariah 12:10)
Paul gives us the picture of God’s vision of the Church—the Great Mystery revealed in Ephesians 1:19-22 when he says that Jews and Gentiles are fellow citizens as saints and of the household of God; built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ; brought together as a habitation of God through the Spirit.
F.F. Bruce says:
“The church thus appears to be God’s pilot scheme for the reconciled universe of the future, the mystery of God’s will ‘to be administered in the fullness of the times,’ when ‘the things in heaven and the things on earth’ are to be brought together in Christ (Ephesians 1:9-10).”
He adds that the church, created by God’s reconciling the Jews and Gentiles into one body, is God’s agency to help bring about the final reconciliation. This Age of Grace of the Church has continued 2,000 years so we better get ready!
OUR CALL AS THE CHURCH
The Church is not a building, but a living organism made up of Believers joined to Jesus in the Body of Christ. (1 Cor. 6:17) We are One with Him sealed by His Spirit of promise. (Eph. 1:13-14)
We as the Church are called to minister the life of Christ in all we do, releasing and imparting His life to others. It is a supernatural connection to His being that enables us to minister His life to others.
The filling of the Spirit is an ongoing process as we learn to yield and surrender our wills to Him!
Amen and Amen!
Scripture references: Genesis 1:26–27 • Exodus 17:6 • Psalm 16:10 • Psalm 22 • Isaiah 53 • Micah 5:2 • Zechariah 4:7; 12:10
Daniel 2:35 • Luke 15:7 • Acts 14:16 • Romans 11:8, 13, 25 • 1 Corinthians 1:23; 3:16–17; 6:17; 12:27–31
Galatians 4:4 • Ephesians 1:9–10, 13–14, 19–22; 2:20; 3:4, 6, 9–10, 14–15; 4:15; 5:32
Philippians 3:5 • Colossians 1:26 • 1 Timothy 3:15 • 1 Peter 1:9–10; 2:4, 6 • Revelation 1:7; 19:14
OUR MISSION UNTIL CHRIST RETURNS
WORSHIP · MINISTRY · EVANGELISM
FELLOWSHIP · DISCIPLESHIP
Matthew 28:19–20
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