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The church is the hidden mystery in God’s eternal economy. In the previous message we considered God’s eternal economy. In this message we come to the mystery of Christ.
The mystery of the universe is God. The mystery of God, the New Testament reveals, is Christ (Col. 2:2). The mystery of Christ is the church (Eph. 3:4). Actually these are simply three stages of one mystery. God is to be found in Christ, and Christ is to be found in the church. The church, then, is the mystery of Christ, who in turn is the mystery of God, who Himself is the mystery of the universe.
In Ephesians 3:4 Paul speaks of the mystery of Christ. The mystery of God in Colossians 2:2 is Christ, whereas the mystery of Christ in Ephesians 3:4 is the church. God is a mystery, and Christ, as the embodiment of God to express Him, is the mystery of God. Christ is also a mystery, and the church, as the Body of Christ to express Him, is the mystery of Christ.
According to Ephesians 3:4, the church has a particular title — the mystery of Christ. When we consider Ephesians 3:4 in context, we see that the mystery of Christ is the church. Thus, Christ is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of Christ. God is a mystery, Christ is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of Christ. Hence, the church is actually a mystery within a mystery, for the church is a mystery in the third stage. The first stage is God Himself as the mystery of the universe; the second stage is Christ as the mystery of God; and the third stage is the church as the mystery of Christ.
In God’s economy revealed in the New Testament there are mainly two mysteries. The first mystery, revealed in the book of Colossians, is Christ as the mystery of God. In Colossians 2:2 Paul speaks of the “full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ.” Christ is God’s mystery. In Himself God is a mystery. He is real, living, and almighty; however, He is invisible. Because no one has ever seen God, He is a mystery. This mysterious God is embodied in Christ. Hence, Christ is the mystery of God. Christ is not only God, but He is God embodied, God defined, God explained, and God expressed. Therefore, Christ is God made visible. The Lord Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). The first mystery in God’s economy is Christ, God expressed, as the mystery of God.
The second mystery, revealed in the book of Ephesians and explained in it, especially in chapter three, is the mystery of Christ. Christ also is a mystery. In Ephesians 3:4 Paul uses the expression “the mystery of Christ.” Furthermore, Colossians 1:27 says, “To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” As believers, we have Christ dwelling in us. But this Christ whom we have is a mystery. Although Christ lives in us, worldly people do not realize that He is in us. To them, this is a mystery. But although Christ is mysterious, the church is the manifestation of Christ. As the Body of Christ, the church is the expression of Christ. When we see the church, we see Christ. When we come into the church, we come into Christ. When we contact the church, we contact Christ. The church is truly the mystery of Christ.
As a mystery, the church is in the Triune God, in the Father, in the Son, and in the Spirit. With the believers there is an amount of mystery, but not as much as with the church. The divine mystery is much more with the church corporately than with the believers individually. The church is a corporate unit produced out of Christ, who is the mystery of God. This all-inclusive Christ is the mystery of the mysterious God, and such a Christ as the mystery of God produces a unit which is the church. By this we can realize that the church is the continuation of the mystery which is Christ. Mystery surely produces mystery. Christ, who is the mystery of God, brings forth the church, the mystery of Christ.
In Ephesians 3:9 Paul speaks of “the dispensation of the mystery, which from the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things.” God’s mystery is His hidden purpose. His purpose is to dispense Himself into His chosen people. Hence, there is the dispensation of the mystery of God. This mystery was hidden in God from the ages (that is, from eternity) and through all past ages, but now it has been brought to light to the New Testament believers.
If we consider 3:9 in context, we shall see that there is a relationship between creation and the church. God created all things for the church. God created the heavens, the earth, and billions of items in order to have the church.
God’s intention in His creation of all things, including man, was that man would be mingled with God to produce the church. Zechariah 12:1 says that the Lord stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundation of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. This indicates that the heavens are for the earth, that the earth is for man, and that man with the human spirit is for God. God’s marvelous creation, focused on man, is for the purpose of producing the church. Therefore, Ephesians 3:9 speaks of the mystery hidden in God, who created all things.
According to Ephesians 1:5 and 9, the motive of God’s creating of all things was His desire and pleasure. God carried out the work of creation in order to fulfill His desire and to satisfy His good pleasure. God’s creation fulfills His desire and accomplishes His purpose; it also reveals His desire in the universe and manifests His purpose in eternity.
The basis of God’s work in creation was God’s will and plan (Eph. 1:10-11). Revelation 4:11 says that all things were created according to God’s will. God is a God of purpose, having a will of His own pleasure. He created all things for His will that He might accomplish and fulfill His purpose. God has a will, and according to that will He conceived His plan. Then according to that will and plan, He created all things so that He may have the church.
The mystery of Christ “in other generations was not made known to the sons of men” (Eph. 3:5a). This mystery was hidden in other generations, but it has been revealed in the New Testament age.
The mystery of Christ, the church, which is His Body, was hidden in the Old Testament ages. None of the Old Testament saints knew anything regarding this mystery. Adam, Abel, Enosh, and Enoch did not know it. Noah knew how to build the ark, but he did not know how to build the church. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph likewise did not know the mystery of Christ. Moses knew how to build the tabernacle, but, not knowing the mystery of Christ, he did not know how to build the church. This mystery was also hidden from Samuel, David, and Solomon, who knew how to build the temple but not how to build up the Body of Christ. None of the prophets in the Old Testament knew this mystery.
One day John the Baptist came forth and told people three things concerning Christ. First, John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Second, John told people that Christ was the One who would baptize them in the Spirit so that they might be regenerated. John declared, “I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance; but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to bear; He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). Third, John said to his disciples that Christ is the One who will have the bride. “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice” (John 3:29). This indicates that John the Baptist knew more than all the preceding prophets. However, not even John had a clear vision concerning the mystery of Christ.
The mystery of Christ, which from the ages was hidden in God, who created all things, and which was not made known to men in other generations, has been revealed to the apostles and prophets in their spirit by revelation in the New Testament age. The church, something particular hidden in God as a mystery, has been revealed to the apostles and prophets. As we shall see in a following message, this revelation was first by Christ in the Gospels and then by the Holy Spirit in the Epistles.
In Ephesians 3:3 Paul says, “By revelation the mystery was made known to me.” God’s hidden purpose is the mystery, and the unveiling of this mystery is revelation. To carry out this revelation is the apostle’s ministry for the producing of the church.
In Ephesians 3:5b Paul says that this mystery “has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit.” The mystery that was hidden from the Old Testament saints has been revealed in the New Testament to all believers through the apostles and prophets. Ephesians 3:5b tells us that this revelation is “in spirit.” The word “spirit” here refers to the human spirit of the apostles and prophets, a spirit regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. It may be considered the mingled spirit, the human spirit mingled with God’s Spirit. Such a mingled spirit is the means by which the New Testament revelation concerning Christ and the church is unveiled to the apostles and prophets. We need the same spirit to see such a revelation.
When our spirit is mingled with the divine Spirit, our spirit becomes the organ in which the mystery of Christ is revealed.
The revelation received by the apostles and prophets in spirit is not a revelation mainly of secondary matters in the Bible. It is the revelation concerning Christ and the church.
To see and to understand such a mystery our human mentality is altogether inadequate. This is why the Apostle Paul prayed that God would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation (Eph. 1:17) that we may understand the church, which is the mystery of Christ.
In Romans 16:25 and 26 Paul speaks of “the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept in silence in times eternal, but now has been manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the command of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations unto obedience of faith.” This mystery, which has been kept in silence in the times of the ages but has been revealed in the New Testament age, is mainly of two aspects. The one is the mystery of God, which is Christ, who is in the believers as their life and their everything that they may become the members of His Body; the other is the mystery of Christ, which is the church as His Body to express His fullness (Eph. 1:22-23). Therefore, Christ and the church are the great mystery (Eph. 5:32). The book of Romans first tells us how the believers have been baptized into Christ (6:3), how Christ has been wrought into the believers (8:10), and how the believers have put on Christ (13:14). Then Romans reveals how the believers are built together in one Body (12:4-5) to express Christ in local churches that have come into existence in many cities in a practical way, with all the saints loving one another and fellowshipping with one another among all the churches to express the Body of Christ for the fulfillment of God’s mystery. The eternal God, through the apostles and prophets, has made known this mystery to all the nations unto obedience of faith.
The mystery of Christ is to make the multifarious wisdom of God known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies (Eph. 3:10). There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom is both higher and deeper than knowledge. Wisdom is seen in the initiation of something, for example, in the formulation of a new invention, and knowledge is seen in the practical application. God is the unique initiator. He has initiated many things, not by His knowledge but by His wisdom. When He comes in to apply what He has initiated, He displays His knowledge.
Ephesians 3:10 speaks of God’s multifarious wisdom. The Greek word translated “multifarious” indicates that God’s wisdom has many sides, aspects, and directions. God’s wisdom is manifold, and it has many significances.
The multifarious wisdom of God is to be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. These rulers and authorities are the angelic rulers and authorities, both good and evil. Ephesians 3:10 especially refers to the evil ones — Satan and his angels. According to the New Testament, Satan has his kingdom, his angels, and his sphere of rule. Satan’s sphere of rule is in the air and on the earth. The book of Daniel indicates that all nations on earth are under the rule of Satan in the air. God desires to demonstrate to the powers of Satan how wise He is. Therefore, through the church God makes His wisdom known not mainly to human beings but to those rebellious angels who are the followers of God’s enemy.
Even the rebellion of Satan is within the realm of God’s wisdom. If it were not for Satan’s rebellion, God’s wisdom could not be made known in a full way. Satan has created many opportunities for God’s wisdom to be manifested in a multifarious way, that is, in various ways and aspects and from many angles.
God’s wisdom is manifested in creation. God created all things with man as the center to express God and represent Him. As we consider creation we realize how much of God’s wisdom is exhibited in it. “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all” (Psa. 104:24). How great was God’s wisdom in designing the galaxies, the planets, the earth, the flowers, the birds, the animals, and man!
God’s wisdom is also exhibited in His redemption of fallen man. God foreknew that His enemy would rebel against Him, and God was prepared to face that situation. God also foreknew that the man created in His image for His purpose would be induced by Satan to sin, and He was also prepared to face that situation. Seemingly, the fall of man presented a great problem to God. However, this simply afforded Him an opportunity to express His wisdom in His redemption.
Because man was poisoned by Satan and corrupted by sin, God not only redeemed him but also regenerated him with His life. God redeemed man so that He could regenerate him with the divine life. Now God is working continually to sanctify His regenerated people with His holy nature and to transform them with His element. The divine life is for regeneration, the holy nature is for sanctification, and the divine element is for transformation. Furthermore, God will conform His regenerated, sanctified, and transformed people to the image of His Son. Eventually, He will glorify them with Himself. Therefore, the divine life, the divine nature, the divine element, the divine being, and the divine glory will all be used to form fallen and corrupted man into a Body to express Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God. How much wisdom is required for this!
No human word can tell the greatness of God’s wisdom in redemption, regeneration, sanctification, transformation, conformation, and glorification. Nevertheless, by His mercy and grace, in our spirit we can apprehend with all the saints such a marvelous wisdom. In our spirit we can realize that God uses all He is and has to produce His family so that He may have a Body prepared and formed for His Son to express the Son as the embodiment of the Triune God. Such a Body is prepared and formed through regeneration by the divine life, sanctification by the divine nature, transformation by the divine element, conformation by the divine being, and glorification by the divine glory.
According to 1 Corinthians 1:30, Christ is our wisdom with respect to righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. As our righteousness, Christ has dealt with our past, which was altogether unrighteous. For our present situation, Christ is our sanctification, and for our future, He is our redemption. For Christ to be our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption requires much wisdom on God’s part.
In order to understand this adequately, we need to see the full scope of God’s economy. After the creation and fall of man, God became flesh through incarnation. Then the Lord Jesus went to the cross and there crucified the flesh. After passing through death and resurrection, He ascended into the heavens, then descended and entered into us as the life-giving Spirit in order to enliven our deadened spirit and to regenerate us. Having regenerated us, He now dwells in our spirit as life. In this life, the divine life, we have the law of life, the sense of life, and the fellowship of life. The Lord is also the anointing within us, and daily He is sealing us, saturating us, anointing us, and permeating us. As this takes place, we spontaneously live Him, and He becomes our righteousness. This is God’s wisdom.
Because of His wisdom God can boast to Satan of what He has done with corrupted and ruined man. Therefore, what we are as believers today is of God’s wisdom. Only God has the wisdom to initiate such a wonderful thing, to make sinful and corrupted people the members of Christ.
Through the work of the Spirit of life, a change is taking place in our very nature. It is a metabolic change, a change that sanctifies and transforms us. Thus, Christ is not only our righteousness but also our sanctification. Furthermore, we are daily being redeemed, and eventually we shall be glorified. From this we see that Christ is our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, not only in an objective way but in a very subjective way, in the way of mingling Himself with us and changing us metabolically. All this is a testimony to God’s multifarious wisdom. Many aspects of God’s wisdom are manifested in His making Christ our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Our experience of Christ in these matters is according to God’s manifold wisdom.
Eventually, Satan, God’s enemy, will be subdued and will come to know God’s multifarious wisdom. God is not sorry that there is such an evil one as Satan because without such a one God’s manifold wisdom could not be manifested in full. It is through the troubles originating from Satan that God has an opportunity to exhibit His wisdom. The whole universe has been damaged by Satan, but God needs such a one in order that His wisdom may be shown. When all the believers are in the New Jerusalem and Satan is in the lake of fire, he will realize that everything he did actually helped God. In His wisdom God even uses Satan’s evil doings in order to gain the New Jerusalem.
It is through the church as the mystery of Christ that God’s multifarious wisdom will be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. Ephesians 3:10 says, “In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies might be made known through the church the multifarious wisdom of God.” The church is produced from the unsearchable riches of Christ, as revealed in 3:8. When God’s chosen people partake of and enjoy the riches of Christ, these riches constitute them the church, through which God’s multifarious wisdom is made known to the angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. Hence, the church is God’s wise exhibition of all that Christ is.
The church is the Body of Christ, the joint heirs, and the joint partakers (Eph. 3:6). The church is composed of those who were once ruined, corrupted, and damaged. Before we were saved, we were dead in trespasses and sins, and we were scattered and divided, utterly unable to be one. We all were in a hopeless situation. Nevertheless, in His wisdom God is able to make us the church. Now we are not only redeemed, saved, cleansed, freed, liberated, and regenerated — we are one with God and with one another. Therefore, we are the church through which God’s multifarious wisdom is made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies.
The church through which God’s wisdom is so marvelously displayed is God’s masterpiece (Eph. 2:10). In the eyes of God the most wonderful thing in the universe is the church, for through the church God’s multifarious wisdom is made known to Satan and his angels. The day is coming when, through the church, Satan and his angels will be put to shame. They will realize that everything they have done has given God the opportunity to manifest His wisdom.
