Understanding Paul's Great Mysteries

Church & Israel Forum

UNDERSTANDING PAUL'S GREAT MYSTERIES

In the New Testament the Apostle Paul shares some incredible mysteries with us. We must understand that in using the word "mystery" he refers to secrets that were once hidden by God but are now fully revealed. Therefore, there is no excuse for these mysteries to remain hidden to the church or to Israel today. Let us examine three of the great mysteries that unfortunately still remain hidden for many.

THE MYSTERY OF THE FAMILY TREE

     One of the best kept secrets of Christianity is found in Romans 11:17-18. This secret is that the Gentile church is grafted into Israel. Let us listen to this secret as Paul explains it: "And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you." It is made plain in scripture that the root of the tree is the Messiah (Rev. 22:16: Isa. 11:10; 53:2) and that the tree itself is Israel. It is also plain that in some unknown way Israel has always supported the church. It is clear that the church has no independent existence apart from Israel.
     Had we really understood this mystery, the last two thousand years of Christian history would have been vastly different. Knowing this, we could never have persecuted and killed Jewish people by the tens of thousands through the centuries. How could we even think of cutting down the tree into which we are grafted?
     It is amazing how the subject of the ‘family tree’ has been such a ‘hush, hush’ thing in Christianity. Now the secret is out and it is plain for everyone to see. Christianity is really Jewish. With the picture of the olive tree we can see that Christianity has roots that are strong, deep and ancient. The olive is one of the longest living trees on earth. In fact, some of the giant, gnarled olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane may have been alive in the time of Christ.
     The olive has much to teach us about our heritage. The olive with its oil is a tree of light. In ancient times when a person wanted light he didn’t just flip a switch. He went out, pressed some olives and poured the olive oil into a little clay lamp. When the lamp was lit there was light. Through the Messiah Jesus (Yeshua), we are grafted into the light tree. We must now be very careful to walk in the light (1 Jn. 1:5-7).
     Of course, with light comes revelation. This divine revelation is something that is surely missing in modern and postmodern Christianity. We are already paying a great price for this as Proverbs 29:18 points out: "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint." We have certainly seen a lot of people, and even Christian people, casting off restraint in the last two or three generations. Because of this the light has almost gone out in the House of God. We need to pray as Paul did that the light of divine revelation will be restored and that near blind eyes will be opened again (Eph. 1:17-18).
     There are many more things we could mention about the heritage of our engrafting. The olive tree is a tree of healing (Luke 10:34; Jas. 5:14-15). God wants us to be whole and also he wants us to help bring wholeness to others. The tree also symbolizes holiness and holy relationships. The scripture does say that "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). Even the very cherubim in the Holy of Holies were made of olive wood to picture this fact (1 Ki. 6:23).
     The tree also speaks of the Holy Spirit anointing. We remember the story Jesus told of the wise and foolish virgins. The foolish ones had forgotten the lesson of the olive tree and did not have enough oil for the long dark night before Jesus’ coming. The wise virgins not only had oil in the lamps but they carried an abundant supply with them (Matt. 25:1-13). We especially need to remember our spiritual heritage and the anointing oil in these dark days of the end times. The scripture assures us that although the end days will be dark, the light will shine upon God’s true saints (Isa. 60:2).

THE MYSTERY OF THE ‘NEW MAN’

     God is in the process of bringing about a brand new humanity. It is clear in the scripture that this new humanity will be made up of two and only two components, of Jews and Gentiles. Paul makes clear in Ephesians 2:12 that the situation of the Gentiles was a dismal and desperate one. He says: "remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world." One writer aptly describes this situation as being "Christless, stateless, friendless, hopeless and Godless."
     Once that was the situation of all Gentile people, but now for those in Christ that condition has changed. Paul goes on in verse 13: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." Then Paul makes plain the mystery of God’s purpose, which is to make of Jews and Gentiles ‘one new man,’ thus making peace (Eph. 2:15). We must understand that this has not happened yet to any recognizable degree. Rather, Jews and the Gentile Christians have been poles apart for much of the last two thousand years and they remain poles apart today.
     We need to understand that this mystery is at the heart of the gospel Paul preached. We might wonder how we could lose such a vital part of the gospel message and still succeed or even continue.
     This message has astounding implications for Christianity and Judaism. In Ephesians 2:19 Paul develops it further: "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household." It is interesting that the language used in 2:12-19 is the normal Greek and Roman political language. The Greek (politeia) used here and translated as "commonwealth" or "citizenship" is the normal term for describing political realities. To put it in plain language, we born-again Christians are now a part and parcel of Israel.

THE MYSTERY OF BEING HEIRS TOGETHER

     Paul goes on to develop these astounding thoughts. Because of these truths there is another and perhaps even greater mystery that Paul wants to reveal to us. In Ephesians 3 he speaks of it as a mystery that was hidden in God for ages but is now revealed. He finally gives it to us with the simple language of 3:6: "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." It is obvious that there are a lot of ‘togethers’ in this passage. God surely desires a very close relationship between the two.
     So, we can know from this that we are not only fellow-citizens with Israel in Jesus but we are fellow-heirs and fellow-sharers in the Messiah. We are fellow-members of a single body of the redeemed. Ephesians goes on to point out that Jews and Gentiles will make up the household of God and the new spiritual temple of the living God.
     Is this news? It certainly is news both for Israel and for the church. It is incredible news and good news for those who will open up their hearts to hear and receive it.
     The full implications of these mysteries are almost incomprehensible. Together they could change the course of history for Israel and the church. With this understanding we Christians would no longer see Israel as an isolated and despised country. We could no longer see Jewish people as an object of scorn and persecution. We would no longer be able to watch with disinterest as the nations try to dismember and destroy Israel. All such things would suddenly touch our own sacred heritage.
     A full understanding of these mysteries would ultimately bring lasting peace to our frazzled world. It would finally convince a doubting world that there is a God after all (compare Jn. 10:16 and 17:21). Such an understanding should help usher us into the very days of the Messiah.

-Jim Gerrish

February, 2007