One interesting activity is when a picture is covered up, and only a small portion is revealed. Then the group tries to guess what the picture or drawing is. Slowly, one by one, small segments are uncovered and more guesses are made. Eventually when the whole picture is uncovered, the mystery is revealed. God has some mysteries, too. In our Scripture from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, we will see one mystery revealed.
There were many truths hidden during the years of the Old Testament, and later revealed in the New Testament. Scriptures called these mysteries. Our Scripture for today tells of one mystery that had been alluded to by several prophets, and also in the Psalms, but had never been clearly or openly revealed. This mystery was regarding the Gentiles. Let’s look into this.
The term “Gentile” refers to anyone who was not descended from Jacob, and his twelve sons, so technically anyone who is not Jewish. Old Testament Scripture forbade the intermarriage of the Jews with those who did not worship Yahweh. God wanted them to be completely separated from those who did not worship Him, so as not to learn and follow their idol worshiping and pagan ways. Though they failed in obeying the command to not worship pagan gods and idols, they did look at themselves as a special people, ones that God loved, and the Gentiles as those whom God hated. Over the centuries, especially by the time of Jesus, the Jews’ dislike and abhorrence of Gentiles had grown quite strong, as we see referenced in Acts 10:28. They felt that Gentiles had no part with Yahweh, and that they were eternally condemned and cut off from Him.
However, there are mentions of the Gentiles coming to faith in Yahweh, and worshiping Him scattered throughout the books of several of the Old Testament prophets and in Psalms. Yet the Jewish people could not understand this, just like small segments of a picture being revealed, but the viewers not knowing what it really is.
The Old Testament spoke of a time when Gentiles would be offered salvation, and the Apostle Paul said that this time was now, following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Despite an often strong opposition, Paul, along with others, were bringing the Gospel message of salvation to the Gentiles (vs. 8-9). God wants all people, everywhere, from every race and nation to be saved (I Timothy 2:3-4; II Peter 3:9). As we read in Scripture, God has no favorites (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11), and He welcomes both the Jew and the Gentile to be saved and come into His family.
This brings us to another part of this mystery, one that was not really alluded to as much in the Old Testament as the first one was, and that is that both the Jew and the Gentile would be one body in Christ Jesus (vs. 6). The Apostle Paul here explains this mystery, that the Gentiles, when they come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, will be joint heirs, and part of the same spiritual body. He proclaimed that the Gentiles will also be partakers of all of God’s promises that come through the Gospel. The Jewish believers in the Lord Jesus and the Gentile believers are one in God’s sight, and in His kingdom and family. There is to be no racial or social distinction.
Today there isn’t such an issue with whether Jewish or Gentile people come to faith in the Lord Jesus. Most believers would welcome a Jewish person coming to faith in the Lord Jesus as their Messiah. However, do we make other distinctions or harbor other prejudices against any other group? Are we reluctant in our hearts to accept someone of a different color, race, or nationality into our congregation or fellowship? That was the case in the early church, as many of the Jewish believers did not want to welcome a Gentile believer. Paul showed that the mystery had been revealed, the whole picture had been uncovered for all to see, and that God welcomes all who believe in His Son into His family. Let’s be sure that we welcome them, too!
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