SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/21/2019
9:37 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “The Plan of the Mystery”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
3:5-6
Message of the verses: “5 which in
other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been
revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 to be specific,
that the Gentiles are fellow
heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the
promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,”
We
can see from verse five that Paul defines what the general meaning of the
mystery is as it is used in the New Testament.
Then in verse six Paul identifies the particular mystery he is
explaining to the Ephesians and those who will read this letter.
John
MacArthur uses a word that I was not familiar with, “antecedent” and as I
looked us some synonyms for this word I found among others “forerunner,” and “ancestor.” He writes “The antecedent of ‘which’ is ‘the
mystery of Christ,’ about which the apostle had been given special revelation
and insight (vv. 3-4). ‘In other
generations’ this mystery ‘was not made known to the sons of men. Sons of men’ refers to mankind in general,
not just to God’s chosen people, Israel.”
So we can say that before the church age no one knew anything, but
perhaps glimpse of the truth that Paul is writing about here. We have to remember that for a time of
perhaps years, that Paul was along in Arabia with the Spirit of the Lord who
taught him many things which we could conclude as mysteries. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even
from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal
His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult
with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were
apostles before me; but I
went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus (Gal. 1:15-17).” Now as one looks at some Old Testament
revelation that came from the prophets, we as believers now can only understand
the meaning of it in light of what is taught in the New Testament. “39 And all these, having gained approval through
their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided
something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect
(Hebrews 11:39-40).” “10 As to this
salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to
you made careful searches and inquiries, 11 seeking to know what person or time
the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings
of Christ and the glories to follow. 12 It was revealed to them that they were
not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced
to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent
from heaven-things into which angels long to look (1 Peter 1:10-12).”
One
of the verses found in the Old Testament which I have to say is one of my favorites
is found in Genesis 12:1-3 “1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from
your country, And from your relatives And from your father’s house, To the land
which I will show you; 2 And I will make
you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you
shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless
those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of
the earth will be blessed.’” As
I focus in on the highlighted portion of verse three it would be fair to say
that we would not really understand how God was going to bless the Gentiles if
it were not for the fact that Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of all
who would accept Him, and then begin the church age as seen in the book of Acts
along with other NT books. Paul reveals
this mystery in Ephesians and other letters that he wrote.
There
are other OT writings such as Isaiah 49:6 which says “I will also make You a
light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth,”
and this could not be fully explained until it was explained by Paul to mean
the offering of the gospel of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) to the Gentiles as
well as the Jews which is seen in Acts 13:46-47 “46 Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said,
"It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you
repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are
turning to the Gentiles. 47 "For so
the Lord has commanded us, ’I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT
YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’"”
I
have spoken to some miss-guided people who claim that the church began in the
Garden of Eden, and the reason that they say this has to do with anti-Semitism,
for they go on to say that all of the promises that God gave to the Jews were forfeited
because “The Jews blew it” and so those promises were give to the church. Well the only ones who blew it are the ones
who believe this heresy. God never
changes and so when He gave the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then to
David they were what is called an unconditional covenant, and because one of
God’s attributes is being Immutable, meaning that He can never change, those
promises are still in effect and will be fulfilled in God’s timing.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am thankful that God never changes because
if He did, for one thing He would cease to be God, and for another thing He
might change His mind about my salvation.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to trust the Lord to bring humility
to me as Paul described in Romans 12:3, and to continue to rely on God’s truth
and not my emotions.
The verse which went along with
yesterday’s quote: “Your Word I have
hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You (Psalm 119:11).”
1/21/2019 10:15 AM
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