The Mystery
By Pastor Cornelius R. Stam
In Eph. 3:1-3 “the dispensation of the grace of God” is specifically called “the mystery” (i.e., secret). It is thus designated for two reasons:
1. It had been “kept secret since the world began, but now,” through Paul, had been “made manifest” (Rom. 16:25). “In other ages” it was “not made known” (Eph. 3:5). Rather, “from the beginning of the world” it had been “hid in God” (Ver. 9), “hid from ages and from generations, but now… made manifest to His saints” (Col. 1:26).
2. It was at the same time the explanation, the key, to all God’s good news, including that which had been proclaimed in ages past. It explained how it was that Abel could be declared righteous by bringing an animal sacrifice, “God testifying of his gifts” (Heb. 11:4), how Noah could become “an heir of… righteousness” by building an ark (Heb. 11:7), how anyone could be saved under the dispensation of the Law, and how it is that we can be saved today by grace through faith alone.
Thus we have in Paul’s epistles, not only the gospel [good news] of “the secret” (Eph. 3:1-3), but at the same time, “the secret of the gospel” (Eph. 6:19,20).
This great secret, revealed to and through Paul, has rightly been called the capstone of divine revelation, for it concerns God’s eternal purpose in Christ. Through Paul, the chief of sinners saved by grace, God has now made this glorious secret known to us (Eph. 1:9) that we, in turn, might make it known to others (Eph. 3:9).
Today's Devotional Sponsor:
By Pastor Ricky Kurth
Have you ever used Romans 15:16 to point out to someone that the Apostle Paul was “the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,” only to have them argue that no, he was just a minister of the Gentiles, one of many who ministered to the nations? If you bump into someone who really knows his stuff, he may even point out that there are more verses that use the indefinite article to describe Paul as “a minister” (Acts 26:16; Eph. 3:7; Col. 1:23,25) than the lone Scripture that you can cite where he is called “the minister.”
If anyone has ever called you on this, as you’ve sought to press the apostleship of Paul, you don’t have far to go to turn the tables and give them pause and food for thought. You see, just a few verses earlier in Romans 15, Paul referred to the Lord Jesus Christ as just “a minister of the circumcision” (v. 8).
How can this be? How can the Son of God be anything other than the minister of the people He came to save (Matt. 1:21; 20:28)? I believe it is because, while the Lord Jesus was God in the flesh, He did not come into this world to sit in an ivory tower and dispatch other men to minister to the circumcision. He Himself was on the front line of the battle for the souls of men, standing shoulder to shoulder with other ministers of the circumcision, men like John the Baptist, the twelve, the seventy, and any and all others who ministered to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 10:6) in the face of opposition that came from men and devils alike.
In the same way, there is no question that the Apostle Paul was the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, the preeminent minister of the uncircumcision, as even an examination of the passages where he is called “a minister” will show (Acts 26:16-18; Eph. 3:1-7; Col. 1:24-29). But like his Lord, Paul was in the trenches, duking it out with the enemies of his gospel, standing shoulder to shoulder in the battle for truth with men like Timothy and Titus and Aristarchus and Epaphras and others.
So stick to your guns when it comes to standing for the distinctiveness of the apostleship and message of Paul. In the face of opposition from men and devils alike, continue to insist that whether he’s called by the definite or indefinite article, the Apostle Paul was the genuine article!
SWEET STICKY CHICKEN WINGS
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 lbs. chicken wings & drumettes
How to make it :
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together soy sauce, honey, jam, oil, vinegar, garlic, and ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower heat and let gently simmer for 10 mins, stirring frequently.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place chicken wings, split, into a 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Pour the soy sauce mixture over the chicken wings and toss gently until all of the wings are coated.
- Bake until the chicken is cooked through and the skin on the wings begins to darken, turning the wings occasionally, about 1 hour. Serve.
DAILY SMILE:
I Just Bought A Pig
Animal Jokes
Submitted by HENNE
Two friends were chatting. "I've just bought a pig!" said the first.
"But where will you keep it?" asked the second. "Your yard's much too small for a pig!"
"I'm going to keep it under my bed," replied the first.
"But what about the smell?"
"He'll soon get used to that."
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