To those who have followed the articles in this magazine hitherto we very earnestly

commend the present to their prayerful consideration. The majority of us have been far

more zealous for the "traditions of the elders" than for the truth of God, and it is a mercy

that we have not been left to follow our blind guides into the ditch of legality and

bondage. Our object in writing these articles is to seek to stir up the Lord's people to

imitate the Bereans, who "searched the Scriptures daily (to see) whether these things

were so." Some fellow-Christians have called us hard names (over that we do not

worry), but it would have been far more in harmony with the "mind that was in Christ

Jesus" to have pointed out to us where they thought we departed from the truth "as it hath

been written."

Many have been displeased upon reading that Acts 2: was not the beginning of the

present dispensation, still more when we dared to question the scripturalness of applying

I Cor. 12:, with its "spiritual gifts," to ourselves. We desire to show, as the Lord shall

enable us, something of the glory of the grace that has been reserved for us the most

unworthy, reserved until the people of Israel, both in the land and among the dispersion,

evidence to the full that they were blind of eyes, dull of hearing, and hard of heart, as set

forth in the closing words of Acts 28: and Matt. 13: 13-15.

Not till after Acts 28: did the apostle receive the divine warrant for committing to

writing the teaching of the mystery (or secret) as revealed in the Epistle to the Ephesians.

Although the apostle did not publicly preach the mystery of the one body, nor put it into

writing before the close of Acts 28:, we believe that he did know of it himself, and did

communicate some of its blessed teaching to the more spiritual ones with whom he from

time to time had fellowship.  I Cor. 2: 7 seems fairly clear as to this, "The wisdom of

God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our

glory." The expression "before the world" is peculiar to the great secret. Eph. 1: 4 and

II Tim. 1: 9, etc., speak of a purpose "before the world," whereas Matt. 25: 34, and other

passages which speak of the kingdom, use the term "from the foundation," or "since the

foundation of the world."

Eph. 3: 1-9 and Col. 1: 24-27 speak of the mystery being "hid." Let us turn to

I Cor. 2: and 3:  In 2: 1 the apostle shows how he followed out the teaching of

chapter 1: 31:--