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The interest that the churches of the first group had in Paul's ministration of this gift
was because he was their Representative to bear to the Jews the outward token of their
appreciation of and gratitude for the grace of God that had enabled them--as outside, far
off Gentiles--to become partakers of Israel's spiritual blessings (Rom. 15: 27).
The interest that the churches in the later group had in Paul's imprisonment was
because he had been made "the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles" (Eph. 3: 1).
Paul was a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles by reason of the truth that was
revealed through him to them:--
"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given
to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints. To whom God would
make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is
Christ among you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1: 25-27).
The truth of the mystery was not committed to writing by Paul until after Israel as a
whole, for the time being, had been set aside. With the truth of the mystery is connected
a new sphere of blessing--"the heavenly places", and another company of believers
called "The church which is His body":--
"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus" (Eph. 2: 6).
"The exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the
working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the
dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all . . . . . and
gave to Him to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness
of Him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1: 19-23).
In this company the Gentiles do not partake of Israel's spiritual blessings, but Jews
and Gentiles without distinction are blessed with all spiritual blessings in the
heavenlies:--
"Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the
saints, and of the household of God" (Eph. 2: 19).
There is only place for One to have any pre-eminence in this company--the Lord
Jesus Himself:--
"Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian,
Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all" (Col. 3: 11).
In all matters in which there was no difference between Jews and Gentiles during the
witness of the Acts, the teaching of the epistles is the same--the fact of the believer
having died together with Christ, been buried, and raised together with Him, the walk in
newness of life, etc.--but in the things relating to the blessings of the Gentiles there is a
very great difference between the earlier and later epistles of Paul. In the earlier epistles
the Gentiles were brought into blessing with Israel (the record of this gift to the saints is
but one illustration of the fact), the sphere of those blessings being connected with the