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In the first epistle to Timothy, we have two more references to a "mystery", bringing
the total number of references up to twelve. The following list gives the occurrences,
together with an indication of the particular aspect of mystery in view in each reference.
The six references in Ephesians.
"The mystery of His will" (1: 9).
"The mystery" (3: 3).
"The mystery of Christ" (3: 4).
"The dispensation of the mystery" (3: 9, R.V.)
"The great mystery" (5: 32).
"The mystery of the gospel" (6: 19).
The six references in Colossians.
"The mystery" (1: 26).
"The mystery among the Gentiles" (1: 27).
"The mystery of God" (2: 2).
"The mystery of Christ" (4: 3).
The six references in I Timothy.
"The mystery of the faith" (3: 9).
"The mystery of godliness" (3: 16).
We must now give our attention to these references and their contexts so that we may
learn how these mysteries, and their various aspects, have been manifested for our
learning.
#3.
The Mystery of His Will.
The Manifestation.
pp. 133 - 135
The first mystery to be maintained in Ephesians is "the mystery of His will". We have
seen in the opening article of this series that these words suggest some secret purpose
hidden by God Himself because of the opposition of an enemy.
Most of our readers know that Eph. 1: 3-14 may be regarded as the threefold charter
of the Church of the One Body. It is divided into three parts by the phrases "to the praise
of the glory of His grace" or "to the praise of His glory" (Eph. 1: 6, 12, 14) as follows:
(1)
THE WILL OF THE FATHER (Eph. 1: 3-6).
(2)
THE WORK OF THE SON (Eph. 1: 7-12).
(3)
THE WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT (Eph. 1: 13, 14).
It will be seen that while the "will" of the Father is the theme of the opening section, it
is "the secret purpose of His will" that we find in the second section, which is concerned