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#9.
The Mystery among the Gentiles.
pp. 79, 80
The mystery that was manifested to the saints through the ministry of the Apostle
Paul, had been "hid from ages and from generations". This we saw in our last article.
The next theme before us is the manifestation of the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles.
"But is now 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: 26, 27).
Being an Israelite by birth, the Apostle of the Gentiles would realize better than would
the Gentiles themselves the riches of grace that were the source of the preaching of the
mystery among them. Apart from the Epistle to the Romans, it is to the epistles of the
mystery that we turn in order to learn about the riches of grace, and riches of glory, yea,
the exceeding riches of His grace; and the Apostle connects the manifestation of the
mystery with the making known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles.
Left to ourselves, what would be our answer to the question, "What is the riches of the
glory of this mystery among the Gentiles?" We should be wise if we turned at once to
what is written. We could say without fear of contradiction, that "redemption through
His blood, even the forgiveness of sins" must be included, for that is "according to the
riches of His grace, wherein He hath abounded toward us" (Eph. 1: 7, 8). We should
certainly include the "inheritance in the saints", though we could not speak in detail of
what constitutes "the riches of the glory" of this inheritance (Eph. 1: 18). Looking
forward to "that day" when the inheritance shall be enjoyed, to our amazement we
learn that whereas redemption is spoken of as "the riches of His grace", the kindness that
He will show to us in the days to come is of such transcendence that the Apostle speaks
of it as "the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus"
(Eph. 2: 7).
With all this the Apostle would naturally be in hearty agreement. In Col. 1: 27 he
focuses attention upon one important aspect of present truth that reveals the ground upon
which we may entertain such a hope: "Which is Christ in (among) you, the hope of
glory." The margin draws attention to the fact that the words "in you" should be
translated "among", as it is in the earlier phrase of the verse, "among the Gentiles". The
Apostle is not here speaking of the blessed realization of the indwelling Christ, but of the
dispensational change that had followed the setting aside of the children of Israel: "The
salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and they will hear it" (Acts 28: 28). Up till
then, salvation had been "of the Jews" (John 4: 22). The gospel had been intimately
associated with the promise made to Abraham (Gal. 3: 8). What the Gentiles had
heard through Peter had been, "The Word which God sent unto the children of Israel"
(Acts 10: 26). Even the gospel preached by Paul in Romans was "to the Jews first"