of God that is the peculiar theme, not His love nor His power, but His wisdom. It is in

definite association with the Mystery that had been hushed during the ages, that God is

called "The only wise God" in Rom. 16: 27. If the fallen Prince of Tyre, spoken of in

Ezek. 28:, be a symbolic picture of Satan, we read that originally he is said to have

been `full of wisdom', but later that he had corrupted that wisdom (Ezek. 28: 12, 17),

and it is in the exercise of His Wisdom, that God concealed from the eyes of His enemy

the climax purpose of the ages, namely "The Mystery", intending by the Church therein

called to make known to the unfallen principalities and powers in the heavenly places,

vacated of some of these spiritual dignities that had fallen away in the earlier Satanic

rebellion, the manifold wisdom of God. We do know at least one occupation for which

we have been saved, and are yet to be inducted, namely that of being the channel of

instruction on this theme to these spiritual powers. This wisdom is said to be `manifold'.

When Peter uses the word `manifold' as he does in I Pet. 1: 6 and 4: 10 the Greek word

is poikilos, a word meaning variegated, and found in the Septuagint of Gen. 37: 3

where we read of `the coat of many colours'. The word occurs in eight different forms,

and the majority of references is to embroidered work. The word used in Eph. 3: 10 is

the intensive form polupoikilos `very varied', and is unknown in the Septuagint. It is

found in classical Greek, where it refers to a cloth or painting bearing a complicated

As in everything else, the word used in Ephesians is the superlative of its kind. The

revelation of the Divine purpose as it pertains either to Israel or to the Church of the Acts

period, did not need the use of the word meaning VERY manifold, but the revelation of

the Mystery did. Even with our limited understanding, we can see that the fall of angels,

the overthrow of the world and the determined attack of the enemy of truth, call for

superlative wisdom to encompass the ultimate goal of the ages. This not only called for

the exercise of wisdom in what was made known in the Scriptures, but what was kept

secret. It also called for wisdom as to when this secret should be made known, by whom

and to whom. So far as the Gentiles on earth, here and now are concerned, during this

great parenthesis in the outworking of the purpose of the ages, Paul, as the Prisoner of

Jesus Christ, was the chosen vehicle, but when once these believing Gentiles were

formed into a church, that church became the chosen and predestined vehicle of

instruction--not to men, not even to angels, but unto principalities and powers. Angels,

we learn `desire to look into' the things that pertain to the sufferings of Christ and the

glories that follow (I Pet. 1: 12). Angels appear throughout the N.T. record manifesting a

keen interest in all that happens as the Divine purpose unfolds from Bethlehem to

Calvary, from the tomb in the Garden to the Ascension, and with the yet future Coming

again. Principalities and powers are only mentioned once outside Paul's epistles namely

in I Pet. 3: 22, and it is only in Ephesians that we learn of their most evident interest in

the outworking of the purpose of grace as it pertains to the Mystery. We must remember

too, that Christ is revealed in Col. 2: 10 as `the Head of all principality and power',

even as He had already been revealed as the Head of the Church which is His Body.

Col. 1: 16-20 suggests moreover that the mutual reconciliation which is predicated of the

Church will also be enjoyed by these principalities and powers. We are being prepared

for high society, but even so we can give thanks unto the Father which HATH MADE US

MEET for the inheritance of the saints in light.