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A | 1: 9, 10. The dispensation.
B | 3: 3. THE MYSTERY.
C | 3: 4. The mystery of Christ.
A | 3: 9. The dispensation (R.V.).
B | 5: 32. THE GREAT MYSTERY.
C | 6: 19. The mystery of the gospel.
We have already learned to distinguish between the Mystery itself which was revealed
only to Paul, and the Mystery of Christ which had been made known in measure down
the age, but in its final and highest sphere, to Paul. It would appear therefore that the
Mystery of the gospel was connected specially with the Mystery of Christ. Let us now
turn to Col. 4: The context is identical with that of Eph. 6::--
"Withal praying for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the
mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to
speak" (Col. 4: 3, 4).
This passage confirms our finding. Why should the Apostle lay such stress upon this
feature. The reason seems to be this. Every message sent by God in grace to man has
been inseparably connected with Christ, and until His person and position were made
clear no "good message" could be intelligible. If one would preach the gospel of the
kingdom one must preach the advent of the King. If one would preach the gospel of
grace, one must preach Christ crucified, dead, risen. If one would preach the good
tidings of the Mystery which places the redeemed "far above all", it is essential that
before that statement can be received, or even be intelligible, Christ must be preached
"far above all" too. Where Paul surpassed all in the revelation he received, was that over
and above the accumulated knowledge of the Mystery of Christ, that had grown ever
since the first revelation given in the garden of Eden, he had received the climax of truth,
viz., that the risen but rejected Messiah was now at the right hand of God, Head of both
principalities and the church, and that the Mystery of the union of the church with the
ascended Lord constituted the fullness of Him, Who in His turn was designated to fill all
in all. It was in order that he might make this message clear, without compromise and
without fear, that he asked the prayers of the saints.
We have "boldness" before God (Eph. 3: 12), shall we be fearful before man whose
breath is in his nostrils! Yes, we may be; hence the value of intercessory prayer for one
another.
An Ambassador.
"In behalf of which I am conducting an embassy in a chain" (Eph. 6: 20).
Speaking as a man, Paul had a passion for liberty. One has only to read Gal. 2: to
catch something of his burning spirit. Yet he could rejoice in the honour of his bonds,
his prison, his chains, for after all they were the badges of highest honour. The figure of
an ambassador provides a very apt illustration of the distinctive spheres of administration
given to the apostles Peter and Paul. At the moment of writing the King of England has
Ambassadors in France and Germany. Now the ambassador in France, when dealing