Part 3 – Do We Know What Paul’s Grace Gospel Entails?

This Article is part of a multi-part Study Series called The “Mystery” and Its Glorious Riches.

Paul to the Ephesians says: “But ye have not so learned Christ;” (Ephesians 4:20). He says “Learned Christ,” not learned about Christ. The Christ we must learn is the Christ within us as our all. In this way we begin to know and live by Him experientially. “Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:” (Ephesians 1:8-9 (KJV)

To know the “riches of the glory of the mystery” (Col. 1:25-27) is “to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” and be filled with all the fulness of God (Eph.3:19). His love and fullness are now ours to enjoy as we rest in reliance upon Him. The riches of the Pauline “gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) should affect our not only our understanding but also how we live our daily life. We learn as grow in an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, enjoying His peace and rest … in the midst of life’s trials!!!

These listed below are among the many details of “riches of the glory of this mystery,” that we learn from Paul concerning “Christ according to the revelation of the mystery.”

  1. During this age of “the grace of God.”  we enjoy pure, unadulterated Grace in place of the requirements of Israel’s Law & Works program, (Rom 6:14, 11:6)
  2. Salvation flows freely from the cross, not being acquired by our efforts or discipleship (Eph 2:8-9).
  3. Reconciliation – God reconciled all mankind unto Himself via “the death of Christ” (Rom 5:10). The sole requirement is to believe in order to receive.
  4. We enjoy Justification based upon Jesus’ full payment of our sin-debt, at the cross. (Rom 3:24)
  5. Redemption We have been freed from “the curse of the Law” (Gal. 3:10) and delivered from the power of the ‘Sin-nature.’ (Rom 3:24, 6:6-7)
  6. Propitiation - Christ Himself is the propitiatory sacrifice (Rom 3:25) that paid for all our sins, then to yield all the “riches of the glory of the mystery” to every believer… by faith.
  7. Now as believers in Christ, we have No Condemnation.” (Rom 8:1)
  8. We will never see the angry face of God’s “wrath.” (1Thes 5:9)
  9. We have Unconditional “Acceptance in the beloved (Eph 1:6). We’ve been delivered from the performance-based acceptance system of “the Law.” (Rom 6:14)
  10. We’ve received the impartation of the resurrected “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus into our human spirit (1Cor. 6:17) empowering us to see, know, and live by Christ’s life within us.
  11. Our spirit-union with Christ’s “Spirit of life” is forever indissoluble (1Cor 6:17, Rom 8:9-10).
  12. We have been dry “baptized (set) into His body“the body of Christ.” (1Cor 12:13)
  13. In this age, Christ has broken down the “middle wall of partition,” making of Himself one joint-body (Eph 2:15) consisting of Jews and Gentiles… now without racial distinction at all. (Gal. 3:28)
  14. We’ve been made eternally secure, being sealed with the Spirit.” (Eph 1:13), never to be lost.
  15. We rest in the His current ongoing work to “conform us to the image of His Son.(Rom 8:28-29, Phil. 1:6, 2:13)
  16. Our destiny is to obtain a new, resurrected, immortal, glorified spirit-body (1Cor 15:51-52).
  17. Our destiny is to be raptured to dwell eternally in our home in heaven (Philip. 3:20-21, 2Cor 5:1b).
  18. We have already been blessed with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places… in Christ
  19. We are destined to co-reign with Christ in the heavenly places forever (2Tim. 2:12, 2Cor. 5:1).

From the time of the cross to Paul’s ministry beginning in Acts 13, no person had knowledge of “the riches of the glory of this mystery” that flow freely from the cross of Christ for all believing mankind.

Peter obviously didn’t know the meaning of the Cross since at Pentecost he scolded “Ye men of Israel,” saying they had “killed the Prince of Peace” (Acts 3:15). Therefore, he could not then know of the riches that flow from the cross. At Pentecost Peter never shared any meaning or significance of the cross… because he had no such knowledge. It was not until Peter received that knowledge from Paul that Peter could he, along with John and James, know the riches of the cross of Christ. Thus later, Peter wrote this below in his last epistle, shortly before his death, addressing Israel concerning the delay in the Kingdom on earth as he learned it from Paul.

And account that the longsuffering (delay) of our Lord is salvation; even As Our Beloved Brother PAUL also according to the Wisdom given unto him hath Written Unto You; 16 As also in All His (Paul’s) Epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some Things Hard to be Understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (twist), as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:15-16)

Considering Peter’s words (above), it’s important that we have a clear understanding of Paul’s words in Col. 1:25-27. If we don’t understand these for what they actually say and mean we may simply conclude, as some do, that Christ living in us is just mysterious. It is not mysterious, it’s all now “revealed”! Missing the context, we would lose the dispensational truths these verses convey. Paul’s words are most often misread because they are not understood in light of the dispensational boundary, whereby God brought; 1) a change in the messenger (now Paul) and 2) in the program of God (now Grace) and 3) the content (Christ in you) for the members of “the body of Christ” today.

The “mystery” in Col. 1:27 is not hard to understand. This “mystery” is information, a body of truth, that God had been kept secret “since the world began (Rom. 16:25), until Christ revealed it to Paul. The “revelation of the mystery” is the unveiling of the Cross and its doctrinal riches as seen in Paul’s epistles that tell us Jesus Christ Himself is now IN US, bearing to us “the riches” of His cross. Christ in us is the embodiment of “the riches of the glory of this mystery” made real and available to us.

The details of Paul’s “mystery” doctrine, now revealed, brings glory and praise to Jesus Christ. The riches are seen in His name. Jesus, means “Savior,” while “Christ,” means “The Anointed One.”

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:10 (KJV)

All that Jesus now is, as the resurrected “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” is our present reality if we know, believe, value, and esteem, this truth according to “the revelation of the mystery.” John wrote this profound verse concerning those who would have the indwelling life of Jesus Christas their new, righteous, and capable life.

“… As He (Christ now) is, so are we in this world.” (1Jn 4:13)