WHICH IN OTHER GENERATIONS WAS
NOT MADE KNOWN TO THE SONS OF MEN: o heterais geneais ouk egnoristhe
(3SAPI) tois huiois ton anthropon: (9;
Matthew 13:17;
Luke 10:24;
Acts 10:28;
Romans 16:25;
2 Timothy 1:10,11;
Titus 1:1-3;
Hebrews 11:39,40;
1 Peter 1:10-12)
In Ephesians 3:5-6
Paul gives us the most complete definition we have of the mystery
explaining what a mystery is and then explaining what the mystery of the
Christ is.
Other (2087)
(heteros) means another but of a different kind.
Generations
(1074)
(genea from gínomai = to become) primarily signifies a
birth or a descent. Hence genea refers to that which has been
begotten, such as a family or successive members of a genealogy. Genea
as in the present context refers to the whole multitude of people living
at the same time and belonging to the same reproductive age-class.
In other words genea refers to a group of individuals born and living
contemporaneously. It refers to all of the people born and living
at about the same time, regarded collectively.
Not
(3756)
(ou) signifies absolute negation. In other words God's revelation
that Paul is unveiling here had not been known up until now (at the time
of his writing). It follows that it is futile to try to find this truth
in the Old Testament! Yes, there might be some shadows and some
so-called "types" (one must be very careful however in saying something
is a "type") in the Old Testament, but the truth Paul is now explaining
was absolutely not known at that time.
Made
known (1107)
(gnorizo from ginosko = acquire information by whatever
means but often with the implication of personal involvement or
experience) mans to cause information to be known by someone. It
involves communicating things which before were unknown or reasserting
things already known.
Sons of men
- a reference to men in general as discussed below. This phrase is a
Semitic idiom referring to human beings, hence, “people”.
Sons (5207)
(huios) refers to a male offspring, but here is used with the
meaning of a "son of something" indicating something to which one is
connected, or of which one partakes or to which one is exposed. Here
sons is used more generically to refer to the descendants of men.
Of men (444)
(anthropos) refers to human beings, men and women, individual
members of the human race.
Note that God had
promised a blessing that would include the Gentiles when He blessed
Abraham...
Genesis 12:3 And I will bless
those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you
all the families of the earth (this would include both Jew and
Gentile) shall be blessed."
However Paul's
point here is that the full import of this beatitude would not be made
known until the NT times...
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male
nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
In Isaiah we see
that God's heart had also planned for the Gentiles, the LORD
declaring...
Isaiah 49:6 (Context: The
Father is here speaking to the Messiah, His Son) "It is too small a
thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of
Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You
a light (John 8:12) of the nations (goyim ~ the Gentile nations)
so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth." (Comment:
Note that although Isaiah did predict the call of the Gentiles, neither
he nor the other OT prophets anywhere hinted that Gentiles would be
fellow members of a body in which Jews did not have a privileged
position over the Gentiles.)
Paul wrote of the
fulfillment of this prophetic promise...
Acts 13:46-47 And Paul and
Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of
God should be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge
yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the
Gentiles. For thus the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A
LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU SHOULD BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF
THE EARTH.'"
None of the
prophets understood the great truth of the church, united as one body
and without racial (or other) distinctions.
AS IT HAS NOW BEEN
REVEALED TO HIS HOLY APOSTLES AND PROPHETS IN THE SPIRIT: os nun
apekaluphthe (3SAPI) tois hagiois apostolois autou kai prophetais en
pneumati: (Eph
2:20;
4:11,12;
Matthew 23:34;
Luke 11:49;
1 Corinthians 12:28,29;
2 Peter 3:2;
Jude 1:17)
(Luke
2:26,27;
John 14:26;
16:13;
Acts 10:19,20,28;
1 Corinthians 12:8-10)
As (5613)
(os) is not used as a comparison. That is Paul is not saying "the
mystery was not so much revealed in the OT as it is in the NT" for the
church was not revealed in the OT. Rather, Paul is using it to introduce
new information. Compare the parallel passage in Colossians where Paul
writes that...
"the mystery which has been hidden
from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His
saints" (see note
Colossians 1:26)
(Comment: Clearly the "mystery", was hidden in the heart of God
through all the ages of time and from all generations of men but is now
revealed to His apostles in the church age. That is, both Jew and
Gentile will make up the household of faith, the church. Remember
however that it was not a secret that God intended to bless the Gentiles
for even in the promise to Abraham He said "in you all the families of
the earth shall be blessed" - Genesis 12:3 -- that was not the secret.
But sadly the Jews often ignored the promises to the Gentiles through
their pride of religion and race. It was no accident, surely, that the
promised land was a bridge connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa, and that
the great arterial highways of international commerce, communication,
and conflict passed through it. God had always intended that His chosen
people would become a spiritual blessing to all mankind- a truth that
had too easily been forgotten. Even in the deportations and dispersal,
God intended for His chosen people to have a redemptive impact on other
nations. The book of Acts makes it abundantly clear that Jewish
communities around the world formed a natural springboard for global
evangelism
S Lewis Johnson
former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary has the following
lengthy explanation of the meaning of "as"...
It would seem from a reading of these
verses in Ephesians and Colossians, that the Apostle is speaking about
something that is new. He calls it a secret. Someone might say, “Well
does he not say in verse 5 of Ephesians, “which in other ages was not
made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his
holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit” – does not that suggest that
there is some revelation in Old Testament times? In other words, there
was a revelation of some parts of that mystery, but in other ages it was
not made known unto the sons of men in the way that, or in the manner
that it was revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets now.
Well, if that is the Apostle’s meaning, then we would simply say the
Lord Jesus anticipated the coming of the church and the union of the Jew
and Gentile into the church. He anticipated in the passages like Matthew
chapter 16 verse 18 where he said, “I will build my church.” That’s an
anticipation of the doctrine of the church. Furthermore, in the tenth
chapter of the Book of John, in those great parables that he tells
there, he does speak of other sheep – this is John 10:16 – he speaks of
other “sheep I have who are not of this fold, them also I must
bring”—he’s talking about Israel—“other sheep I have”— this is the
Gentiles; “other sheep I have not of this fold (Israel) them I shall
also bring, and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one
fold”—now the Greek says not “one fold” but “one flock,” and if you have
an American Standard Bible they probably have rendered that “one flock,”
“one shepherd.” In other words, the time is coming, the Lord says, when
the Jews and Gentiles will be gathered together in a body which may be
called by the metaphor of the shepherd and the sheep, “one flock”—the
other sheep which are not of this fold. So in that sense, there would be
a revelation of part of this mystery in other times, but not as it is
now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets.
I know that some of you may be puzzling and saying, “Wait, doesn’t he
say here holy apostles and prophets? Well, if it was revealed to the
apostles and prophets, the prophets ministered in the Old Testament
times, did they not? Therefore, this says it was revealed to the
apostles and the prophets.” Well, did you notice the order of those
words? He says, “apostles and prophets.” He does not say,
“prophets and apostles.” Now we learn from the study of the Book of Acts
that there were prophets in the New Testament church. Can you think of
some? Well, you probably could. If you read the Book of Acts, Agabus is
one of the prophets. Silas is said to be a prophet. John calls his Book
of Revelation a prophecy. So, the Apostles carried out a work of
prophecy. The holy apostles and prophets are New Testament prophets, and
New Testament apostles.
Well then, what about that word “as” though,
“which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit”?
Well, we don’t have to say that that
means necessarily that there is a great revelation of truth in Old
Testament times, the revelation of this truth, I mean. Because do we not
use an expression like this,
“The sun doesn’t shine in the
nighttime as it does in the daytime”—wouldn’t that be alright?
“The sun doesn’t shine at night, as it does during the day.”
Well the fact is that the sun doesn’t
shine at night at all. So, the idea that “as” must mean a measure
of revelation of this in Old Testament times is not necessarily so.
I’m inclined to think, and this is my own opinion, I’m inclined to think
that what the Apostle Paul is saying is that there is now a new
relationship between Jew and Gentile that did not attain in Old
Testament times. I think we have to face that.
“Which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit”
– well, what is this new arrangement,
what is this mystery that was not revealed in ancient times? Well, did
you notice the sixth verse?
“That the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by
the gospel.”
That’s the content of the mystery.
That’s the one new man, and the relationship between Jew and Gentile in
the one new man. Remember in verse 15, chapter 2 (see
note), the Apostle had
said,
“Having abolished in his flesh
the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; to
make in himself of two one new man, so making peace.”
And this by the cross. (Ephesians
3:1-13 Dispensation of Grace Audio/Pdf)
Now (3568)
(nun) means at the present time as a direct antithesis to
something done in the past. In a sense, God has always been
revealing "bits and pieces" about the "mystery of Christ", but there was
never a clear, complete picture in the Old Testament. Paul says the
picture has now been revealed. If you will think about it, even in
Genesis 3 God began to give clues of His eternal purpose in Christ Jesus
when He made animal skins to cover their nakedness, now apparent because
sin had entered their hears. In this event, God began to show a preview
of the picture that there would have to be a death and shedding of blood
shed in order to deal fully with the sin problem. But now in Ephesians,
that picture is explained in a glorious panorama, in which we see now
that God had always had His plan of salvation for both Jews and
Gentiles. He was not surprised by Adam's fall and sin entering His
perfect world.
Now been
revealed to...prophets - Don't be confused by this statement. Paul
is not speaking of OT prophets but NT prophets. First note the context -
Paul says "in other generations not made known" so this cannot refer to
the previous generations of OT prophets. This same phrase (the
apostles and prophets) is used to describe those who compose the
foundation of the church, an entity not known to the OT prophets and
which not begin until Acts 2 (see notes
Ephesians 2:20)
Finally, the parallel passage in Colossians states emphatically that
“the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and
generations... has now been manifested to His saints" (see
notes
Colossians 1:26).
Thus, the “prophets” to whom this mystery was made known were NT
prophets (cf. 1Cor. 12:28; see note
Ephesians 4:11)
The inclusion of
Gentiles in God's purposes remained mysteriously unclear under the old
covenant. It became clear in Christ. The revelation of this "mystery" of
the Church was foretold but not explained by Christ
Mt 16:18 "And I
also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My
church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it"
The details
of the Church were committed to Paul and his fellow "apostles and
prophets" by the Spirit.
Revealed (601)
(apokalupto from apó = from + kalúpto = cover,
conceal) means literally to uncover. The idea is to cause something to
be fully known by "removing the veil or covering" which then exposes to
full view what was previously hidden. Apokalupto means to make
manifest or reveal a thing previously secret or unknown and is
especially applied to supernatural revelation. God's Holy Spirit is the
Revealer and the Channel to those men who had been set apart
(root meaning of holy) to receive and transmit His revelation.
Wayne Barber
clarifies that...
To say that the Old Testament never
mentions anything about the Gentiles being allowed in would be wrong. As
a matter of fact, Paul continuously spoke of the Old Testament when he
spoke before the Jews to let them know he was not preaching heresy. In
their own Scriptures, through their own prophets, God had already
mentioned that others, who were not called His people, would be allowed
in one day. The difference is, as he says in verse 5, it has not been
known as it has now been revealed. In other words, yes, it was alluded
to, but it had never been as clear as it was in that day. It had been
made clear to the apostles and to the prophets in his generation. You
see, the prophets he speaks of there are not Old Testament prophets. The
word "now" distinguishes the New Testament prophets from the Old
Testament prophets. It has been revealed to them by the Spirit. Since we
know what the mystery is, let’s begin to see how he focuses in on how
the Gentiles are the whole topic of his conversation. He is writing to
Gentile believers. Yes, the mystery includes the Jew, but the Gentile is
his focus. (Ephesians 3:1-9 God's Divine Mystery - 2)
Holy (40)
(hagios)
(Click
word study on
hagios)
is literally holy one and
depending on the context refers to whoever or whatever is set apart
(sanctified) for a special purpose. It follows that holy is not
used to imply any sense of moral superiority.
In the New
Testament, saints, apostles and prophets are holy ones both in
character and conduct having been set apart by God to be exclusively
His, to be dedicated to Him and to manifest holiness of heart and
conduct in contrast to the impurity of pagan unbelievers. They are set
aside for sacred use.
Hagios is
used throughout the New Testament to speak of anyone or anything that
represents God’s holiness: Christ as the Holy One of God, the Holy
Spirit, the Holy Father, holy Scriptures, holy angels, holy brethren,
and so on. The secular and pagan use pictured a person separated and
dedicated to the idolatrous "gods" and carried no idea of moral or
spiritual purity. The manmade gods were as sinful and degraded as the
men who made them and there simply was no need for a word that
represented righteousness! The worshipper of the pagan god acquired the
character of that pagan god and the religious ceremonies connected with
its worship. The Greek temple at Corinth housed a large number of
harlots who were connected with the "worship" of the Greek god. Thus,
the set-apartness or holiness of the Greek worshipper was in character
licentious, totally depraved, and sinful.
Apostles and prophets - refers to NT men, not
those in the OT.
Apostles (652)
(apostolos
from apo = from +
stello = send forth)) (Click
word stud on
apostolos) signifies
a person sent forth from by another, often with a special commission to
represent another and to accomplish his work. It can be a delegate,
commissioner, ambassador sent out on a mission or orders or commission
and with the authority of the one who sent him. The apostolos was
officially commissioned for the position or task.
In the ancient
world a apostle was the personal representatives of the king,
functioning as an ambassador with the king’s authority and provided with
credentials to prove he was the king's envoy.
Cargo ships were sometimes even called apostolic, because they were
dispatched with a specific shipment for a specific destination. In
secular Greek apostolos was used of the admiral of a fleet sent
out by the king on special assignment.
Unger's Bible Dictionary writes that...
The Jews, it is said, called
the collector of the half shekel, which every Israelite paid annually to
the Temple, an apostle;
also those who carried about encyclical letters from their rulers."
(Unger,
M. F., Harrison, R. K., Vos, H. F., Barber, C. J., & Unger, M. F. The
New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Chicago: Moody Press)
A good parallel of
apostle is our English word ambassador defined by Webster as
"a diplomatic agent of the highest
rank accredited to a foreign government as the resident representative
of his own government for a special and often temporary diplomatic
assignment". (cf note
Ephesians 6:20)
At
times in the NT apostle
carried the broad meaning of one sent as a messenger or delegate with
instructions from a group or an individual (cf
2Cor 8:23,
see note
Philippians 2:25).
In its
broadest sense, apostle can refer to all believers, because every
believer is sent into the world as a witness for Christ. But the term is
primarily used as a specific and unique title for the thirteen men (the
Twelve, with Matthias replacing Judas, and Paul) whom Christ personally
chose and commissioned to authoritatively proclaim the gospel and lead
the early church. The thirteen apostles not only were all called
directly by Jesus but all were witnesses of His resurrection, Paul
having encountered Him on the Damascus Road after His ascension. Those
thirteen apostles were given direct revelation of God’s Word to proclaim
authoritatively, the gift of healing, and the power to cast out demons
(Mt
10:1). By these signs their teaching authority was verified
(cf. 2Co
12:12). Their teachings became the foundation of the church
(see note
Ephesians 2:20),
and their authority extended beyond local bodies of believers to the
entire believing world. In the present context Peter uses
apostle
in its more common specialized or restricted meaning. The authority of
Peter's message did not derive from the messenger but from the Sender.
Prophets
(4396)
(prophetes from pró =
before or forth + phemí = tell) refers in the present context to
those who speak under divine influence and inspiration foretelling
future events or exhorting, reproving, and admonishing individuals or
nations as the ambassador of God and the interpreter of His will to men.
The prophets speak not their own thought but what they received
from God, retaining, however, their own consciousness and
self–possession (cf notes
2 Peter 1:21)
In the
Spirit - Refers not to man's spirit but God's Holy Spirit Who is the
Agent of inspiration and illumination. Jesus taught that...
the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and
bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14:26)
"I have many more things to say
to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth,
comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on
His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will
disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take
of Mine, and shall disclose it to you. All things that the Father has
are Mine; therefore I said, that He takes of Mine, and will disclose it
to you. (John 16:12-15)
William
MacDonald has an important comment on the truth in this passage
noting that...
It is only fair to mention that
many Christians take quite a different view from that given above. They
say the church actually did exist in the OT; that Israel was then the
church; but that the truth of the church has now been more fully
revealed. They say,
“The mystery was not known in
other ages as it is now revealed. It was known but not to the same
extent as now. We have a fuller revelation, but we are still the Israel
of God, that is, a continuation of God’s people.”
To support their argument, they
point to Acts 7:38 in the 1611 KJV, where the nation of Israel is
called
“the church (NKJV, NASB,:
congregation) in the wilderness.”
It is true that God’s chosen
people are spoken of as the congregation in the wilderness, but this
does not mean they have any connection with the Christian church. After
all, the Greek word ekklesia is a general term which can mean any
assembly, congregation, or called-out group. It is not only applied to
Israel in Acts 7:38; the same word, translated assembly, is used in Acts
19:32, 41 of a heathen mob. We have to determine from the context (Ed
note: See related study on importance of
context in accurate
interpretation) which “church” or assembly is meant.
But what about the argument that
verse 5 means the church existed in the OT though it was not as fully
revealed then as now? This is answered in Colossians 1:26 (see notes
Colossians 1:26
