Gentile Mystery
The mystery is the gentiles share in the gospel of Jesus Christ. To the modern church, there is an obviousness to the fact that Jesus died and rose again for the deliverance of all who believe, no matter their nationality or heritage. But this divine plan was a mystery to the apostles immediately following the ascension of Christ. They did not have full awareness of God's intention, and it turns out that they were not the only ones in the dark about the Gentiles' salvation.
The mystery of the Gentiles has been revealed through the Church.
Jesus came with a mission to die for sinners from all peoples, races, and nations. He was given by the Father in heaven to become the perfect lamb. Jesus' sacrifice atones the sins of any human having the faith to believe Him to be the Son of God, any human who trusts Him. But Jesus' ministry on earth was not to all peoples. Our Messiah limited His ministry outreach to Israel and the Jews. In fact, the prophecies and the writings of the Old Testament pointed to a Jewish Messiah sent to save the Jewish nation. While there were references to the ministry of the Messiah being for the fullness of creation, generally speaking, within the ancient world, the Messiah spoken of in Hebrew scripture was considered of the Jews and for Israel.
Jesus did not disappoint. In passages like Mark 15:24, Jesus is quoted as reaffirming His ministry solely to the Jewish people. With these types of antidotes on which to draw, it is understandable that His disciples would be reluctant to minister to Gentiles. However, this all changed when Peter encountered the Heavenly Father's intent to reach beyond the Abrahamic bloodline to people of every tribe. This revelation was given to the Apostle Peter in a vision described in the Book of Acts. In a vision, God showed Peter that all He has made is good and none should be considered "common" or "unclean." This vision and a Roman centurion's request immediately following the vision led Peter to believe that the gospel was to the Gentiles and the Jews. Jesus may have been a Jewish Messiah, but He is for all humankind.
This revelation resulted in approval from the church leaders to allow the good news of Jesus Christ to spread among the Gentile nations. Paul's missionary ventures followed and spread the gospel throughout Asia Minor and even to Rome. The Gentiles were eager to hear the gospel.
This leads us to Paul's letter to the Ephesians, particularly in chapter 3, verse 6. The Apostle, writing to the Gentiles of Ephesus, explains a mystery revealed. As previously mentioned, the mystery was that "the gentiles are fellow heirs" and "partakers of the promise in Jesus Christ." Paul continues in his letter to expound on the mystery and how it was "kept hidden in God." But "now," when the Messiah's work had been accomplished, with the church in its infancy, God intended to use the church to reveal this mystery.
Here's the thing! This revelation was not solely for the Jews and Gentiles. Paul states, "The manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms." What?! This, of course, means that not even the heavenly realm understood God's plan to bring salvation to the Gentiles. Imagine it! All of heaven is watching the unfolding of human history: the covenant with Abraham, the deliverance of Israel from famine through Joseph in Egypt, the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt through Moses, the Promise Land and establishment of the nation, Israel, the judges, all of the kings and prophets, the exile, the Son of God born as a human child, His death at the hands of those He came to save, the resurrection and victory over death, Pentecost and the deposit of the Holy Spirit, the beginning of the new church and then the conversion of that murderer, Saul, all of these heavenly beings see it happen on the other side of time and space. Yet they did not understand. They did not know God's plan!
Get it. Please, get it. These heavenly beings exist in the realm where they see God; they see beyond the physical world's limits. They are right there with God, yet they do not fully understand His plan. They did not understand why Jesus appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus. They did not know why God moved on this man's heart, and they certainly did not know that Saul would become Paul and end up proclaiming the Good News to the world beyond Judea. How can this be? GOD!
Why is God so mysterious? Because He is God! He is infinite, beyond complete comprehension. We will live eternally, yet God is beyond our comprehension eternally. Every moment in eternity will be an opportunity to discover something new about our Heavenly Father. His plans, His ways, His character, the depth of His love, and the kindness in His heart are all beyond our ability to grasp fully. We will spend eternity, as do the heavenly beings now, learning new revelations about God and what He is doing. Absolutely magnificent! Our God is immeasurable, incomprehensibly vast, unfathomably wise, and unstoppable in His love.
Some say that when we graduate from temporal to timelessness, we will comprehend all things. Nonsense! We will understand more than we have ever understood. But we will begin an adventure of understanding that will be infinite and unimaginably glorious. Praise be to God Almighty!