Page 28 - The Rapture Question by John F. Walvoord

The Meaning of the Church
mystery: “A secret imparted only to the initiated, what is un­
known until it is revealed, whether it be easy or hard to under­
stand.”4
Content of the mystery
The New Testament revelation concerning the mystery of
the one body is given in express terms in Ephesians 3:1-12. In
this passage the content of the mystery is stated in the follow­
ing words: “The mystery made known to me by revelation, as
I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will
be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which was not made known to men in other generations as it
has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and
prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles
are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body,
and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus” (Eph.
3:3-6). The purpose of the revelation is given in the words “to
make plain to everyone my administration of this mystery,
which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all
things” (Eph. 3:9).
Even an ordinary reading of this passage will reveal the
central feature of the mystery. It is that Gentiles should have
an absolute equality with the Jews in the body of Christ:
“heirs together,” “members together,” and “sharers together
in the promise in Christ Jesus.” Even Allis, who strenuously
opposed the unique character of the church in this age, admit­
ted: “The mystery is, that the Gentiles are to enjoy, actually
do enjoy, a status of complete equality with the Jews in the
Christian Church. . . . They belong to the same body. . . .
This important feature of the Christian Church was the mys­
tery.”5
Was the body of Christ partially revealed in the Old Testament?
Having conceded the main point in the argument, Allis,
however, attempted to nullify the concession by claiming that
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