Scripture Research, Inc., P.O. Box 51716 Riverside, CA 92517

Ewalt Memorial Bible School, Atascadero, California

CONTENTS

The Mystery Ministry of Paul ………………………... 93

By Russell H. Schaefer

Introduction (Prophecies that failed?) …………… 93

Section One

(Various Gospels) ……………………………. 99

Section Two

1. The Roman World & Paul's Later

Letters ……………………………………. 106

2. Paul Chained for Israel's Hope ………….. 107

3. Dating Paul's Later Letters

Philippians…………………………….. 108

2Timothy……………………………. 109

1 Timothy …………………………... 111

Titus ……………………............…………… 112

Ephesians & Colossians ….………… 114

Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon ...…… 115

 

Section Three

The Mystery Epistles ………………………. 118

Philippians and Romans, compared ……… 118

"At Ephesus?" …………………………….. 121

The Interrelationship of Eph. & Col. …. … 123

 

Section Four

Epistles of Completeness …………………. . 129

His Workmanship ……………………… … 129

In The Heavenlies, meaning and Usage .. ... 136

Origin of Evil (a parentheses) …………. … 154

The Panoply of God …………………….. … 157

(A continuation from page 153)

NOTES

One The Letter to Philemon …………………. 167

two "If ye continue in the faith" ……………. 168

Three "To fill up the sufferings of Christ" …... 169

Four "The reward of the inheritance ………... 170

THE MYSTERY MINISTRY

OF PAUL

by Russell H. Schaefer

The Epistles of Ephesians and Colossians are entirely unique inasmuch as in them alone is revealed God's Secret Dispensation.

In these Epistles alone are found those entwining and varied facets of the Great Secret that makes for such profound distinctions between the present "secret" administrative purposes of God as over against that which had been hitherto revealed.

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Early in the nineteenth century there were large numbers of sincere believers who looked for the return of Christ at any moment. These ardent followers would have been incredulous had they been told that decades would elapse, that generation after generation of saintly people would die, that world-wide wars would come and go, that governments would be swept away by revolts and revolution, that anti-christ type of men and nations would appear, that disease and famine would run rampant, that innocent victims of aggression would number into the tens of millions, that paganism and formalism would devitalize the so-called Christian church ... and that in the face of all this the heavens had remained silent, and Christ had not yet returned.

Today there is a resurgence to the doctrine of the "imminent and immediate" return of Christ. These groups point to the vast tension areas throughout the world as the "signs" of His coming. Or to the "tongues" movements as the long awaited evidence that the "last days" of Joel's prophecy had finally arrived. Each generation tends to over-look that this same phenomena has been wide spread within this country, and at its varied peaks of excitation produced a kindred atmosphere of expectation, i.e., "The Coming of The Lord was near." How soon one forgets the dire predictions of

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yesteryears that had so miserably failed in their fulfillments. If those erstwhile prognosticators had been living under the law of the O.T. they would have been put to death as false prophets. "The Late Planet Earth" although chronically ill, is still here, alive and kicking, and will be here long after those supposed prophetic books and authors are out-dated by some new frenzied headlines. There will always be those followers that sell their "houses and lands" in anticipation of a special recompense at what their leaders had told them was to be the soon appearing of The King and Kingdom of God on earth. A television "prophet" urges his many audiences to obtain his "tribulation survival tape cassette" and to place it conspicuously for those "left behind" so that they can cope with the expected Divine judgments after the "faithful" had been secretly caught away.

If the long delay of Christ's personal return has caused wonder among present believers, think of the problems this doctrine must have presented to followers of Christ within the first century. The prophetic N.T. texts bearing upon the return of Christ give no intimation that thousands of years would elapse between the time the predictions were given and their fulfillment. The early Christians felt that the bloody history of the Caesars, during and closing the first century, was the enactment of the actual events that would surely culminate in the Second Coming. To these early believers emperor worship assumed awful proportions as each moment was fraught with life or death. To them it was Satan who stood upon the seashore and called forth the false Christ. The Caesars became the master of the sea, uniting in themselves the ten-fold sections of the empire, and proclaimed to the world the Divine omnipotence of the Caesars. They were all powerful, to worship or to die were the only alternatives. The worshippers were sealed with the sign of the emperor on brow and hand at all levels and stations in life. If the Caesars were pictured as having seven stars in their right hand, so the exiled Seer of the convict island of Patmos would show The True Son of Man, God's Imperator and High Priest, in the heavenly courts, clothed with the appropriate garments as befitting King of all Kings and Lord of all Lords. His face was like the sun, His eyes as flames of fire, and He holds in His right hand the sign of power, the seven stars. Each message of the book of Revelation follows the exact pattern of the edicts of the Caesars. Even the seven prizes given to the victors are the same: the banquet, the crown of life, the white stone, citizenship, white garments, the place of honor, and the

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joint-seating on the throne. No wonder this "historical" application and interpretation of prophetic themes in The Word of God held sway over the hearts and minds of the "state" churches well into the eighteenth century. While the older "historical fulfillment" concept is not without merit (and is the position held by many denominations), still it is open to question because of what was not fulfilled. To give a few instances from the book of Hebrews:

1. The anticipated New Earth did not arrive.

Heb. l:6; 2:5.

2. The Great Deliverance projected with the returning Christ did not come to pass. Heb. l:14; 9:28.

3. The "... subjection of all things to Christ" did not materialize. Heb. 2:8.

4. The "Sabbath-rest" for the people of the Covenant was never entered into. Heb. 4:9-11.

5. The "Golden Age" with it's powers foreshadowed in the Book of Acts, was never instituted. Heb. 6:5.

6. The "New Covenant" made and instituted to take away Israel's and Judah's alienation and rebellion, failed to find receptive faith. Heb. 8:7-13; 10:16.

7. The "Good things" that were to attend Christ's high priestly office for Israel were never enjoyed by that people. Heb. 9:11; 10:1.

8. The "Coming One" that was to come "in a little while" has tarried a long time. Heb. 10:37.

9. The "shaking of heaven and earth" to remove the dross of temporal things has been awaited in vain by each succeeding generation. Heb. 12:25-27.

10. The "Unshakable Kingdom" looked for by Abraham and Israel, is not here yet. Heb. 12:28.

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11. The "City of God" has not yet come out of the heavens to a new earth. Heb. 13:14.

12. We see "not yet" His enemies made His footstool.

Heb, 10:13.

The historical fulfillment concept of prophecy failed just on the threshold of attaining some of the great goals of prophecy; i.e., the return of Christ to the earth, the judgment of the nations, the establishing of the kingdom, the New Heavens and the New Earth. When the "Coming" did not materialize the historical school had no Scriptural explanation to offer so it gave to its followers a "pseudo-coming"; that Christ comes as The Holy Spirit, and this might be at baptism, conversion, confirmation, communion, or church member-ship. The Kingdom of God on earth became the "church", with its parroting of temporal powers, and in its sad history it has used the sword to enforce its political decisions.

There is nothing within the frame-work of modern nations and world affairs that approached the exact preliminary fulfillment of prophecy as did the historical, even to the fleeing of the believers into the mountains (Matt. 24:16-22) to avoid being engulfed in the unparalleled destruction that befell Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Notice how the following texts seem to favor an early fulfillment of prophecy:

1. And whenever they may persecute you in this city, flee to the other, for verily I say to you, ye may not have completed the cities of Israel till The Son of Man may come. Matt. 10:23.

2. For, The Son of Man is about to come in the glory of His Father, with His messengers, and then He will reward each, according to his work. Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see The Son of Man coming in His reign. Matt. 16:27, 28.

3. Verily I say to you, this generation may not pass away till all these may come to pass. Matt. 24:34.

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These quotations from Young's Literal Translation reflect the Greek text better than the A.V. In the second set of texts cited some point to the scenes of the Mount of Transfiguration vision (Matt. 17:1-8) as the supposed fulfillment of this prophecy. But at the Mount there was "no coming" since Christ had not gone anywhere, there was no reigning, no kingdom and no rewards. Moses and Elijah are rather seen as conversing with Christ in respect to His coming death. The third quotation is tortured so as to make "generation" mean the Jewish race.

All the immediate apostles and disciples of Christ died without having seen the "soon" return of The Lord. A moderate delay may have been implied in these prophecies, however the long ages that have since passed has strained their credulity. Within his life-time and in full assurance Peter wrote, "… the end of all things is at hand" (1 Pet. 4:7). Likewise James, writing to the twelve tribes of Israel stated, "... the coming of The Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8). Paul counted himself as among that company who would be, "... alive and remain unto the coming of The Lord" (1 Thes. 4:15-17). In contra-distinction to this expected first century coming, some texts hint at more issues involved than a mere time-lag:

1. Lo, left desolate to you is your House; for I say to you, ye may not see Me henceforth till ye may say, Blessed is He who is coming in The Name of The Lord.

(Y.L.T. Matt. 23:39)

2. And He may send Jesus Christ who before hath been preached to you, Whom it behoveth Heaven, indeed, to receive till times of restitution of all things, of which God spake through the mouth of all His holy prophets from the age. (Y.L.T. Acts 3:20, 21)

Prophetically, all earthly blessings from God were bound up with the hopes and promises of Abraham and Israel. The last Israel owned of God as a nation, was the Israel of the Book of Acts. Now, at this present time, they are as of a people "dead and buried" without hope and without life. The Israel of the Book of Acts could not neglect the "… so great Salvation" with impunity (Heb. 2:3), nor reject the blood of the proffered New Covenant, and do despite unto the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:26-31) without reaping the dire

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prophesied consequences. If Israel is to experience a "restitution" to a former golden age, as under Solomon, or to the kingdom prophesied in Isaiah or Daniel, then Israel must win the struggle over the flesh as did their fore-bearer of old, Jacob. Jacob, the "heel-catcher" was indeed well named. He was always "Jacobing" some one out of something, hence this "heel-catcher" was always "supplanting"; "over-reaching"; (See Gen. 25:26; 27:18-36; 32:28.) he almost learned too late that his real heritage was a spiritual one consisting in and out-flowing from his personal relationship with God. It is a lesson ill learned by the nations or individuals of the earth, Israel's House, that Temple of Peace and Prayer for all people, was leveled to the earth in A.D. 70, and with it's passing, Israel ceased to be a "mediating" nation for the peoples of the earth. Fortunately, at this present time God is graciously dealing with individuals irrespective of their national, cultural, racial, or sexual status.

Over the years many believers have delved into the prophetic side of The Word of God and have rested their hopes upon the soon return of The Lord, only to be thwarted of their expectations when the fore-shadowing events vividly enacted before them failed to culminate in the Second Coming. Some responded with a bold unbelief in the veracity of Scripture itself while others wistfully wondered if they had been believing a delusion. A few questioned the traditional church's ability as a competent exegete of Scripture, and felt that with a free spirit of inquiry into The Scriptures of Truth, that The Word of God might yield up treasures hitherto undreamed of that might more than answer the problems caused by the delay of Christ's returning.

1. Why indeed has God been judicatorily withholding His early prophesied judgments in the earth?

2. Aside from the inexorable law of sowing and reaping, is God's silence and absence of judgment an indication of indifference on His part, or, evidence of a gracious amnesty and clemency toward the whole human race?

3. Conceding that God's character and purposes are holy, unchangeable, and inviolable; still has some thing hither- to obscure been brought to the forefront in keeping with

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God's redemptive will that would fully justify God's activity in stopping the prophesied and duly programmed events from taking place?*

4. Is the Secret-Mystery-Dispensation of God's on-going grace with it's many ramifications (as revealed in Ephesians and Colossians) one of the great Divine Blessed truths that would have to be reckoned with in any computation of God's program and will for this present time?

5. Has the grand purposes involved with the great secrets of Ephesians and Colossians been projected upon the stage of the present ages with the back-drop extending into the Heavenlies, and over-shooting the judgemental prophetic- clock, and in effect, stopping it?

The word "Gospel" means "Glad-tidings." Paul uses this word sixty-two times out of its seventy-seven occurrences in the N.T. In today's parlance it has come to mean the message of God's salvation to the unreached. This restricted meaning is not inherent in the N.T. The context of the usage must determine both the substance and the ones to whom it is addressed. An illustration of this is the gospel announced in Matt. 4:23. It had a King and a Kingdom for its subject, it was exclusively Jewish (Matt. 10:5-7), and The Lord had told his disciples not to tell any one that He was the "looked-for One, Jesus The Messiah" (Matt. 16:20; Mk. 8:29); in respect to His death (Lk. 18:32, 33) His apostles did not understand it, and it's meaning was hid from them (Lk. 18:24). At the time this gospel was operative Christ had not died, no redemptive blood had been shed, and the apostles were forbidden to go to those of the nations. All this would make havoc of what is considered "Evangelism" today. The terms of Matthew 10 are restrictive as to program, people, place, and financial policy.

Notice Paul's usages in the following:

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*Humanly speaking, of course.

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1. "ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES."

For I delivered unto you (among the first things) what also I received: How that Christ died for our sins according to The Scriptures, And that He was buried.  And that He hath been raised on the third day, according to The Scriptures.

1 Cor. 15:3, 4. Rotherham.

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called apostle, separated unto the glad-message of God which He promised beforehand through His prophets in Holy Scriptures.

Rom. 1:1, 2. Rotherham.

Of course, these were The Scriptures of the O.T., including the first three Gospels. That Christ died in our behalf is indeed the Glad-tidings of Salvation. This Gospel was not exclusive to Paul, it was not hidden either from the ages, or in mystic Scriptures. (See Gen. 3:15; Isa. 52:13-53:1-12; Psa. 22).

Hushed during the past ages

Rom. 16:25, 26. C. V.

The above Concordant Version quotation reflects the N.T.

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Greek text very well. The "Postscript" theory advanced in an effort to bind this "hushed" secret to the "Mystery" of the Ephesian and Colossian Letters is not needed; it causes confusion, and does not honor the principle of interpretation, i.e., one does not bring a later truth into an earlier context.

This "Gospel" has to do with God's reconciliation of the world. There is no longer a barrier between God and the people of the earth. Rom. 5:10 states how God removed the barrier caused by the sin of man:

For, if being enemies

We were reconciled unto God

through the death of His Son...

Rotherham text.

This act of Divine Grace-amnesty is beautifully set forth in A. S. Way's translation of Rom. 5:15-18 where God's grace is depicted as far reaching, aye, over-reaching the sin of Adam's race:

This First Man of the Old Life prefigures the destined First Man of the New Life: (vs. 14).

each gave a gift to humanity- - - -

the former (The First Adam), the death-fraught transgression,

The Latter (The Last Adam) the free gift of Life.

But note, that transgression and this free gift are in inverse proportion. Through that one man's trespass the myriads of humanity died, I grant you: yet the disporportion is as nothing to the measureless over-flowings to the myriads of humanity of the fountain of the grace of God, and His bounty conveyed by the grace embodied in This One Man, Jesus The Christ. No, the bounty (grace) now bestowed is not com-mensurate with the mischief that came from that one man's sin. On that one man's sin followed a sentence that meant humanity's condemnation: but here, on all its countless sins follows a Free Gift of God that means humanity's acquittal.

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The great issues of the judicial silence of Odd have their answer in this great Gospel of God's reconciling grace to all humanity. It is so well expressed in 2 Cor. 5:18, l9:

The all things moreover are of God.

Who hath reconciled us to Himself through Christ,

And hath given us the reconciling ministry:

How that God was in Christ Reconciling a world unto Himself,

NOT RECKONING UNTO THEIR OFFENSES,

And hath put in us the reconciling discourse.

Rotherham.

All this is an act of God in pure grace in which man has no part except to let it act upon him by faith, and to rejoice in it. God's way to win our affection is to pour out His love and grace first in measureless abundance as shown in His devising a perfect redemption in the work of a Perfect Redeemer on which grounds He was henceforth free to proffer His love to all without any liens upon His justice caused by human sin or demerit. Being "all of grace," human merit would not cause it to be limited to a few select individuals, nor would the enormity of one's sins cause it to be withheld. Not only would sin "not be reckoned unto them" but more positively it would not be a factor at all in restraining God's love to mankind. This is so vividly set out in 2 Cor. 5:20, 21:

In behalf of Christ therefore are we ambassadors.

As if God were beseeching through us:

We entreat, in behalf of Christ,

Be reconciled (let yourself be) unto God!

Him Who knew not sin

In our behalf He made to be sin,

That we might become

God's righteousness

In Him.

This reconciliation procures for all not merely an acquittal caused by the non-imputation of sin, but much more, that God in Christ's humanity Submitted the representative Man of the whole

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race to death so that in Him the race expiates its sin. The full ground work for life in Christ and being made the righteousness of God in Him has been laid. Grace now reigns, and will continue to reign beyond the extent, effect, and duration of sin. In the words of the bard:

On Him Almighty judgment fell

That must needs sink a world to hell.

He bore it for a sinful race, and

Thus became their hiding Place.

In this Gospel Grace is to have the last word. The very down-fall of the First Adam prefigured another and Last Adam to undo the work of the first. This was the way this gospel was "hushed"! Our first parents thought The Redeemer would come immediately as seen by their remarks regarding their children. If God could show grace to the people of Nineveh in spite of the displeasure of Jonah could He not do so to the whole world undeserving as it is?

This gospel of the world-wide reconciliation of God was not shared by the other apostles. It was a distinctly Pauline Gospel. It was not blazoned abroad, it was "hushed" during the past ages, with its full revelation, certain O.T. passages took on new luster and meaning.

Hidden from the ages, hidden past generations, HID IN GOD.

Eph. 6:19, 20. Roddy

This wonderful glad-tidings, with the "Untraceable Riches of The Christ" as its substance, is now being addressed to believers

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every where, and without distinctions of any kind. The O.T. would be searched in vain for any trace of it, nor would it be found in any N.T. writings except Ephesians and Colossians. It is singularly and distinctly Pauline:

Unto me

The less than least of all saints

Was given this favour (grace)

Unto the nations to announce the glad-

message of the UNTRACEABLE

RICHES OF THE CHRIST.

Eph. 3:8 Rotherham

This opening up of all the spiritual wealth of Christ in the heavenlies to every believer made Paul realize how beggarly was the messenger to carry the burden of so great a grace entailing so rich a treasure-horde, the fullness of God in Christ to be summed-up in the believer.

This "UNTRACEABLE RICHES OF CHRIST" is aptly spoken of by Way in his translation as, "… the treasure no human search could have found," then he adds:

... that I should uplift a light whereby all

may see what it means,

this stewardship* of the SECRET

which has been from all time

HIDDEN AWAY IN THE MIND OF GOD. . .

Eph. 3:9a.

During all the past ages this household of The Secret has been "hid in God" until He revealed it through Paul. A secret so well hidden could not have been prophesied. It could not have been pre-figured in Israel's Acts 2 church or been the subject of Joel's sign-gift prophecies. Christendom has nothing in common with this secret household under the headship of Christ alone, and in Whom

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*A. V. translates this "fellowship", fr. koinonia, rather than oikonomia, lit. house-rule, i.e., a household of God and how it is governed. The manuscript authority is on the side of "oikonomia." This family would be ruled by pure grace and all would be equal.

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all are equal. From all nations, of all nations, all races, all cultures, this would indeed be a "new humanity" (Eph. 2:15) in which all distinctions had been obliterated.

To re-emphasize the secret nature of this present dispen-sation, Paul adds to the information given in the Ephesian Letter that this was also "hidden from generations." Not only is this stated in the following texts, but also that this secret COMPLETES The Word of God. This last startling information should be a great comfort to all of us who have pondered how, through whom and when the Word of God was completed. Thankfully, it is through an inspired Apostle, not through an uninspired church council meeting many centuries later. This statement of Paul's also means that all other N.T. Scriptures were written prior to the penning of the Ephesian-Colossian Epistles. No other Scripture reaches the heights of these "Mystery" Epistles. The many "pseudo-scriptures" put forth by pitiful individuals can only be compared to offal (like all man-made righteousness) in contrast to the beauty and grandeur of this final revelation of God's purposes and grace toward those "in Christ Jesus." J. N. Darby's translation of Col. 1:25, 26 reads almost like we were reading these truths for the first time:

... of which I became a minister,

according to the dispensation of God,

which is given me toward you,

TO COMPLETE THE WORD OF GOD,

The MYSTERY which has been HIDDEN

FROM AGES AND GENERATIONS,

but has now (just now) been made manifest

To His saints. . .

The "grace" character of this dispensation is set forth in Eph. 3:l-3a:

For this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of

Christ Jesus, for you, the nations,

If, indeed, ye did hear of the dispensation

of the grace of God given to me

in regard to you.

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That by revelation He made known to me

The SECRET. . . Y.L.T.

Way, in his translation of Eph. 1:9, 10 touches the meaning that underscores this mystery:

For He revealed to us the secret of His will.

According to that His determination

Which He had formed within Himself

To carry out the dispensation that waited but the

fullness of the time.

For His purpose was to re-unite* all things

Under Christ as their Head --

Things in the heavens, things on the earth -- All, all made one in Him.

Christ is to be in All The Complemental parts, all are to bear His likeness and to share His life. He is to be the "Summation" of the whole. God's goal is Christ and the triumph of grace! No won-der then that the Apostle would pen the words of Col. 1:27:

… the RICHES of the GLORY of this MYSTERY

among the nations --

Which is, CHRIST IN YOU, the HOPE of the

GLORY. Y.L.T.

The indwelling Christ via His Spirit is both the seal and the earnest of the glory since His Spirit seals us into Christ on the one hand and gives us His life on the other. What a Glad-tiding this message is! To review it briefly:

Dispensation, translation of the Greek word, Oikonomia, made up of Oikos, "house-hold" or "family", and Nomos, "law, rule or how it is governed."

Where? Until it was revealed it was "hidden in God".

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*Gr. Anakephalaioomai, from Ana, "up" and the verbal form of kephale, "head", hence to "head up", to "sum up under one head", Christ, The Head, will reflect and be reflected in all the parts.

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Prophetic Scriptures? It was "untraceable"

Past Ages? "hidden from them ..."

Past generations? "hidden from them ..."

It's designation? "A secret."

It's essential character? "Grace." "Ruled by grace."

To whom addressed? "Saints and faithful in Christ Jesus."

Which household? The "household of God." Adopted in Christ Jesus and bearing The Father's Name.

Toward what goal? Christ to be the summation of the whole. Through whom revealed? The Apostle Paul.

The Ephesian-Colossian Letters? Their truths are given to

climax, fill full or complete The Revealed Will and

Purposes of God.

There are a multitude of truths within these Epistles not delved into in this brief presentation, many will be elaborated upon later.

1. The Roman World and Paul's Later Letters

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28:30. Nero was assisted in killing himself in A.D. 68 but the carnage of the Christians he began continued until the Imperial Edict was lifted by the Emperor Galerius in A.D. 311. The Jews began their war of liberation from Rome in A.D. 66. Nero appointed the Gen-eral Vespasian to crush the Jewish revolt. If he succeeded he was to be pardoned for affronting Nero. With Titus, his son, and his seasoned Tenth Legion, he crushed the rebellion except in the city of Jerusalem. Late in A.D. 69 Titus mounted the final assault on Jerusalem. With Nero dead Galba reigned for eight months before being assassinated. Vespasian was proclaimed "Caesar" on July 1st; the Syrian Legions endorsed the decision on July 3rd. In Sept. A.D.70 Titus entered the inner confines of Jerusalem. Late in October his father led the triumph parade of captured Jews and other enemies of the Empire through the streets of Rome. These pitiful wrecks of humanity were confined in the "Tullianum" dungeon of Rome awaiting such "triumphs". Afterwards, they were either publicly executed, used up in the arenas, or enslaved for the mines. All captives taken in war, or declared to be "Enemies of the World" were designated as "Captives or Prisoners of the Spear". Christians would fall under this latter edict of Nero because of their resistance to Emperor worship. Had Paul indeed been the Egyptian leader of the Assassins, Acts 21:38, he would have been designated a "Captive of the Spear", as it was, he was freed. It was likely some such arrest that accounts for Paul using this term of himself and others in Romans 16:7.

2. Paul, Chained For Israel’s Hope

It is a mistake to speak of Paul's Prison Ministry only in terms of The Mystery as revealed in Ephesians and Colossians. Paul was a prisoner when he was held stocks in the inner prison at Philippi, in the Fort Antonia in Jerusalem, at Caesarea in Herod's Praetorium, in Rome -- chained to a soldier likely attached to the barracks of the Imperial Guard. All this before the revelation of The Mystery.

Paul speaks in reference to his chains, and like Israel's prophets of old, uses them as his badge of ministry to Israel:

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on account of the Hope of Israel this chain have I about me!

26:6, 7 And now for the Hope of the Promise unto

& 22 our Fathers being brought to pass by God am

I standing to be judged, unto which Hope our Twelve-tribed Nation with intensity night and

day rendering divine service, is hoping to

attain: concerning which Hope I am being accused by Jews, O King!

So then, having met with the help that is from God, until this day do I stand witnessing to both small and great, nothing else saying

than those things which both the prophets

and Moses did say should certainly come to pass. Rotherham's text

The universality of Israel's Hope is mentioned in Acts 26:23; Isa. 42:5; 49:6; 56:3-7; & 9:6,7. That which was predicated of Israel was that double portion of blessing given to The First-born. As The Firstborn among the nations it would be her duty and right to bring the blessings that she enjoyed to all the nations of the earth. If Israel was "alienated" from her heritage, strangers to the Covenants of Promise and cut off from The Messiah in unbelief, then too were the nations cut off and alienated but in a more tragic sense -- unless another and different sphere of blessing were opened up to them distinct from the Hope of Israel, and apart from the ministry of Israel. The Kingdom of God of the O.T., the Gospels, and "Acts" is prophetically bound up with the people and prophecies of Israel. The blessings of the Nations is only in degree, not kind. In the Kingdom, of course,

Like ourselves, Israel boasted of her privilege, and in pride forgot her responsibilities. So like their forefathers' they handed over to prison the Apostle Paul, and sought to slay him on every side. As a last resort Paul used his right of citizenship and appealed to Rome for redress. Israelites were Paul's accusers during "Acts"; after "Acts", the Emperor was the accuser, " … death to Christians."

The great doctrines of the Ephesian-Colossian Letters would

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conclusively invalidate such statements as found in Acts 26:6, 7, 22 & 28:20. Statements such as these as well as those in the 9th, 10th & 11th chapters of Romans only have meaning if the Hope of Israel had not been set aside. They have no application now since another hope has been revealed.

3. Internal and External Evidence

in dating Paul's Later Letters

1. Philippians

Nero's edict of "Death to the Christians" occurred in A.D. 64. Note the following texts from Philippians:

Phil. 1:12-15 Howbeit I am minded brethren that ye should be getting to know that the things which relate unto myself rather unto an advancement of the glad message have fallen out,

So that my bonds have become manifest in Christ in the whole Praetorium, and unto all the rest, and so that most of the brethren in The Lord, assured by my bonds, are becoming more abundantly bold to be fearlessly speaking The Word of God: Some indeed by reason of envy and strife, some however by reason of good will are proclaiming The Christ:

 

Wherever Paul was chained as he penned this letter, it was becoming obvious to all that his chains were for the cause of Christ. Although in chains, his position seemed to work favorably to the advancement of the glad-tidings. On the one hand this response engendered jealousy in the Imperial Household, but encouraged boldness amongst believers. Paul saw this as a possibly providential way of deliverance:

For I know that this shall turn unto me for salvation (deliverance) (Phil.l:l9^a).

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Phi1.2:17^a Nay! if I am even to be poured out as a drink-offering upon the sacrifice and public ministry of your faith.

The temper of the times could easily swing away from Paul. The Philippian Letter closes with a strange salutation. This would have been totally impossible after Nero's edict since no believer's salutation from Caesar's Household would have been feasible after the issuance of the Imperial Edict. Note:

All the saints salute you, but especially they who are of Caesar's Household (Phil. 4:22).

The above also reminds one of the closing words of the Book of Acts:

... with all freedom of speech without hindrance.

The favorable reception afforded Paul's message in Rome may have resulted in Paul being released as tradition teaches -- with a subsequent journey to Spain. See longer note on Philippians, page 118.

2. II Timothy

The dating of 2 Timothy in respect to Paul's imprisonment, Nero's Edict, and the Book of Acts, is difficult. From 2 Timothy it is evident that certain changes were taking place. Wuest's translation shows the gathering storm:

During my self defense at the preliminary trial, not even one person appeared in court, taking his stand at my side as a friend of mine, but all let me down. May it not be put to their account … and I was drawn to His side out of the Lion's mouth (4:16, 17b).

So, the Letter seems to mark the preliminary part of the first

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trial, and in contrast to the optimistic note of Philippians, there is a sense of brooding loneliness and despair. Wuest again captures this pathos in translating 2 Timothy 4:6:

For my life's blood is already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure is already present.

Also, a course of ministry is finished with 2 Timothy:

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the Faith (4:7).

Paul had strained, agonized, and contested for The Truth of God as revealed to him up to this time. He had finished the course laid out for him, and was resting at its goal. He had guarded well the faith that had been committed to his trust. See Gr. text of 2 Tim. 1:12.

The book itself speaks of a visit to Troas, Corinth, and Miletus (4:13, 20) that doesn't fit into Paul's earlier journeys, these might indicate a release from prison and a subsequent re-arrest.

The substance of the doctrines taught in 2 Timothy are in tune more with Romans, Galatians, the Corinthian and Thessalonian Letters rather than The Mystery of Ephesians and Colossians. The addition of the words, "... of the Gentiles" (1:11), are lacking in all the critical Greek texts. The "Last Days" of chapter three sound suspiciously like the "Last Days" of 2 Peter 3:3, and Jude 18, a covering term embracing the events associated with the first and Second advent of Christ. Why some should associate the "Last Days" of 2 Timothy with the Mystery when the meaning of the term has already been settled in Scripture ...? The traditional meaning follows the adjuration of 2 Timothy 4:1 both as to intent and meaning, and this within prophetic times as the text indicates:

I adjure thee before God, and Christ Jesus -

Who is about to be judging living and dead,

Both as to His Forthshining and His Kingdom.

The above text no doubt is speaking of the judging and

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testing of 2 Timothy 1:18; 2:12; & 4:8. These events are also mentioned in Phil. 1:6, 10, & 2:16. The "laying on of hands" and Paul's exhortation to Timothy to "fan the flame" of the charismatic gift given to him (2 Tim. 1:6) is in keeping with the bestowal of this type of gift in Acts 8:18 & 19:6, gifts belonging to a by-gone Acts program having nothing in common with the temporary "gift of men" (Eph.4:11) to the Body of Christ for the "adjustment of the Saints" (Eph.4:l2), away from the Pentecostal Hope of the Acts period, and to The Great Mystery truths of the Ephesian - Colossian Letters.

The message of which Paul was made a minister, 2 Tim. 1:11-14, might only seem to be the same truths as The Mystery of the Ephesian & Colossian Letters if the texts are given but a cursory reading. However, the texts in 2 Timothy compare more favorably with 1 Peter:

2 Timothy 1:9-11 Compare 1 Peter 1:18-21

Who has saved us, and has Knowing that ye have been

called us with a holy calling, not redeemed, not by corruptible

according to our works, but silver or gold, from your vain

according to His own purpose conversation handed down and grace, which was given to from fathers, but by precious us in Christ Jesus before ages blood, as of a lamb without

of time, but has been made manifest, (the blood) of Christ,

fest now by the appearing of our foreknown indeed before the

Savior Jesus Christ, Who has foundation of the world, but annulled death, and brought to Who has been manifested at light life and incorruptibility the end times for your sakes,

by the glad tidings; to which who by Him do believe on

I have been appointed a herald God, Who has raised Him

and apostle and teacher of from among the dead, and

nations. given Him glory, that your faith and hope should be in God

(J. N. Darby’s Translation)

While the "purpose and grace" of this calling was "before the ages" still nothing is said about it being "hidden", nor was it made manifest after the close of The Book of Acts, but by its very terms, it

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was made manifest by the FIRST ADVENT of Christ, see verse 10.

The message spoken of in 2 Timothy has to do with "life and immortality" as being "In Christ". This is what was brought to light by Christ’s resurrection from among the dead. Peter stresses that redemption was also foreknown and manifest when that precious blood was shed and Christ was raised from the dead. Both 2 Timothy 1:9-11 & I Peter 1:18-21 have a pre-world dating.

In respect to the messages of I Peter and 2 Timothy it Should hardly need stating that "Life In Christ" is an absolute and primary prerequisite of a vital relationship with God. Life in Christ is a foundational truth and must of necessity coincide with the precious blood of Christ. This truth is assumed in the Ephesian-Colossian Letters. Nor, would they be possible without this premise, since the only life that God accepts is one that has been co-mingled with that of Christ’s. It is basic to The Mystery to have one's life "hid with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3), and "Christ, the Life of us (Col. 3:4), epitomizes and reveals Christ as an illustration of what the full measure will be of what we will be to God. And Christ is the full; depiction of all that God will be to us. This is a quality of life that will be in constant fulfillment long after earth's ages have run their little day. The truth that life and incorruptibility are only found in Christ has been obscured by the teaching that man by his inherent nature is naturally immortal. Scripture teaches that only Christ has immortality, I Tim.1:16. Immortality or incorruptibility has to do with resurrection, as I Cor. 15:53 testifies. If it is some thing to be "put on" then man does not have it naturally. Life in Christ is a life that has Christ for its center and periphery, as well as partaking of Christ's very life vitality by the creative activity of God's Spirit in us.

I Timothy and Titus present no internal evidence that they are in any way letters written from prison. Nor is there any external evidence suggesting that Paul was a prisoner when he addressed them to Timothy and Titus respectively. The text of I Timothy 1:3 is hopelessly confusing since no record exists as to when Paul on a journey to Macedonia ordered Timothy to abide in Ephesus. The contrary is the case as Acts 19:22 states:

So he sent into Macedonia two of them that

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ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.

Paul had two stays in Ephesus. Acts 18:19 records a brief stopover while Acts 19:31 tells of three years being spent there. If the letter of I Timothy is sent to correct a situation at Ephesus, then the letter is inexplicable and Paul's lengthy ministry at Ephesus is incomprehensible. In reading a multitude of authorities on the Greek text of I Timothy 1:3 one is struck by the confusion caused by the ambiguity of the text itself. As Kenneth Wuest states, "The construction is left dangling in the air." To solve the dilemma may be impossible at this late date. Possibly another factor enters into this question, and it might have a bearing upon the Titus Epistle as well. Earlier in this study it was suggested that Paul had been released from the restraints upon him after the close of Acts. The closing words of Acts certainly rounds out Paul's Acts ministry but it also implies that a change took place after the two years ministry in his hired house. If this change had been the death of Paul, Luke would have mentioned it. A release of Paul after the close of Acts is an alternative to his death, an alternative that is traditional and based upon the writings of the so-called early church fathers. Of either conjecture the evidence is on the side of a release. A release explains the difficulties involved with both letters of Timothy and Titus. Clement of Rome wrote:

Paul won the noble renown which was the reward of his faith, having taught righteousness unto the whole world, and having reached the furthest bound of the West.

This probably means Spain, as he hoped to do, Rom. 15:24, 28. The Muratorian fragment (A.D. I70) mentions the "departure of Paul from the city to Spain." Eusebius (HE, 11 22:2) states that at the end of the two years of imprisonment, the Apostle went forth again upon the ministry of preaching, and on a second visit to the city (Rome) ended his career by martyrdom under Nero. While this only raises the degree of probability of Paul's release and re-arrest, the alternative offers no evidence whatever. These very epistles might well be the history of those post-Acts years of ministry. The scanty nature of the evidence cannot be used against it since nearly the entire labors of the twelve apostles are not recorded at all, and

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even during the Acts ministry of Paul whole years are passed over without mention. The only reasonable objection would be that it is difficult to account for the rapid apostasy apparent between the first and second letters of Timothy. If the pressure was from the political climate of the Empire in which no time was allowed for spiritual maturity, then this would help account for it.

The wonderful Gospel by which Paul was saved, and with which he was entrusted for others, is given a worthy prominence in these letters. No mention is made of The Great Mystery of the Ephesian-Colossian Letters.

The Epistle of Titus, like I Timothy, is difficult to place if one rejects a post-Acts release of Paul. It is not written from prison. Paul had left Titus on Crete (Titus 1:5) to set things in order there. The only recorded visit of Paul to Crete was when he was enroute to Rome, Acts 27:7-12. It is unlikely that this is the trip spoken of in this letter. Paul was looking forward to meeting Titus in Nicopolis, Titus 3:12. Whether this was the city by that name in Cilicia, or Thrace, or Epirus is unknown but likely it was that in Epirus. As in 2 Timothy, "life" before the ages, promised and made manifest, is the hope expressed in Titus 1:2, & 3:

In hope of life, age-abiding; which God Who

cannot lie, promised before age-during times,

But hath manifested in its fitting seasons,

even His Word in the proclamation with which

entrusted am I, by injunction of our Saviour God.,

Unless one knows when The Scriptural ages had their beginning, the meaning of the phrase, "before age-times" will re-main obscure. The hope of life promised before age-times might well correspond with the "Book of Life" mentioned in Phil.4:3. The book of life dates from the foundation of the cosmos, to which this Titus dating of life may refer. Notice how the book of Revelation uses the term:

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Rev. 17:8 Rev. 13:8

… whose names were not … Whose names are not written in the Book of Life not written in the from the foundation of the Book of Life of The of the world … Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Rev. 21:27 fulfills the Book of Life in Abraham's City. This city also figures in the hope of the Galatian Letter, 4:25-31, and the Hebrew Epistle, Heb. 11:10. Are the terms, "Before the Ages be-gan" and "From the Foundation of the World", different in meaning? It is possible that the ages refer to man and the cosmos to a system in which he would find himself.

Titus and I Timothy have much to say about the appointing of elders bishops, and deacons. These words have long ago lost their original simple meaning. An elder was simply an older person. A deacon was a servant. A bishop was one who had over-sight. There were no bishop rings or robes. The order set forth in Titus and I Timothy was that of the Jewish synagogue, including the place of marriage for bishops, the role of the family, and women in general. The qualifications for elders (Gr. presbuteros) is given in the Titus and Timothy epistles; the duties of over-seeing (episkopeo) in Titus, I Timothy, and I Peter. Elders are frequently mentioned in the book of Revelation. No "elder; "bishop", or "priest" is spoken of in the Ephesian-Colossian Letters. If the Body of Christ is fully observing the Unity of Ephesians 4; giving place to Christ's Perfect Headship, what place is there for elders and bishops? Who now has the authority of heaven, as the Apostles had in the book of Acts, to lay hands on another to call them to this office and duty? Denominational bonds are no proof that The Christ of the Heav-ens is sanctioning any organizations today. Nor because some claim to be apostles, prophets, pastors, elders, priests, and bishops -- does this make them so.

Paul spoke of his Lord as his Captor. Even while the

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dreaded Nero forged his bonds Paul saw himself as by another captive taken. The Christ had captured his heart so long ago.

Ephesians 3:1 Ephesians 4:1

For this cause, I Paul, I exhort you therefore, I the Prisoner of Christ Jesus the Prisoner in The Lord, in behalf of you the nations: to walk in a manner worthy of the calling wherewith ye were called.

Not only did Paul thus justify God but saw his circumstances as a part of God's out-going grace -- Oh, to know The One whose resources are infinite and whose love is fathomless so that our spiritual lives may thrive in spite of circumstances.

In Ephesians 6:19, 20 Paul requests prayer for himself. But he asks for no freedom from the "coupling-chain" that bound him. Instead he asks for boldness and that his lips be not stilled, but that he might make known The Mystery as he ought. He did not seek proof of God's favor by being delivered from the tyrant as we would wont to do, nor seek to be prospered in material comforts. So the greatest of all apostles was left in chains, but bequeathing to us these sacred Letters that breath the breath of a life molded into the likeness of Christ under the most trying circumstances.

This imprisonment was the occasion used of God to reveal to Paul, and through him to us of the nations, the most sublime truths ever given to man. The Apostle's thoughts are lifted beyond the barriers of time and place -- ranging into the heavenlies, always exalting in The Person and Glory of The Lord Jesus, always assenting to the purposes of God. In these lofty Letters whole concepts are compressed into a word, the whole of redemption into a phrase. He paints the glory and consummation of God's love and grace with bold strokes and sees no less a triumph than that we all shall be in the likeness of the stature of The Fullness of Christ. He sees all of Israel's religion, all its types, symbols and shadows as being fulfilled in Christ; and in Him done away. He sees Christ as The First-born of all creation and as First-born, the promise that all creation will be redeemed and blest. Paul sees Christ as The Architect and Pattern from whence all comes and to which all

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moves, and in Him the glory of what yet shall be. In some wonderful way Paul in calling himself the Prisoner of Christ Jesus felt that he was a captive for God's own purposes, referring to the chains in terms of the glad-tiding of the Mystery (Eph. 6:l9, 20). This great truth is bound up in Paul's sufferings just as is the Body of Christ, Col. 1:24 and Paul truly rejoiced in his sufferings if it meant the advancement of this great truth. His immediate success was measured by his loneliness, not fellowship or popularity. He looked into the future and saw it as an occasion for God to keep on manifesting the graciousness of His character in lavishly showing forth the excelling riches of His grace:

Eph. 2:7 This did He, to show forth, in the

ages now imminent, the transcendent

wealth of His free grace, in loving

kindness to us who are united to

Christ Jesus. A. S. Way's Trans.

It is so typical that Paul should bow his knees in prayer and praise to such a Father, praying that all should get to know in an experimental way, as he had, the knowledge excelling multidimensional love of Christ (Eph. 3:14-19). This same love had filled his own heart and flooded the cell in which he was imprisoned. With a heart so surfeited he had confidence in God's love and grace being a vital factor in the on-coming ages. This is the type of maturity that is a direct result of our resting in full confidence in God's unchanging faithfulness, and from being "jointly-bound" with Christ our Head (Col. 2:19, Gr. sundesmos).

6. The Joint Epistles of Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon

This is an enlargement of the afore-going. In each of these letters Paul is a Prisoner. How graciously Paul associates his chains with His Lord:

Eph. 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the Prisoner of Christ Jesus, in behalf of you the nations.

4:1 I exhort you, therefore, I the Prisoner in The Lord.

Col. 4:3b ... to speak the Mystery of Christ, for the sake of which also I am in bonds.

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Philemon 1^a Paul, the Prisoner of Christ Jesus...

9 Yet for love's sake, I rather exhort,

being such a one as Paul, the aged, now

also even a Prisoner of Christ Jesus.

In the Ephesian-Colossian passages above, the ministry of this "Prisoner of Christ Jesus" has to do with The Great Secret or Mystery addressed to believers from all nations. The Letter of Philemon was a personal letter from Paul to Philemon, carried by Paul's messenger Tychicus, as he also carried the Ephesian Copy, the Colossian Copy, and of course the Letter to Philemon (See Eph. 6:21; Col. 4:7-9). To give shelter to a run-a-way slave was a major crime., and to carry any correspondence such as in the case of Onesimus would be a capital offense. To add "smuggling of slaves" to this action would compound the crime. All this makes the Letter of Philemon the more remarkable.

Paul, Prisoner of Nero, was growing old in his chains:

Eph.6:20 On behalf of which (The Mystery)

I am growing old in my chains.

The Greek word translated, "ambassador" in the A.V., "presbeuo" means "one advanced in years". This and not "ambassador" was the first meaning, and ambassador, the secondary. This is the same thought that Paul expresses to Philemon, and is used as a grounds of his appeal as he begs for the life of Onesimus:

Philemon 9 … Being such a one as Paul, the aged ...

Of this same Onesimus Paul writes so beautifully:

Philemon 10 I exhort thee concerning my own child

whom I have begotten (gave birth to) in my bonds, Onesimus!

Paul links his bonds and the grace of God together as he closes the great Colossian Letter:

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Col. 4:18 Keep ever in mind my chains,

Grace be with you!

If God was so disposed as to leave this favored Apostle in chains, albeit strengthened in the inner man, then all of us can rest also in the fact that God will continue to be gracious to the world, and to His own, He will not treat one above another, nor with acts of judgment, miracles and signs show partiality in order that grace might have its reign in the world. Once this pattern is broken then indeed pure grace has abdicated.

In both the Colossian and Philemon Letter an unusual word is used for "prisoner".

Sunaichmalotos

sun = together, joint, equal.

Derived aichme = a spear

from: haliskomai = to be taken

Translation: "To be taken as a joint-captive of the spear".

This word occurs in Romans 16:7, but from the context of this chapter and from the 15th chapter it is quite clear that Paul was not in chains as he wrote the Roman Epistle. So the reference in Ro-mans must have a reference to a past experience and from which he was cleared. It is also clear that Paul was a Prisoner when he wrote or caused to be written the Ephesian, Colossian and Philemon Letters.

Colossians 4:10 Philemon 23

Aristarchus, my fellow- There salute thee

captive of the Spear, Epaphras, my fellow-

saluteth you. captive of the Spear

in Christ Jesus.

If this term is taken in its literal sense, then an insight is given to us of the political tempter of the times in which these Letters were written. It is most generally assumed that these letters of Paul were written in A.D. 64 to 68. It is to be remembered that these are the first written notices of The Great Mystery and its attending

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truths. If a time-lap was involved from their initial announcement to their full effectiveness, then they would in time reach beyond A.D. 70 as their operative date. While dates are difficult to fix, still this grand program of God's grace is a part of our historical heritage, it was done or initiated during the reign of Nero. Of his fame much has been written, due to his very infamy. Scripture throws light on history, but without history there would be no Scripture. What follows is to be pondered, even it is not conclusive.

The tolerance with which Rome first regarded the Christians had given place to ruthless hostility under Nero's Imperial Edict issued in A.D. 64 after the fire of Rome. This was followed by another edict that Christians were to be considered, "Enemies of the world". As such it is unlikely that one such as Paul, a ringleader of the sect, should escape while others were to be seized, examined by torture, and if they but owned The Name of The Lord Jesus, were to be put to death. As official "enemies of the state" they would be "Prisoners of the Spear", and once certified as true enemies, have no further rights of appeal. Normally, he would be "led in triumph" in some Imperial parade of captives, made sport of in the arena, then slain.

Is Paul giving to us the final verdict in his case? He is now Paul the Aged, and a Captive of the Spear. Also, Timothy is no longer distant from Paul, as in 2 Timothy, but is with him, and in the Colossian and Philemon Letters his name graces the salutation. Mark had come with Timothy as requested, 2 Tim. 4:11, cp. Col. 4:10 & Philemon 24. Luke was there, and Demas had returned from his wanderings (Col. 4:14). Now Paul could truly send these Letters and say:

.. .according to the dispensation of God, which is given

me toward you, TO COMPLETE THE WORD OF GOD. Col. 1:25.

SECTION THREE

Most authors associate the Philippian Letter with the Mystery Epistles of Ephesians and Colossians. Also, because many of the truths of the Philippian Letter are empathetic to The Mystery,

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a late or corresponding date is assigned to it. Some authors, such as J.B. Lightfoot, place the Philippian Letter closer to the Book of Romans. The merit of this may be judged from the following excerpts from his book on Philippians, pages 43 & 44:

PHILIPPIANS. ROMANS .

(1) i. 3, 4, 7, 8. I thank my i. 8 — 11. First I thank God in every mention of you at my God through Jesus all times in every request of mine Christ for you all … for

… as ye all are partakers with God is my witness … how me in grace ((t h s c a r i t o s): for incessantly I make men-

God is my witness, how I long for tion of you at all times in you all in the bowels of Christ my prayers making re- Jesus. quest … for I long to see you, that I may impart

some spiritual grace (c a r i s m a ) to you.

(2) i. 10. That ye may approve ii. 18. Thou approvest the the things that are excellent. Things that are excellent.

(3) ii. 8, 9, 10, 11. He became xiv. 9, 11. For hereunto obedient unto death … where- Christ died and lived (i.e.

fore God also highly exalted rose again), that He may Him … that in the name of be Lord both of the dead

Jesus every knee may bow of and of the living … For it knee may bow of things in heaven is written, I live, saith The en and things on earth and Lord: for in me every and things under the earth, knee shall bow and every and every tongue may confess tongue shall confess unto that Jesus Christ is Lord, &c. God (Isa. xiv. 23, 24). (4) ii 2 — 4. That ye may have xii, 16 — 19. Having the the same mind, having the same mind towards one same love, united in soul, having one another; not minding one mind: (Do) nothing in high things … Be not wise, factiousness or vainglory, in your own conceits (j r o - n i m o i p a r e a u t o i s) … having peace with all men: not avenging your own selves

but in humility holding one 10. In honor holding one

another Superior to yourselves. another in preference.

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PHILIPPIANS ROMANS

(5) iii. 3. For we are the circum- ii. 28. For the (circumcision, cision) manifest in the

flesh is not circumcision … but circumcision of the heart.

who serve (l a t r e u o n t e s) by i. 9. God Whom I serve (l a t -

The Spirit of God (q e o u v. 1. r e u w ) in my spirit*

q e w ), Spirit of God and boast v.11. Boasting in God in Christ Jesus... through our Lord Jesus Christ.

4. 5- If any other thinketh xi. 1. For I also am an to trust in the flesh, I more Israelite of the seed of Abraham … of the race of Israel, the tribe of Benjamin. 

(6) iii. 9. Not having my x. 3. Ignorant of the right- own righteousness which is of righteousness of God, and seeking law, but that which is through to establish their own (right-law, but that which is through the righteousness of Christ).

faith of Christ, the righteousness of God in faith... ix. 31, 32. Pursuing a law of righteousness …not of faith, but as of works.

10, ii. Being made conform- vi. 5. For if we have been able (s u m m o r j i z o m e n o s) un- planted (s u m j u t o i

to His death, if by any means g e g o n a m e n ) in the likeness of may of attain unto the resurrection- His death, then shall we be resurrected from the dead: also of His resurrection. 21. That it may become conformable viii. 29 death, He foreordained (s u m m o r j o n ) to them conformable (s u m - the body of His glory. m o r j o u s) to the image of His Son.

__________

*The idea of the spiritual l a t r e i a appears again in Rom. xii. 1, t h n l o g i k h n l a t r e i a n u m w , where this moral service of the Gospel is tacitly contrasted with the ritual service of the law as the living sacrifice to the dead victim. Compare also James i. 27 q r h s k e i a k a q r a k a i a m i a t o s k .t .l See the notes on Phil. ii. 3.

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PHILILPPIANS ROMANS

whose God is their belly. xvi. 18 They serve not our Lord Christ but their own 

belly.

(8) iv. 18 Having received xii, 1 To present your bodies from Epaphroditus the a living sacrifice, holy, well-

(gifts) from you, an odour pleasing to God.  of a sweet savour, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.

Some verbal coincidences besides might be pointed out, on which however no stress can be laid*.

The Philippian Letter intimates a crisis in Paul's life and ministry - as if some thing was approaching an end. Looking at the critical text of Phil. 1:22 & 23 Paul is stating that he was not making his preference known concerning the future should his labors still continue on, but he was being pressed out of the two previous choices into a third. A similar ambiguity is suggested in Phil.3:12 & I3a:

__________

xiv. 14 o i d a k a i p e p e i s m a i , with Phil. i. 25 t o u t o p e p o i q o s o i d a .. The following are found in St. Paul in these two epistles only, though not occurring elsewhere in the New Testament; a k e r a i o s, Rom. xvi. 19, Phil. ii, 15 (comp. Matt. x. 16); e p i z h t e i n Rom. xi, 7, Phil. iv. 17

(common elsewhere); l e i t o u r g o s Rom. xiii. 6, xv. 16, Phil ii. 25 (comp. Heb. i. 7, viii. 2); o k n h r o s, Rom. xii. 11, Phil. iii. 1 (comp. Mat. xxv. 26); u p e r e c e i n , Rom. xiii. 1, Phil. ii.3, iii. 8, iv. 7 (comp. 1 Pet. ii. 13); o m o i w m a , Rom. i. 23, v. 14, vi. 5, viii. 3, Phil. ii. 7 (comp. Rev. ix. 7); and perhaps m e n o u n g e , Rom. ix. 20, x. 18 ,Phil. iii. 8 (comp. Luke xi. 28).

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Phil. 3:12 Not that I have already received,

Or have already reached perfection,

But I am pressing on –

if I may even lay hold of that for

which I have also been laid hold

of by Christ Jesus:

3:13a Brethren! I, as to myself, reckon

that I have not yet laid hold;

Paul wrote as if he was unsure of what God might yet have in store for him. If it was The Mystery, then Philippians would take its place at the threshold of the Ephesian-Colossian writing. Philippians could well be a pivotal letter since Philippians goes beyond the "Jew first" of Romans, but it still falls short of announcing the Mystery.

The Philippian 3:1-9 passages present the Great Renounciation by Paul of his former great national heritage. This is in contradistinction to Romans 9:1-5 and 11:1-5, i.e., where Israel is still having an active role in God's program, even though it was a negative role. Paul then reminded his readers that he is a Jew, and that what God had done for him personally was what He could yet do (at that time) for the whole nation. At this present time not one of the privileges listed in Romans as showing Israel's preferential place in God's program is operative. Nor is there a "sample-remnant" of spiritual Israelites in existence today. The Jew of today is not the "Israel of God", or a "Son-heir", or "The Adoption", or a "Priestly Nation". They are not functioning under either the Old or New Covenants. The "Middle wall of Partition" as epitomized in the perfect flesh of their Messiah -- testifying as it did to their distinction from other nations, was "broken Down" when His flesh was crucified. In His "slaying" the enmity was also slain. See Gr. text of Eph. 2:14-16. It followed that the "Law of Commandments in decrees", Eph. 2:l5, and the "Handwriting in Ordinances", Col. 2:l4, (that was so much a part of Israel's life) were all wiped out; canceled by nailing it to a tree, Col. 2:l4; Eph. 2:l6. This was the ancient method of showing that a "bond" was fulfilled and canceled.

The "Great Renounciation" of Phil. 3:1-9 forms a logical stepping-stone to the later Mystery truths revealed in Ephesians and Colossians.

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The "Out-resurrection, out from among the dead" that Paul was so uncertain of attaining, and the "Prize of the On-High Call of God" that drew him onward, Phil. 3:11 & 14, is more than realized in the further Mystery revelation that all were jointly made alive, jointly raised, and jointly seated in the heavenlies, in Christ. Eph. 2:5, 6.

The place where Philippians was written is generally accepted as being in Rome. Some feel it to have been written in Caesarea before Paul's Roman imprisonment. If this latter was true then the epistle would not have been fraught with life or death issues since Paul could have exercised his rights as a Roman citizen and have obtained the protection of the Emperor.

The Ephesian, Colossian, and Philemon are closely related inasmuch as they were penned nearly at the same time, all were carried by Tychicus to cities in the Lycus valley, see Eph. 1:1; 6:21; Col. 1:2; 4:7, & 8. Paul appended the Philemon Letter to that of Colossians, Col. 4:9, in order to return Onesimus, a run-a-way slave, to his master, Philemon.* While all three letters are written from

__________

* God's Household of believers, ruled by His grace, is seen operating in this Letter. How is a believer to act in respect to "Slavery?" The Letter is a plea for reconciliation between Master and Slave based upon the kinship each possesses in their mutual Life in Christ, in Whom all are equally "Son-Heirs". The Slave was to be received as though he was the Apostle Paul. Just as we are, "Accepted in The Beloved", Eph. l:6. The "Joint-heirs, joint-body, and joint-partakers of the promise" (Eph. 3:6), is an equality that nullifies all human distinctions of class, race, social standing, color, nationality, education, language, or culture. Paul's plea is patterned after the redemption each of us has in Christ. Our debt is put to His account, and we are an "Onesimus", one who has run away from God, and have] been returned in the person and merit of His Son. Paul could have "commanded" and defined the issues. He could have suggested an out-] right revolt - and history records such a revolt with its blood-bath that found no survivors. Instead, he suggests a Christ-likeness that makes us find in others, a "brother beloved".

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prison, the Philemon Letter makes no mention of The Mystery of Ephesians and Colossians. It is, however, one of the most beautiful letters ever written, full of grace and full of Christ.

Between Ephesians and Colossians there exists an unmistakable bond of doctrine, frequently expressed in almost identical words. It is entirely likely that Col. 4:16 is an appeal for an exchange of these two epistles.

The title of the book, "To the Ephesians" and the words, "at (or in) Ephesus" appear in all the manuscripts since the fourth century. They do not appear in Ms. Alpha and B, nor Ms. 67, nor in the Laurentian Ms. (II or 12C). Origen (C 250) used a text in which these words are missing. Basil (C 370) stated that no text of his day had these words. Marcion (C 140) did not have the words, "… at Ephesus" in his text, and he spoke of the Epistle as the "Epistle to the Laodiceans". This would correspond with Paul's words in Col. 4:16. Nor did Tertullian (C 200) have the words "at Ephesus" in the text used by him.

The Epistle is not local in character, but is intended for general or wide circulation -- just as are the Galatian Letter (sent to the Province of Galatia), James and Peter (to the Twelve Tribes of the Dispersion, Revelation to the Seven Churches in Asia and the book of Hebrews to those of Judaic background. It is obvious that encyclical letters were the rule at that at that time – even the little Letter of Philemon was addressed to the church in that home.

The internal character of the Ephesian Letter is unusual; no personal references are made. Paul had been over two years in the City of Ephesus, Acts 19:10, 22, and a letter as long as this could hardly have been addressed to friends without some mention of their love and faithfulness. The Epistle suggests that Paul is speaking to the largest possible audience of believers and those predominantly unknown to him:

Eph. l:l5 Wherefore I also, after I heard of

your faith in The Lord Jesus...

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Most likely a blank space was in the original letter where we now read the words, "… at Ephesus". Or, the original could have read, "… to the saints who are also faithful, in Christ Jesus." Whatever locality receiving this letter would understandably associate it with themselves just as we do when we read it. The inner content of this letter and that of Colossians would fit the non-local use of the word "Church" (Gr. Ekklesia). It is not used of a mere local assembly, but in a much higher sense, i.e., the out-called of believers from all nations forming the Body of Christ. Such an out-calling is assumed as deriving its life from Christ, as being patterned after Christ (the stupendous life of Christ is continued in us, and His history is reproduced in us) and Christ being the sum-total of what the future will be for that Body as its rightful and only Head.

If Tychicus followed the normal routing of this letter he would have first gone to Ephesus as the capital of Proconsular Asia. At Ephesus copies would be made and sent out to other localities. The cities of Laodicea, Colosse, and Hierapolis (The City of Priests) were very close to Ephesus in the Lycus Valley.

Shonfield's Authentic New Testament has a charming way of captioning the Ephesian Letter:

TO THE COMMUNITIES OF ASIA

The Ephesian Copy

Earlier it was suggested that the Ephesian Letter was also the Epistle of the Laodiceans mentioned in Col. 4:16:

And when this Epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the Church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the Epistle from Laodicea.

In keeping with the lack of local color in the Ephesian Letter the same is also strongly suggested of the Colossians, Laodiceans, and others by Paul's statement in Col .2:1:

For! want you to perceive the stupendous struggle I am having for your sakes and for those in Laodicea, and as many as have not seen my face in flesh.

C.V.

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This text and Col. 4:16 raises the question of trying to identify the Laodicean Letter. The following suggestions are put forward:

1. That there was at that time an existing Laodicean Letter.

There is a 300 word Letter known by that name found in some Latin Bibles. It is placed after cither Colossians or Hebrews. It is merely a collection of Pauline quotations, and cannot be the text spoken of in Col. 4:16. ,

2. A completely lost book. The Letter Paul wrote was to be read by several churches, this would involve duplication and circulation. A letter of this importance would hardly be lost. The constant interchange between these cities is readily seen by reading Col. 4:15.

3. The most simple explanation is that the Ephesian Letter is the same as the Laodicean "Copy". Marcion expressly called the Ephesian Sinaitic MSS omit the word "… at Ephesus". Origen's text merely read, "to the saints who are____ being also faithful." Basil of Caesarea, states this was the common reading in the most ancient MSS. The blank in the MSS caused some problems that make interesting reading. Tertullian clearly testified of a blank left in the Ephesian Letter.

The diversity of the two letters call for each to be a supplement of the other. The likeness of subject matter in both books is easily seen, as well as the fact that this same material is carried to divergent ends. Where different goals are reached for it is to be expected that these truths would be designedly intertwined. The repetitions are masterly set forth in different settings, each strengthening the different lines of revelation in respect to The Mystery until the composite whole is seen reaching back before the

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founding of the cosmos, and reaching forward so that all of creation is re-affirmed in the New Humanity in Christ, thus made joint-sharers of that promise in Christ (Eph. 3:6).

Both books abound in similar expressions and phraseology as the following interesting texts demonstrate: Rotherham Text.

Ephesians Colossians

1:7 In Whom we have the redemption through His blood,  

1:14 In Whom we have our the redemption, the remission of the remission of our offences ... our sins …

1:17 That The God of our Lord 1:9 … that ye may be filled

Jesus Christ, The Father of unto the personal knowledge

Glory, would give you a spirit of of His will in all spiritual wisdom and discernment. …

Wisdom and understanding in gaining a personal knowledge of Him.

 2:1 Unto you also, being dead 2:13 And as for you, who

by your offences and sins … were dead by your offences and by the uncircumcision of your flesh

2:11 … who are called Uncircumcision by the so-called Circumcision in flesh made by hand uncircumcision of your flesh...

 2:13 … who were dead by - your offences and by the

3:6-9 That they who are of the                             1:25-27 Of which I have be-

nations should be joint heirs,                                 come minister –- according to

and a joint body, and joint par-                             administration of God which

takers of the promise in Christ                             hath been given unto me to

Jesus through of the glad mess-                             you-ward, to fill up (complete)

age, of which I was made a min-                             The Word of God, the sacred

ister, according to the free-                                     secret, which had been hidden

gift of the favor (grace) of God                             away from the ages and from

which was given to me accord-                             the generations, but now hath

ing to the energy of His power:                             been manifest unto His saints

unto me, the less than least --                                 unto whom God hath been

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Ephesians Colossians

of all saints was given                                             pleased to make known what

this favor (grace), unto the                                     is the wealth of this sacred

nations to announce the glad-                                 secret among the nations,

message of the Untraceable                                     which is Christ in you, the

Riches of The Christ, and to                                     hope of glory.

bring to light, What is the

administration of the sacred

secret, which had been hidden

away from the ages in God,

Who did all things create.

4:15, 16 … may in love grow                                 2:19 And not holding fast the

into Him in all things, Who is                                 Head: from which all the

The Head, Christ, out of Whom                             Body through means of its

all of the Body fitly framing                                     joints and uniting bands,

all the Body fitly framing itself                                 receiving supply, and connec-

together, and connecting itself,                                ting itself together, groweth

through means of every joint of                               with the growth of God.

supply, by means of energizing

in the measure of each single

part, securing the growing of

the Body, unto an upbuilding of

itself in love.

4:22-24 That ye were to strip off                             3:9, 10 Be not guilty of

as regardeth the former behav-                               falsehood one to another:

ior, the old man who corrupteth                              having stript off the old man

himself according to his deceit-                                together with his practices,

ful covetings, and were to be                                    and having put on the new,

getting young again in the spirit                               who is being molded afresh

of your mind, and were to put on                              unto personal knowledge,

the man of new mold who after                                after the image of Him that

God hath been created in His                                   hath created him.

truthful righteousness and loving

kindness.

5:15, 16 Be taking heed there-                                 4:5 In wisdom be walking

fore exactly how ye are walking,                              toward them who are without,

not as unwise, but as wise, buy-                                the opportunity buying out for

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Ephesians, continued Colossians, continued

ing out for yourselves the oppor-                              yourselves.

unity because the days are evil.

5:19, 20 Speaking to yourselves                                 3:16, 17 Let The Word of

with psalms and hymns and spir-                                Christ dwell within you richly,

itual songs; singing and striking                                  in all wisdom teaching and

the strings with your heart unto                                  admonishing one another,

The Lord; giving thanks always                                  with Psalms, hymns, spiritual

for all things, in The Name of                                      songs, with gratitude raising

our Lord Jesus Christ, Unto                                        song with your hearts unto

your God and Father.                                                  God: 

and whatsoever ye may be doing 

in word or in work, all things do 

in The Name Of The Lord Jesus, 

giving thanks unto The Divine 

Father through Him.

In addition to the above Eph. 5:22-6:9 is to be compared with Col. 3:18-4:1. Eph. 6:18-20 compares with Col. 4:2-4. Eph. 6:21, 22 compares with Col. 4:7,8.

A large portion of the Ephesian Letter has to do with Christ in His various relationships as Head of the Church, His Body. This is also true of the Colossian Letter but the emphasis and center of attention is different in each letter although there are parallels or equivalents:

Ephesians Colossians

In the following verses Christ’s In the following verses

Headship is OVER ALL THINGS Headship is OVER ALL and

in behalf of, for the benefit of, through all not merely in be-

the Church, His Body. Christ is half of the Body of Christ, but

here the Representative Head & that in order He HIMSELF

Pattern for His Body of Believers. might become pre-eminent in

ALL THINGS.

Eph. 1:19-23 And what the sur-                             Col. 1:15, 16 Who is (an)

passing greatness of His power                             Image (Eikon) of The Unseen

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Ephesians, continued Colossians, continued

unto us who believe, according                              God, Firstborn of all Cre-

to