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The church is the mystery of Christ — Eph. 3:4-6:
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Christ is a mystery, and the church, as the Body of Christ to express Him, is the mystery of Christ.
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Christ and the church as one spirit are the great mystery — 5:32; 1 Cor. 6:17.
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During the church age, the age of mystery, Christ is building up the church, the Body of Christ, to be His bride — Matt. 16:18; Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 27; Eph. 4:16; Col. 1:18; Rev. 19:7-9.
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The kingdom of the heavens, the gospel, the indwelling of Christ, and the coming resurrection and transfiguration of the saints are all mysteries that were hidden in the times of the ages — Matt. 13:11; Eph. 6:19; Col. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 15:51-53.
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All the mysteries will be completed, finished, and will be over at the trumpeting voice of the seventh trumpet — Rev. 10:7.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 3:4-6 By which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit, that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the Body and fellow partakers of the promise through the gospel.Christ is the mystery of God.... In history there has never been a name so wonderful as Jesus Christ. Whether they are for Him or not for Him, today all the nations use the calendar of Jesus. This is the year of Jesus. Every year is the year of the chronicle of Christ, of that little man….There is no name bigger than the name of Jesus. Yet where is He?…He is not only in the heavens but right on this earth….The mystery of the universe is God, the mystery of God is Christ, and the mystery of Christ is the church (Eph. 3:4-11). (CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, “The Two Great Mysteries in God’s Economy,” pp. 226-227)
Today’s Reading
Even to say that the church is the gathering of God’s called people is too superficial. The church is the Body of Christ. The church is an organism, not an organization....The church is the mystery of Christ. In other words, the church is just Christ in a mysterious way. The church is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). So, when we say that we are the Christ, this is not too much. Hallelujah, we are the Christ here! On one hand, we are wonderful persons, and on the other hand, we are Christ in a mysterious way. Within us we have a mysterious part, and that part is Christ. Christ today is right here. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, “The Two Great Mysteries in God’s Economy,” p. 227)According to Ephesians 3:4, the church has a particular title—the mystery of Christ. God is a mystery. He is real, living, and almighty, but invisible. No one has ever seen God (John 1:18a), and therefore God is a mystery. This mysterious God is embodied in Christ; hence, Christ is the mystery of God (Col. 2:2). In Ephesians 3:4 Paul used the expression the mystery of Christ to explain the church as the Body of Christ in God’s eternal economy, indicating that the church is the mystery of Christ.
The believers have Christ, the mystery of God, dwelling in them (Col. 1:27), but worldly people do not realize that He is in the believers. To them, this is a mystery. The all-inclusive Christ is the mystery of the mysterious God. Such a Christ as the mystery of God produces a mysterious Body, the church (Eph. 1:22b-23). Thus, the church is the continuation of the mystery, which is Christ. Mystery surely produces mystery. Christ, who is the mystery of God, brings forth the church, the mystery of Christ. The church, the mystery within a mystery, is the mystery in God’s economy.
The mystery of Christ—the church—“in other generations was not made known to the sons of men” (3:5). The church, the Body of Christ, was hidden in the Old Testament age.... Noah received God’s command to build the ark, but he did not know of the building up of the church.... Moses received the revelation to build the tabernacle, but, not knowing the mystery of the church, he did not know how to build the church. This mystery was also hidden from Samuel, David, and Solomon, who knew how to build the temple but not how to build the Body of Christ.
The church as the mystery of Christ was not made known to the sons of men in other generations. In the New Testament age it was revealed first by Christ in the Gospels and then by the Holy Spirit in the Epistles to the apostles and prophets. Paul in Ephesians 3:5 says that this mystery “has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit.” This mystery, which was hidden throughout the ages in God, who created all things, and was hidden from the Old Testament saints, has been revealed in the New Testament. (Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 1, pp. 136-138)
Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level Four, vol. 2, lsns. 31, 36-37