1. “The economy of the mystery...which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things,...the church”; “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” (Eph. 3:9-10, 4-5).
In eternity past God planned the church according to His heart’s desire, and in time He created all things to accomplish His plan for the church. Although He wanted to gain the church to satisfy His heart’s desire, He did not tell anyone or any creature about His purpose. His plan was a mystery hidden in Him. Only He knew that the purpose of creation was to gain the church. He did not reveal the church to anyone in the Old Testament. He did not tell any of the patriarchs who feared Him or any of the prophets who spoke for Him. The church was not spoken of specifically in the entire revelation of the Old Testament. Thus, the church was a mystery hidden throughout the ages until the time of the New Testament when it was revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit through the Holy Spirit.
The secrets that a person hides in his heart and does not tell others are often quite precious and important. This is how God views the church. The church is a very important matter that God treasures in His heart. Therefore, He was unwilling to speak of this great matter until the time was full. Instead, He kept it hidden in Himself as a hidden mystery. This is the reason that people throughout the ages have been perplexed concerning the meaning of the universe and the things in it. Not only did those who were far from God in the age of the Old Testament not know the meaning of the universe but even the patriarchs who walked with God as His friends and the prophets who spoke His words did not know. Even today in the age of the New Testament, many are ignorant of this matter. Today many people still regard the universe as a mystery, and even many believers do not truly understand the meaning of the universe. With the exception of a few believers who have received revelation from God, human beings do not know that the universe exists for the sake of the church. In the age of the church, the church is still hidden to most people, including most believers. Despite the fact that God has made known the mystery, many have not seen the revelation of this mystery. The church is hidden to them. If we want to know the church today, we need God’s subjective revelation, because we cannot know the church, which is a great mystery in God, without revelation from God.
1. “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25).
The Bible reveals that the Lord loves the church. The Lord’s love for the church is compared to a husband’s love for his wife. This is a sweet and tender love. Because the Lord loves the church, He was willing to sacrifice Himself and give Himself up for the church so that He might gain the church as His beloved spouse. His love for the church was His motivation for going to the cross and giving Himself up for her. The emphasis in this verse is not on redemption but on the producing of the church. He gave Himself up for the church because of His love for the church and for the purpose of producing the church.
2. “Finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Matt. 13:46).
In the Lord’s eyes the church is like a pearl of great value. In the Lord’s eyes the church is not only a pearl but also a pearl of great value. The Lord went to the cross and gave all He had to purchase this pearl of great value because of His love for the church. The Bible says that this pearl was “bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20). The price that He paid was His precious blood (1 Pet. 1:18-19). The church is a pearl that He bought with a great price, His own blood (Acts 20:28). From the great price that He paid, we can see how highly the Lord values the church and how much He treasures her.
3. “But nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church” (Eph. 5:29).
Because Christ loves the church, He not only gave Himself up to produce her and gave His all to obtain her, He is now nourishing and cherishing the church. Nourishing is related to His feeding, and cherishing is related to His caring. Christ continuously nourishes and cherishes the church because He loves the church. For the past two thousand years, He has been nourishing and cherishing the church, just as a person nourishes and cherishes his own body. Christ not only loves the church as His wife but also nourishes and cherishes her as His own Body, as a part of Himself. These verses speak of the great love that Christ has for the church. The church is the object of His heart’s desire and the apple of His eye.