There are many prophecies in the Bible, but strictly speaking, the building up of the church is the greatest prophecy. We must all pay attention to when and how this great prophecy will be fulfilled. Beginning with this lesson, we will look at the prophecies in the Bible concerning various aspects of the church, including the church being the mystery in God’s eternal economy, the church being the kingdom of the heavens, the building up and the stages of the church, and the ultimate consummation of the church.
The New Testament reveals that the church is the mystery in God’s eternal economy. 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.
In Ephesians 3:9 Paul says, “To enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things.” God is the God who created all things. God’s mystery is His hidden purpose. This mystery was hidden in God throughout the ages, that is, from eternity, but in the New Testament age it has been brought to light to His believers. God’s mystery, God’s hidden purpose, is that God wants to dispense Himself into His chosen people. This is the economy of the mystery of God.
According to Ephesians 1:5 and 9 the motive of God’s creating all things was His desire and pleasure. God’s creation reveals His desire in the universe and manifests His purpose in eternity. Revelation 4:11 says that all things were created because of God’s will. Zechariah 12:1 says that Jehovah stretched forth the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and formed the spirit of man within him. This indicates that the heavens are for the earth, the earth is for man, and man with the human spirit is for God. God’s marvelous creation, focused on man, is for man to be mingled with God to produce the church. God created the heavens, the earth, and billions of items in order to have the church. Therefore, Ephesians 3:9 reveals that the church is the mystery hidden in God, who created all things.