Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-12-13


Widespread her activities were. This
was largely due to Paul and MS
-rver-widening outreach. Tina ana
' again he would leave a work that
{ would seem to demand his best at
tcntiCn and every power he posses
sed, and push on to some other
,stratesic point Ike latter part OF
the book of the Acts is record OF
his travels in the interest or the
gospel, and his epistles give US IN.
timation of other places he visited
TO preach among the heather the
.unsearchable riches Of Christ. In
the letter to the Romans, written
even before he was taken there the
first time as a prisoner he cans
their attention to the fact that Goa
had wrought nightly through him.
and that he had fully preached the
gospel from Jerusalem even unto
IlIyricum; and then almost uncon-
sciousiy he gives us an insight into
the motive power OF all MS actlVI-
ties. He had striven to preach the
gospel, not where Christ was named
lest he should be building on an
others foundation. His great desire
was to give the wonderful messages
of the unsearchable riches Of CHRIS
to everybody possible, and II tner5
was a place where no one else hao
: gone or was not likely to go, that
yss the place fc which he headed.
When he wrote to the Colosslans,
as we learned last week, he could
saw to them that the gospel had
come to them as It had come to all
the world. There was not place
known in the world to them then
La oroCyNal mad not
reached Paul had carried it to the
whole Roman world. The scattering
of the apostles had brought it into
Africa, Asia and Europe. How re-
markable this was can be appreciat'
ed when we remember that the
early church was composed entire
" of Jews and Jewish proselytes,
and that the whole history Of that
people had been one of exclusive
ness. For centuries they had kept
themselves separate from all other
peoples until when Jesus came they
were narrow in the extreme. All
other nations to them were Cen
tiles-heathen; unworthy of any
consideration whatever.
The Mystery
What changed their attitude more
IHdH ally Ji1lI1S CloS was IAAO SNCN4'-NS
Of Paul His mind has resented bit
sterly any such suggestion when 1t
had come through Stephens preach
ing. His conversion had resulted at
once in an attitude of yieldedness;
lord, what wilt thou have me to
do?" was his first question and his
constant position. He had gone into
retirement in Arabia for three years
Immediately after, and to him then
God revealed the mystery which had
been hid in God from the founda-
ton OF the world. 1t was this revela-
ton which characterized his life
and ministry from that time for
ward 1t brought him into conflict
with the authorities often; it cost
him many a sacrifice; it was re-
sponsible for two weary years inn
prisOnment at Caesarea; it bound
him between Roman soldiers at
Rome for two more years; it brought
I him before Nero, and was at last
responsible for his death. What was
this mystery?
Well, what is mystery in the
scr-ptural use of the term? It isn't
something mysterious in our use of
the word, something difficult to I'M
derstand, occult. The Greek word
means a secret, something hidden,
coming from a root meaning to shut.
A mystery in scripture therefore
was hidden secret, something that
God knew, something that was in
His plan all the time but which for
reasons known to Himself He had
kept hidden, He had not revealed
There are a number Of mysteries in
the Bible-the mystery of God even
MA Thirst tha oP 1-ic+ J,a
mystery of the church, the mys-
I les of the kingdom of heaven, the
mystery of goodness, the mystery
of iniquity, the mystery of the in
living Christ
1t would be a very interesting
study to discuss these different mys.
ter1es and how they have been re-.
vealed. but that would lead us too
far afield at this time. 1t is proper
and profitable however to study this
one that had such a far-reaching in.
fluence on the world in the first gen.
Grafton after Christ and so largely
affected the life of Paul That mys.
terry he speaks Of in the letter to
the Ephesians which is one of the
selected Scriptures for today. Eph.
S:z-9-the hitherto hidden secret that
the Gentiles as we'll as the Jews were
~ ASAOH-lACIlob QdIIdR6cS OF the
same promises in Christ, and mem.
bers Of the same body, the church.
as the Jews. It was no secret that
che Gentiles were to be saved: every.
epne Of the prophets had foretold that
But that they were to form with the
~ Jews, on the same footing. a new
MI oody, the church was a secret that
& nad never been made known until
It was revealed to Paul after his
conversion. The prophets knew moth.
,ng or the church; the first mention
of 1t Is in Matt 1918 when Jesus
spoke of 1t in the future tense. TTnon
5 this rock-Peter's confession of faith
IN Him as the Son of God-T will
build my church, He said. Israel was
the church or congregation in the
wilderness; but Israel was not
Chr1st's called out" ones. Christ's
rhurch was to be composed of those
who are called out from Jew and
Gentle, from every land and people
and tongue and nation.
We learned last week how Pau
g put into practice what he had beer
shown, how he went to Jerusalem
then, to Tarsus, then to Antioch, Their
10 Cyprus and Perga and Lystra ant
Derbe, Iconium. Galatia. Troa S
Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Cor
NTH, Ephesus. Illyricum, Rome, En-
gland. In ever widening circles the
message of the gospel spread, al
Ways aiming at the strategic points
and where Christ was not known
II anyone ever preached a world
wide gospel or believed in or prac
Need worldwide missions it was The
pne to whom the mystery had beer
revealed. Jew Greek, Scythian, bono
man, freeman heard the good new:
1t his hand, and he made 1t as free