I believe the Apostle Paul (by the Holy Spirit, of course) gives us the answer to the issue of “ignorance” in 1 Cor. 2:6-8. Paul spoke the wisdom of God in a mystery, the “mystery of God” as it is called in Scripture (Col. 2:2; Rev. 10:7). He then said that if the rulers of this age had known this mystery, they would not have crucified Christ. When the people and rulers crucified Christ, they were ignorant of the “mystery.” Christ had used parables to hinder them from understanding the mystery (Mark. 4:10-12). The mystery was hidden in time before the cross, but was revealed after the cross, primarily through Paul (1 Cor. 4:1; Eph. 3:1-13).
Paul who opened our eyes to the “mystery,” was also one of those “rulers” to whom the mystery was hidden. To understand the “ignorance” we need to be sure we have a handle on the mystery.
1) What is a “mystery” in Scripture? (Rom. 16:25-27; Eph. 3:5; Col. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 2:7). A “mystery” is something that was hidden in the past but now made known. The NT use of the term therefore speaks of things not revealed in the OT but that were made known in the NT. Note again the consistency. The OT prophets said certain things were going to happen, but they did not understand how it would be worked out. The easiest illustration of this is Peter’s reference to the OT prophets, that they knew the Christ would suffer and be glorified but they had no idea how it would happen (1 Pt. 1:10-12). Isa. 53 clearly says He would die. Yet it also says He would be honored by God.
2) What is the “mystery of God”? (Eph. 1:9-10; Psalm 2:6-9). Rev. 7:10 says the “mystery of God” would be fulfilled in the days of the sounding of the 7th trumpet. Col. 2:2 also refers to the mystery by that name (NKJV speaks of “the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ”). Eph. 1:9 speaks of “the mystery of His will … which He purposed in Himself.” That mystery is described as follows: “that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth.”
a. The Greek term for “dispensation” is from the group of words having to do with the administration of a household. It refers to the management of a household or of household affairs, specifically, the management, oversight, administration of another’s property. What is Paul talking about in Eph. 1:9-10? God owns the entire universe. He has ruled the world in various ways according to the Scriptures. After the flood of Noah’s time God established nations and governments to keep the peace. Before the flood there is no record in Scripture of any nations. God dealt with individuals, as He did with Cain in Gen. 4. What Paul is saying here is that eventually God is going to manage His world through Christ. Everything in heaven and on earth will be subject to Christ. (We need to stop here and pick it up in the next post.)
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