What Paul Said About the Church #1

It has always interested me to see how someone’s opinion is valued after they become famous. All you have to do is see how music and movie stars, once they reach stardom, are asked their opinion on such issues as raising children, global warming, or the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. But when you get right down to it, they are only human and their opinion means about as much as anyone else’s.

Over the next few posts, we will investigate five statements that Paul said about the church. Paul had an unusual relationship to heaven. He was able to reveal the mystery of Christ because he was inspired (1 Corinthians 2:9-13; Ephesians 3:3-5). He wrote the mystery in a few words so that we could understand it and be saved. Because the New Testament is a verbally inspired book, what Paul says about the church is actually what the Holy Spirit says about the church.

The first statement is that the church is the manifestation of God’s manifold wisdom. In Ephesians 3:8-10, the term “manifold” means variegated, many-sided, or many-colored. It is “greatly diversified” wisdom. The wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. These are spiritual beings. When they see the church, they see the manifold wisdom of God in areas such as the plan of redemption, the typification of the Old Testament, the incarnation of Jesus, the process of renewing the heart, the pattern of the church, and the glorification of the church at the judgment. God’s plan before the foundation of the world is now carried out in Christ (Ephesians 1:4). The church is important. It is not a substitute or an afterthought.

Kyle Campbell

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