Ephesians 6:19-20 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
The gospel in this context is the gospel that was first revealed and committed to the apostle Paul.
As the apostle of the Gentiles, and the minister of the dispensation of grace, Paul’s gospel is the only one that saves us today.
This gospel is not found in the Old Testament scriptures and wasn’t preached by Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry, for it was hidden from the wisdom of men since the world began.
Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Contrary to popular belief, there are multiple gospels preached throughout the scriptures. Thus, if a preacher visits your home to preach a gospel, you should ask, “which gospel?”
That is, we should listen to the right gospel that is appropriate to us. If we do not have the right gospel, we could not be saved.
For instance, there was a gospel that troubled the Galatian believers.
Galatians 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Here are some of the gospels preached before Paul:
1. God’s good news to the first woman, Eve.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This good news was promised to Eve, after she sinned against God in the garden of Eden. The other seed mentioned in the context is the seed of the serpent, that is, Satan.
When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the garden, it was one of Satan’s first victory against the plan of God to mankind. For after the first man and the woman sinned, death came upon the world.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
In spite all this, God promised a good news to Eve that her seed, that is her descendant, will someday defeat Satan.
This is the first prophecy concerning the coming of The Redeemer, for the seed who is destined to be victorious is Jesus Christ.
2. God’s good news to Abraham.
Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
Here, God promised to Abraham that he will become the channel of blessings to all nations. That is, all families of the earth will be blessed through him. The apostle Paul calls it the gospel unto Abraham.
Galatians 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
3. God’s good news to King David.
2 Samuel 7:16-17 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.
According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
This eternal kingdom is concerning God’s coming kingdom to earth, which was preached by the prophets in the Old Testament scriptures.
This is also the same kingdom that was preached by John the Baptist in his ministry.
Matthew 3:1-2 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
When this kingdom will be established by Jesus Christ during his second coming, the world will attain everlasting peace. For nations will no longer have to go to war against other nations.
Isaiah 2:4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
However, this gospel is not for us today. This is for the nation Israel concerning God’s kingdom program for them.
You cannot even preach this gospel at this present time. For the King, Jesus Christ, was already ascended to heaven. A kingdom cannot exist without its king.
Moreover, the nation Israel, to whom this kingdom was promised, is in blindness during this present dispensation. That is, God has temporarily casted them away.
Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Now that we have come to know the gospels that were preached before the apostle Paul, let us proceed to compare them to the gospel that is preached by our apostle.
The Gospel of the Grace of God.
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
This gospel focuses on the grace of God bestowed on the cross of Calvary. It proclaims that the death of Christ is good news for us. Since Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection saves us from our sins.
What are the mysteries of this gospel?
1. The mystery is that the blood of Christ will be the basis of our redemption and forgiveness of our sins. This message was not revealed until the apostle Paul.
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Paul’s gospel is centered on the finished work of Christ at Calvary, while the gospels preached before him are centered on God’s promised kingdom. They did not preach the death and the blood of Christ as good news.
2. Justification by his blood and reconciliation through his death.
Romans 5:9-10 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
While Christ’s death is bad news to the Jews, Paul preached it as good news for the Gentiles and emphasized it in his ministry.
Bad news for the Jews as they crucified their King, and the establishment of the kingdom is delayed. But good news for the Gentiles as it means that they can now be reconciled to God by the blood of Christ overflowing at Calvary.
This was a mystery even to Satan, for he thought he was victorious when Christ was dead. Satan even entered into Judas heart to have the prophecy about the death of Christ fulfilled.
John 13:21-27 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.
He then lying on Jesus’ breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?
Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
3. The blotting out of God’s ordinances during the time of the law.
Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
This means that Christ’s death on the cross did not just save us from our sins, it also saved us from the law of Moses. God’s covenant to the nation Israel is not binding to us today.
The law of Moses was also abolished to unify the Jews and the Gentiles in the body of Christ. The ordinances that separated the Jews from the Gentile nations is called by Paul as the middle wall of partition.
Ephesians 2:14-15 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Before this wall was broken down, it is unlawful for a Jew to accompany with the Gentiles, as the law of Moses teaches them that the other nations are unclean. But now, God has reconciled both of them by the cross.
Acts 10:28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.
Before we end this article, I would like to reiterate that Paul’s gospel is the only gospel that contains the message of salvation that is appropriate for us in this dispensation of grace.
Paul’s gospel should not be mixed with another gospel. The doctrine, walk, position, and destiny of the church is only found in the Pauline epistles.
Galatians 1:8-9 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
Furthermore, while this gospel was a mystery, it was already revealed to the apostle Paul and is preached unto us in his epistles. Hence, it is no longer a secret.
Yes, God did not mean it to be a secret forever. He hid it from the wisdom of men until the raising up of Paul. And may we pray that God will open our mouth boldly to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God, the same as the apostle Paul.
Ephesians 6:19-20 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Pauline Defense 