WHAT IS THE MYSTERY?

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amigo de christo

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Where do you find the body of Christ mentioned before Paul?
OH , lets see , peter , john , james , the day of pentecost , stephen and others .
LATER paul was converted . THE BODY is simply THOSE who beleive in JESUS . OH it existed before paul was converted .
In fact Saul , aka paul , PERSECUTED IT big time . OH but by the grace of GOD , paul was called out and changed .
 

Ziggy

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So the Gentiles which have no knowledge of God. They live in their "fathers" house ie: baal, some other god that they live under. and the mother is the one who rears a child concerning the rules.. wash your hands, eat your peas... etc.
So these Gentiles need to leave their fathers house and it's teachings and come to God who is the true Father.
This Gentile then is adopted into the "family" of God. Which Jesus is the head.
So then whether you be a Jew which is naturally under God or a Gentile without God, gentiles are now being adopted/grafted into the God family..
we are all brothers and sisters under the same roof which is Jesus.

In the OT if you were an outsider or stranger, foreigner, you could still be a part of Israel. You could live under the same laws and rules and worship God as your only God. But you weren't able to take part in the feasts or Holy Days unless you were circumcised. (this word is following me today) .
Exo 12:43 And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof:
Exo 12:44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof.
Exo 12:45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof.
Exo 12:46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
Exo 12:47 All the congregation of Israel shall keep it.
Exo 12:48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.
Exo 12:49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

Here is that Mystery:
1Co 7:18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.

Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 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;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Thinking..
HUGS
 

ChristisGod

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ChristisGod

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There is nothing about the body of Christ here, they are about the "little flock" of Luke 12:32 which will inherit the kingdom on earth
so this is where we see the difference between exegesis and eisegesis of the N.T. text. some like to make scripture say something it does not say and read their personal views into the text. Good job Doug.
 

Doug

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so this is where we see the difference between exegesis and eisegesis of the N.T. text. some like to make scripture say something it does not say and read their personal views into the text. Good job Doug.
I never came across the word eisegesis but you are right....they mistakenly read Paul into the law and the prophets
 
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quietthinker

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1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Christ revealed the mystery to Paul, which is the body of Christ. The body of Christ was formed to reconcile the heavenly places (Colossians 1:20). This mystery was not made known to anyone before Paul, nor can it be found anywhere in the law and the prophets in scripture.

If those of the world had known this, they would not have crucified the Lord Jesus.

Peter and the disciples could not have known this mystery and therefore could not have preached the body of Christ, nor be members of it. They preached the gospel of the kingdom to Israel (the Davidic kingdom on earth...Matthew 4:23) and the name of Jesus (Acts 10:43).
The 'mystery' being the unsurpassed value that God places on relationship......with all his creatures. The value being of such magnitude that God was prepared to condescend and become a servant....even to die for those who chose alienation.
(do we even understand what this means beyond a surface scratch?)

The watching Universe....the created orders in heaven and elsewhere are gob smacked when they see God's heart torn open and he does not resist his oppressors......not because he can't but because he desire's relationship above all else.

Herein Lucifer faltered and is exposed; his priority was/is power. Force is his seal/stamp/his identifier..... he bends all his energies to this end.

Not so with God. Herein also are the children of light and the children of darkness identified.
 

Ziggy

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So when Moses brought out the children of Israel a lot of the Egyptians went with them too.
And God fed them all manna, and they all drank from the same rock..
and they was called the church in the wilderness...

Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
 

ChristisGod

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So when Moses brought out the children of Israel a lot of the Egyptians went with them too.
And God fed them all manna, and they all drank from the same rock..
and they was called the church in the wilderness...

Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:
I think we are connecting the body of Christ with the church which was a Pauline doctrine.
 

amadeus

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Where do you find the body of Christ mentioned before Paul?
The phrase/term body of Christ as the church is Pauline and used by Him in the N.T. outside of Revelation which uses the church but not in connection with the body of Christ.

The Church is the Body of Christ as per (Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Romans 12;3-5; Colossians 1:24).

hope this helps !!!


What is the difference between Jesus[Jehovah is salvation] and Christ [anointed]? To which Body did Paul refer? To which Body did Jesus himself refer in this verse?

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body." Matt 26:26
 
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Brakelite

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The watching Universe....the created orders in heaven and elsewhere are gob smacked when they see God's heart torn open and he does not resist his oppressors......not because he can't but because he desire's relationship above all else.

The humility, the condescension, the meekness of the Creator and Lord of the universe to eternally become human, giving His own life as a ransom for mankind... You are right my friend, none of us fully comprehend the sacrifice offered... From the moment even before creation when God, knowing what was to come, made the decision to send His Son to become a helpless defenseless babe, destined to suffer and die for others. Not until we physically view the true glorious and wonders of God and the kingdom, will we begin to perceive what it was that the Godhead gave up.
 
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CadyandZoe

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Where do you find the body of Christ mentioned before Paul?
The phrase "body of Christ" is one that Paul coined. But the essence and meaning of the phrase appears throughout the Bible. Paul employs the metaphor of a "body" to communicate the idea that those who have become his disciples are to serve one another as members of one body. Jesus also expresses this idea in passages such as Luke 22:25-27
 

CadyandZoe

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Where do you find the body of Christ mentioned before Paul?
The phrase "body of Christ" is one that Paul coined. But the essence and meaning of the phrase appears throughout the Bible.
1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

Christ revealed the mystery to Paul, which is the body of Christ. The body of Christ was formed to reconcile the heavenly places (Colossians 1:20). This mystery was not made known to anyone before Paul, nor can it be found anywhere in the law and the prophets in scripture.

If those of the world had known this, they would not have crucified the Lord Jesus.

Peter and the disciples could not have known this mystery and therefore could not have preached the body of Christ, nor be members of it. They preached the gospel of the kingdom to Israel (the Davidic kingdom on earth...Matthew 4:23) and the name of Jesus (Acts 10:43).

Colossians 1:17-20
17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.


Can I share my interpretation of this passage? First, notice how many times the translation above has translated the neuter plural as "things" -- "in him all things hold together" for instance. However, take note of verse 20, where it talks about "all things" being reconciled to himself. Things are not reconciled; people are reconciled. In this context "things" should be rendered "persons" or "people" because people are reconciled to each other. Notice how much more clear the passage reads if we replace the word "things" with the word "people"

Colossians 1:17-20
17 He is before all [people], and in Him all [people] hold together. 18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all [people] to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether [people] on earth or [people] in heaven.

Now, we can see Paul's point a little better. Paul is talking about the reconciliation of people through the cross and how it was the Father's purpose to place his son as the head of every person, especially his church.

What about this phrase "people on earth or people in heaven"? In the Greek, the word "heaven" is actually a plural noun and should be rendered "heavens". Paul isn't talking about "heaven" where God and all the angels live. He refers to the "heavens", which carries a different connotation. I believe this visual image has roots in God's original promise to Abraham, when God promised Abraham that his descendants would be more numerous than the stars. Before God made this promise he took Abraham to a very high place, presumably so that Abraham might look far beyond the horizon. If one is standing on a very high place, one can see the heavens while looking straight ahead toward the horizon. In other words the phrase "in the heavens" might refer to the lands across the sea, located over the horizon. I suspect that the phrase "on the earth and in the heavens" is idiomatic for "on our shores and those living across the sea."

In the companion epistle of Ephesians, Paul talks about how God reconciled with "those who were far off" and "those who were near." This is the same idea as "on the earth and in the heavens".


Ephesians 2:13-22
But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near; for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.



 
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Ziggy

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Jdg 20:1 Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.

Jdg 6:16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Jos 23:10 One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

This here body was a Man of War.. physically.
Christ's Body is that Man of Peace...spiritually.

The Old Man had blood on it's hands.
The New Man has a clean heart and clean hands,

The Old Man was sent out to conquer territory for for an earthly kingdom,
The New Man is sent out to conquer territory for a spiritual Kingdom.

The Old Man consisted of only Jews.
The New Man consists of Jews and Gentiles.

The Old Man lived by the sword and died by the sword.
The New Man died by the Sword and lives by the Sword.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:


This is all connected to the blessings of Jacob and Esau.. but it's too lengthy to put here.

HUGS
 
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