by Keith Sharp
“To me, whom am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:8-12).
Have you built an ark yet? God plainly commanded, “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood” (Genesis 6:14-16). That command was to Noah, you say, and not for us.
True. But the command, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” was to Jews 2000 years ago. Why must we obey it?
This, above all else, pertains to the concept of “the ages.” “From the beginning of the ages” God purposed the salvation of all who would come to Him by obedient faith in Christ. The “principalities and powers in the heavenly places” see in the church, God’s saved people in Christ, the manifestation of the Lord’s many faceted wisdom in fulfillment of His eternal purpose (text). What are “the ages”?
Innocence
When the Lord God created the man and woman and placed them in the paradise, they were in a state of innocence. They did not know “good and evil,” and they had no sin. The Lord spoke directly to them and commanded, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). They disobeyed and ate of the forbidden fruit, and, as sin entered the world, they lost their innocence and direct fellowship with God. They died spiritually that very day. They were driven from the garden and lost access to the tree of life (Genesis chapter three).
This first age was that of innocence, God spoke to them directly, and, because of their innocence, they enjoyed direct fellowship with God.
Fathers
After sin entered, the knowledge and will of God were passed down by tradition from the fathers to their families. It was the duty of the father to teach his family the will of God and to command them to obey it (Genesis 18:15-17). Some fathers, such as Abraham, were prophets, to whom God spoke directly (Genesis 20:1-7), but it has always been the duty of every father to teach his family the will of God (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Ephesians 6:4). The failure to pass on the knowledge of God by tradition from generation to generation was the ruin of the Gentiles (1 Peter 1:17-19).
This was the age of the Fathers, who were to teach their families about God and command them to obey His will. Thus, it was a family religion.
For Israel, this age lasted until the Lord gave them His law through Moses from Mt. Sinai. For the Gentiles, non Jews, it lasted until Christ, for they, unlike Israel received no special revelation from God (Acts 17:29-31).
Moses
But to one nation God gave a special revelation. The Lord God made a covenant, contract, through Moses with Israel, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when He revealed His law to them from Mt. Sinai (Deuteronomy 5:1-3). The purpose of the law was to prepare Israel for the coming of Christ (Galatians 3:23-25), so that through them the saving gospel, the good news of salvation in Christ, might go to the whole world. Thus, since the law had fulfilled its purpose, when Christ died on the cross, the law was removed (Colossians 2:13-17).
Moses was the spokesman of God to Israel, so this was a national religion.
Christ
Now God speaks through His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). Because His death removes the guilt of sin, thus reconciling men to God, Jesus was made the mediator of a new covenant (Hebrews 9:13-15). His message is universal, for all people everywhere (Mark 16:15). This is the last age (1 Corinthians 10:11), and it will last until the end of time (1 Corinthians 15:22-26).
Today Jesus Christ the Son of God is the spokesman for God to the whole world. Therefore, the religion of Christ is universal.
Conclusion
Since the first century, in fulfillment of divine warning, men have arisen claiming to receive new revelations through angels. Muhammed claimed that angels revealed “surahs” to him in a cave, from which came the Qu’ran. Joseph Smith asserted an angel showed him golden plates on the hill Cummorah, near Palmyra, New York, from which he translated the Book of Mormon. Even if these men spoke truthfully, the angels who supposedly came to them were accursed. We must not receive any other gospel than that which came through Christ (Galatians 1:6-9).
The Lord God commands, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5)
