which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit,Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;
3 sermons cite this verse
Well, let me begin with a short quiz. Let me ask you, apart from the fact that all of these individuals are dead, what do each of them have in common? Winston Churchill, John Lennon, Bill Barker and Michael Jackson. long pause, understandable, each of them, to one degree or another, was hoping that by earthly means they would be enabled to have a part in creating a world of harmony and of hope and of peace. Lenin, imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do, nothing to kill or die for, and no religions to. Somewhere along there, he's dreaming of a place, an imaginary place, where people live their lives in peace. That was in 1971. In the same year, Bill Barker, whose name won't be known to most of us, came up. He was an ad agent in Los Angeles. he came up with the Coca-Cola line. I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, same hope and expectation. Fourteen years later, in 1985, is a chance that we're making. …
Now, we said if you look, and it wasn't that hard to see, wasn't it? The chapter consists of two parts, Paul's detour and Paul's prayer. You see, he starts off, for this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for the sake of you Gentiles, surely you have heard. Now, it's pretty clear that Paul starts to say something and he breaks off and he does what's called a digression, a detour. He takes a detour. It says, for this reason, for this reason, now, what is he referring to? I have to remind you, chapter 2 is what he's referring to. And he's referring to the fact that Christ and the gospel unites diverse kinds of people who otherwise could never get along in any other way. Christ, the gospel, destroys divisions between human beings that can't be eradicated any other way. And he brings them together in the case study that Paul uses, the Jews and the Gentiles. And there was a long discussion about that in Ephesians 2. …
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. The apostle is speaking in the context of the glorious doctrine of the redemption of sinners by Jesus Christ; and how it was in a great measure kept hid in the past ages of the world. It was a mystery that before they did not understand, but now it was in a glorious manner brought to light. (Ver. 3-5.)—“By revelation he made known unto me the mystery, (as I wrote afore in few words; whereby when ye read ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ,) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets, by the Spirit” And (ver. 8, 9.) “Unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 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.” And the apostle in the text informs us, that what Christ had accomplished towards his church, in the work of redemption, had not only in a great measure unveiled the mystery to the church in this world; but God had more clearly and fully opened it to the understanding even of the angels themselves; and that this was one end of God in it, to discover the glory of his wisdom to the angels. “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. ” …