The Mystery of Ephesians 3 Is Not The Church

The mystery of Ephesians 3 is not the church…though I once thought and taught it was.

In Ephesians 3, Paul is given the revelation of the mystery.

This revelation has been mistakenly taught that the mystery is the church.

The problem with the teaching is the word church is not in the original Greek manuscripts.

There is no place from Matthew - Revelation where the word church appears in the manuscripts.

Sadly, translations have inserted the word church for the Greek word ekklesia.

Ekklesia, when translated properly, is the word assembly.

With this understanding, the mystery revealed to Paul is the assembly.

But what assembly?

It is the assembly of the spiritual temple of God where he lives by his Spirit - see Ephesians 2:11-22.

It is the spiritual temple of grace in contrast to the physical temple of law that once existed in Jerusalem.

The spiritual temple of God is built as more and more people from all over the world place their faith in Jesus.

This is the assembly Jesus said he would build.

Jesus never said, “I will build my church.”

But he did say, "I will build my ekklesia...my assembly."

What assembly would Jesus build?

It is the assembly of believers who form the spiritual temple of God revealed to Paul in Ephesians 2:11-22.

Jesus is the cornerstone of this temple of grace.

Peter provides additional insight into this temple in 1 Peter 2:4-10 where he says that believers are spiritual stones of this spiritual temple...this spiritual nation as Peter calls it.

The spiritual temple of grace replaced the physical temple of law in Jerusalem...this has always been God's plan.

The understanding of God's plan was revealed to Paul who then revealed it to the world.

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