The early ministry of Paul has puzzled many earnest and diligent Bible students.

They see quite clearly what his ministry led up to.  They rejoice in his pure message of grace.  They understand fully that water baptism and the Pentecostal signs have no more place in the body of Christ than circumcision and the law, but they are perplexed, not to say somewhat disappointed, to find circumcision, baptism and miraculous signs all practiced by Paul during his early ministry as recorded in the book of Acts.

This problem has led some to suppose that the mystery was not revealed to Paul until his Roman imprisonment and that "the body of Christ," the church of this age, only began, historically, after Acts 28:28.

But this extreme conclusion is as unscriptural as that which marks Pentecost as the historical beginning of the body, for we read distinctly of the mystery and of the body of Christ in Paul's earlier epistles, written before Acts 28, as well as in those written after (Rom. 16:25, I Cor. 2:7, Rom. 12:5, I Cor. 12:12,13,27, etc.).  Indeed, this fact has driven those who date the body from Acts 28 to the conclusion that there must be two bodies,--that "the body of Christ" of which Paul speaks in Romans and I Corinthians is a different body from "the body of Christ" to which his later epistles refer.

They have been driven to this conclusion, we say, for such an explanation is, to say the least, forced and unnatural.  We cannot help feeling that such theories must sound shabby even to those who present them, and should cause them to re-examine the foundation of their structure, for a wrong premise will surely lead to wrong conclusions.  Certainly the theory of the "two bodies" leads to most extreme and unscriptural conclusions.

One who resorts to this theory writes that "since Paul's ministry was primarily to the Jews during the Acts, his epistles written during that same time could not be otherwise."

Such statements are as thoroughly unscriptural as they are extravagant, for the record makes it crystal clear that his early ministry and his early epistles were primarily to the Gentiles, not the Jews.
 
 

In Acts 22:18 and 21 Paul relates how, upon first returning to Jerusalem after his conversion, the Lord had revealed to him that his testimony would not be received there and that he was to be sent to the Gentiles:

"And [I] saw Him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for THEY WILL NOT RECEIVE THY TESTIMONY CONCERNING ME."

"And He said unto me, Depart: for I WILL SEND THEE FAR HENCE UNTO THE GENTILES."

And the story of his ministry from then on is in perfect harmony with this.

Acts 13:46,47: "LO, WE TURN TO THE GENTILES.  FOR SO HATH THE LORD COMMANDED US . . ."

Acts 15:3: "And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, DECLARING THE CONVERSION OF THE GENTILES . . ."

Acts 18:6: "FROM HENCEFORTH I WILL GO UNTO THE GENTILES."

Acts 21:18,19: "And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the elders were present.

"And when he had saluted them, HE DECLARED PARTICULARLY WHAT THINGS GOD HAD WROUGHT AMONG THE GENTILES BY HIS MINISTRY."
 
 

When we compare Paul's early epistles with the latter part of the book of Acts (the period during which they were written) the picture remains the same:

Rom. 11:13, "I SPEAK TO YOU GENTILES, INASMUCH AS I AM THE APOSTLE OF THE GENTILES, I MAGNIFY MINE OFFICE."

I Cor. 12:2, "YE KNOW THAT YE WERE GENTILES, CARRIED AWAY UNTO THESE DUMB IDOLS . . ."

Gal. 1:15,16, ". . . it pleased God . . . to reveal His Son in me, THAT I MIGHT PREACH HIM AMONG THE HEATHEN [GENTILES] . . ."

Gal. 4:8, "Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, YE DID SERVICE UNTO THEM WHICH BY NATURE ARE NO GODS."

I Thes. 2:14, "For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for YE ALSO HAVE SUFFERED LIKE THINGS OF YOUR OWN COUNTRYMEN, EVEN AS THEY HAVE OF THE JEWS."

Imagine contending, in the light of such Scriptures as these, that Paul's early epistles were written primarily to the Jews!  Surely these quotations from Acts and the early epistles prove conclusively that Paul's early ministry was primarily to the Gentiles and not primarily to the Jews.  It is true that he went to the Jew first, but that is a very different matter.  And herein lies the solution to the problem of Paul's early ministry.
 
 

There is an important fact which we fear our "two body" brethren have overlooked.

Paul went to the Jew first, not because it seemed that Israel might yet accept Christ as her King, but simply because God would not leave her with any excuse for rejecting Messiah.

Paul confirmed Peter's message and mightily contended with the Jews everywhere that "Jesus is the Christ." Miracles also accompanied this confirmation ministry--greater miracles, indeed, than Peter himself had wrought but, unlike Peter, Paul never offered the kingdom to Israel.

As we have seen, Paul, like the twelve, would have launched his ministry from Jerusalem, Israel's capital city, but the Lord Himself appeared to him, and insisted upon his leaving Jerusalem immediately.  At this time the Lord made two very important statements to Paul:

1. "THEY WILL NOT RECEIVE THY TESTIMONY CONCERNING ME."

2. "I WILL SEND THEE FAR HENCE UNTO THE GENTILES."

What was God doing here?  He was concluding Israel in unbelief and disobedience and, even at that early date, calling Paul to minister to the Gentiles.

The national rebellion had grown to such proportions that "a great persecution" was being waged against the church at Jerusalem.  Paul, who but lately had been the leading persecutor, now thinks that perhaps his testimony might turn the tide (Acts 22:19-21).  But God knows better.  He knows that the crisis in Israel's history has been reached.  Persuasion will be useless.  Salvation now will be sent to the Gentiles, not through Israel, but in spite of her, and Paul himself is chosen for this purpose.

This incident in Paul's early Christian experience should be viewed in the light of three important verses of Scripture:

Rom. 11:15: ". . . IF THE CASTING AWAY OF THEM [ISRAEL] BE THE RECONCILING OF THE WORLD . . ."

Rom. 11:32: "GOD HATH CONCLUDED THEM ALL IN UNBELIEF THAT HE MIGHT HAVE MERCY UPON ALL."

Eph. 2:16: "AND THAT HE MIGHT RECONCILE BOTH UNTO GOD IN ONE BODY BY THE CROSS . . ."

Of course, God's gracious purpose in the casting away of Israel was only in process of being revealed as God gradually set her aside.  The fulness of it is not unfolded until the later epistles, where Paul prays that believers may be given wisdom and spiritual understanding to comprehend it.  But the reconciling of believing Jews and Gentiles unto God in one body, the blessing of the Gentiles through the fall of Israel, most assuredly began considerably before the close of the book of Acts.
 
 

One fact should be apparent even to the casual observer: Peter's ministry very definitely anticipated Israel's acceptance of Messiah (Acts 1:6, 2:30,38,39, 3:17-26), but Paul's just as definitely assumed Israel's continued rejection of Messiah.  In fact, he was raised up by God in view of Israel's rejection of Christ, for God's answer to the stoning of Stephen and the dreadful persecution of Acts 8:1-3 was the salvation of Saul, the chief persecutor and the leader of the rebellion.  Matchless grace!

Those who hold the extreme views above referred to, argue further that "the blessing of the Gentiles [in Acts] is dependent upon the realization of the blessing promised to the Jew."

This was true of Peter's ministry, as Acts 3:25,26 indicates, but the very opposite was true of Paul's ministry.  Acts 13:46 alone should settle this.  Here, by no stretch of imagination can we conclude that the Gentiles were being blessed through Israel's realization of her blessings.  The Gentiles, on the contrary, were being blessed because the Jews had put the Word of God from them.

". . . SEEING YE PUT IT FROM YOU . . . LO, WE TURN TO THE GENTILES."

All this substantiates our basic contention that while Peter's ministry had to do with the blessing of the Gentiles through the rise of Israel, Paul's had to do with the blessing of the Gentiles through the fall of Israel.  The former is the subject of prophecy, the latter of the mystery.

Is it correct to speak of Israel's "primacy" during the later Acts period?  Romans 11 makes it clear that Israel's fate was already settled before Acts 28,¹ even though the sentence had not yet been officially pronounced.

"ISRAEL HATH NOT OBTAINED THAT WHICH HE SEEKETH FOR . . . THE ELECTION HATH OBTAINED IT, AND THE REST WERE BLINDED . . . THEIR FALL . . . THE FALL OF THEM . . . THE DIMINISHING OF THEM . . . IF BY ANY MEANS I MIGHT SAVE SOME OF THEM . . . THE CASTING AWAY OF THEM . . . BLINDNESS [or DULLED PERCEPTION] IN PART IS HAPPENED TO ISRAEL, UNTIL THE FULNESS OF THE GENTILES BE COME IN . . . THEY ARE ENEMIES . . . GOD HATH CONCLUDED THEM ALL IN UNBELIEF . . ." (Rom. 11:7-32).

Before the martyrdom of Stephen, Peter promised the return of Christ to earth upon condition of Israel's repentance.  After Stephen, God raised up Paul who never made such an offer.  Acts is the story of the fall of Israel, and the stoning of Stephen marks the crisis.
 
 

But what about Paul's famous statement in Rom. 1:16:

"FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST: FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH; TO THE JEW FIRST AND ALSO TO THE GREEK."

Many have missed the very point of this passage by taking this one verse out of its context.  They have made it Paul's defense for going to the Jew first, when in reality he defends his ministry among the Gentiles in this passage.  Let us see:

In accordance with the prophetic plan our Lord had instructed the apostles to make disciples of all nations "beginning at Jerusalem" (Matt. 28:19, cf. Luke 24:47).

The twelve apostles began their work there.  Peter declared to the "men of Israel" in Jerusalem's temple:

"Ye are the children of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, AND IN THY SEED SHALL ALL THE KINDREDS OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED.

"Unto YOU FIRST God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities" (Acts 3:25,26).

Acts 11:19 further makes it clear that, until Peter was sent to Cornelius, even the scattered disciples had preached the Word "to none but unto the Jews only." Israel was to be the channel of blessing to the world.

The apostles sought earnestly to bring the favored nation to Messiah's feet, but--

"BUT TO ISRAEL HE SAITH, ALL DAY LONG HAVE I STRETCHED FORTH MY HANDS UNTO A DISOBEDIENT AND GAINSAYING PEOPLE" (Rom. 10:21).

The gospel had gone to the Jew first and had been rejected, but God would not allow Israel to stand in the way of Gentile blessing, so He began to set Israel aside, raising up Paul to bring good news to the Gentiles notwithstanding.

Contrast Peter's "you first" at Jerusalem, with Paul's "you first" at Antioch, where he says to the Jews:

"IT WAS NECESSARY THAT THE WORD OF GOD SHOULD FIRST HAVE BEEN SPOKEN TO YOU, -- BUT -- SEEING YE PUT IT FROM YOU AND JUDGE YOURSELVES UNWORTHY OF EVERLASTING LIFE, LO, WE TURN TO THE GENTILES" (Acts 13:46).

All this throws clear light on Romans 1:16.

Paul by no means contends here that the gospel should continue to be sent to the Jew first, otherwise Rom. 1:16 would most assuredly contradict Rom. 10:12,13, which says:

"FOR THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE JEW AND THE GREEK: FOR THE SAME LORD OVER ALL IS RICH UNTO ALL THAT CALL UPON HIM.

"FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED."

Rom. 11:7 and 25 should be enough to convince us that Paul at that time understood that God had given the nation up and that a judicial blindness was already settling upon it.

As he opens his Roman epistle, therefore, he argues for his responsibility to go to the Gentiles also.  Note carefully the emphasis in the whole passage:

". . . THAT I MIGHT HAVE SOME FRUIT AMONG YOU ALSO, EVEN AS AMONG OTHER GENTILES.

"I AM DEBTOR BOTH TO THE GREEKS, AND TO THE BARBARIANS: BOTH TO THE WISE AND TO THE UNWISE [He does not even mention the Jew here].

"SO, AS MUCH AS IN ME IS, I AM READY TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO YOU THAT ARE AT ROME ALSO.

"FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST: FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH; TO THE JEW FIRST, AND ALSO TO THE GREEK" (Rom. 1:13-16).

His argument here is clearly that he is not ashamed to go to the Gentiles at Rome with the gospel, since it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.

God's good news concerning Christ had been sent to the Jew first, but now, through Paul, was being sent to the Gentile also, and Paul was ready, as much as in him was, to preach it to those "at Rome also."

Rom. 1:16, when thus considered in the light of its context, by no means conflicts with the rest of Romans.  Those who use this passage to teach Jewish precedence today, miss one of the basic lessons of the book of Romans: that there is no longer any difference, in the sight of God, between the Jew and the Gentile and that both alike must now approach God as the fallen sons of Adam.

The great motive for Jewish missionary work in this age of grace is given to us, not in Rom. 1:16, but in Rom. 11:30-33:

"FOR AS YE [GENTILES] IN TIMES PAST HAVE NOT BELIEVED GOD, YET HAVE NOW OBTAINED MERCY THROUGH THEIR [ISRAEL'S] UNBELIEF:

"EVEN SO HAVE THESE ALSO NOW NOT BELIEVED, THAT THROUGH YOUR MERCY THEY ALSO MAY OBTAIN MERCY.

"FOR GOD HATH CONCLUDED THEM ALL IN UNBELIEF THAT HE MIGHT HAVE MERCY UPON ALL.

"O THE DEPTH OF THE RICHES BOTH OF THE WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD! HOW UNSEARCHABLE ARE HIS JUDGMENTS AND HIS WAYS PAST FINDING OUT!"
 
 

The question of Paul's early ministry is important to the understanding of the mystery.  There are some who see distinctions everywhere, but they fail to see the sweep, the progress, the development in the unfolding of God's wonderful plan.  They do not see how, when it seemed that the prophetic purpose had failed and the Gentiles would be deprived of blessing because of Israel's unbelief, God overruled and unfolded His secret, eternal purpose of grace, which at the same time explained how, and how alone, the prophetic purpose could and would after all be fulfilled; indeed, how alone any sinner ever had been, or could be saved.  This is the difference between "the gospel" and "the mystery [or secret] of the gospel." When we see it we cry with the Psalmist, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee; and the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain!"

Was the mystery communicated to Paul in one single revelation or in a series of revelations?  Let us see what the Scriptures have to say as to this:

Acts 26:16: "But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness BOTH OF THESE THINGS WHICH THOU HAST SEEN, AND OF THOSE THINGS IN THE WHICH I WILL APPEAR UNTO THEE."

Acts 22:17,18: "And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; AND SAW HIM SAYING UNTO ME . . ."

II Cor. 12:1: ". . . I WILL COME TO VISIONS AND REVELATIONS OF THE LORD."

II Cor. 12:7: "And lest I should be exalted above measure through THE ABUNDANCE OF THE REVELATIONS, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh . . ."

Undoubtedly Paul both received and communicated one great body of truth gradually, otherwise his term, "my gospel"² and our term, "the distinctive ministry of Paul" are wholly misleading, but all was made known by "the revelation of Jesus Christ" to Paul.  In each case Paul saw the Lord Himself.

Thus the old program gradually passed away as the new one took its place.  There was development in the revelation given to Paul as well as in the historical unfolding of God's secret purpose.  God raised up Paul for ONE great purpose, to declare ONE great new message progressively, though his message confirmed and in no way contradicted the message of Peter and the eleven concerning Christ.

There was a time when the writer viewed the mystery as a particular point in Paul's preaching, but now, thank God, he sees it as one great, grand message, the comprehension of which is unspeakably precious.

We would ask our "two body" brethren to consider the following proposition:

We agree that God had a revealed, prophesied purpose.  We agree that He also had a secret, eternal purpose which was the key to the fulfillment of the prophesied purpose.  Did He have still another purpose -- a sort of buffer between the two?  Or did He have several unrelated purposes?  What was Paul's message during his early ministry?  Was it the gospel of the kingdom?  Most certainly it was not.  Was it the gospel of the circumcision?  This would contradict Gal. 2:7.  What was it then?  It was "the gospel of the UNcircumcision," "the gospel of the grace of God," and these cannot be dissociated from the mystery.

Eph. 3:13, "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,

"IF YE HAVE BEARD OF THE DISPENSATION OF THE GRACE OF GOD WHICH IS GIVEN ME TO YOU-WARD:

"HOW THAT BY REVELATION HE MADE KNOWN UNTO ME THE MYSTERY . . ."

Surely it is altogether gratuitous to suppose that Paul had "a special temporary ministry" during the Acts period, for it is during the Acts period that he expresses the desire

"THAT I MIGHT FINISH MY COURSE WITH JOY [Here he looks ahead to the close of his ministry], AND THE MINISTRY WHICH I HAVE RECEIVED OF THE LORD JESUS [Here he looks back to the beginning], TO TESTIFY THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD" (Acts 20:24).

What we must recognize is simply that the old economy was that under which Paul was saved and from which he gradually emerged.  Therefore it was right and consistent for him to do certain things before Acts 28 which would have been contrary to the will of God after Acts 28.

But it is more than gratuitous -- it is a flat contradiction of Scriptuure -- to teach that Paul received the revelation of the mystery in prison at Rome and that this supposed revelation superseded his other revelations and marked the historical beginning of the body of Christ of which we are members.  The facts which we have already considered, that both "the mystery" and "the body of Christ" are referred to and dealt with at length in Paul's early epistles, stamps this teaching as wholly unscriptural, as does also the fact that the apostle emphatically states in his later epistles that he is in prison FOR the mystery (Eph. 6:20, Col. 4:3).

It has been observed by one extreme dispensationalist that in Acts 21 there are two distinct groups -- "the Jews which believe" and <"the Gentiles which believe," while in the body of Christ this distinction disappears.

This is a good point, for it shows that God had not yet concluded his dealings with Israel.  But it must be noticed that even while God was permitting this distinction to remain outwardly, He was already saying, through Paul, that IN CHRIST there was neither Jew nor Gentile (See I Cor. 12:13 and Gal. 3:27,28).

Some have supposed that Paul meant, in Gal. 3:27,28, that in the body of Christ there was neither Jew nor Greek and that this did not apply to the Jews under Peter and the twelve.  This, of course, does violence to the wording of the passage which clearly states that it was in Christ that the distinction had disappeared.  The Jewish believers at Jerusalem were certainly in Christ.  Some had even been "in Christ" before Paul (Rom. 16:7).  But now all in Christ became members of one body.  That Gal. 3:27,28 included the Jewish believers at Jerusalem as well as those saved through Paul's ministry is further confirmed by II Cor. 5:16,17: "HENCEFORTH know we NO MAN after the flesh . . . Therefore if ANY MAN be in Christ, he is a new creature." Even Peter knew this and was rebuked when later he went back on the light he had received (Acts 15:9, cf. Gal. 2:11,12).
 
 

1.  What problem perplexes many Bible students with respect to Paul's early ministry?

2.  This difficulty has led some to conclude that the mystery was not revealed and the body of Christ, the church of this dispensation, did not begin until when?

3.  How do the early epistles of Paul disprove this contention?

4.  Give three Scriptures from Acts proving that Paul's early (Acts) ministry was primarily to the Gentiles.

5.  Why did Paul generally go to the Jew first during his early ministry?

6.  Give three Scriptures from Paul's early epistles, proving that these were written primarily to Gentiles.

7.  Did Paul ever offer the kingdom to Israel, so far as the record is concerned?

8.  Explain how Paul confirmed Peter's message to the Jews.

9.  Give Scripture to prove that Israel, as a nation, had been spiritually blinded before Paul even started for Rome.

10.  How do you reconcile Rom. 1:16 ("Jew first") with Rom. 10:12 ("no difference")?

11. What is the Scriptural basis for Jewish missionary work today?

12.  Give two Scriptures proving that Paul received his message by a series of revelations.

13.  Whom did Paul see in each of these revelations?

14.  What one comprehensive term does he use to describe the good news he proclaimed?

15.  How would you answer the contention that Paul received the revelation of the mystery in prison at Rome?

16.  What passage from his later epistles indicates that "the gospel of the grace of God" and "the mystery" are inseparable?

17.  Explain the relation between the two.

18.  Give three Scriptures proving that Jewish and Gentile believers were one in Christ during Paul's early ministry.

19.  What distinction did exist between them at that time?

20.  When did that distinction cease to exist?