The Promise in Eph 3:6
/By Oscar M. Baker
The Promise In Eph. 3:6
2 Tim. 1:1 & Titus 1:2
In the gospel committed to the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit revealed for the first time many of those remarkable events which occurred before age-times.
As they had left the Creator's hand, all His works were fair and of manifest perfection. But before long, the anointed one in that primeval creation introduced into a scene of beauty the terrible principle of sin, and with it, its logical consequence - death!
It is safe to infer that death existed before the creation of man, for Rom. 5:12 tells us, "By one man sin ENTERED into the world and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned." Quite obviously, if sin ENTERED, it must have existed beforehand, and therefore we might justly enquire what had originally caused it, and what was its connection with death?
To answer these questions completely would be impossible for the "Secret things belong to the Lord," but seeing that He has revealed certain things concerning them, we are permitted to search them out and know more of His wonderful ways.
"My Gospel" is an expression peculiar to the apostle of the Gentiles. To this message he has much to say concerning death, particularly to the Romans, but on the other hand his words concerning God's remedy for this terrible enemy are abundant. The words which form the title of this article are found in Eph. 3:6, and in this chapter the wonderful blessings that have come upon the Gentiles are clearly outlined. One of these is said to be that they were "Partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel." And this gospel is the one that had been committed to Paul
(v. 7). It would appear then that the promise referred to is vitally connected with the particular truth revealed to this apostle of the Gentiles. And if this is so, we should seek to discover what is involved in this PROMISE.
Many times Paul alludes specifically to this particular message and on two occasions gives us a clue as to what is involved in this promise. In 2 Tim. 1:1 we read, "Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus."
In those words we find confirmation of the truth that Paul's apostleship, and therefore his message, was in complete harmony with the promise of life in Christ.
The second reference to this promise is even more profound. When writing to Titus, the apostle says, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world (ages) began; but hath in due time manifested His Word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour" (Titus 1:2,3). Think on this passage in connection with Eph. 3:6.
