Now we shall look at the mystery OF Paul's gospel.  We have seen that what Paul called "my gospel" was a mystery hid in the Old Testament scriptures.  However, just as there was a mystery that was hid in the Old Testament prophets' writings for certain men to later search out (Acts 17:2-3,11) there was also a mystery "hid in God" (Eph. 3:9), which no Old Testament writer ever wrote about.  This mystery was not according to the "scriptures of the prophets," since it was not there in their writings.  This mystery is according to the "unsearchable riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8) incapable of being searched out in the scriptures from Genesis throughout Malachi or throughout the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John or the majority of the book of Acts.  It is that Christ died for even those such as we who had "no hope" and were "without God in the world" in time past.  This was our condition because we were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise" (Eph. 2:12) and thus being so were afar off from the things of God.  But notice what the book of Ephesians says concerning our position now.

            "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

         "For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" (Eph. 2:13-14).

Please observe the term "who hath made both one" of verse 14.  The "both" in the passage is a reference to both those who were in the covenants of promise and those who were not in the covenants of promise being put into the "same body" by the gospel in this present dispensation of the grace of God.  Those who weren't in the covenants of promise, such as we, are the ones of whom Paul is making reference to here.  The reason why we were not in the covenants of promise is because of what the following verse says.

   "That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12).                     

We were "without Christ" and "having no hope" and "without God in the world" because we were not allied with the nation of Israel in time past.  However, God so loved the world that He sent Christ to die for all men everywhere no matter what their moral character or sinful condition may be.  The Bible says, "…God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them…" (II Cor. 5:19).  Subsequently, we find Paul later saying the following to these particular Gentiles.

            "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,