“Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power”
(Ephesians 3:7)
 
The “whereof” refers back to its antecedent, “the gospel,” in Verse Six. The Apostle Paul rejoiced in the grace that was given him. This gift of grace enabled him to be the minister of the Gospel of the Mystery. The engracing of Paul was by the “effectual working of His power.” This phrase carries us back to the first chapter.
 
“ … according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at his own right hand [among] the heavenly authorities, over all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (A paraphrasing of Ephesians 1:19-21).

“That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” (Eph. 3:6)
 
The “Scope” of the revelation of The Mystery is summed up in this one verse. When we speak of the “Scope” we mean—what it is all about. “That the Gentiles” is the King James’ introduction to the theme of the Mystery. The phrase is also rendered as; “(to wit), that the Gentiles” (ASV), “to be specific, that the Gentiles” (NAS), and “This mystery is” (NIV). All of these convey a one verse delineation of God’s great Mystery in Ephesians 3:6. This verse explains the Mystery in a capsule form. The verse standing alone does not yield the magnificence of the Mystery. Paul wrote fifty verses prior to Ephesians 3:6. When the previous verses are read and comprehended, then, we may understand Paul’s knowledge in the Mystery of Christ (Eph.3:4). Spiritual understanding of the first two chapters enables the believer to adequately discern the weightiness and splendor of Verse Six in Ephesians Chapter Three.

Divine Records are set forth in the Word of God. These Divine Records are Truth. What we believe must be in harmony with them and must be understood in the light of “rightly dividing the Word of Truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).
 
We will set forth twenty Divine facts as they relate to the Acts Period and the believers during that time. A clear understanding of the facts makes it abundantly unambiguous that the Church, during “The Acts of the Apostles,” was vastly different from the Church of the Mystery. Truth that belongs to a past dispensation should not be interpreted, or read into the present dispensation.

The ordinary men who were chosen by Christ to be His Apostles were endowed with extraordinary power. Power that was never possessed by any other mortal men.
 
It is very poignant to consider the men who the Lord Jesus Christ selected to be His Ministers of State—the Governors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. They were to be the ones who presided over “the Israel of God;” that is to say, the “new nation” that was being divinely formed during “The Acts of the Apostles.” These Officers of State were ordinary men chosen by Jesus Christ Who gave them unprecedented power to “heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils” (Matt. 10:8). The Ministers who Christ chose were the result of His fervent prayer that lasted all night. None of the Twelve were men of prominence. Nor, were any of them part of Israel’s elite. They were ordinary men of ordinary birth. They were men of low estate. Several of them were disciples of John the Baptist. Two were in John’s inner circle—Andrew and Peter. The one thing all Twelve had in common was their blood-line—which is to say; they were direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The footnote in the Scofield Reference Bible, regarding the “sons of God” in Genesis 6, says, “Some hold that these ‘sons of God’ were ‘angels which kept not their first estate’ (Jude 6). It is asserted that the title in the Old Testament is used, exclusively, of angels. But, this is an error (Isa. 43:6). Angels are spoken of in a sexless way. No female angels are mentioned in Scripture, and we are, expressly, told that marriage is unknown among angels (Matt. 22:30). The uniform Hebrew and Christian interpretation has been that Genesis 6:2 marks the breaking down of the separation between the godly line of Seth and the godless line of Cain …” (Page 13).