The Apostle Paul’s

Great Mystery of Christ Revealed

The Spiritually Masculine Saints

and the Spiritually Feminine Faithful in Christ Jesus in Union

The “Family” of God in Heaven and on Earth

Ephesians 3:15

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus “and” to the faithful in Christ Jesus

Ephesians 1:1

By Steve Santini

The revelation of the great mystery given to the apostle Paul completes the word of God. It was the knowledge and understanding of this mystery that instilled deep faith and great hope in the churches founded by his ministration. It was from the fellowship in Ephesus that all Asia Minor heard the word of the Lord Jesus within two years and three months. In Ephesians, chapter five, Paul writes instructions for the husband and wife in marriage. Yet he concludes the section by writing, “This mystery is great, however I speak as to Christ and as to the church.” It is this author’s belief that it was the then purest of union between the spiritual masculine and the spiritual feminine members of the body of Christ that generated the power for the word of the Lord Jesus to spread this far that rapidly. This great mystery of union is summarized in the following diagram and is commented on in the subsequent studies.

The Great Mystery

Divine Union as in Marriage

Mature Spiritual Males

Saints

Christ

Spirit of Christ Revealed

In Heaven

Revelation of Jesus Christ

Heirs of God

New Leaven for the Lump

Chosen

Before the Foundation

Through His Faith

Righteous

Paralambano and Separated

Taken Out of the Midst

(Luke 17:34-36, II Thess. 2:3,7,

John 1:51)

Manifested

Coming away from Heaven before Him

Mature Spiritual Females

Faithful in Christ Jesus

The Church

Taught by Holy Spirit and

Saints

On Earth

Soul Understanding

Joint Heirs in Christ

The Lump

Called

From the Foundation

By Faith in Him

Faith Unto Righteousness

Living Faithful and Out, Better, or First Resurrection of The Dead in Christ

(Phil. 3:11, Heb11:35, I Thess. 4:16)

Regenerated & Resurrected

Gathered

to and for Him

1. Paul’s Gospel*

2. The Revelation of Jesus Christ

3. Abba Father

4. Temple Edifice

Young Males

Believers in Jesus Christ

Gift from the Holy Spirit

Soul Knowledge

The Gospels

Teaching by the Holy Spirit

To Israel First,

Then to Gentiles

Young Females

Believers in Jesus Christ

Gift from the Holy Spirit

Soul Knowledge

The Gospels

Teaching by the Holy Spirit To Israel First,

Then to Gentiles

1. Peter’s Gospel

2. Souls Instructed for Maturity by the Feminine Holy Spirit

3. The Mother of Us All

4. Foundation

(Although we have been given a physical pattern for the mystery in the one flesh relationship of marriage this diagram does not distinguish by the physical attributes of gender or, in other words, flesh. It relates only to the two other fundament components of humanity - soul and spirit. (Ephesians 1;1, 3:14-15, 5:20-32) *To establish new churches where no man had laid a foundation before, it was necessary for Paul, as a “nurse” who cherished her children, to first preach a rendition of Peter’s gospel similar to Luke’s gospel portrayal. I Thessalonians 2).

Parallels of the Eastern Family and the Spiritual Family*

1. Mothers were solely responsible for raising both male and female children until the age of five. (Modern child psychologists’ report that it is at five years old that children begin to identify themselves as either masculine or feminine.)

2. From five until marriage, in the children’s early teens, both the father and the mother shared the responsibility of raising their children. The father focused on the sons and the mother focused on the daughters. It was during this time that household servants or mature eldest sons participated in the education of children.

3. When male children reached the age of thirteen they became official family heirs, were considered then responsible for their actions, jointly responsible to uphold the family traditions, and eligible to marry.

4. Marriage was usually between extended family members or tribal members as with Rebecca and Isaac, and Rachel and Jacob.

5. The mother was centrally involved with the development of her future daughters in law during their betrothal period.

6. When females married they became joint heirs with their husbands. Along with her husband, her husband’s father became spiritually central to the new wife. The father in law was now considered as her father and she was considered as a new member of the family.

* See: An Eastern Wedding Feast

The Union of the Sequential Ministries of Peter and Paul

Jesus, in his earthly body and his resurrected body commission, Peter’s ministry while Jesus Christ, ascended and seated at the right hand of the Father, commissioned Paul’s ministry. Peter was given the keys into the kingdom of heaven while Paul was given the revelation of what the kingdom entails. The transition from Peter’s ministry unto Paul’s ministry can be studied from the conclusion of the gospel of John and as the book of Acts develops.

At the end of the gospel of John, Jesus, in his resurrected body, gives Peter his final ministerial commission.

This is the third time that Jesus shewed himself to his disciples. After that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest though me? Peter was grieved he had said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. John 21:14-17

At first, when reading this section in the King James Version, it seems that Jesus repeats himself three times. It is true, as Peter attests, that Jesus repeats himself when he said, “Lovest thou me,” but when we examine the Greek text we find that Jesus’ three commands regarding feeding sheep are not repetitious. In the first command Jesus told Peter to feed the young male lambs. In the second command Jesus told Peter to rule over all of the young sheep and in the third command he told Peter feed all the young sheep. These commands are revealing. By singling out young male lambs in the flock to be feed and then telling Peter to rule over and feed the entire young flock, Jesus axiomatically reveals that the flock Peter is to be responsible for is composed of both young male and female sheep. Who then becomes responsible for the adult male and female sheep? Jesus answers this question in the following verse when he says to Peter that when he is old another shall gird him and carry it, the flock, where Peter was not given to take it.

The second thee after the word carry is not in the underlying Greek texts. The English word carry in this verse is the Greek word oisei, which is the in the third person singular and requires the pronoun he, she or it. The entire flock is neuter singular in the Greek language used within the context so it should be supplied rather than he or she.

It seems from the ongoing gospel record that Paul, who first was risen up through Peter’s ministration of the Holy Spirit, was the one to gird Peter and carry him forward. After Paul’s time in the desert he went to Jerusalem to spend fifteen days with Peter very likely to learn more thoroughly of the Lord Jesus’ words and actions. Later, when those in Jerusalem who believed yet were still zealous for law insisted that the Gentiles be circumcised and come under law, Paul went to the twelve in Jerusalem. Under Peter’s guidance the decision was made that the Gentiles who believed need not keep Jewish law. Next came a turning point in the first century church and for Peter.

Some years after the decision had been made that it was unnecessary for the Gentiles to keep the Old Testament Law; Peter was visiting the predominately Gentile church in Antioch. When eating with the Gentiles, some legalists from Jerusalem arrived. At that point, Peter removed himself from eating with the Gentiles. Paul, it seems, from his passion to see a local church come to maturity, summoned his courage and confronted Peter publicly for encouraging legalism by his act. Peter’s action may seem insignificant yet when placed within the context of Paul’s maturing churches his confrontation of Peter was vital not only for the future of the church but also for Peter’s spiritual future.

Paul recounts this incited in his letter to the Galatian church. It is to this church that he also writes that they had begun in the spirit yet were now seeking perfection though law. Paul also writes that law could not form Christ among them. He also writes, in essence, that law would reverse the process of any previous collective growth. From the point of his confrontation of Peter in Antioch, Paul becomes more confrontational with the church in Jerusalem. He writes the book Romans and takes it with him on a subsequent trip to Jerusalem. He writes to the maturing Corinthian church about divisions between themselves and entanglements with the systems of the world. He includes a section about false apostles other than the twelve coming from Israel. In this regard, the later chapters of the book of Acts seem to be most revealing.

Paul traveled to Jerusalem for what would become his last time. When he arrived, there were none of the twelve apostles present according to the record. It seems that James, the Lord’s brother, had been given the responsibility for the church in Jerusalem. Within the church there was a faction of legalist who plotted to deliver Paul to the fury of the unbelieving Jews. They succeeded although the Romans saved Paul from the irate mob’s pummeling of him within the temple grounds. He spent his latter years incarcerated, in some form or another, by the Romans and defending himself against the charges brought by the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem. It was during the lulls in his prolonged defenses and appeals that Paul wrote the apex of his revelation of the mystery in the epistle to the Ephesians.

Where was Peter this last time that Paul went to Jerusalem? He was in Babylon with Silvanus who had traveled with Paul in his early ministry and had co authored the epistles of I and II Thessalonians with Paul and Timothy. (I Peter 5:12,13) It had been years since Paul’s confrontation in Antioch and about thirty years since the Lord’s sacrifice. Peter was old and he knew his death was coming. (II Peter 1:14,15) He then wrote that Paul was a beloved brother. He also wrote of the glory to come for the faithful in Christ Jesus.

To solidify this brief overview of the relationship between Peter and Paul, the following word study of Jesus’ prophetic commission to Peter in the record of John chapter twenty-one is provided.

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young thou girdest thyself, and walketh where thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee and carry thee (it) whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had thus spoken, he saith unto him, Follow me. John 21:18, 19

Jesus tells Peter that although Peter gird himself when he was young another would gird him when he was old. Although Strong’s Analytical Concordance lists the two differing words for gird as having the same base, the Analytical Greek Lexicon lists the bases as differing. According to such the base for the word used for Peter “girding himself” is zugreu. According to the Lindell Scott Jones Greek to English dictionary this word means to losen oneself by being captured. The base for “another girding” Peter when he is old is zone. Strong’s Analytical Concordance states that zone is probably akin to zugos which means to join or yoke and which has as its root zeugnumi. According to Lindell Scott Jones zeugnumi is translated a large number of times in the secular Greek language as the word wed.

Not only is this word zone associated with a Greek word for wed, it is used as a girdle for women or the girdling of women only, according to Lindell Scott Jones. There are other words in the Greek language for a man’s girdle. Today grooms and potential grooms are often asked about “tying the knot.” This term has its origins in the ancient eastern custom of the groom tying the girdle of his bride during the wedding ceremony. Even today in the Hindu wedding ceremony this custom is retained. The groom ties a red cord around his bride’s neck during the ceremony. The Romans, who most likely adopted and altered this custom, had the groom untie his bride’s girdle during the wedding ceremony. So in a spiritual sense, Peter matured as a faithful in Christ Jesus when he became old. And, as such, Peter was spiritually wed to Paul who was, in similar manner as to Peter’s eldership with the keys to the kingdom, the saint given the administration for the application of the kingdom.

Next a brief look at the phrase, by what death he should glorify God, is provided. Death is an enemy as stated in I Corinthians, chapter fifteen. Death itself does not glorify God for God’s original and primary will does not include death. The Greek word for by what in this verse is poios. In rhetoric it means rising to a particular point. The word is translated as by what manner in I Peter 1:11. In the secular Greek translations it is never translated as by what or what. It is translated as manner. In the preceding verse the Greek word for old is gerasko, which has a sense of waxing old. The understanding would then be such; “in the manner of coming to union with Paul as Peter was waxing old he would glorify God.” It was not the death of Peter that glorified God; it was the manner of growing old in which he, by faith, allowed Paul’s revelation to gird him. In so doing, with the help of Silvanus, when approaching his demise, Peter wrote into the far future unto the faithful second beloved concerning the glory to come unto them.

Understanding the Importance of the Grammatical Use of the Greek Word for “And”

The Greek word kai is the primary connective conjunction translated into English as and. J.Gresham Machen, in his New Testament Greek for Beginners, writes that when kai is used alone it is the simple connective and. E. W. Bullinger, in A Critical Lexicon and Concordance, writes that kai is the conjunction of annexation and links things coordinate. Therefore kai is not used to mix things or used as a reiterative description of the same thing in two different ways according to the rules of Greek grammar. In the Greek language prepositions are used for things like this. In regard to understanding this distinction from one of the English usages of the word and, the figure of speech, polysydeton, contributes. Polysydeton means many ands. According to Bullinger’s Companion Bible, kai is used in at the beginnings of successive clauses to emphasize that each clause is singularly important. When commas without ands are used to separate successive clauses the figure of speech is named asyndeton. In this case, the clauses are not joined together by a conjunction, rather they run unto the important concluding clause that is separated and distinguished by the conjunction kai.

Regarding the Understanding of the Mystery: A Few Significant “Ands”

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35

Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you and I will be a Father unto you and ye shall be my sons and daughters. II Corinthians 6:17,18

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Ephesians 1:1

Of whom the whole family in heaven and on earth is named, Ephesians 3:15

This mystery is great, however I speak as to Christ and as to the church. Ephesians 5:32 (A literal translation according to usage)

Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to dividing asunder soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:11,12

In this verse of Hebrews 12, there are three ands that connect coordinate things of the mystery that are parallel. They are:

soul and spirit

joints and marrow

thoughts and intents

On the left of the three ands are things of the feminine faithful in Christ Jesus. On the right of the three ands are things of the masculine saints. The spirit of Christ through the saints reaches out to the faithful in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit, by the spiritual gift of such, moves the souls of the faithful in Christ Jesus to respond to the spirit of Christ.

In this parallelism the joints, on the left, made of bone are the leverage points from which work is done. In the Eastern culture the wife had authority and responsibility for household affairs including the land. Proverbs 31 gives an excellent example of the work done by the female. The marrow, on the right, is where the life of new blood originates. It seems interesting, in this context, that it is impossible surgically to separate the interweaving of the marrow in the bone where they come together. The scriptures though are fine enough to make the separation in a symbolic and spiritual sense.

The Greek words for thoughts and intents continue to bring light to this parallelism. Here again the word of God is the divider. The Greek word for thoughts, on the left is enthumesis. At its root it means inspired and is a compound of a preposition and noun. The noun means passion, emotion or feeling. All these are generally primary characteristics of the reasoning process of the feminine. The Greek word for intents is ennoia and means understanding. From its compounded noun, it has more to do with intellect in the reasoning process than passion or inspiration. This similarly is the primary reasoning process of the masculine. Yet all these, as the verse indicates, are one in heart when the masculine and the feminine are united. From this type understanding, it seems, Paul likened the union of Christ and the church to the marriage relationship.

In the regard of the word and and the overall subject of the union of spiritual masculine and spiritual feminine there is an enlightening and in the letter of Romans in the King James version of the Bible.

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:17

The ands in this verse are not the Greek word kai but the Greek word de which is most often translated as “but” or “however.” This conjunction, de, is a moderate contrasting connective. The word heirs is the Greek word kleronomeo. The Greek word for joint heirs is the same word prefixed by the Greek preposition sun. Sun means in association with. This word connotes a remaining difference in the combination of the elements while the Greek preposition meta, translated also as with, connotes a complete mixture of the combined elements. As in the Eastern marriage, it is the masculine saints as ones with the spirit of Christ who are the heirs of God and the feminine faithful in Christ Jesus who are the joint heirs together or in association with those of Christ.

“In” or “Among” with the Plural

The Greek preposition en always takes the dative case for its object. In English en with the dative means at rest within a time, place or condition and is most often translated scripturally as in. On page 41 of New Testament Greek for Beginners, A. Greshom Manchen writes, “Sometimes, for example, en with the dative cannot be translated by in in the English. E. W. Bjullinger, in Appendix 104 of The Companion Bible notes that when the object of en is in the plural or collective that en should be translated as among. The King James translators of the Greek texts many times followed this principle yet at other times they did not. For example, in Luke 17: 21 Jesus says,

……for behold the kingdom of God is within (en) you. (2^nd person plural dative)

The publishers, though, footnote this usage of en with the 2^nd person plural and give among as the alternate translation. To understand the mystery the method in which en is translated is an important issue. For example in Colossians 1:26,27, one reads:

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you the hope of glory.

In the phrase among the Gentiles the Greek preposition en is translated among properly yet in the subordinate clause, which is Christ in you the hope of glory the en is translated in even though the word you is dative plural. Since this clause is subordinate, and en with the plural object should be translated as among, this clause should read, which is Christ among you.

Where does this Christ that is among the collective church originate? Verse 26 of the context reveals that the mystery had been made manifest to his saints. To his saints is dative masculine plural and is the indirect object of manifest which is the Greek word phaneroo. Phaneroo has it root in phaino meaning light. Many other places in scripture the dative as an indirect object of phaneroo is translated as “in” the object rather than “to” the object. Considering the scope of the subject here, this phrase would be better translated as manifest in his saints. The next sentence begins with to whom. To whom is ois in the Greek and as such in the dative case. It can be, and in the author’s opinion, should be translated as the dative of means by the words by whom, as it is in many other places in scripture. The rendering accordingly would be:

Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made manifest in his saints: By whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ among you the hope of glory.

The next verse further strengthens this rendering. It reads:

Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Colossians 1:28

The word we in this verse refers back to the saints in which the mystery has been manifest. The word man, in association with saints, seems conspicuously absent in Paul’s writings. And in Christ Jesus is the position of the feminine faithful. It is the saints who make known the mystery to the faithful in Christ Jesus. And it is the faithful in Christ Jesus who respond to the saints through the gift from the Holy Spirit and outwardly to the world with the message of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this way the family of God continues to grow and expand as it did from Ephesus.

One New Man in Christ

Ephesians 2:14-16, without the added words show by italics and with the footnote in the publisher’s KJV, reads:

For he is our peace who hath made both one and hath broken down the middle wall of partition; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, the law of commandments in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross having slain the enmity in himself

When it is understood that Ephesians was addressed to both the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus and one sets aside a previous doctrine propounded by many that the great mystery is Jews and Gentiles as fellow heirs, rather than the mystery of the Gentiles also as fellow heirs with the saints, this section gains clarity and impact.

This one body comprised of the masculine spirits of Christ and the feminine souls of the faithful was accomplished in himself because Jesus Christ was, and is, the perfected combination of both spirit and soul. Only his broken body and shed blood, alone, could accomplish the spiritual reality of union and bring forth the practical reality of the one new man comprised of two – the masculine spirit of Christ manifested in the saints and the mature feminine souls of the faithful in Christ Jesus. With Christ among the church the glory of the hope will be fully manifested when the one body is filled and perfected as Jesus Christ, himself descends from heaven raising the dead in Christ.

The Unifying Blood of Jesus Christ

When one recognizes that Jesus Christ was the singular perfected of both the twain – the saint and the faithful in Christ Jesus, the symbols of communion shed new light.

And he took bread and gave thanks and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you; this do in rememberance of me. Luke 22:19

The Greek word, in this verse, for brake is one that means to break in two pieces.

Biblically the number two can represent either unity or division. Two things, when viewed by sin, are, by sin’s inherent nature, divided. Sin, the knowledge of good and evil, must divide two by qualifying one better, in some way, than the other of the two.

In the gospel of Matthew, the next act of Jesus is recorded as such;

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:27,28

In the first symbolic act Jesus presents his body as that of two parts. In the second symbolic act he prophetically eliminates the power base of divisiveness by his forthcoming blood to allow the two parts of the spiritual body of Christ to come together as one.

The wine symbolizes his blood. The blood of a human being represents the deeper reality of the soul. It is in the soul that understandings become one or, like Jesus said, “single eyed.” It was in the soul that Jesus’ understanding of man’s enemy was first revealed and overcome. Then, and, more so, it was in his soul that the understanding of saint and faithful became perfected as one. It was his perfected soul poured out in life and his blood drained to the earth in death that unifies his spiritual body in things to come and will, in the very end, unify all mankind with the Father.

The apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church was written to address the divisiveness between the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. In the tenth chapter, in verse eighteen he again specifically refers to their division. In the following verses he recounts Jesus’ giving of the bread and wine. Then he admonishes against the partaking of the bread and wine unworthily and writes that those who do partake unworthily, not discerning the Lord’s body, bring judgment upon themselves. He then writes that for this cause many were weak and sickly among the Corinthian church.

By this section, in relation the symbols of the bread and wine of communion, presented herein, it is evident that the understanding and proper application of the one body comprised of the two, saints and faithful in Christ Jesus, brings healing mentally and physically to the one body and to the individuals of which the one body of Christ is comprised.

There is a power in the wisdom of God. (I Cor. 2:5-9) This power emanates from the cross of Christ. The church in Ephesus matured in the wisdom of God and manifested the power in life and outreach to others. After Paul’s earthly demise his work in Ephesus was corrupted. No church since has likewise risen up in the wisdom and understanding of God. Yet soon, with the unveiling of the saints, a plethora of churches will rise up and surpass the example of the church in Ephesus.

As the spiritual family on earth is comprised of masculine and feminine so to are the progenitors in the family of heaven. The Father and his spouse, the feminine Holy Spirit and their begotten Son, the perfected Christ, lead this family of God on earth unto its destiny.

In the next time period, called the day of Christ in scripture, Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians and Hebrews take effect.

When he shall come to be glorified in (en) his saints, and (kai) to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. II Thes. 1:10

He shall first come as manifested among his saints to be wondered at by the faithful in Christ Jesus. Later, the Lord himself shall descend in the subsequent day of the Lord. (I Thes. 4:16)

George Lamsa, a pioneer in translating the Aramaic texts into English, translates II Thessalonians 1:10 as such:

When he comes to be glorified by his saints and to perform his wonders among his faithful ones, so that our testimony concerning you may be believed in that day.

After the restorative transitions through the apokalipsis of the day of Christ and the following epiphany of the day of the Lord, the thousand years of the paradisical kingdom of God on this earth will commence. In the end all will be gathered into the clouds with him for the third heaven and earth. Hallelujah. What glorious hope we have!

Companion Studies

The Great Mystery

Ages Long Existent or Nonexistent?

The Twelve of Matthew and the Seventy of Luke

A Foretaste of the Manifestation of the Saints

Contents Page