the Beginning of the Body of Christ, Where in Acts 2 Is the Revelation of the Mystery?
This is not a question we should be afraid to ask.
It is a question we should ask if we are serious about believing the Bible rightly divided.
If Acts 2 is supposed to be the beginning of the Body of Christ, then we should be able to open Acts 2 and find the revelation concerning the Body of Christ.
But what do we actually find?
Israel.
Prophecy.
The kingdom.
Repentance and baptism.
And Peter preaching to the nation of Israel.
Let’s look at it carefully.
▪️ACTS 2 IS CLEARLY ADDRESSED TO ISRAEL
Peter stands up on Pentecost and says:
“Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:”
— Acts 2:14
And later:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly…”
— Acts 2:36
Notice the audience.
Judaea.
Jerusalem.
The house of Israel.
This is not Paul speaking to the Body of Christ.
This is Peter speaking to Israel.
And what is Peter preaching?
▪️THE KINGDOM PROGRAM
Peter quotes the prophet Joel:
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…”
— Acts 2:17
Joel had prophesied about Israel’s prophetic program.
Peter is not revealing something that had been hidden from the prophets.
He is explaining what the prophets had already spoken.
That’s the difference between Prophecy and Mystery.
• Prophecy was spoken by the prophets.
• The Mystery was kept secret.
Paul says:
“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel… according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.”
— Romans 16:25
If the Body of Christ began in Acts 2, then where is this secret being revealed in Acts 2?
Where does Peter say:
“The Body of Christ is being formed.”
Where does Peter reveal:
“Jews and Gentiles are now one Body.”
Where does Peter explain:
“You are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
You won’t find it.
▪️PETER PREACHED ISRAEL’S KINGDOM HOPE
Peter’s message is unmistakably connected with Israel’s prophetic program.
He says:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
— Acts 2:36
And when the people respond:
“Men and brethren, what shall we do?”
— Acts 2:37
Peter answers:
“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…”
— Acts 2:38
Then Peter speaks about the promised kingdom:
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:”
— Acts 3:19–20
And notice where Peter’s message leads:
“Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.”
— Acts 3:21
Since the world began.
That’s prophecy.
▪️BUT THE MYSTERY WAS DIFFERENT
Paul describes his message differently.
“How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery…”
— Ephesians 3:3
And then:
“Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed…”
— Ephesians 3:5
And what was revealed?
“That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body…”
— Ephesians 3:6
There it is.
THE BODY.
And Paul received the revelation concerning it.
This is why Paul identifies himself as:
“the apostle of the Gentiles”
— Romans 11:13
Not Peter.
Not James.
Not John.
Paul.
▪️“BUT DIDN’T THE HOLY SPIRIT COME IN ACTS 2?”
Absolutely.
We should never deny what Acts 2 says.
The Holy Ghost came.
Peter preached.
People believed.
Signs occurred.
But the presence of the Holy Spirit does not automatically prove that Acts 2 is the beginning of the Body of Christ.
The question is not:
“Did something happen in Acts 2?”
Something certainly happened!
The question is:
“What program was God operating in Acts 2?”
And Peter’s message tells us.
Israel.
Prophecy.
Kingdom.
The revelation of the Body of Christ comes later through the risen Christ’s revelation to Paul.
▪️THE BODY OF CHRIST WAS A MYSTERY
Paul says:
“Even the mystery, which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:”
— Colossians 1:26
If the Body of Christ was already fully revealed and established in Acts 2, why would Paul later say that the Body was part of a Mystery?
Why would he say it was:
hid?
Why would he say it was:
not made known in other ages?
Why would he say:
“For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
— Galatians 1:12
Because Paul’s ministry was not simply a continuation of Acts 2.
Something new had been revealed.
▪️THIS IS WHY PAUL’S GOSPEL MATTERS
Paul defines the Gospel entrusted to him:
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
— 1 Corinthians 15:3–4
And Paul calls it:
“my gospel”
— Romans 16:25
The issue is not whether Peter believed Christ died and rose again.
The issue is what God revealed through Paul’s apostleship concerning the present Dispensation of Grace and the Body of Christ.
That’s where the distinction becomes essential.
▪️DON’T MIX THE PROGRAMS
When Acts 2 is automatically made the beginning of the Body of Christ, several things tend to happen.
Israel’s program gets mixed with the Body.
Prophecy gets mixed with Mystery.
Law gets mixed with Grace.
Earthly kingdom promises get mixed with heavenly blessings.
And instructions given to Israel get imposed upon the Church today.
But Paul says:
“For ye are not under the law, but under grace.”
— Romans 6:14
And our blessings are described as:
“all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”
— Ephesians 1:3
That’s our identity.
In Christ.
Not in Israel.
Not in Israel’s covenants.
Not in Israel’s earthly kingdom.
In Christ.
▪️WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US TODAY?
It means we can stop trying to make ourselves part of Israel’s program.
We don’t need to claim Israel’s earthly kingdom.
We don’t need to place ourselves under Israel’s Law.
We don’t need to reproduce Pentecostal signs to prove God’s blessing.
We need to understand who we are in Christ and what God is doing today.
We are members of the Body of Christ.
We are saved by grace through faith.
We are justified apart from works.
We are complete in Christ.
We are blessed in heavenly places.
And we have been given the ministry of reconciliation.
“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ…”
— 2 Corinthians 5:20
▪️SO ASK THE QUESTION AGAIN
IF ACTS 2 IS THE BEGINNING OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, WHERE IN ACTS 2 IS THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY?
Where is the secret revealed?
Where is the Body explained?
Where is the heavenly position revealed?
Where is the distinctive Gospel of Grace committed to Paul revealed?
Where is the doctrine concerning the one Body of Christ explained?
It isn’t there.
What we find is Peter addressing Israel, standing on the prophetic Scriptures, preaching Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, and pointing toward the prophetic kingdom.
Then God raises up Paul and reveals something that had been kept secret.
That is why we need to:
Believe the Bible.
Believe what Peter preached.
Believe what Paul revealed.
Keep Israel in her program.
Keep the Body of Christ in its program.
Keep Prophecy distinct from Mystery.
Keep Law distinct from Grace.
And above all:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God… rightly dividing the word of truth.”
— 2 Timothy 2:15
The issue isn’t choosing between Jesus and Paul.
Paul’s message came from the risen Christ.
The issue is understanding what Christ revealed, through whom He revealed it, and to whom it was committed.
And when we understand that, the Bible becomes clearer—not less.
Israel has her prophetic program.
The Body of Christ has the Mystery.
Israel has an earthly hope.
We have a heavenly calling.
Israel’s program concerns the kingdom.
Our message is the Gospel of Grace.
And salvation today rests completely on the finished work of Christ:
He died for our sins.
He was buried.
He rose again.
And we are saved by grace through faith in Him.
That is the good news we should proclaim.
All Scripture quotations are from the King James Bible
