The church is not mentioned in the Old Testament or the Gospels because it was a secret hidden in the mind of God, revealed only later through the apostle Paul.
Les Feldick teaches that the church, the Body of Christ, was part of a body of truth kept secret by God until the proper time. The Old Testament and the four Gospels contain no revelation of this program. It was only after Paul's conversion that God revealed these mysteries to him, making the church a distinct Pauline revelation.
Ephesians 3:3-5 — Paul reveals that the mystery of Christ was not made known in other ages but was revealed by the Spirit to the apostles and prophets.
The apostle Paul speaks of a mystery that had been kept secret since the world began. In Romans 16:25, Paul writes of "the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began." This indicates that certain truths were not revealed until God's appointed time. In Ephesians 3:3-5, Paul further explains: "How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery... Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit." This Scripture directly affirms that this body of truth was previously hidden. Paul also speaks of revealing a secret that had never been disclosed: "Behold, I shew you a mystery" (1 Corinthians 15:51). The Bible itself, therefore, teaches that some of God's purposes were kept hidden and later revealed to Paul.
Les Feldick explains that the church, as the Body of Christ, was kept secret in the mind of God. He emphasizes that because it was a secret, no part of it could slip out — therefore nothing about the church is found in the Old Testament or the four Gospels. The Gospels record Christ's earthly ministry to Israel, not the revelation of the church. Les teaches that Paul was the vessel through whom God revealed these hidden mysteries. He spent three years in Arabia being taught directly by God, receiving the whole sphere of grace doctrine. Paul himself writes that it was "by revelation" that the mystery was made known to him (Ephesians 3:3). For Les, this proves that the church was a distinct program revealed only through Paul, and that all these doctrines were kept secret until God chose to reveal them.
Les challenges readers to search the Gospel accounts to see if Jesus ever gives any hint of turning to the Gentiles to call out a body for Himself. He notes that some people point to Jesus' words "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18), but insists that even this does not reveal the church as a mystery. No mention is made of the Body of Christ in the Gospels.
Les teaches that God revealed the mysteries to Paul during a private, solitary time of training in the wilderness. Paul then became the human channel through whom these revelations of grace doctrine were made known. The church, along with the whole sphere of grace doctrine, is "strictly a Pauline revelation."
Les points out that God has the sovereign ability and prerogative to keep things secret until the time for their revelation. Even in the Old Testament, one of the names of deity was the eternal, sovereign Creator God — a God who could hide things if He chose. Therefore, the church remained unrevealed until God's appointed time for Paul.
God Keeps Secrets Until the Time to Reveal Them
Les points to Romans 16:25 where Paul speaks of the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, showing that God sovereignly keeps things hidden until He reveals them.
The Gospels Know Nothing of Paul's Gospel
Les states plainly that the Old Testament knew nothing of the Gospel of grace and that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John know nothing of Paul's Gospel which went to Jew and Gentile alike.
The Church Was Kept Secret
Les explains that the Church, the Body of Christ, was kept secret in the mind of God and that not even Jesus gave a hint about the Gentiles in the Gospel accounts.
The Mystery Not Made Known in Other Ages
Les reads Ephesians 3:3-5 to show that the mystery was not made known in other ages, but was now revealed to holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
Paul's Revelation of the Mysteries
Les teaches that God personally revealed the mysteries to Paul during three years in the desert, and that the church is strictly a Pauline revelation.
The Revealed Body of Truth
Les explains that Paul received his knowledge by revelation from the ascended Lord, revealing a body of truth no one before had any concept of.
All Grace Doctrines Kept Secret Until Paul
Les emphasizes that everything wrapped up in the sphere of grace doctrines revealed to Paul had been kept secret in the mind of God until that time.
Gentile Salvation Never Heard of Before
Les highlights Colossians 1:27, showing that the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles had never been heard of before Paul's epistles.
Romans 16:25: Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,
Paul states that the gospel he preaches relates to a mystery that had been kept secret since the world began.
Ephesians 3:3-5: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Paul explains that this mystery was not made known in previous ages but was revealed to him by revelation.
Ephesians 3:9: And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Paul says the mystery had been hidden in God from the beginning of the world.
Colossians 1:26-27: Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from 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:
Paul describes the mystery that was hidden from ages and generations but now made manifest, especially among the Gentiles.
1 Corinthians 2:7: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Les connects this verse to Paul's teaching that the hidden wisdom of God was now being revealed.
Because the church was a mystery kept secret in the mind of God until the proper time for its revelation. The Old Testament believers had no knowledge of a body of believers that would be formed from Jews and Gentiles alike.
Les Feldick teaches that even though Jesus mentions the church in Matthew 16:18, He did not reveal the full mystery of the Body of Christ. The Gospel accounts focus on Christ's earthly ministry to Israel, not the church.
The church was revealed to the apostle Paul after his conversion. God spent three years revealing the mysteries to Paul, and Paul then wrote these truths in his epistles. The church is therefore a Pauline revelation.
Watch the Teaching: Why Did God Hide Secrets in the Bible Until Now?