when did the present ‘administration’ begin?

09-02-2026 - Posted by Geert-Jan

Originally posted on December 28, 2008 – by Andre Piet

more than twenty years ago I wrote this article. Meanwhile somewhat expanded and refined, but its thrust has remained the same.

confusion

When did the present “administration of grace” begin (Ephesians 3:2)? About this question there appears to be much confusion. Not least because it is usually confused with a totally different question, namely when the Ecclesia, the Body of Christ, came into existence. Concerning this latter question we first want to obtain clarity.

the ecclesia begins with the Head

The Bible teaches that Christ “… is the Head of the body, the ecclesia. He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead….” (Colossians 1:18). By this it is said that the Ecclesia begins with the Head, that is, when He rose as Firstborn from the dead and was officially declared Head (Ephesians 1:22).

ecclesia of firstborns

That the Ecclesia begins with “the Firstborn from the dead” also means that the Ecclesia, therefore rightly, is an “ecclesia of firstborns” (Hebrews 12:23). On that basis she is, by Biblical standards, destined for the highest position. Whoever claims that the Ecclesia, the Body of Christ, arose at a later moment than the resurrection, thereby in fact fails to recognize her right of firstborn…

the ecclesia of God, the body of Christ

Paul writes in the opening of the first Corinthian letter…

Paul, a called apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Sosthenes the brother, to the ecclesia of God in Corinth…
1 Corinthians 1:1,2

This “ecclesia of God” already existed before Saul of Tarsus was called, for the apostle writes…

… I am the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the ecclesia of God.
1 Corinthians 15:9

Now this “ecclesia of God” Paul calls “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:16) and he describes them as “one Body” (1 Corinthians 10:17; 12:12, etc.). These are exactly the same formulations as those we encounter in the much later Ephesian letter (respectively 2:16; 4:4 and 4:12).

the ecclesia of God = Christ

This truth of the one Body was already revealed to Paul in embryo at the moment he was called. He persecuted (as we saw) “the ecclesia of God,” but what did the voice from heaven say to him?

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?
Acts 9:4

In other words, Christ identifies Himself with “the ecclesia of God” which Saul was persecuting. Behold the revelation of the one Body in a nutshell!

an Israelite affair

At the beginning “the ecclesia of God” was a strictly Israelite affair. That is also logical, for from the beginning of the book of Acts one reckoned with the restoration of the Kingdom for Israel in that time (Acts 1:6,7). The proclamation was aimed at that (Acts 3:19-21). Everywhere the people of Israel were scattered, “in Jerusalem, Judea, and to the extremity of the earth,” God confirmed the testimony concerning Israel’s risen Messiah with many signs and wonders. The common thread in the book of Acts, however, is that Israel (read: her leaders) was not disposed to believe the Evangel.

Saul becomes Paul

Then history takes a turn… Abroad Christ Jesus appears from heaven to a young man who undoubtedly was registered as His fiercest hater: Saul, later Paul. This Paul becomes the instrument in God’s hand to proclaim, apart from Israel’s rejection, a message of sheer grace (= without payment, free). Without distinction. For everyone. The Evangel that he proclaims is at times called “the Evangel of the uncircumcision,” that is, the Good Message that stands completely apart from circumcision, law, and rituals. Imagine how revolutionary this must have been for strictly Jewish apostles and ecclesias in those days! Paul’s ministry begins in Acts 13 (there his name change takes place; 13:9) and ends in imprisonment in Rome. Since Paul’s appearance (Acts 13) Israel is warned of an approaching judgment, but once arrived in Rome (Acts 28) this warning becomes a direct announcement (namely that the Kingdom will not be restored in that time; Acts 28:25–28 cf. Acts 1:6).

previously written briefly about it

Now the time had come for Paul to write extensively about the matters he had previously only touched on briefly.

… that by revelation the secret was made known to me, according as I wrote before in brief.
Ephesians 3:3

In his earlier letters Paul had written only summarily about “the secret” and “secrets.” See among others Romans 16:25 and 26; 1 Corinthians 2:1, 7 and 1 Corinthians 15:51. From prison (underground, outside society) Paul gives full disclosure of what God had earlier made known to him by revelation.

the administration of grace

Back to the original question. When did the present ‘administration’ begin? If we, as is customary, equate ‘administration’ and ‘ecclesia’ here, then on the basis of the above we would say: the ecclesia and thus our administration began in the year of Christ’s resurrection. Here, however, a persistent misunderstanding avenges itself regarding the concept of ‘administration’. To begin with, the word ‘administration’ is a highly unfortunate translation. The underlying Greek word is ‘oikonomia’, which literally means ‘household’. Our word ‘economy’ is directly derived from it. It denotes a specific management.

Paul the administrator

If we want to know when “the household of the grace of God” began, we will have to ascertain to whom this management was given. After all, a management presupposes a manager. Paul gives the direct answer:

For you hear of the administration of the grace of God which is given to me for you, that by revelation the secret is made known to me…
Ephesians 3:2,3

Here Paul says that he is the administrator of God’s grace for the nations. An administration that was not prophesied and was “hidden from the aeons,” but has now become known to him by revelation. The prophets indeed often speak of salvation for the nations, but always on the basis of a restored Israel. The missionary commission (“make all nations disciples”) also lies in that line (see Acts 3:25,26). Characteristic of Paul’s administration, however, is that salvation goes to the nations because of Israel’s fall (Romans 11:11-15). That was hidden in the Old Testament.

Paul continues a few verses later in Ephesians 3:

To me, far less than the least of all saints, was this grace given, to bring the evangel of the untraceable riches of Christ to the nations, and to enlighten all as to what is the administration of the secret, which has been concealed from the aeons in God…
Ephesians 3:8,9

Only Paul is the apostle who brings “the administration of the secret” to light. For he is the only apostle who proclaims the untraceable riches of Christ among the nations. Not “the evangel of the circumcision” as James, Peter and John proclaimed to the Jews (Galatians 2:7-9). No, Paul proclaims among the nations, without distinction. James, Peter and John nowhere in their letters write about the theme of the vanished distinction between the nations.

only Paul

Apart from Paul, none of the apostles writes about the truth of the one Body. Nowhere do they write about the secret which Paul brings to light. Of course this truth was made known to them (Ephesians 3:5!), but no different than to us, namely through the proclamation of the called apostle Paul.

And with this it has been shown from Scripture that our ‘administration’ (read: household, management) could not have begun earlier than when Paul appeared on the scene. The administration began when the administrator took office! It is exclusively Paul who proclaimed Israel’s setting aside and, on that basis, demonstratively went to the nations. And since that is characteristic of the present household, this household could obviously not have come into operation earlier than since Paul’s appearance.

summarized…

The formation of the ECCLESIA began with Christ (who after all is the Head), in the year of His resurrection. Only when Israel persisted in her unbelief and Paul was set apart did the present household begin (the hidden, ‘Gentile’ administration that is operative in our days). Paul is the administrator of the secret, and this administration (household/regime/‘administration’) logically began when it was entrusted to the administrator.

Delen: