which is given me to you-ward.

according to the dispensation of

How that by revelation He made

God which is given to me for you,

known unto me the Mystery ...

to fulfil the Word of God, even

whereof I was made a minister ...

the Mystery which hath been hid

and to make all see what is the

from the ages and from the

dispensation of the Mystery,

generations, but now is made

manifest which from the ages hath been

to His saints' (1:24-26).

hid in God, Who created all things ...

in order that now unto principalities

`For by Him were all things

and authorities in the heavenlies

created ... all things were created

might be known by the church the

by Him' (1:16).

manifold wisdom of God' (3:2,3,7,9,10).

To save space we give a further set of parallels in references only.

These, however, should be consulted:

5:22 to 6:9

3:19 to 4:1

Arising out of these parallels comes the conviction that Colossians is

dealing with the same theme as Ephesians, and that we must be careful so to

interpret the passages in Colossians as to avoid conflict with the teaching

of similar verses in Ephesians, and not to go beyond its `elective' scope.

Summarizing, we find (1) that reconciliation is essential to the

ministry of Paul if he was to evangelize the nations; (2) that the lesser

word katallasso is confined to the period covered by the Acts, while the

fuller word apokatallasso is used exclusively in those Epistles which have as

their theme the dispensation of the Mystery and the One Body, from which

mankind, considered universally, is quite absent; (3) that the term has no

reference to the Ages either past or future, but is Dispensational in

character; (4) that the setting aside of the unbelieving Jews was the

occasion for bringing the estranged nations near, and that the complete

setting aside of Israel was made the occasion for a perfect reconciliation,

to be effected between believers of either Jewish or Gentile origin, who

believed the truth committed to Paul as the prisoner of the Lord for the

Gentiles, and that, moreover, perfect reconciliation had been effected among

those glorious beings with whom, yet far above whom, the Church as the

fulness was to receive its glorious inheritance.  The lesser reconciliation

is based upon the death of God's Son.  The fuller reconciliation is connected

with the blood of His cross.  Reconciliation is a basis, not a goal.

For a fuller treatment of Colossians 1, the article Colossians1 should

be consulted.  For a fuller exposition of Romans 9 to 11, the article Romans

(p. 126) should be consulted.  In those articles the structures are set out,