What is the "Mystery"?

What is the 'mystery' spoken of by Paul? These verses are references to the mystery.
Romans 16:25
Ephesians 3
3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 6:19
Colossians 1:26, 27; 2:2; 4:3
 
To add to Jim's comment:

1 Corinthians 2:7-8 (KJV)
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.​

The blindness of the demons is carried over to the world:

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 (KJV)
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.​

Once we understand, the veil is lifted to see the truth. The mysteries are not known to those not of God.
 
What is the 'mystery' spoken of by Paul? These verses are references to the mystery.
Romans 16:25
Ephesians 3
3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 6:19
Colossians 1:26, 27; 2:2; 4:3

Are there not three mysteries?
The mystery of iniquity .
Of Godliness
and does not Paul then elucidate the mystery that he was talking about in Ephesians chapter 3 .That follows the verse you quoted?
Why then do you ask what it is ?
in Christ
gerald
 
What is the 'mystery' spoken of by Paul? These verses are references to the mystery.
Romans 16:25
Ephesians 3
3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 6:19
Colossians 1:26, 27; 2:2; 4:3
I also believe Paul referred to Christ and plan of salvation as mystery against claims of false teachings who had crazy ideas of attaining higher level of spirituality. I think they thought it was some kind of mystery and revealed to people who reach certain levels of spirituality. Paul simply refuted and said the mystery is just Christ and in Him is all the wisdom and knowledge. He quotes the same in Colossians. I am studying Colossians and I was also wondering why Paul would call the knowledge of Christ and salvation as mystery. I wondered if it was more to do with the false teachings prevalent among the Church
 
Are there not three mysteries?
The mystery of iniquity .
Of Godliness
and does not Paul then elucidate the mystery that he was talking about in Ephesians chapter 3 .That follows the verse you quoted?
Why then do you ask what it is ?
in Christ
gerald
I think there are more facets to the mystery and Paul never seems to spell it out.
Eph 3:6 seems to have the meaning Paul was conveying.
5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,

The verses after verse 9, just speak of the manifold wisdom of God be made known thru the church, the body of Christ, in accordance to the purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus.

Even Paul's explanations have a mystery about them. I believe this subject needs expounded on.
 
I believe Colossians 27 spells it out: {the mystery} which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Is Christ the "hope of glory", or does he mean we can have our hope of glory by having Christ in us?
 
I believe Colossians 27 spells it out: {the mystery} which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Is Christ the "hope of glory", or does he mean we can have our hope of glory by having Christ in us?

Moose. it is the Lord Jesus Christ who was born of the virgin, very God in the flesh, "According to the revelation of the mystery".

Isaiah 7:14 said........."Immanuel, God with us", that is God in the flesh!
1 Cor. 5:7 says..........."Our passover sacrificed for us".

Jesus was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world whose sufferings were imperitive that we might escape the sufferings of hell. The Old Test. prophet prophesied the sufferings that our Saviour would go through but he did not understand what he prophesied, BUT to Paul it was revealed in FULL.

Exodus 12:12......
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt both beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will exceute judgment : I am the Lord".

Now then we see in Hebrews 10:21......
"And having a high priest over the house of God".

Jesus IS the high priest over the house of God. HE enterinto tof Holies with His own blood; therefore we who believe in Him now enter boldly by a new and living way.
The Old Test. prophets could not understand this mystery.......however, God reveathe apostle Paul so that he could then declare this Bible truth.......

Co. 1:26.......
"Christ in you, the hope of glory"!!!!!

Today, unlike the days of the Old Test.: every is a possessor of Christ as the Holy Spirit endwells in us instead of just comeing upon us and then departing.
 
That mystery that Paul spoke about is then explained by what follows.

Ephesians 3 :3>
How that by revelation he made known to me the mystery(as i write afore in few words,
where by ,when you read ,ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery in Christ)
5) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men,as it is now revealed unto his holy prophets and apostles by the Spirit;
6) THAT THE GENTILES SHOULD BE FELLOW HEIRS, AND OF THE SAME BODY, AND PARTAKERS of HIS PROMISE IN CHRIST BY THE GOSPEL:

9} And to make all men see(understand) 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.
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places,might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God .

in Christ
gerald
 
This whole "mystery" bit makes more sense if you take Judaism stopping with Malachi... There were many matters which were simply not explained in any sufficient depth within the scriptures.... God's answer to Job in Job 38-41 highlights many such mysteries and doesn't really "Answer" any of them.....

As a result - there are all sorts of flavors of Kabbalah - and hundreds of teachers teaching various flavors and levels and methods of enlightenment... A million sects with their own methods and procedures for righteousness and definitions of "Iniquity"...

This is more obvious when you start interacting with Jews.... Especially religious Jews... When you ask a practicing Jew "Can you explain what you believe" - you get a lot of hand waving and "It's complicated" type answers.... There's a good reason for this.. It's the Old Testament... No subject is really expounded and simplified in any one place such as we have in the gospels and epistles... You go through rabbit trails of scriptures to build "Doctrines" - and even then, very few doctrines are really "Concrete"....... There's no Messiah to settle their questions and no book of Romans to define doctrine.... As such - "It's Complicated" makes sense...

A good example of this... Look through the ENTIRE old testament and explain what a person does to become equipped with The Holy Spirit... The process by which you go to God to be imbued with The Holy Spirit is not answered anywhere... It's a complete mystery in the entire Old Testament... God just picks somebody and *BANG*... So when Jesus lays it down on Nicodemus in about 2 sentences in John 3 - it's earth shattering... Even MORE earth shattering in Acts when the explicit process is: Believe in Jesus with all your Heart, Mind, and Strength...

The interesting thing about Christianity is that there are NO secrets so to speak of this type... NO "mystery" knowledge.. NO special decoder rings or levels where you gain additional insight... Jesus command was "What I whisper in your ear - proclaim from the housetops"...... (Matt 10:27 and Luke 12:3) If somebody rejects it or doesn't understand - that's one thing, but there are no secrets in the sense of knowledge intentionally hidden or kept away from people until they pass certain tests and prove themselves... The Scripture is available to all of us... We even carry this through with "Warnings" we receive and things we understand... We broadcast them to anyone who will listen (and a lot who won't as well) - not simply to our own "In the know" crowd...

Thanks
 
That mystery that Paul spoke about is then explained by what follows.

Ephesians 3
6) THAT THE GENTILES SHOULD BE FELLOW HEIRS, AND OF THE SAME BODY, AND PARTAKERS of HIS PROMISE IN CHRIST BY THE GOSPEL:

That's the verse I was looking for to answer this question, thanks for finding it:)

Even the OT prophets speak of this mystery (Isaiah 11:10, for example). Simeon seemed to know it already in Luke 2:29-32.

Two of my favorite accounts in scripture refer to this mystery:
Luke 13:28“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

This is an incredible passage... you've got this guy asking Jesus to affirm that he's one of the chosen few getting "in," and Jesus tells him that actually, he's going to be "out" while he has to watch the "last," people from all over the world taking their place in the kingdom. Mind=blown.

The other passage is the account of Cornelius' salvation in Acts 10:
34Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
...
44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.
 
Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began.

The second part is not separate from the underlined. It is further explaining the underlined. Paul's gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ is the mystery explained. Paul said his gospel is 'Christ and Him crucified' 1 Cor 2:2.

Jesus is the mystery = everything Christian is the mystery. Turn left cheek = mystery. Give expecting nothing in return = mystery. Sin and be 100% forgiven without sentence or sacrifice = mystery. Serve an unseen God so confidently all your life and embrace death with a smile = mystery. Confidently believe a man who walked the earth 2000 years ago is God of the universe = mystery. Be calm in a hurricane = mystery. Love your enemy = mystery. Be equally happy and content whether rich or poor, healed or sick = mystery.
 
Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began.

The second part is not separate from the underlined. It is further explaining the underlined. Paul's gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ is the mystery explained. Paul said his gospel is 'Christ and Him crucified' 1 Cor 2:2.

Jesus is the mystery = everything Christian is the mystery. Turn left cheek = mystery. Give expecting nothing in return = mystery. Sin and be 100% forgiven without sentence or sacrifice = mystery. Serve an unseen God so confidently all your life and embrace death with a smile = mystery. Confidently believe a man who walked the earth 2000 years ago is God of the universe = mystery. Be calm in a hurricane = mystery. Love your enemy = mystery. Be equally happy and content whether rich or poor, healed or sick = mystery.

I would suggest what you speak of here in the last part is the "mystery of Godliness"
The mystery that Paul spoke of in Ephesians is the fact that God was to make the Jew and the gentile one in a new man .

in Christ
gerald
 
44While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles.

I think this is a great illustration as well....

It's one thing to "Know" something in your head - quite another to experience, accomplish, and embrace it in real life....

I guarantee you that 100% of the circumcised believers "Knew" that Gentiles would be accepted into the kingdom - they were familiar with the scriptures... They EVEN "Knew" that some of those Gentiles would receive positions of prominence within the kingdom OVER bona-fide children of Abraham..... Isaiah and Jeremiah had both said so... Even Moses had spoken of the Gentiles learning God's ways and becoming accepted into the Kingdom...

But... They had never experienced it.... They had never experienced the Spirit of God coming upon a stinky old gentile in a STRONGER manifestation than they had received themselves.... They had never experienced The Spirit of God coming upon an unbeliever simply because they BELIEVED.... (Although Judges gives plenty of examples of this sort of thing happening)

We see that in our own lives... It's one thing to talk, think, and read about things - quite another to actually do them... There are lots of things that we make WAY more difficult than they really are in real life... Other things we gloss over as if it's just 1-2-3-done, yet in real life - you have to intentionally strive, give ongoing attention, and work hard to accomplish it....

Thanks
 
What is the 'mystery' spoken of by Paul? These verses are references to the mystery.
Romans 16:25
Ephesians 3
3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 6:19
Colossians 1:26, 27; 2:2; 4:3

Hello Big Moose,

This subject is very close to my heart, and I thank you for raising it. :)
Too late to deal with it tonight, but I hope to come back to it, (GW).

In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
What is the 'mystery' spoken of by Paul? These verses are references to the mystery.
Romans 16:25
Ephesians 3
3:9 and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ

Ephesians 6:19

Hello again, @Big Moose,

This is a precious subject with may facets, and one which I am a little fearful of entering upon in a forum situation, for it is a subject to be pondered, and treated with great care.

* As we know, there is more than one 'mystery' referred to in Scripture, you yourself having quoted three:-

'The Mystery of Christ': (Eph. 3:4) was made known in other generations, and was not made known exclusively to Paul, but was made known to the apostles and prophets, including Paul.
'The Mystery': (Eph.3:3,9) which was 'hid in God', therefore not the subject of Old Testament prophecy, the gospel records or the epistles written prior to it's revelation to Paul while in prison at Rome; and revealed subsequently by him, in the epistles to Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, (Philemon being of a more personal nature).

Romans 16:25, 26
, as part of the doxology relating to the central portion of Romans (5:12-8:39): refers to the mystery revealed within that portion: which had been 'kept secret' since the world began; and not before the world began (Titus 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:9). It is the purpose of the central section of Romans to reveal the relationship of man, as such (ie., as neither Jew nor Gentile), to Adam and to Christ, irrespective both of promises made to the fathers, or to the failure or success of the chosen nation.

(Gr. musterion G3466):-
- In the gospels: Matt. 13:11, Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10.
- In the pre-prison epistles of Paul: Rom. 11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:7; 4:1; 13:2; 14:2; 15:51; 2 Thess. 2:7.
- Prison epistles: Eph. 1:9; 3:3,4; 5:32; 6:19; Col. 1:26,27; 2:2; 4:3.
- Interim epistles: 1 Tim. 3:9,16.
- Revelation: 1:20; 10:7; 17:5,7.
- Old Testament (secret/s) Dan. 2:18, 19, 27, 29, 30, 47 (2), 4:6.

In Christ Jesus
Chris
 
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All great comments.
I believe that the mystery Paul speaks of is how God would change the world through Christ. Israel knew of a Messiah, but they expected a conquering kingship. No one understood that He would do it through the cross by suffering and dying for humanity. How could that ever make you a king?
Even satan was baffled by this mystery. Trying to derail Jesus' ministry right from the start by tempting Him. Then, he thought he had Him defeated by working thru the scribes and Pharisees and then entering Judas to end the possibility of Jesus becoming king and setting up His kingdom.

All the facets of change brought about by Christ are the mystery which God withheld from before the ages. Defeating death, bringing in the believing Gentiles in as heirs with Israel as uniting them as sons and daughters. Grace thru faith. God's love as the foundation of life and the governing commandment. Forgiveness for sins. Teaching us true freedom in Christ, which evolved and culminated, at least until now, to freedom to worship God in the western democracies. The blessings given to the United States with the seed of freedom to worship God which we have clung to, although coming under attack more and more, is proof of how this mystery has changed the world.
 
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