I have become its servant, according to God’s administration that was given to me for you, to make God’s message fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:25-27
Paul mentions “the mystery” several
times in his epistles. The Greek word translated as
“mystery” in the letters Paul penned is Mysterion.
It has the meaning of a hidden
thing, secret, or mystery. It comes from
a root word which basically means “to shut the mouth.” In his letters, Paul describes the “mystery”
as one of Godliness, faith, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, the
Messiah, His (Jesus) will, Christ, and the Gospel. But, just what is “the mystery” that Paul is
writing about?
13 Now I am speaking
to you Gentiles. In view of the fact that I am an apostle to the
Gentiles, … 16 Now if the firstfruits offered
up are holy, so is the whole batch. And if the root is holy, so are the
branches. 17 Now
if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive
branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich
root of the cultivated olive tree…19 Then you will
say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 True
enough; they were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not
be arrogant, but be afraid. 21 For if God did not
spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either. … 23 And
even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, because
God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if
you were cut off from your native wild olive and against nature were grafted
into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be
grafted into their own olive tree? 25 So
that you will not be conceited, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of
this mystery: A partial
hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has
come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be
saved Romans 11:13-26
In his letter to the Romans, Paul gives probably the clearest answer to what “the mystery” actually is. The "apostle to the Gentiles" is discussing the joining of Gentiles
(non-Jews) and Jews into the Kingdom of God.
The “root of the cultivated olive tree” is the Kingdom of
God. The “natural, cultivated olive tree branch”
is the Jewish people (one of the symbols in the Bible of the Jewish Nation is the Olive
branch or tree Jeremiah 11:15-17). The “wild
olive branch” is the Gentile Christ-followers.
The Gentiles (wild olive branch) are being joined (grafted) into the Kingdom
of God (cultivated olive tree root) after the Jews (natural cultivated olive
branch) have been broken off due to unbelief.
The mystery is the realization that Gentiles and Jews will be joined
into one Body, the Kingdom of God.
1For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus
on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 you have heard,
haven’t you, about the administration of God’s grace that He gave to me for
you? 3 The
mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have briefly
written above. 4 By reading this you are able to
understand my insight about the
mystery of the Messiah.5 This was not made known
to people in other generations as it is now revealed to His holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit: 6 The Gentiles are
coheirs, members of the same body, and partners of the promise in Christ
Jesus through the gospel. 7 I was made a servant of
this gospel by the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of
His power. 8 This
grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles
the incalculable riches of the Messiah, 9 and
to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all
things. Ephesians 3:1-9
For the entire period of the Old Testament,
the idea was that the Messiah would come and deliver the Jews. He would be a King and Deliverer of the Children
of Israel. It never occurred to the Jews
that the Messiah would concern Himself with any other group of people; they
were His people, and He was their God.
When Jesus came as Messiah and was rejected by His own, the Jews at that
point were “broken off.” The Gentiles
were then “grafted” into the Kingdom of God, and this thing that had been hidden
was now made known.
1The Lord said to Abram: Go out from your land,
your relatives, and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you
into a great nation, I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you
will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those
who bless you, I will curse those who treat you with contempt, all the peoples on earth will be blessed through
you. Genesis 12:1-3
This “mystery” was first
hinted at in the Old Testament. In
Genesis chapter 12, God tells Abraham that he will make him a great nation, and
through him, ALL the people on the Earth will be blessed through him. This is of course a glimpse of God’s eternal plan,
which is Christ the Messiah being sent to redeem all nations and peoples of the
world.
15 ‘You
shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day
when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven
complete sabbaths. 16 You shall count fifty days to the day
after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to
the Lord. 17 You shall bring in from your dwelling
places two loaves of
bread for a wave offering, made of two-tenths of an ephah;
they shall be of a fine flour, baked with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. Leviticus 23:15-17
The Mystery is also prophetically
foreshadowed in the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot).
The priest would bake two loaves of leavened bread from the firstfruits
grain which has been harvested. Shavuot
marks the start of the wheat harvest in Israel, and wheat is the symbol of
Gentiles, or more specifically, the Church Body - those in the Kingdom of God,
in the Bible (Parable of wheat and tares, Mt. 13:24-30). The two loaves are waved by the priest,
symbolizing Jews and Gentiles, full of leaven (sin), being brought into the
same body, and justified by the redemptive work of Christ. http://diglogos.blogspot.com/2015/01/bible-connections-3-jewish-feasts-and.html#more
31 For
this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh. 32 This mystery is
profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:31-32
A truly beautiful usage of “mystery” occurs in the letter
to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:22-32). Paul is
discussing the relationship between a husband and wife, and compares it to the
relationship between the church (Body of Christ) and Christ Himself. The use of the word “mystery” drives home the
fact that Paul is once again referencing this joining of Jews and Gentiles into
one group, the Body and Bride of Christ, the church.
8Minister-servants, likewise, should be
worthy of respect, not hypocritical, not drinking a lot of wine, not greedy for
money, 9 holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience… 16 And
most certainly, the mystery of
godliness is great…” 1
Timothy 3:8-16
Paul uses “the mystery” in 1 Timothy 3 as part of the
attributes a minister-servant in the Body of Christ should have.
9 He made known to us the
mystery of His will, according
to His good pleasure that He planned in Him. Ephesians 1:9
19 Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my
mouth to make known with boldness the
mystery of the gospel. 20 For this I am an
ambassador in chains. Eph. 6:19-20
7 We
speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery,
a wisdom God predestined before the ages for our glory. I
Corinthians 2:7
1A person should consider us in this way: as
servants of Christ and managers of God’s mysteries. I Corinthians 4:1
2 I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love,
so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the
knowledge of God’s mystery—Christ. 3 All
the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.
Colossians 2:2-3
3 Pray
also for us that God may open a door to us for the message, to speak the mystery of the Messiah, for
which I am in prison,4 so that I may reveal it as I am
required to speak. Col. 4:3-4
Paul also uses “mystery” in other epistles when
relating the task that he and others have been given in spreading the Gospel of
the good-news of Jesus Christ.
11 Jesus answered them, “To you
it has been granted to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been
granted. Matthew 13:11
11 And He was saying
to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are
outside get everything in parables…Mark 4:11
10 And He said, “To you it has
been granted to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables,… Luke 8:10
One of the first usages of the word “mystery” in the New
Testament actually occurs in the three Synoptic Gospels of Mathew, Mark, and
Luke. The gospel writers use the word
“mystery” in the response that Jesus gives to the disciples when they ask Him
why he teaches using parables. Jesus
tells His disciples that they have been given “the mystery”; the Kingdom of God
has been revealed (un-hidden) to them through Jesus’ teachings. All of
Jesus’ parables deal in one way or another with the Kingdom of God, and how
members of that kingdom are to act within it.
The word “mystery” is used once again in revealing that the hidden plan
of God is that all nations will be included in the Kingdom of God.
6…“There
will no longer be an interval of time, 7 but in the
days of the sound of the seventh angel, when he will blow his trumpet, then
God’s hidden plan will
be completed, as He announced to His servants the prophets.” Revelation 10:6-7
Lastly,
John in Revelation describes the 7 angels and the 7 trumpets of the Tribulation. It is in reference to the last angel and
trumpet that John uses the word “mystery.”
The “hidden” or “mystery” plan will be completed. The time of gathering into the Body of Christ
will be completed. The plan is complete;
the time has been fulfilled for both the fullness of the Gentiles and the Jews. After this point of time when the 7th trumpet is blown, there will be no others added to the Body of Christ, the Church of the New Testament. Everything beyond this point reverts back to focus on the righteous who worship God as the Jews did in Old Testament times. The Bible tells us that during the Millennial Kingdom, the Kingdom of God will be re-established on earth. Christ will reign from Jerusalem and the Jewish Feasts and sacrificial system will be re-implemented.
"And foreignerswho bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” Isaiah 56:6-7
"Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles." Zech. 14:16
25 Now to Him who has power to strengthen you according to my gospel
and the proclamation about Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept silent for
long ages 26 but now revealed and made known
through the prophetic Scriptures, according to the command of the eternal
God to advance the obedience of faith among all nations— 27 to
the only wise God, through Jesus Christ—to Him be the glory
forever! Amen. Romans 16:25-27
