The Mystery of the Church

In the great Church epistles, Ephesians and Colossians, Paul explains what he means by the word mystery, saying, “by revelation He made known to me the mystery. . . 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” (Eph. 3:3-5). Mystery for Paul means a truth of God not revealed in times past, but now revealed to the apostles and prophets of the NT. The mystery is that Gentiles are fellow heirs in the same body with Jews, and that Gentiles are fellow partakers with Jews of God’s promise in Christ through the gospel (Eph. 3:6). The OT does promise Gentile salvation—even in the covenant that formed Israel, all the families of the earth are to be blessed, and Paul equates this promise with the gospel (Gal. 3:8).

Mystery for Paul means a truth of God not revealed in times past, but now revealed to the apostles and prophets of the NT

So, the fact that Gentiles are partakers of the gospel is not the mystery. The mystery is that Gentiles are fellow heirs. Since Jew and Gentile as fellow heirs in one body just is the Church, the mystery that God did not reveal in the OT is the Church.

Some object, pointing out that Paul says it was not made known as it has now been revealed (Eph. 3:5). They claim that Paul means the Church was comparatively less known in the OT but is now more fully known. However, this is only one possible way of reading the adverb translated “as” in this sentence.

It might not be a comparison of degree, but a comparison of kind, for example as used in Acts 2:15 (Cf. 1 Cor. 7:30-31; 2 Tim. 1:3).[1] Commenting on the use of the word as in Acts 2:15, Ryrie notes, “the disciples were not simply less drunk than the crowd thought.”[2] Whether Paul means to compare by degree or in kind will have to be determined by the context and parallel passages.

The repeated emphasis on this mystery being hidden in the past (see verse 9), suggests that Paul does not mean to say the mystery was partially revealed. In Colossians 1:24-27, Paul states unequivocally (without the as) that the mystery was hidden in previous generations.

Also, the term mystery would lose its meaning if it simply meant “new revelation” or “higher degree of revelation.” If God were revealing new truth about His plan for Israel or Gentiles, Paul would call it prophecy. He instead uses the word mystery because it is not merely new information about what was known before, but surprising, even shocking wonder.

It is not like hiking ever closer to the distant peak, discerning new features along the way; it is coming to an unseen edge to discover a hidden alpine lake. It was always there, but totally out of sight.

In the same way, the Church is not some new feature of previously known truth. It was always hidden in the mind of God, to be revealed after the Messiah was rejected. The mystery is Christ in the believer (Col. 1:27), the believer in Christ (Eph. 2:6, 13), and Jew and Gentile as coheirs in the one new man (Eph. 2:15). The Church, then, is a mystery that began at Pentecost and was not revealed until after Christ came.

The Church, then, is a mystery that began at Pentecost and was not revealed until after Christ came.

Since the Church is not the subject of Old Testament prophecy, this dramatically affects the interpretation of key passages in the rapture debate (stay tuned). The next part of the series will examine the uniqueness of the Church.

[1] See John Walvoord and Roy Zuck eds. Bible Knowledge Commentary: New Testament (Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications Ministries, 2000), 629.

[2] Ryrie, Charles Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1999), 464.