The Greek word musterion, rendered mystery in the Authorized Version, has a two-fold meaning.  It may mean merely what is kept hidden, or it may mean something understood only by the initiated.  It may also mean both at the same time.

The original word is perhaps closer in meaning to our word secret than it is to mystery in its modern usage.  We may speak of keeping a thing a secret, i.e., not telling it out, or we may speak of the secret of a man's success, i.e., the key, the clue to his success.

The great mystery revealed through Paul is spoken of in both ways--sometimes both together:

1.  The mystery is a truth which was intentionally kept hidden until revealed to and through the Apostle Paul: He says it was "kept secret since the world began" (Rom. 16:25), "in other ages . . . not made known," "from the beginning of the world . . . hid in God" (Eph. 3:5,9), "hid from ages and from generations" (Col. 1:26).

2.  Now that it has been revealed it is still comprehended only by the initiated: Hence the apostle prays "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" (Eph. 1:17 and cf. Ver. 9), "that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding," "The mystery . . . now . . . made manifest to His saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles," "the full assurance of understanding . . . the acknowledgment [Gr. epignosis, full knowledge] of the mystery" (Col. 1:9, 26,27, 2:2).  It is therefore of the utmost importance that we seek light and understanding from the Holy Spirit in the study of this great subject.
 
 

In closing the most sublime of all his letters, the Apostle Paul writes:

"And [pray] for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL,

"For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak" (Eph. 6:19,20).

The precise wording of the phrase "mystery of the gospel" should be carefully noted. The apostle is not speaking here of the good news of a secret, but of the secret of, or key to, the good news.¹
 
 

Along with the idea that the Old Testament saints trusted in the coming death of Christ for salvation, goes the notion, equally unscriptural, that there never has been more than one gospel.

This will be thoroughly discussed in a later chapter, but here it is necessary to point out the simple fact that ever since the fall God has proclaimed gospel, or good news, to sinners.

Was it not gospel, or good news, God announced to fallen Adam and Eve when He promised that Eve's seed would eventually crush the Serpent's head (Gen. 3:15)?  Was it not good news God proclaimed to Abram when He said that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3, cf. Gal. 3:8)?  Was it not good news God made known to David when He promised to establish his house and throne and kingdom forever (II Sam. 7:16)?  Was it not good news God revealed through the prophets, that peace and prosperity and blessing should prevail in the coming kingdom (Isa. 2:2-4, 11:6-9, 35:1-7, Jer. 23:5)?  Was it not good news John the Baptist proclaimed when he introduced Christ and announced the kingdom "at hand" (Matt. 3:2,3)?  Was it not good news Peter preached when later he actually offered the kingdom to Israel, crying: "Repent ... the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you" (Acts 3:19,20)?

All this was gospel, or good news, but what was "the mystery of the gospel;" what was the secret of the good news?  How could a holy and righteous God proclaim good news to sinners?  How could He justly offer them good things to come when, as sinners, they deserved His wrath?

The answer to this is found in the epistles of Paul.
 
 

If anything is made clear in the Pauline epistles it is the fact that the secret of all God's good news to man is centered in Calvary.  It was because Christ was to die for sin that God could proclaim good news to sinners, whether it concerned the bringing in of the millennial kingdom, the blessing of the nations through Abraham's seed or the final defeat of Satan.

It was not until some time after the crucifixion, however, that the secret of the gospel was revealed to and through the Apostle Paul, and with it the best news of all: "the gospel of the grace of God."

The proclamation of "the gospel of the grace of God" was the natural accompaniment to the revelation of the cross as the secret of God's good news.  Indeed, the apostle calls his distinctive message both "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24) and "the preaching of the cross" (I Cor. 1:18), for "the gospel of the grace of God" is "the preaching of the cross," i.e., as good news.  It is the proclamation of the over-abounding grace of God to man through the shed blood of Christ, and in the Pauline message everything centers in the cross.

According to the Pauline epistles "we have redemption through His blood" (Eph. 1:7), we are justified by His blood" (Rom. 5:9), "reconciled to God by the death of His Son" (Rom. 5:10), "made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13 and "made the righteousness of God in Him" because "God hath made Him to be sin for us" (II Cor. 5:21).

The covenant of the law was abolished by the cross (Col. 2:14), the curse of the law was removed by the cross (Gal. 3:13), the "middle wall of partition" was broken down by the cross (Eph. 2:14,15) and believing Jews and Gentiles are reconciled to God in one body by the cross (Eph. 2:16).

Little wonder the apostle calls his message "the preaching of the cross"!

To the believer it is thrilling to see the cross as God's reply to Satan when, at first glance, it had appeared that the cross was Satan's greatest triumph.

Satan had, of course, worked long behind the scenes to prevent the coming of the Redeemer.  He had opposed it by seeking the destruction of all Hebrew male children in Egypt (Ex. 1:16,22), by seeking the annihilation of the whole nation by Pharaoh (Ex. 14), by seeking to wipe out "all the seed royal" through Athaliah (II Chron. 22:10), by seeking the destruction of the race again through Haman (Esth. 3:12,13).

When the deceiver was overruled in these and other attempts on Christ, and the Lord, after all, appeared on earth, Satan redoubled his efforts to destroy Him.  When but an infant, Herod sought the young child's life (Matt. 2); at Nazareth, His neighbors tried to throw Him over a cliff (Luke 4:29); a fierce storm on Galilee would have engulfed Him (Mark 4:37), etc.

Finally it seemed Satan was winning.  He had succeeded in turning Israel's rulers against Christ (John 7:48), then the masses (Matt. 13:13-15), then many of His own disciples (John 6:66,67) and finally even one of the twelve (Matt. 26:14-16).

Some suppose that Satan sought to prevent the crucifixion, but we must not presume that Satan understood how the cross would accomplish his defeat and our redemption.  We read distinctly that "Satan entered into" Judas (John 13:27).  Satan thought that the crucifixion of Christ would destroy Him.  How he must have congratulated himself on his success as our Lord died in shame and disgrace on Calvary's cross!

Doubtless it was a great shock and disappointment to him when Christ arose from the dead, but imagine his dismay when he discovered that he had tricked himself by crucifying Christ--that God had actually paid for man's sins by the death of Christ so that He might save the chief of sinners and send him forth to offer "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"!(Eph. 1:7).

Thus Satan reached the climax of his career of deception when he deceived himself at Calvary.

In the light of this it is not strange that Satan hates and opposes the message of grace, the preaching of the cross, more bitterly than he ever hated or opposed the prophetic program.  Nor is it strange that it is God's purpose:

". . . that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God" (Eph. 3:10).
 

We must be careful not to assume that predictions concerning the crucifixion are the same as "the preaching of the cross" or that "the preaching of the cross" has nothing to do with the mystery simply because the crucifixion itself was prophesied.

Predictions concerning the death of Christ are to be found in numerous Old Testament passages as well as in the four records of our Lord's earthly ministry, but never were the merits of Christ's death proclaimed as the ground of salvation until Paul.  The difficulty is that so much has been read into these passages which is not there.

How much, for example, could Adam and Eve have understood about the plan of salvation from the statement recorded in Gen. 3:15?  If they even understood from this that the coming Redeemer would die, they understood more than the twelve apostles did 4000 years later while working with the Lord Himself and preaching "the gospel of the kingdom" (Luke 9:1-6, 18:31-34).²

Does some reader suppose that the plan of salvation must have been explained to Adam and Eve?  Such a supposition would be entirely gratuitous.  In fact, the record would rather indicate the opposite.

It is now clear that the Holy Spirit had the death of Christ in mind in Psa. 22, but who would have dreamed, until Christ died, that it depicted His crucifixion or that its opening cry would be that of our crucified Savior?  Indeed, the passage was not even written in the form of a prediction!

And what about Isaiah 53?  Is Christ not portrayed here as bearing the sins of the world?  Those who suppose so have again read something into the passage.  Verse 6 reads: "All WE like sheep have gone astray . . . and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of US all."

Since the prophet says "all we," the thoughtful student of Scripture will naturally inquire, "all who?" And he will find in verse 8 that Isaiah speaks as a Hebrew prophet concerning his own people:

"For the transgression of MY PEOPLE was He stricken."

So, first of all, the prophet speaks here of Messiah's death only as it relates to the nation Israel.³

It is true, of course, that we Gentiles have also gone astray and that the Lord has also laid our iniquities upon Christ, but that is not the question here.

The tone of Isaiah 53 is another factor which must not be overlooked.  The prophet does not proclaim the death of Christ as good news, or offer salvation through its merits, as it is our joy to do today.  On the contrary, he begins with a tone of disappointment.  Who will believe his report?  A tender plant . . . a root out of a dry ground . . . no form nor comeliness . . . no beauty that we should desire Him . . . despised . . . rejected . . . a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

Who wants tender plants or roots out of dry ground?  Dress a man in gorgeous apparel, put a crown on his head, set him on a throne in a palace with a thousand rooms, and men will come from the ends of the earth to kiss his feet.  But such a character as Isaiah describes; who would do homage to him?

But, continues the prophet, He is bearing our sins.  We are the guilty ones, yet He goes as a lamb to the slaughter.

Note, in all of Isaiah's prediction there is nothing about trusting in the merits of the Crucified for salvation.  There is substitution, to be sure, (which some consider the very acme of Christian truth) but substitution in itself is not good news.  Many an innocent victim has unjustly borne the penalty for the crime of another.  Was this something to be rejoiced in or boasted about?

Isaiah points out, indeed, that when Messiah comes He will be rejected and slain, taking the blame for Israel's sins, but this is still quite different from proclaiming the merits of Christ's death in an offer of salvation to be accepted by faith.⁴

Finally, we remind our readers that even this was but a prediction, which the prophet himself obviously did not understand (I Peter 1:10-12) or he would surely have filled his book with the glad message.

But did not John the Baptist know the secret of the gospel when he said of Christ:

"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh [beareth] away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

If he did, why then did he proclaim "the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins"? (Mark 1:4).

In Matt. 3:1,2 we are given the theme of John's message:

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

"And saying, REPENT YE: FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND."

If John understood what we now do about the death of Christ, why was not that his theme?

We must not forget the background of John 1:29.  John had been baptizing repentant sinners, and Jesus had come among them, also to be baptized.

"But John forbad Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" (Matt. 3:14).

But Jesus insisted on being baptized.  Though perfectly sinless, He came as a sinner and was "numbered with the transgressors." Is it strange that John, who realized that he himself and the multitude were the ones who needed repentance and cleansing, should describe Christ as the Lamb of God, bearing away the sin of the world?

We say again that if John the Baptist even understood that Christ would die he knew more than the twelve did after working with Christ Himself for the greater part of His earthly ministry.  But the fact that John preached what he did indicates that he probably knew no more than they did.

Even after the crucifixion, the apostles did not immediately see the death of Christ as the secret of the gospel.  Peter, as we have seen, referred to the crucifixion, but did not offer it for salvation.  He blamed his hearers for the death of Christ and demanded repentance and water baptism for the remission of their sins (Acts 2:36,38).

No, even Philip did not preach the cross to the eunuch as the secret of the gospel.  The eunuch had been reading Isa. 53.  Philip then preached Christ from that passage, proving from it that the crucified Jesus was the Messiah, whose coming Isaiah had predicted.

Read the record carefully.  Nowhere does it say that Philip instructed the eunuch that Christ had died for him, or that the eunuch should trust in His death for salvation.  Philip simply identified Jesus as the Messiah from that passage, and baptized the eunuch when he confessed:

"I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:37).

But it may still be objected: Does not Paul say, "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures?" Yes, Christ's death for sin was in accordance with the Scriptures, but we insist that it was not until Paul that His death for sin was proclaimed as good news and seen as the secret of all the good news that had gone before.  The fact is, simply, that the prophesied death of Christ turned out to be the secret of the gospel.

Thus the fact of Christ's death for the sins of others was "testified beforehand" (I Peter 1:11), but Paul, by revelation, makes it very clear that the eternal purpose of God in that death and the offer of salvation to all through its merits was to be

". . . TESTIFIED IN DUE TIME, whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle . . ." (I Tim. 2:6,7).

Whereas Peter at Pentecost had accused his hearers of crucifying Christ and had demanded repentance and baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:23,36,38).  Paul proclaimed the crucifixion of Christ as good news (I Cor. 1:18).  With Peter at Pentecost it was a matter of shame; Paul gloried in it (Gal. 6:14).

It was through Paul, and no one before Paul, that Christ was "set forth to be a propitiation THROUGH FAITH IN HIS BLOOD" (Rom. 3:25).

It was Paul who first explained how men had been

". . . kept under the law, shut up unto THE FAITH WHICH SHOULD AFTERWARDS BE REVEALED" (Gal. 3:23).

And it was Paul who was first sent forth to proclaim that faith.

It was Paul who first said:

"BUT NOW the righteousness of God without the law is manifested . . ."

"[We] declare, I say, AT THIS TIME, [Christ's] righteousness: that [God] might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3:21,26).

It was Paul who first said:

". . . One died for all . . . wherefore HENCEFORTH KNOW WE NO MAN AFTER THE FLESH . . ." (II Cor. 5:14,16).

Paul, the chief of sinners, saved by grace, offers the cross as the sole ground of remission (Rom. 3:24); he boasts in it (Gal. 6:14); he exclaims:

"[He] loved ME and gave Himself for ME!" (Gal. 2:20), "[He] loved THE CHURCH and gave Himself for it!" (Eph. 5:25), "The love of Christ constraineth us . . . He died for ALL" (II Cor. 5:14,15).
 
 

We proceed now from "the mystery of the gospel" (Eph. 6:19) to "the mystery of God's will" (Eph. 1:9); from the secret of the good news to the good news of "the secret," i.e., the purpose kept secret until revealed to and through the Apostle Paul.  This is what he refers to in the words:

"Having made known unto us THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself:

"That in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him" (Eph. 1:9,10).

In this passage, as in many others by Paul, the will of God refers to His eternal purpose, not merely His will in some particular detail, or His will for our lives.  Thus he exhorts: "Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17. See also Eph. 1:5,11, Col. 1:9).

As we have pointed out, the mystery of God's will is the gathering together of all in heaven and earth in Christ.  This, however, is His ultimate purpose.  All God's own were not gathered together in Christ at once.  Thus the mystery of God's will involved the unfolding of a new program, a new dispensation.

In brief, the mystery as it relates to the present, is the glorious truth that God has concluded both Jew and Gentile in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all (Rom. 11:32) and that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the Cross (Eph. 2:16).

The heavenly position of this "one body," its spiritual blessings, its present responsibilities, etc., will be discussed in subsequent chapters, but it should here be stated that God's eternal purpose, so long kept secret, is directly bound up with the secret of the gospel, for the carrying out of this purpose is the historical demonstration of the fact that the Christ who was crucified on Calvary is Himself the secret of all God's good news.  Indeed, it was by the unfolding of His long-hidden purpose that God made known the secret of the gospel.
 
 

It is important to notice that not until Paul do we read of God's "having made known unto us the mystery of His will."

It is this secret purpose, as well as the secret of the gospel, that he labels "my gospel," insisting that it was "kept secret since the world began" (Rom. 16:25).

It is he who first proclaims "the hidden [mystery] which God ordained before the world unto our glory" (I Cor. 2:7).  It is he, referring again to this secret purpose, who explains "How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery," insisting again that "in other ages [it] was not made known," that it was "unsearchable," i.e., not to be found in the Scriptures thus far written, and "from the beginning of the world . . . hid in God" (Eph. 3:3-9).  It is he who speaks of:

"THE DISPENSATION OF GOD WHICH IS GIVEN TO ME FOR YOU, TO FULFIL [make full, complete] THE WORD OF GOD:

"EVEN THE MYSTERY WHICH HATH BEEN HID FROM AGES AND FROM GENERATIONS, BUT NOW IS MADE MANIFEST TO HIS SAINTS:

"TO WHOM GOD WOULD MAKE KNOWN WHAT IS THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU,⁵ THE HOPE OF GLORY" (Col. 1:25-27).
 
 

1.  What is the two-fold meaning of the word translated "mystery" in the Authorized Version?

2.  How could the term "mystery of the gospel" be translated in modern, every-day English?

3.  What is meant by this phrase?

4.  When was gospel first preached to sinners?

5.  In what great event do we find "the mystery of the gospel"?

6.  When and by whom was "the mystery of the gospel" first proclaimed?

7.  What did Satan hope to accomplish by the crucifixion of Christ?

8.  How did God over-rule him?

9.  What is the difference between predictions about the cross and "the preaching of the cross"?

10.  What Scripture indicates that the prophets themselves did not understand their predictions concerning the sufferings of Christ?

11.  What Scriptures indicate that Christ's own apostles, after preaching "the gospel" for some time, did not even know that He would die?

12.  How can you prove that Isaiah 53 does not speak of Christ dying for the sins of all men?

13.  What was the theme of John the Baptist's message?

14.  Did he offer the death of Christ for the remission of sins?

15.  How did the cross figure in Peter's Pentecostal message and what did he demand for the remission of sins?

16.  How did Philip use Isaiah 53 when preaching to the eunuch?

17.  Who first proclaimed, as a message, salvation by grace, through faith in the death of Christ?

18.  What is meant by "the mystery of God's will"?

19.  Explain how "the mystery of the gospel" and "the mystery of God's will" are related in the great revelation made to and through the Apostle Paul.

20.  Give three Scripture passages to prove that "the mystery" was first revealed to Paul.