Mystery

Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.  I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

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 which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 16:21-27

As Paul began to wrap up his letter to the Church at Rome, he shared some more greetings from saints who were present with him. Timothy, the young preacher whom Paul considered as a son. Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, some of the Jewish believers. Gaius, who hosted the church at Corinth was a convert of Paul’s and was baptized by him. Erastus was a city official and Quartus was another in that same church. Paul called him “brother.”  In verse 22, Tertius identifies himself as the one doing the actual writing of this letter as Paul dictated it. In several other epistles, Paul himself wrote a few words of greeting near the end. This was apparently to prove authorization of the epistle in question. 2 Thessalonians 3:17 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write.

Then came the grand finale of Romans, which is one paragraph, just crammed with deep doctrinal meaning. This was meat for the maturing believers to feast upon, as they shared Paul’s words and awaited his possible visit in the future.

“Him who is able to establish you” is the same one who saved you by His grace.  We are kept by His power and upheld by His constant care. His Word in our souls stabilizes us to meet whatever we have to face in the devil’s world. We don’t know what the future holds for us, but we know Who holds the future, and we know He has our best blessings in store.

“my gospel” the good news that Paul was commissioned to proclaim, which is Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law and paid the penalty for all our sins.

“the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past” – there is no Church age doctrine in the Old Testament. They had knowledge of the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of the messiah, and His coming in glory at the end of time. Jesus was not the mystery. The mystery was the Church, to be made up of both Jews and Gentiles, through their faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

In the Greek language used here, the word mystery refers to doctrine known only to the initiated. It was a term used by the secret fraternities. You couldn’t know what the organization was about until you became a member of the organization. Then the mystery doctrines were made known to the initiates. This is the meaning of mystery in regard to the Church, and it is only New Testament terminology. The initiates of the Church are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. When an unbeliever says he cannot comprehend the New Testament epistles, or finds them confusing or contradictory, there is good reason for that. The unbeliever is not equipped to comprehend Church age doctrines. Those truths can be understood only by one who has the Holy Spirit indwelling. If an unbeliever is interested in reading the New Testament to learn about Christ, the gospels are the scriptures to read. In the gospels, Jesus is introduced as Messiah, Who came to save us and to found His Church, which had not been anticipated in the Old Testament.

Mysteries referred to in the New Testament which are known only to the insiders (believers):

A.     Body: Ephesians 3:1-11 (v.6) This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. (v 10-11) His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.

B.     Bride: Ephesians 5:31-32 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

C.     Church: Revelation 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

D.     Indwelling Christ: Colossians 1:26-27 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

E.      Spirituality/Godliness: I Timothy 3:16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

F.      Translation of the Church (Rapture): I Corinthians 15:51-52 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

G.     Blindness of Israel: Romans 11:25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in..

Our only wise God knew in eternity past that the Messiah would pay our sin debt in full, exchange His Righteousness for our sins, make us His own forever, and shelter us IN HIMSELF until all the prophecies and promises are fulfilled. He planned it, He made it happen, and now He has made known to us the hope of glory.