Everyone loves a good mystery. We’re curious about what’s concealed, eager for a satisfying reveal. We want to know what we don’t know. The Bible speaks of mysteries too; not fiction, but divine truths God hid for ages. Paul speaks of such a mystery; one that reshapes how we understand history, salvation, and the will of God.
However, the Bible doesn’t use the word “mystery” exactly the way we do. When Paul speaks of mystery, he isn’t referring to something that is currently hidden, but something that was once hidden and now is revealed. Klyne Snodgrass explains:
“Whereas in modern usage mystery refers to what is unknown, in Jewish and early Christian literature this word refers to the hidden divine plan now revealed by God (cf. 3:3–9; 6:19).”1 (emphasis in original)
Jack Cottrell clarifies the meaning:
“What is a mystery? As the Bible uses this term, it is not something ‘mysterious’ or unexplainable, something set forth in cryptic, obscure language that is too weird to understand. Rather, it simply refers to something that is being kept hidden or secret for the time being, kept under cover until the time comes for it to be revealed. In the case of God’s mystery, He was keeping it concealed all through the Old Testament era, and is just now unveiling it through the New Testament writers, especially the Apostle Paul.”2
What is the mystery in Ephesians 1?
In Ephesians 1, the “mystery” Paul refers to is the previously hidden plan of God to unite all things in Christ—especially the inclusion of Gentiles into the people of God. Specifically, Ephesians 1:9–10 says:
9 And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to bring all things in heaven and on earth together in Christ. (Eph. 1:9-10)3
So the mystery is God’s eternal plan, now revealed in Christ, to bring everything under Christ’s authority and to reconcile both Jews and Gentiles into one new humanity. Paul plainly states this in Ephesians 3:
This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 3:6)
The secret was not that God planned to reconcile Jews and Gentiles into one body. This was so strongly hinted at in the Old Testament that one can’t really miss it. In fact, one of the promises God made to Abraham was that “all the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3). Christ brought this blessing to the nations to fruition 1800 years later by reconciling all the nations (families of the earth) to God.
The mystery was not the goal itself, but the means by which God would accomplish it. As Paul stated, the gospel was the method and therefore, the mystery.
Why did God keep it a mystery?
Through the Old Testament prophets, God gave clues as to how His plan to redeem the nations would unfold. However, He played a game of divine misdirection. The prophecies were cryptic such that the picture of how His plan would play out was deliberately concealed.
Why the misdirection and incomplete picture? Dr. Michael Heiser points out that Paul has answered this question for us:
“By God’s design, the Scripture presents the messiah in terms of a mosaic profile that can only be discerned after the pieces are assembled. Paul tells us why in 1 Corinthians 2:6–8. If the plan of God for the messiah’s mission had been clear, the powers of darkness would never have killed Jesus—they would have known that his death and resurrection were the key to reclaiming the nations forever.”4 (emphasis in original)
Quite simply, every good military leader keeps his battle plans a secret from the enemy. Likewise, in the spiritual war God is waging with the powers of darkness He also doesn’t tell the enemy what He is doing.
Heiser elaborates further:
“The story of the cross is the biblical-theological catalyst to God’s plan for regaining all that was lost in Eden. It couldn’t be emblazoned across the Old Testament in transparent statements. It had to be expressed in sophisticated and cryptic ways to ensure that the powers of darkness would be misled. And it was. Even the angels didn’t know the plan (1 Pet 1:12).”5
Biblical prophecy is intentionally cryptic!
What Paul is telling us is that biblical prophecy only becomes clear after its fulfillment. Even after the resurrection, Jesus’s disciples couldn’t see the full picture. Though they had all the pieces, they needed supernatural help. Jesus opened their minds so they could understand how the Old Testament pointed to Him.
44 Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. (Luke 24:44-45)
Paul tells us that the devil couldn’t discern God’s plan, even with the prophetic clues. The angels didn’t know the details either. So it makes sense that God’s people also remained in the dark. Peter says the prophets themselves—though they delivered the messages—couldn’t grasp the full shape of what God was doing (1 Pet 1:10–11).
Of course, some details were correctly understood. For example, the chief priests and scribes were able to discern the prophecies well enough to inform Herod where the Messiah would be born (Matt 2:4-6). However, the big picture remained a mystery and the Jews of Jesus’s day got a lot of it wrong.
Prophecy’s nature is rooted in mystery
We’ve seen that God concealed His redemptive plan in prophecy, revealing it only after key events had unfolded. The gospel itself remained a mystery until Christ fulfilled it. Neither the powers of darkness, nor angels, nor even the prophets fully grasped what God was doing. This pattern carries profound implications. If prophecy becomes clear only in hindsight, what does that mean for how we interpret end times prophecy today? Could we be just as blind to the big picture as they were then? In the next article, we’ll explore how this affects our expectations—and our theology—about the last days.
References
- Snodgrass, Klyne. Ephesians (The NIV Application Commentary Book 10) (p. 53). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
- Cottrell, Jack. Studies in Ephesians: 25 Lessons for Group or Personal Study (p. 48). The Christian Restoration Association. Kindle Edition.
- Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the Berean Standard Bible.
- Heiser, Michael S.. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (p. 241). Lexham Press. Kindle Edition.
- Heiser, Michael S.. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (p. 243). Lexham Press. Kindle Edition.