What is the “mystery” of the Church that Paul describes?
Question 10015
Paul frequently speaks of “mystery” in his epistles, and the mystery of the Church is one of the most significant theological revelations in the New Testament. Understanding this mystery is essential for grasping how the Church fits into God’s eternal plan and why the Church age represents something genuinely new in redemptive history.
The Meaning of “Mystery”
The Greek word μυστήριον (mystērion) does not mean “mysterious” in the sense of puzzling or unknowable. In New Testament usage, it refers to something previously hidden but now revealed. Paul uses the word in Romans 16:25-26: “Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations.”
Note the structure: the mystery was kept secret, but now it has been disclosed. It was hidden, but now it’s revealed. This is the essence of biblical mystery—divine truth that was not made known in previous ages but has been unveiled through the apostles and prophets of the New Testament era.
The Mystery Revealed in Ephesians
The fullest explanation of the mystery of the Church comes in Ephesians. In Ephesians 3:1-6, Paul writes: “For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Paul identifies the content of the mystery in verse 6. It has three elements: Gentiles are fellow heirs (συγκληρονόμα, synklēronoma), fellow members of the body (σύσσωμα, syssōma), and fellow partakers of the promise (συμμέτοχα, symmetocha). All three Greek words share the prefix syn/sym meaning “together with.” The mystery is the equal incorporation of Jews and Gentiles into one new entity—the Church, the body of Jesus.
What Was Hidden and What Wasn’t
To appreciate why this is a mystery, we need to understand what the Old Testament did and didn’t reveal. The Old Testament clearly revealed that Gentiles would be blessed. Genesis 12:3 promised that in Abraham all families of the earth would be blessed. Isaiah 49:6 says the Servant would be “a light for the nations.” Psalm 22:27 declares, “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.” Gentile blessing was no secret.
What was not revealed was how Gentiles would be blessed. The Old Testament picture shows Gentiles coming to Israel, receiving blessing through Israel’s covenants, acknowledging Israel’s God, and participating in Israel’s kingdom. Isaiah 2:2-3 describes nations streaming to Mount Zion. Zechariah 8:23 pictures ten men from every nation grasping the robe of a Jew, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
What was never revealed was that there would be an interval in which Gentiles would be blessed on completely equal footing with Jews, apart from the Mosaic law, in a new entity called the Church, where the distinction between Jew and Gentile would be transcended. This is genuinely new revelation—not something that could have been deduced from the Old Testament.
The New Man
Ephesians 2:11-22 develops this further. Paul describes the previous state of Gentiles—separated from Jesus, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God (v. 12). But then he describes what Jesus has accomplished: “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace” (vv. 14-15).
The “one new man” is not Israel. It’s not Gentiles becoming Jews or Jews becoming Gentiles. It’s something new—a third entity created from both. Harold Hoehner comments: “This is not a renovation of an existing person but an entirely new person. This has never existed before.” The Church is not Israel expanded or Israel spiritualised; it is a genuinely new creation.
The “dividing wall of hostility” that Jesus broke down likely alludes to the barrier in the Jerusalem temple that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the inner courts. An inscription on this barrier, fragments of which are now in the British Museum (registration number 1938,0308.1), warned Gentiles that they would be responsible for their own death if they proceeded further. Jesus has abolished this separation—not by making Gentiles into Jews but by creating a new unity in Himself.
The Body of Christ
One of the key images for the Church-mystery is the body. Ephesians 1:22-23 describes the Church as Jesus’ body, “the fullness of him who fills all in all.” Colossians 1:18 calls Jesus “the head of the body, the church.” This imagery is entirely absent from the Old Testament when speaking of God’s people.
Israel was described as a nation, a kingdom, a wife, a flock, a vine—but never as a body with God as its head. The body imagery requires the ascension of Jesus to heaven where He becomes the Head, and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost who baptises believers into one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). This couldn’t exist before those events occurred.
The body imagery emphasises unity (one body), diversity (many members), interdependence (each part needs the others), and organic connection to Jesus (He is the head, the source of life and direction). This is a new relationship with God that Old Testament saints, as blessed as they were, did not experience.
The Bride of Christ
Related to the mystery is the Church as the bride of Jesus. Ephesians 5:22-32 uses the husband-wife relationship to illustrate Jesus’ relationship to the Church. Paul concludes in verse 32: “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” The Church is being prepared as a bride for Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:2), and the marriage will be consummated at His return (Revelation 19:7-9).
Israel was God’s wife in the Old Testament (Hosea 2; Jeremiah 3; Ezekiel 16), and she will be restored to that relationship in the future kingdom. But the Church is Jesus’ bride—a distinct relationship with a distinct destiny. The wife imagery for Israel and the bride imagery for the Church point to two different relationships, not the same relationship under different names.
The Indwelling Spirit
Another aspect of the mystery is the indwelling of Jesus in believers through the Spirit. Colossians 1:26-27 speaks of “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” “Christ in you”—this indwelling presence is characteristic of the Church age.
In the Old Testament, the Spirit came upon individuals for specific tasks and could depart (1 Samuel 16:14; Psalm 51:11). In the Church age, every believer is indwelt permanently by the Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13-14). This is part of the mystery—the permanent, universal indwelling of Jesus through His Spirit in all believers, whether Jew or Gentile.
Implications of the Mystery
Understanding the mystery of the Church has several implications. First, it confirms the distinction between Israel and the Church. If the Church were simply a continuation of Israel, there would be no mystery—the Old Testament already spoke of God’s people. The mystery is precisely that the Church is something new, created by Jesus, uniting Jew and Gentile in a way never before revealed.
Second, it explains the Church’s unique blessings. We are seated with Jesus in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6). We are members of His body. We are indwelt by His Spirit. We will be His bride. These are blessings specific to this age that flow from the mystery now revealed.
Third, it shapes our expectations for the future. The Church has a distinct destiny from Israel. We await the Rapture, when Jesus comes for His bride (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Israel awaits the Second Coming, when the Messiah comes to establish His kingdom (Zechariah 14). Both peoples of God have glorious futures, but they are not identical futures.
Fourth, it humbles us. The mystery was hidden and is now revealed—not because we discovered it but because God disclosed it. We are recipients of grace upon grace. Ephesians 3:8 shows Paul’s attitude: “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.” The proper response to the mystery is gratitude and worship.
Conclusion
The mystery of the Church is ultimately about Jesus and what He has accomplished. He broke down the wall. He created one new man. He reconciled both Jew and Gentile to God in one body through the cross (Ephesians 2:16). The gospel—the good news of what Jesus has done—is the foundation of the mystery.
And this mystery is for you. If you trust in Jesus, you are part of this new creation, this body, this bride. You are no longer a stranger or alien but a fellow citizen with the saints and a member of God’s household (Ephesians 2:19). You have access to the Father through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18). You are being built together into a dwelling place for God (Ephesians 2:22).
If you have not yet trusted Jesus, the invitation stands. The mystery has been revealed precisely so that you might know it, believe it, and enter into its blessings. The same grace that unites Jew and Gentile in Jesus can unite you to Him. Will you receive Him?
“This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Ephesians 3:6
Bibliography
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- Hoehner, Harold W. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Baker Academic, 2002.
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- O’Brien, Peter T. The Letter to the Ephesians. Pillar New Testament Commentary. Eerdmans, 1999.
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