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“search the scriptures” John 5:39
mysia - A province of Asia Minor
mysterion - A mystery or secret of any kind
myopazo - To be short sighted
One of the many fictional genres popular in bookshops today is that entitled ‘Mystery’, which most people associate with detective stories or unexplained occurrences that the writer seeks to unravel by the end of the novel. The story gains its momentum by building up tension throughout the novel until the mystery is ultimately solved. When we come to the New Testament, however, we should dismiss from our minds the idea that the word ‘mystery’ refers similarly to the mysterious or something that needs to be solved. Quite the reverse in fact! The word is used in the sense of that which is now revealed but previously undisclosed. As J. Armitage Robinson writes, ‘A mystery in this sense is not a thing which must be kept secret. On the contrary, it is a secret which God wills to make known and has charged His Apostles to declare to those who have ears to hear it’.1
In the whole of the Septuagint (LXX) the word mysterion only occurs in the prophecy of Daniel where it is used in relationship to the mysterious dreams of Nebuchadnezzar. What is clearly inscrutable to men is only to be revealed by God through His servant Daniel,2 cp. Gen. 40. 8; 41. 16. The reason for this limited use of mysterion in the LXX may well be because the text of these verses in Daniel is Aramaic, not Hebrew. The word only then occurs as a technical term in the Hellenistic period, that is, the period inaugurated by the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. According to Shaye J. D. Cohen, ‘In the sphere of cultural history the Hellenistic period endured for centuries … but for most inhabitants of the Levant, it ended when the rule of Macedonian kings of Egypt and Syria was replaced by that of Rome in the first century - for the Jews it was even shorter’.3 Hence the word’s frequent inclusion in the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament. The word also occurs in the literature of Second Temple Judaism such as in 1 Enoch. It is a word though ever associated during this period with the cultic practices and mysteries of those who followed false deities. Romans adopted these false deities into their own religious pantheon of gods, creating secret societies. The word later became part of Gnostic teaching where secret revelations and obscure doctrines concerning angels and other mysteries were regarded as the exclusive possession of a privileged few. Its vocabulary consisted of such words as knowledge, wisdom, mystery, and fulness. To pass on these mysteries and secrets to the uninitiated was a grievous offence.
Paul challenges the very heart of Gnostic teaching by demonstrating that the mystery of God in Christ was universal in its comprehensiveness. It was not simply for an exclusive group of people, Col. 1. 6, 23, 28, but even the worst sinner (the barbarian) or the Scythian (the worst kind of barbarian) could be blessed, 3. 11. There are no hidden secrets in Christianity because the mystery concerning Christ has now been fully revealed in the gospel.4This mystery is complete in itself and contains the total of all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, 2. 2, 3.
The word is used sparingly throughout the New Testament but of this number (twenty-eight), it is used by Paul on twenty-one occasions. The reason for this may be that Paul’s defence of the gospel is often set in juxtaposition to gnostic and cult teaching of the first century. The list below shows some of the mysteries that are disclosed in the New Testament and by whom. Notice that the first mystery to be revealed is by our Lord Jesus Christ and it is in respect of the kingdom of God. The secrets of His kingdom and appearing are then expressed in His parables.
The mystery of the kingdom of God -Mark 4. 11, 12 and parallels.
The mystery of blindness, in part, of Israel - Rom. 11. 25
The mystery of the gospel - Rom. 16. 25, 26; et al.
The mystery of bodily transformation - 1 Cor. 15. 51
the mystery of his will - Eph. 1. 9
the mystery of the Gentiles being fellow heirs with Christ - 3. 6
the mystery of Christ and church - 5. 32
the mystery of Christ indwelling believers - Col. 1. 26
the mystery of iniquity - 2 Thess. 2. 7
the mystery of faith - 1 Tim. 3. 9
the mystery of godliness - God manifest in flesh v. 16
the mystery of seven stars and golden lampstands - Rev. 1. 20
the mystery of God - defeat evil Rev. 10. 7
the mystery of Babylon - Rev. 17. 5
In conclusion, what we find in the New Testament is a radical change to the way in which the word was used in the ancient world. As W. E. Vine writes, ‘In the ordinary sense a mystery implies knowledge withheld; its scriptural significance is truth revealed’.5 Since these mysteries have now been entrusted to us, may we be ever faithful as ministers of Christ, stewards of the mysteries of God, 1 Cor. 4. 1.
W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. III. Lo-Ser, pp. 97, 98. Advanced
J. Armitage Robinson, Commentary on Ephesians: Exposition of the Greek Text, ‘On the meaning of mysterion in the New Testament’, pp. 234-240.
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