The "Mystery" in Ephesians
The word mystery (μυστήριον) appears prominently throughout Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, occurring six times in total, more than in any other New Testament (NT) book.[1] This study will explore the meaning and significance of this concept in Ephesians.[2] To do so, it will first provide a definition of the word, then highlight key insights from each occurrence. In conclusion, it will summarize the concept of “mystery” within Ephesians, offering implications and applications for believers in churches today.
Meaning
The origin of μυστήριον is obscure.[3] By Paul’s time, it meant “a secret.”[4] Mounce says it was “a matter to the knowledge of which initiation is necessary; a secret which would remain such but for revelation.”[5] The word differs from the modern word mystery, which refers to a known but difficult problem that people try solve. The NT word refers to material wholly unknown unless God reveals it. Ryrie explains this as special, divine knowledge beyond the reach of humans.[6] Remarkably, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, through the following six references, reveals such knowledge which would have remained unknown otherwise.
Ephesians 1:9
Knowledge of this mystery is a result of God’s grace to believers revealed to the church. It divulges a crucial aspect of God’s will, that he would form a new, comprehensive union from all kinds of people, Gentile or Jew (cf. 2:15-16).[7] This union would occur through the redemptive work of Christ and encompass the spiritual world.[8] Though the Old Testament (OT) revealed that Gentiles would share in God’s redemption (Gen 12:3; Isa 42:6-7), it did not reveal that Jews and Gentiles would form a new spiritual entity.[9]
Ephesians 3:3-4
God revealed this mystery to Paul and to other apostles and prophets as well (Eph 3:5), who would reveal it to the church (3:3). Thielman observes, “No amount of exegetical study of the Scriptures would have yielded this insight; God had to make it known to Paul personally.”[10] This mystery centered on Christ as the agent who would unite believing Gentiles and Jews through the gospel. As such, believers can abandon all “inferior and pseudo-mysteries – the rituals of the gods and goddesses they may have worshiped all their lives – and give their allegiance to Christ alone.”[11] This mission of Christ would was not revealed to previous generations, but God revealed to the church for the very first time.
Ephesians 3:9
Paul was charged with enlightening everyone possible, “all” (πάντας), about this new revelation. He had a crucial administrative role (οἰκονομία) in propagating this message of the “ethnically inclusive nature” of God’s new spiritual creation, which is the church. Hoehner says, “Paul’s mission [had] no place for secrecy; it [was] to be openly shared.”[12] In doing so, he shared something that had been hidden from previous generations entirely.
Ephesians 5:32
Paul reveals a profound (“great”) correlation between the intimate union of a husband and wife and the union of Christ with the church (cf. Gen 2:24).[13] Apart from Paul making this connection, we would never have considered it.[14] In fact, he “goes beyond analogy” by claiming “we are (ἐσμέν) members of [Christ’s] body (Eph 5:30).”[15] This underscores the profound spiritual closeness and union we share with Christ and one another in the church.
Ephesians 6:19
Despite Paul’s privileged role in publicizing the mystery, he had been imprisoned for his gospel activity. Therefore, he requested prayer from the Ephesian believers that he would discharge his mission with clarity and confidence. This request pertained not to the gospel in general, but to the “mystery,” which was a key component and result of the gospel.[16] Though this message enabled true social reconciliation, it was not always well received.
Conclusion
The word mystery in Ephesians highlights a special message revealed to Christians through Paul and the apostles, who received it as revelation from God. This insight into God’s eternal redemptive plan had never been disclosed before. It revealed that God, through Christ, would join believing Jews and Gentiles into a new spiritual entity called the church. This union together with Christ would be profoundly intimate and widely publicized. In response to this reality, believers should “submit to one another” (5:21) as we learn to submit ourselves to Christ in the church (Eph 5:22-24). This mindset will enable us to manifest our spiritual reconciliation with Christ and one another in a practical, visible way. It will also show all people that the gospel of Christ is the means of genuine ethnic and social reconciliation.
[1] Paul used this word twenty-one times in his NTwritings (Rom 11:25; 16:25; 1 Cor 2:7; 4:1; 13:2; 14:2; 15:51; Eph 1:9; 3:3-4,9; 5:32; 6:19, Col 1:26-27; 2:2; 2 Thess 2:7; 1 Tim 3:9; 3:16). It appearsseven times elsewhere in the NT (Matt 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10; Rev 1:20;10:7; 17:5, 7).
[2] “The NT concept of the mystery is most fullydeveloped in Ephesians. While in Paul’s other epistles the mystery focuses onChrist’s redemption that includes Gentiles, in Ephesians the mystery is thatbelieving Jews and Gentiles are now one in the body of Christ.” Hoehner, HaroldW. Ephesians, Kindle ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), loc. 8977-8979.
[3] Arthur G. Patzia, “Mystery,” ed. Ralph P. Martin andPeter H. Davids, Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments (DownersGrove: InterVarsity, 1997), 782.
[4] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languageswith Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos ResearchSystems, 1997).
[5] William D. Mounce, Mounce’sComplete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (GrandRapids: Zondervan, 2006), 1215.
[6] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago:Moody, 1999), 463.
[7] Hoehner, Ephesians, loc. 8986-8987.
[8] Peter T. O’Brien, “Mystery,” ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne,Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid, Dictionary of Paul and His Letters(Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1993), 622.
[9] Ryrie, Basic Theology, 463.
[10] Thielman, Frank. Ephesians,Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic,2010), 194.
[11] Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians,Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,2010), 188.
[12] Hoehner, loc. 8951-8952.
[13] Arnold, Ephesians, 397.
[14] Hoehner, 8956-8958.
[15] Arnold, 396.
[16] Hoehner, 8952-8954.
