The Revelation of Jesus Christ to Paul
In the Bible, a "mystery" (Greek: mysterion) is not something that cannot be understood, but rather a secret that was hidden in God from the beginning of the world and has now been revealed.
Spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began (Acts 3:21). Focus on Israel and the earthly kingdom.
Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom to Israel. The offer of the kingdom is rejected by the nation.
Scripture declares that the Body of Christ Church is a "Mysterion"—a secret hidden in God's mind before the foundation of the world, never disclosed to the Old Testament prophets, but now has first been revealed to Paul by the resurrected, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ. This secret is the spiritual union of Jews and Gentiles alike, creating one, new heavenly body—the Body of Christ. This Church is not a continuation or extension of Israel's covenants, but an entirely unique entity where there is no difference, Jew and Gentile are one in Christ and members one of another.
When God will gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.
There is strong grammatical and structural justification for seeing these two phrases as "one and the same" in the context of Romans 16:25. While the Granville Sharp Rule doesn't apply here, a different grammatical feature called Apposition does.
In Greek, when two phrases are placed side-by-side to rename or define each other, they are in apposition. In this specific verse, Paul uses a structure that links three distinct descriptions of the message he was commissioned to preach.
In Greek, the word kai (and) doesn't always mean "this plus something else." It can be used egetically (to explain). In this sense, it means "and specifically," or "which is to say."
Paul is likely using kai here to define "my gospel." He isn't saying he has a gospel plus a different preaching of Jesus; he is saying his gospel is the preaching of Jesus Christ viewed through a specific lens: the Revelation of the Mystery.
Both "my gospel" (to euaggelion mou) and "the preaching" (to kērygma) are:
This parallel structure signals to the reader that Paul is stacking descriptions. He starts with a personal term ("my gospel") and then immediately clarifies its content ("the preaching of Jesus Christ") and its source/character ("according to the revelation of the mystery").
The phrase "according to the revelation of the mystery" acts as a modifier for the preaching of Jesus Christ. This is what makes the message distinctively "Pauline."
If these were separate messages, Paul would be contradicting his own point about the unity of the "dispensation of the grace of God" committed to him. By linking them this way, he shows that "the preaching of Jesus Christ" is not always the same as "the mystery"—but when it is preached according to that revelation, it constitutes the gospel Paul calls "mine."
| Phrase | Role in the Sentence |
|---|---|
| "My Gospel" | The Title Paul gives to his specific commission. |
| "The Preaching of Jesus Christ" | The Core Subject of that commission. |
| "According to the Revelation of the Mystery" | The Specific Manner/Information by which Christ is now being preached. |
"Grammatically, these are not three different things, but one message described with increasing detail."
Scripture declares that the Body of Christ Church is a "Mysterion"—a secret hidden in God's mind before the foundation of the world, never disclosed to the Old Testament prophets, but now has first been revealed to Paul by the resurrected, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ.
This secret is the spiritual union of Jews and Gentiles alike, creating one, new heavenly body—the Body of Christ. This Church is not a continuation or extension of Israel's covenants, but an entirely unique entity where there is no difference, Jew and Gentile are one in Christ and members one of another.
Rightly dividing the Word of Truth does not mean that we are forsaking Christ and replacing Him with Paul, or, as some slanderously suggest, "We worship Paul more than Christ." Is it just possible that we might be believing what the Bible has declared. I was a Gentile and God sovereignly chose Paul to be my apostle. He received a body of truth that had been hidden in God up to the point in time when Christ revealed it to him.
Rightly dividing the Word of Truth means recognizing that while all Scripture is for us, not all Scripture is written to us or about us. When our eyes are illumined to the distinct message and ministry that God committed to Paul's trust, the Mystery, the Gospel of God's grace, many of the so-called contradictions of the Bible vanish. Our understanding and appreciation for the glorious riches of God's infinite grace envelops and empowers us as we become increasingly thankful and appreciative of our joy, our peace and and our rest in Christ.