Where were the truths revealed to Paul before they were revealed?
The truths revealed to Paul were previously hidden in the mind of God, kept secret from human understanding until God's appointed time. They were not new inventions but were predetermined in eternity past, as Paul consistently teaches, and remained concealed until God chose to reveal them to Paul.
Les explains that these truths were hidden in the mind of God and kept secret from human understanding until God's appointed time to reveal them. He points back to Genesis and Abraham's encounter with Jehovah, suggesting—though uncertain—the Hebrew name Jehovah Olam, and notes that Olam is the word for hidden, as David asked why the Lord had hidden things. Les emphasizes God's sovereignty in keeping things hidden until His time, and that Paul constantly refers to these revelations as having been hidden in God. He also takes people to Acts chapter 2, where Peter preaches that Jesus was crucified by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, showing God was not surprised by Israel's rejection or Rome's crucifixion; it was all predetermined in eternity past, and the same is true of these truths.