What was the secret God kept hidden in His mind about the Gentiles and Israel?
The hidden secret was that God would extend salvation to the Gentiles without Israel, even though Israel rejected Him and was dispersed among the nations. Kept secret since the ages began, this mystery is now revealed: God goes to Gentiles with the Gospel of grace through faith alone.
Les explains that God kept a total secret in His mind: He would go with salvation to the Gentiles without Israel, even though Israel rejected Him and He displaced them from Jerusalem and dispersed them into the nations. Instead, He has now gone to the Gentiles with the Gospel of the grace of God. This mystery, or secret, was kept in the mind of God but is now revealed. Les points out that the word "mystery" is the same Greek word meaning secret. Romans 16:25 speaks of the revelation of the secret kept secret since the age began; the word "world" there is aion in the Greek, meaning the age of the ages. Ever since the creation of man, it had never been revealed that God would take salvation to the Gentiles by faith, and faith alone. All the Old Testament was by way of Israel. Les also references I Corinthians 2:7 as dealing with wisdom.