What is the mystery that Paul refers to in his writings?
The mystery is the revealed body of truth—a secret kept hidden since the world began—made known through Paul’s gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. It includes doctrines and truths never before revealed in the Old Testament, Christ’s ministry, or Peter’s Acts activity, forming a new revelation that builds on prior Scripture but was never prophesied.
Les explains that this mystery is part of the whole revealed Body of Truth that Paul refers to as the Mystery. Paul uses the term throughout his writings because the Holy Spirit revealed to him doctrines and truths no one else ever dreamed would happen. They are not in the Old Testament, not in Christ’s ministry, and not in Peter’s activity in Acts; it is a whole new revelation. It builds on everything that went before, which is why Les teaches the Old Testament and the Gospels as much as the Pauline letters, but the mystery itself was never prophesied. In Romans 16:25, Paul speaks of “my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the secret, or the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.” Les also connects this to Deuteronomy 29, where the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.
More Questions
What are the different mysteries Paul reveals, and how does the mystery in 1 Corinthians 15 differ?
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul again speaks of a mystery, one totally different from the earlier mysteries he revealed—first the Gentiles becoming one with God, then the revelation of who God really is as the triune God.