Here is a comprehensive overview of the mysteries revealed through Paul's epistles in the King James Bible. Paul uses the Greek word mystērion to describe truths previously hidden but now disclosed through divine revelation.
1. Christ in You — The Hope of Glory
Colossians 1:26–27 · "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations"God dwelling inside Gentile believers — previously unknown to all prior generations
Here is a deeper look at each mystery Paul reveals:
1. Christ in You — The Hope of Glory (Colossians 1:26–27) Paul calls this mystery "hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints." The staggering truth is that God Himself, through the Holy Spirit, takes up residence inside the believer — Jew and Gentile alike. This was entirely undisclosed in the Old Testament.
2. The Church: Jews and Gentiles One Body (Ephesians 3:3–6) Paul says this mystery was "not made known unto the sons of men in other ages." Gentiles were to be "fellowheirs, and of the same body" as Israel — not second-class members but equal partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. This is the centerpiece of Paul's unique apostolic calling.
3. The Mystery of Iniquity (2 Thessalonians 2:7) "The mystery of iniquity doth already work." A hidden, satanic principle of lawlessness is at work in the world, being restrained until the appointed time when the Man of Sin (Antichrist) is revealed.
4. The Resurrection — Changed in a Moment (1 Corinthians 15:51–52) "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." Paul discloses something new: not all believers will die — some will be transformed instantaneously when the last trumpet sounds.
5. Israel's Blindness — Partial and Temporary (Romans 11:25) Paul warns Gentile believers not to be "wise in your own conceits" — Israel's hardening is a mystery, purposeful and bounded: it lasts only "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in," after which "all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26).
6. God's Will — All Things United in Christ (Ephesians 1:9–10) The "mystery of his will" is the grand cosmic plan: "to gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth." The entire universe will ultimately be summed up and reconciled under Christ's headship.
7. Marriage as Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:32) Human marriage was not merely a social institution — it was designed by God to be a living, breathing symbol of Christ's sacrificial love for and union with His church. Paul calls this a "great mystery."
8. The Mystery of Godliness — God Manifest in Flesh (1 Timothy 3:16) Paul's great doxological confession: "Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." The Incarnation itself — God becoming man — is the mystery at the heart of all mysteries.
A unifying thread: Paul emphasizes in Romans 16:25–26 that all these mysteries were "kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest… by the scriptures of the prophets… made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." Paul is the steward (Ephesians 3:2) to whom God specifically entrusted the dispensation of these revealed secrets.