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NASB | Romans 16:25 ¶ Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 16:25 ¶ Now to Him who is able to establish and strengthen you [in the faith] according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery [of the plan of salvation] which has been kept secret for long ages past, |
Subject: Three times Paul says his gospel was a m |
Bible Note: Greetings, First off, is the mystery that Paul is speaking about his own gospel or something else? Paul speaks about this mystery at length in his epistle to the Ephesians. In Ephesians 1:3-14 and 3:1-21, Paul talks about the mystery. In Ephesians 1:9, he calls it "the mystery of His (God the Father's) will". Later in Ephesians 3:4, he calls it the "Mystery of Christ". He's talking about redemption. It was hinted at in the Old Testament, promised, and prophesied, but it didn't become a reality and fully explained until Christ came and died on the cross. That is the mystery. It's redemption. However, it's not just redemption. In the Old Testament, almost everything about God's promises are focused upon Israel. In fact, the early church didn't think that gentiles, or non jews, were even worthy to hear the Gospel. It was two people who changed the early church's mind on that. The first was Peter, who had a vision in Acts 10. In Acts 11, he uses the vision as a defense to uphold the position of teaching gentiles the Gospel. The other place is in Acts 18. Paul has a vision from God after he makes a decision to teach the Gentiles. This vision reassures Paul that he won't be harmed as long as he's in the city and teaching. So, I think the mystery isn't just about redemption, but the redemption of both Jews and Gentiles alike, which hasn't been ignored. Jalek |