What is the Mystery Paul Revealed?

They called it a mystery…

Not because it was a riddle...
Not because it was vague or unknowable...
But because — for generations — it had been hidden in plain sight.

Buried in the scrolls...
Whispered in prophecy...
Foreshadowed in sacrifices...
And yet... no one saw it coming.

Paul — a Jewish rabbi turned apostle — described it like this:

“The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints... which is Christ in you — the hope of glory.”
— Colossians 1:26–27

Christ in you.
Not just Christ with you.
Not just Christ for you.
But in you.

And not just you, Israel...
But you, Gentiles...
You, outsiders...
You, who had no covenant...
No temple... no Law... no hope...

And now — through the cross — you are brought near.
Included.
Adopted.
Heirs with Abraham.

It was always the plan...
And somehow — no one fully saw it.

Now… if you’ve read the Bible, this shouldn’t have been a surprise.
God told Abraham in Genesis 22 — “In your seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.”
All nations.

Isaiah said it too — “It is too light a thing for You to be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob... I will make You a light for the nations, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

It was there all along — woven into the promises.
But the people of Israel — like so many of us — began to think the promises were only for them.

They weren’t ready for the radical grace that God had in store.

You see… the Jews of Paul’s day had the Scriptures.
They had the Law.
They had the heritage — and many of them thought that meant they had God.

But when the Messiah came…
When Jesus walked among them...
They crucified Him.

And then — to make it worse —
His followers started preaching that this Jesus...
The Jewish Messiah...
Wasn’t just for Israel.

He was for everyone.

Paul went even further... He said that in Christ, the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile...
Had been torn down.
Gone.

“There is neither Jew nor Greek... slave nor free... male nor female... for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
— Galatians 3:28

That — was the mystery.

Not a contradiction.
Not a change in plan.
But a revelation — long prepared, now fully seen.

It shocked the Jews...
And it stunned the Gentiles.

Because the Jews didn’t want to share...
And the Gentiles didn’t even know they were invited.

Paul writes in Ephesians 3:

“This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs — members of the same body — and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

Not second-class citizens.
Not outsiders with limited access.
Fellow heirs.
Members of the same body.

The same covenant that welcomed Abraham — now welcomes the nations.
The same Spirit that filled the prophets — now fills ordinary people from every tribe and tongue.

This is not just theology...
It’s not just history...

This is the beating heart of the gospel —
That God was never building an exclusive club...
He was forming a global family...
Bound together not by bloodlines, but by the blood of the Lamb.

And now the mystery is no longer hidden.
It’s proclaimed.
Preached.
Lived out in the Church — which Paul calls the steward of this mystery.

The Church is the place where the world is supposed to see what unity in Christ looks like.
A place where Jew and Gentile... rich and poor... black and white... slave and free...
Sit at the same table...
Because we belong to the same Lord.

Now… I want to say this:
To us — this might not feel like a mystery anymore.

We’ve heard this message for 2,000 years.
But let me challenge you —

Has it lost its wonder?

Have we forgotten what a shock this was?
That the God of the universe would come in flesh...
Die for enemies...
And open His kingdom to all who believe?

That’s the mystery.
That’s the mercy.
And it was always the plan.