“At the same time pray for us too, that God may open a door for the message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may make it known as I should” (Colossians 4:3-4 NET).
When used in a Biblical context, a “mystery” isn’t something we might find in a spy novel or a criminal investigation. Instead, a Biblical mystery refers to a spiritual truth that was previously hidden but has now been (or will be) revealed.
For instance, the Old Testament Scriptures alluded to God’s future plan of salvation through Christ without going into extensive detail. (1) As a result, that plan remained something of a mystery, even to the prophets of the Old Testament era. (2) But following Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection, these Old Testament references began to make greater sense. This may help explain Jesus’ message to the religious leaders of His day: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me” (John 5:39).
Paul the Apostle worked to further uncover “the mystery of Christ” within this letter to the Colossian church. Some elements of that mystery included the following insights…
- “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him — all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers — all things were created through him and for him. He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him” (Colossians 1:15-17).
- “…he has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him” (Colossians 1:22).
- “God wanted to make known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
While there will always be a mysterious aspect behind God’s plan of salvation by grace through faith in Christ, these revelations served to undercut the false teachers of first-century Colossae in their attempt to promote the acquisition of secret knowledge as the path to salvation and enlightenment.
Instead, Paul’s desire for the Colossians (and modern-day readers by extension) was that they would attain “…to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3).
(1) Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 53:5, Micah 5:2, Psalm 22, Zechariah 9:9, and Zechariah 12:10 represent a few examples. See also Luke 24:25-27
(2) See Matthew 13:16-17, 1 Peter 1:10-12