1:26
The gnostic type and pagan religions talked about “mystery”. In pagan religions it referred to secret knowledge that was only available to special elite. Paul completely transforms this concept. Now the mystery is made known, and it is made known to all of God’s people. It was hidden, but is hidden no longer. We must be very wary of any group or teaching that claims to have hidden knowledge. The mystery was hidden, ie for a long time no one had a clue how God’s plans could possibly be fulfilled. But now they mystery has been made known, and God’s purpose is that it is made known. In particular, it is made known to His saints, ie to those who are set apart for God. This group is not restrictive, for it includes all who believe.
1:27
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches ...”. There are two important points from this. The first is that the glory is as great for the Gentiles and for the Jews. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile. The second is that any culture has its beliefs, but the glory of the gospel is infinitely greater than any of them. What is this glory? It is Christ in us, the hope of glory. Everything is centred on Christ. But what about the hope of glory? The root meaning of glory is to do with weight in the sense of significance.
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