the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints,
Parallel Translations
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the mystery which has been hidden for ages and generations. But now it has been revealed to his saints,
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that mistery hid sence the worlde beganne and sence the begynnynge of generacions: but now is opened to his saynctes
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Which is the mysterie hid since the world began, and from all ages, but nowe is made manifest to his Saintes,
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Colossians 1:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Luke 8:10 He said, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom, but to the rest in parables; that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
- Romans 16:25-26
- Ephesians 3:3-10 how that by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before in few words, by which, when you read, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the children of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News, of which I was made a servant according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power. To me, the very least of all saints, was this grace given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ, to the intent that now through the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,
- Psalms 25:14 The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him. He will show them his covenant.
- Matthew 13:11 He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
- Mark 4:11 He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,
- 1 Corinthians 2:7 But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the wisdom that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds for our glory,
- 2 Timothy 1:10 but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (18 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 26. Hidden mystery. Here we have a commendation of…
26. Hidden mystery. Here we have a commendation of the gospel — that it is a wonderful secret of God. It is not without good reason that Paul so frequently extols the gospel by bestowing upon it the highest commendations in his power; for he saw that it was
a stumblingblock to the Jews, and foolishness to the Greeks. (1 Corinthians 1:23.)
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We see also at this day, in what hatred it is held by hypocrites, and how haughtily it is contemned by the world. Paul, accordingly, with the view of setting aside judgments so unfair and perverse, extols in magnificent terms the dignity of the gospel as often as an opportunity presents itself, and for that purpose he makes use of various arguments, according to the connection of the passage. Here he calls it a sublime secret, which was hid from ages and generations, that is, from the beginning of the world, through so many revolutions of ages. Now, that it is of the gospel that he speaks, is evident from Romans 16:25, Ephesians 3:9, and other similar passages.
The reason, however, why it is so called, is demanded. Some, in consequence of Paul’s making express mention of the calling of the Gentiles, are of opinion, that the sole reason why it is so called is, that the Lord had, in a manner, contrary to all expectation, poured out his grace upon the Gentiles, whom he had appeared to have shut out for ever from participation in eternal life. Any one, however, that will examine the whole passage more narrowly, will perceive that this is the third reason, not the only one, in so far, I mean, as relates to the passage before us, and that other in the Romans, to which I have referred. For the first is — that whereas God had, previously to the advent of Christ, governed his Church under dark coverings, both of words and of ceremonies, he has suddenly shone forth in full brightness by means of the doctrine of the gospel. The second is — that whereas nothing was previously seen but external figures, Christ has been exhibited, bringing with him the full truth, which had lain concealed. The third is, what I have mentioned — that the whole world, which had up to this time been estranged from God, is called to the hope of salvation, and the same inheritance of eternal life is offered to all. An attentive consideration of these things constrains us to reverence and adore this mystery which Paul proclaims, however it may be held in contempt by the world, or even in derision.
Which is now revealed. Lest any one should turn aside to another meaning the term mystery, as though he were speaking of a thing that was still secret and unknown, he adds, that it has now at length been published, that it might be known by mankind. What, therefore, was in its own nature secret, has been made manifest by the will of God. Hence, there is no reason why its obscurity should alarm us, after the revelation that God has made of it. He adds, however, to the saints, for God’s arm has not been revealed to all, (Isaiah 53:1,) that they might understand his counsel.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Whom he chose to sanctify unto himself in Christ:…
Whom he chose to sanctify unto himself in Christ: moreover he sayeth that the mystery of our redemption was hidden since the world began, except it were revealed unto a few, who also were taught it extraordinarily.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from…
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
Ver. 26. But now is made manifest] God hath now opened his whole heart to his saints, Rev 11:3. {See Trapp on "Rom 7:25"} {See Trapp on "Mat 4:16"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages…
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations; viz. that holy secret of godliness, Col 2:2,3; 4:3; Mat 13:11; Rom 16:25,26; 1Co 2:7; Eph 3:3,4,6,8,9,10; see 1Ti 3:16; Rev 14:6; which doth not consist in beggarly elements, Gal 4:9, or vain speculations, which these Colossians are cautioned to avoid, Col 2:8, however varnished; but is to them who are saved, the power of God, Rom 1:16; 1Co 1:18,19, and the wisdom of God, 1Co 1:24, which lay hid in God before the world, 1Co 2:7; 2Ti 1:9; Tit 1:2; 1Pe 1:20; yea, and after God had to our first parents, and so to his people the Jews, given some glimpse of this mystery, which yet the Gentiles of several ages were ignorant of, and many of the Jews, yea, the most knowing of them did not, for many generations, know that the Gentiles without circumcision, &c. were to be admitted into the church, Act 10:28; the prophets were very inquisitive to know the meaning of it, but yet they also were much in the dark, 1Co 2:9; 1Pe 1:10,11; yea, the angels did not know this hidden mystery, till revealed by the church, Eph 1:10.
But now is made manifest to his saints; but now God that revealeth secrets, Dan 2:28, hath opened his bosom counsel about this affair most clearly, so that his glory, by those that really fear him, may be seen with open face as in a glass through Christ, Mat 13:11; Mar 4:11; Joh 8:47; 15:15; Act 16:14; 1Co 2:10,16; 2Co 3:18; all necessary to salvation being made conspicuous and clear to them, 1Pe 2:9.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages…
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations,.... This is said, as explanative of the word of God; signifying that he did not mean the Scriptures in general, which are the word of God, and every part of them; some part of which is historical, another prophetical, another practical, and another doctrinal; nor the law, which also is the word of God, but the Gospel, called "the mystery", as it often is; because it contains things, which, though revealed, are mysteries to a natural man; and even to enlightened persons, who have the clearest view of them, the "modus" of them is not to be accounted for; such as the doctrines of the Trinity, of the union of the two natures in Christ, the incarnation of the Son of God, the union and communion of the church with Christ, the resurrection of the dead, &c. And though perhaps great and special regard may be here had to the calling of the Gentiles, which, though revealed in the prophecies of the Old Testament, was in a great measure hid in them, and not so clearly known in ages and generations past as now, yet the whole may be applied to the Gospel mystery in general; which was first hid in the heart of God, in his thoughts and purposes, in his counsel and covenant, and in his Son, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; and then in the ceremonies and shadows of the law, which but few had any insight into, and discerning of; and, during that dispensation, was wholly hid from the Gentiles; and but in part known by the Jews, and but by a few, and comparatively by them very darkly; and not so clearly by the angels themselves, who pry into these mysteries, and now, under the Gospel dispensation, learn from the church the manifold wisdom of God; and indeed it was hidden from all men, Jews and Gentiles, in a state of nature, and even from the wise and prudent of this world:
but now is made manifest to his saints; now under the Gospel dispensation, since the coming of Christ; there is an external revelation of the Gospel by him, more clearly, by whom grace and truth came, called the revelation of Christ; and an internal revelation of it by his Spirit, who is the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of him; which is made to saints, the holy apostles and prophets, who are the saints to whom this faith, and the mystery of it, were first delivered with so much power and evidence; and to all the elect of God, whom he has separated for himself in eternal election; whom Christ has sanctified by his blood, and to whom he is made sanctification; and who are called with an holy calling, have principles of grace and holiness wrought in them by the Spirit of God, and therefore called "his" saints; these have only a spiritual discerning of the Gospel, for the natural man neither knows nor receives it.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The mystery - Namely, Christ both justifying and sanctifying…
The mystery - Namely, Christ both justifying and sanctifying gentiles, as well as Jews. Which hath been comparatively hid from former ages and past generations of men.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. The mystery which hath been hid] The…
Verse 26. The mystery which hath been hid] The mystery is this: that God had designed to grant the Gentiles the same privileges with the Jews, and make them his people who were not his people. That this is what St. Paul means by the mystery, see Eph 3:3, c.
Made manifest to his saints] It is fully known to all who have embraced the doctrine of Christ crucified to all Christians.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Even the mystery - To make that mystery fully…
Even the mystery - To make that mystery fully known. See this explained in the notes at Eph 3:2-9. The great doctrine that salvation was to be proclaimed to all mankind, Paul says, had been concealed for many generations. Hence, it was called a mystery, or a hidden truth.
But now is made manifest to his saints - It was communicated especially to the apostles who were appointed to proclaim it, and through them to all the saints. Paul says that he regarded himself as specially called to make this truth known, as far as possible, to mankind.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain The mystery of Christ’s incarnation, which hath been hidden,…
The mystery of Christ’s incarnation, which hath been hidden, &c. See Ephesians i. 12. and v. 4, &c. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain the mystery--(See on Eph 1:9-10; Eph 3:5-9). The mystery,…
the mystery--(See on Eph 1:9-10; Eph 3:5-9). The mystery, once hidden, now revealed, is redemption for the whole Gentile world, as well as for the Jews, "Christ in you (Gentiles) the hope of glory" (Col 1:27).
from ages--"from," according to ALFORD, refers to time, not "hidden from": from the time of the ages; still what is meant is that the mystery was hidden from the beings living in those "ages." The "ages" are the vast successive periods marked by successive orders of beings and stages of creation. Greek, "Æons," a word used by the Gnostics for angelic beings emanating from God. The Spirit by Paul presciently, in opposition to Gnostic error already beginning (Col 2:18), teaches, that the mystery of redemption was hidden in God's purposes in Christ, alike from the angelic beings (compare Eph 3:10) of the pre-Adamic "ages," and from the subsequent human "generations." Translate as Greek, "the ages . . . the generations."
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made manifest to his saints--to His apostles and prophets primarily (Eph 3:5), and through them to all His saints.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 26. Mystery—The word used of facts and truths not…
26. Mystery—The word used of facts and truths not fully revealed, occurs four times in this epistle, and in that to the Ephesians six times, and always, with a single exception in the latter, with a reference more or less direct to Christ. Here it is the doctrine of salvation through Christ, or, more simply, Christ himself. He had not been revealed to former ages of the world, for they were not prepared to receive a Saviour; and even the angels had not fully comprehended the great plan. Now he is revealed to the apostles, (Eph_3:5,) preached by them, believed in, and thus is made manifest to his saints. Believers know Christ.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 26. the mystery] I.e. as always in N.T., a…
26. the mystery] I.e. as always in N.T., a truth undiscoverable except by revelation, a holy secret; whether or no, when revealed, it is what we can or cannot understand. See our note on Eph_1:9. We have this “secret” unveiled and described just below. Lightfoot points out that the Greek word mustêrion, “mystery,” is “not the only term borrowed from the ancient mysteries [rites of special and secret initiation, lying, in a sense, apart from and behind the popular heathen worship] which St Paul employs to describe the teaching of the Gospel.” He gives instances from Col_1:28 below, Php_4:12, and perhaps Eph_1:14. “There is this difference however, that whereas the heathen mysteries were strictly confined to a narrow circle, the Christian mysteries are freely communicated to all. There is therefore an intentional paradox in the employment of the image by St Paul.”—And this may have had regard here to the suggestion by the alien teachers at Colossæ that they had esoteric truths to tell to their disciples.
hid] Cp. esp. 1Co_2:7-10; Eph_3:9. And see for cognate truth Mat_11:25; Luk_10:21.
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from ages and from generations] Cp. “from the beginning of the world,” Eph_3:9; where lit., “from the ages.” Here lit., from the ages, &c., or, as well paraphrased in R.V., from all ages, &c. “From” is here a preposition of time; “ever since ages and generations were;” through all developments of the history of intelligent creation, whether longer (“ages,” æons), or more limited (“generations”). See our note on Eph_3:9.
now] “When the fulness of the time was come,” Gal_4:4. Cp. Eph_3:5; Eph_3:9-10.
revealed] Historically, in the Incarnation, Sacrifice, and Triumph of Christ; personally and spiritually (1Co_2:10), by the Holy Ghost dealing with the man.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (26) The mystery.—On the Scriptural sense of the word…
(26) The mystery.—On the Scriptural sense of the word “mystery,” and its relation to the modern use of the word, see Note on Eph_1:9. In this passage, perhaps, most of all, it is defined with perfect clearness, as “a secret long hidden, and now revealed.”
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The mystery which hath been hidden away from the…
The mystery which hath been hidden away from the ages and from the generations (Eph_2:2, 3 3:5, 9; Rom_16:25, 26 11:25, 26, 33) The word "mystery" plays a large part in Colossians and Ephesians. It occurs in 1 Corinthians, and twice in the Roman Epistle, written from Corinth. Its use in Rom_16:25 is identical with that of the passage before us. The Greek mysteries were secret religious doctrines and rites made known only to initiated persons, who formed associations statedly assembling at certain sacred spots, of which Eleusis near Athens was the most famous. These systems exercised a vast influence over the Greek mind, and Greek literature is full of allusions to them; but their secret has been well kept, and little is known of their real character. Some of these mystic systems, probably, inculcated doctrines of a purer and more spiritual type than those of the vulgar polytheism. The ascetic and mystical doctrines ascribed to Pythagoras were propagated by secret societies. The language and ideas connected with the mysteries were readily adopted by the Jewish Broad Church of Alexandria, whose endeavour it was to expand Judaism by a symbolical and allegorizing method into a philosophic and universal religious system, and who were compelled to veil their inner doctrine from the eyes of their stricter, unenlightened (or unsophisticated) fellowbelievers. Musthrion appears in the Apocrypha as an epithet of the Divine Wisdom: (RAPC Wis 2:22 8:4; etc.) (Psa_49:4 Psa_78:2 comp. Mat_13:34, Mat_13:35) furnished the Old Testament basis of this usage. (See Philo, "On the Cherubim," "On Fugitives," etc., for the place of mystery in the Alexandrine theology.) St. Paul, writing to men accustomed, either as Greeks or as Hellenistic Jews, to this phraseology, calls the gospel "a mystery," as that which is "hidden from the natural understanding and from the previous searchings of men". (1Co_2:6-16) But in the words that follow he repudiates the notion of any secrecy or exclusiveness in its proclamation; (2Co_3:12-18; 2Co_4:1-6) in his language, "mystery is the correlate of revelation." The thrice-repeated ajpo ("from," "away"), with the double indication of time, "gives a solemn emphasis" (Meyer) to the statement. Ages are successive epochs of time, with their states and conditions; (comp. Gal_1:4) generations are successive races of men, with their traditions and hereditary tendencies. But now it was made manifest to his saints (Col_2:2 Col_4:3; Eph_1:9 Eph_3:5; 1Ti_3:16 1Pe_1:20) The word "reveal" (Eph_3:5; 1Co_2:10) indicates a process, "make manifest" points to the result of this Divine act Rom_16:25, 26: Rom_1:17 with 3:21; see Trench"s "Synonyms"). The transition from the participle in the last clause to the strongly assertive finite verb in this almost disappears in English idiom: comp. vers. 5, 6; (Eph_1:20-22) (Greek) and see Winer"s "N.T. Grammar," p. 717, or A. Buttmann, p. 382. There is also a change of tense: the manifestation is a single, sudden event (aorist), breaking through the long and seemingly final concealment of all previous time (present perfect participle); similarly (Rom_16:25, 26 and 1Pe_1:20 comp. Col_2:14, note) To his sailors; i.e. to the Church at large (ver. 2; Col_3:12) but this implies a spiritual qualification. (1Co_2:14) "His saints" are the recipients; "his holy apostles and prophets, in the Spirit," the organs (Eph_3:5) of this manifestation. The Church had long ago formally accepted this revelation; (Act_11:18) it was St. Paul"s office to make it practically effectual.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain The mystery which hath been hid from ages and…
Col_1:26
The mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations.
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The gospel mystery
The term mystery, as here used twice, and often in this epistle, does not describe what is essentially incomprehensible, but rather what was hidden and is now revealed. The gospel is a mystery, but a mystery that is to be preached fully, and into which (as the word borrowed from the ancient mysteries in Col_1:28 suggests) every man may be initiated.
I. The gospel a mystery. All religion deals with mystery. Genuine mystery is the stamp of a religious Divinity--false mystery is the counterfeit superstition stamp. In its aspect to wards the vast, the infinite, the Divine, religion must always have some mystery to man.
II. The gospel a mystery that was long secret from man. The secret things belong unto God. There are hidden facts and laws in nature that science has only gradually discovered, or is now only gradually discovering; hidden moral meanings in nature and history that poets sight only can descry, and poets song only describe. There were hidden things in religion that only holy men of old, moved by the Holy Ghost, could reveal.
III. The gospel is a mystery that is now fully revealed. Whatever may have been the guesses of nobler pagans, or the anticipations of patriarchs, or the predictions of prophets, it was only as the pale light of very early dawn upon the hills of antiquity. It was noon when Christ lived, taught, died. The seal was broken, the secret revealed. What secret?
IV. The gospel is the revealed secret of Gods universal redeeming love. Christ is fully proclaimed, and Christ is the mystery. In Him are all the treasures of God stored away.
1. All the mystery is proclaimed in Christ. As the rainbow has all possible colours in its wondrous are, as the fabled music of the spheres has all possible tones in its chord, so in Christ is all the wisdom, righteousness, love of God.
2. All men may receive the blessings of this mystery. Christ, and Christ freely given to the Gentiles, given to be an indwelling power in them, is the great mystery which, as Paul dwelt in it, made Him proclaim it with newer and deepening joy. (U. R. Thomas.)
I. The mystery.
1. The term is borrowed from the ancient systems in which certain rites and doctrines were communicated to the initiated (Php_4:12, and the word perfect, which means initiated, in verse 28). Potentous theories have been spun out of this word. The Greek mysteries implied secrecy; the rites were done in deep obscurity; the esoteric doctrines were muttered in the ear. The Christian mysteries are spoken on the housetop, nor does the word imply anything as to the comprehensibility of the doctrines or facts which are so called.
3. We talk about mysteries, meaning thereby truths that transcend human faculties. But the New Testament mystery may be, and most frequently is, a fact perfectly comprehensible when once spoken. Behold I show you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, etc. There is nothing incomprehensible in that. We should never have known it if we had not been told; but when told it is quite level with our faculties. The word is most frequently used in connection with the notion of declaring. It frequently occurs in this epistle and in the Ephesians, and in every instance but one refers to a fact perfectly plain when once made known--the entrance of the Gentiles into the Church.
4. Then it follows that a steward of the mysteries is simply a man who has truths, formerly unknown but now revealed, in charge to all who will hearken, and neither the claims of a priesthood nor the demand for the unquestioning submission of the intellect have any foundation in this much-abused term.
II. The substance. Of the mystery.
1. The wonderful fact that all barriers were broken down. He saw in that the proof and prophecy of the world-wide destination of the gospel. There is no greater revolution in history than the cutting loose, through Him, of Christianity from Judaism, and widening the Church to the width of the race. No wonder that he was misunderstood and hated by Jewish Christians all his days. He thinks of these once heathens and now Christians at Colossae, and of many another little community in Judea, Asia, Greece, and Italy; and as he thinks of how a solid bond of brotherhood bound them together in spite of their differences of race and culture, the vision of the oneness of mankind in the Cross of Christ shines out before him as no other man had seen it till then.
2. That Christ dwelt in their hearts. That dwelling reveals the exuberant abundance of glory. To Paul the mystery was all running over with riches, and blazing with fresh radiance, and the possession of Christ was a pledge of future blessedness. The closer we keep to Him the clearer will be our vision of that blessedness. Anything seems more credible to a man who has Christ abiding in Him, than that such a trifle as death should have power to end such a union. This hope is offered to all. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The mystery manifest
Christ, by His incarnation, answered the vague and unsatisfactory queries of the world.
1. The Second Person of the Godhead was suspected by the ancients to be the active agent of the unknown God. Seneca: Whoever formed the universe, whether the Almighty God Himself, or that incorporeal reason which was the artificer of these vast concerns.
2. The ancients conceived this Second Person to stand to the First in the relation of a word to the thought which it expresses. Zendavesta: O, Ormuzd, what is that great word given by God, that living and powerful word, which existed before the heavens, before the waters, before the earth, before the flocks? Compare Philos Philosophy of the Logos with the Introduction to Johns Gospel.
3. The ancients looked for some incarnation of the Divine Word. Persian Serosch, Hindoo Vishnu. Plato: It is necessary that a Lawgiver be sent from heaven to instruct men; and this Lawgiver must be more than a man. Jewish expectancy.
4. The ancients tried to furnish the ideal of perfect human character--e.g., the ideals of Confucius, Socrates, Seneca. The mythologic personages. Christ appeared manifestly
(1) perfectly a man,
(2) a perfect man, and challenged all moralists. Which of you convinceth Me of sin?
5. The ancients had the idea of atonement. Altars lined the track of history. Christs cry when coming into the world: A body hast thou prepared Me. Lo! I come to do thy will. John the Baptists recognition: Behold the Lamb of God!
6. The ancients tried to demonstrate the perpetuity of human life. Our strongest points in the philosophy of immortality announced by Plato. The mythology of Greeks and Scandinavians. Christs declaration, I am the Resurrection and the Life, demonstrated by His resurrection. (Homiletic Review.)
.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 26. Even the mystery. The mystery of the gospel,…
26. Even the mystery. The mystery of the gospel, of salvation through Christ, hidden from past ages, but now revealed to the saints. A mystery, as Paul uses the term, is a thing hidden in the past, but now made known.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain (See Scofield "Mat 13:11").
mystery
(See Scofield "Mat 13:11").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 1:26 The concept of a secret, hidden at one…
1:26 The concept of a secret, hidden at one time and then revealed, is based upon Jewish apocalyptic ideas. Jewish thinkers conceived of God’s entire plan as already existing in heaven, hidden until God should draw back the curtain and reveal it. The Good News, especially for the Gentiles, had been kept secret until it was revealed in Christ.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.