Greek word · G3466

μυστήριον

mystērion

mystery

In ordinary Greek, a secret, especially the secret rites of initiation cults (Eleusis, Isis, Dionysus) that only initiates could see or speak of. In Jewish Greek it means God's hidden plan or decree, which God himself reveals to those he chooses.

Appears 27 times in 27 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μυστήρισν, -ου, τό

(μυέω), [in LXX: Dan LXX TH Daniel 2:18 ff. (רָז), Tobit 12:7, 11, Judith 2:2, Wisdom of Solomon 2:22 6:22 14:15, 23, Sirach 3:18 22:22 27:16-17, 21, 2Ma.13:21 * ;]

1. that which is known to the μύστης (initiated), a mystery or secret doctrine, mostly in pl., τὰ μ. (Æsch., Hdt., al.).

2. In later writers (Menand., Incert., 168), that which may not be revealed (not, however, as in the modern sense, intrinsically difficult to understand), a secret or mystery of any kind (To, Jth, 2Mac, ll, with).

3. In NT, of the counsels of God (cf. Th.: Job 15:8, Psalms 25:14 for סוֹד), once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel or some fact thereof;

(a) of the Christian revelation generally : Romans 16:25, 1 Corinthians 2:7, Colossians 1:26-27, Ephesians 3:3, 9; τ. βασιλείας τ. θεοῦ, Mark 4:11; τ. θεοῦ, 1 Corinthians 2:1, Revelation 10:7; τ. θ., Χριστοῦ, Colossians 2:2; τ. Χριστοῦ., Colossians 4:3, Ephesians 3:4; τ. θελήματος αὐτοῦ, Ephesians 1:9; τ. εὐαγγελίον, Ephesians 6:19; τ. πίστεως, 1 Timothy 3:9; τ. εὐσεβείας, 1 Timothy 3:16;

(b) of particular truths, or details, of the Christian revelation : Romans 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15:51, Ephesians 5:32, 2 Thessalonians 2:7, Revelation 1:20 17:5, 7; pl., τὰ μ., 1 Corinthians 13:2 14:2; θεοῦ, 1 Corinthians 4:1; τ. βασιλείας τ. οὐρανῶν (θεοῦ), Matthew 13:11, Luke 8:10 (cf. Westc., Eph., 180 ff.; AR, Eph., 234 ff.; Lft., Col., 165 f.; Hatch, Essays, 57 f.; DB, iii, 465 ff.; DCG, ii, 213 ff.).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Timothy 3:16

Range of meaning

In ordinary Greek, a secret, especially the secret rites of initiation cults (Eleusis, Isis, Dionysus) that only initiates could see or speak of. In Jewish Greek it means God's hidden plan or decree, which God himself reveals to those he chooses.

Against the English

Modern English "mystery" means something baffling, unexplained or beyond understanding (a "mystery novel," "it's a mystery to me"). Biblical mystērion stresses that something was hidden and is now disclosed. A mystērion in Paul is precisely something that has been made known.

How it drifted

The Latin Vulgate often rendered mystērion as sacramentum, which later took on its own church meaning. Separately, later theology spoke of doctrines such as the Trinity and Incarnation as "mysteries" in the sense of truths beyond reason. English then reads that later sense back into Paul.

Used elsewhere in the period

In LXX Daniel 2 (verses 18–47) it translates the Aramaic raz, the secret of God revealed to Daniel: "there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries." The Dead Sea Scrolls often speak of God's raz, his secret purposes made known to the Teacher (for example the Habakkuk Commentary, column 7). Wisdom 2:22 speaks of "the mysteries of God," while Wisdom 14:15, 23 uses the word for pagan secret rites. Paul uses it for God's long-hidden plan now revealed in Christ: Romans 16:25–26, Colossians 1:26–27 ("Christ in you"), and Ephesians 3:3–9. 1 Timothy 3:9 has "the mystery of the faith." (See R. E. Brown, The Semitic Background of the Term "Mystery" in the New Testament.)

From the study of Colossians 1:27

Range of meaning

In Greek religion it meant a secret rite or teaching known only to initiates (the 'mysteries' of Eleusis and other cults). In Jewish Greek it took on another sense: a hidden purpose of God that God himself reveals. In Paul it means God's saving plan, hidden in past ages and now disclosed (Rom 16:25–26; 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 3:3–9; Col 1:26–27; 2:2; 4:3).

Against the English

Modern English 'mystery' suggests a puzzle, something unknowable, or a detective story. 'It's a mystery' usually means 'nobody can understand it'. Paul's word means the opposite: something once hidden that God has now made plainly known, and that Paul is announcing out loud (v. 28). YLT's 'secret' is closer, as long as you hear it as a secret now told.

How it drifted

Ordinary English 'mystery' moved toward 'the inexplicable'. Separately, the Latin Vulgate rendered the word as sacramentum here ('sacramenti huius'). That Latin word later became the technical term for church rites, which adds a meaning foreign to Paul's sentence.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek of Daniel 2 (vv. 18–19, 27–30, 47) the word translates Aramaic raz, the king's dream-secret that only God can reveal. The Dead Sea Scrolls use raz often for God's hidden plans made known to an inspired interpreter (e.g., the Habakkuk Commentary 1QpHab 7:4–5 on the 'mysteries' of the prophets' words). Wisdom 2:22 speaks of the 'mysteries of God'. The Greek mystery cults supply the outside contrast: there the secret stays restricted to initiates. In Paul it is proclaimed to 'every person' (v. 28).

From the study of 1 Corinthians 15:51

Range of meaning

In ordinary Greek: a secret, especially the secret rites of initiation cults (the Eleusinian and other "mysteries"), which only initiates could know. In Jewish usage of Paul's day: God's hidden purpose for history and the end of the age, unknown until God reveals it to chosen people. In Paul: a part of God's plan once hidden and now disclosed (1 Cor 2:7; 4:1; Rom 11:25; 16:25), sometimes knowledge given by the Spirit (1 Cor 13:2; 14:2).

Against the English

English "mystery" today usually means something baffling, unexplained, or beyond understanding ("it's a mystery"), or a crime novel. The Greek word is close to the opposite here: a secret that is now being told. YLT's "secret" and NLT's "secret" catch this better. Most versions keep "mystery" because it is a technical term in Paul.

How it drifted

Latin mysterium came into church use for doctrines that go beyond reason (the Trinity, the sacraments as "mysteries"), and popular English then narrowed "mystery" to "what we cannot understand." That sense is later than Paul and does not fit this verse, where the mystery is spelled out in the next breath.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Greek Daniel 2:18–19, 27–30, 47, μυστήριον translates the Aramaic raz: God "reveals mysteries" about what will happen "in the last days". The Dead Sea Scrolls use raz the same way, for God's hidden plans revealed to the community's teacher (1QpHab 7.4–5; 1QS 3–4; the phrase raz nihyeh, "the mystery of what is to be", in 4QInstruction). Wisdom 2:22 speaks of "the mysteries of God". Paul's formula here resembles Rom 11:25 ("I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery"), and 1 Thess 4:15 presents a parallel end-time teaching as "a word of the Lord".

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 13:11 μυστήρια mysteries

    He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

    Here: 'Secrets' of God's plan that people cannot find out for themselves and that God now reveals. This is not a puzzle that cannot be solved. The plural (Mark has the singular) suggests the separate parts of the kingdom's hidden working, which the parables of this chapter go on to show.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 4:11 μυστήριον mystery

    He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,

    Here: A secret of God's purpose that people cannot work out for themselves and that God now discloses to chosen people. It is singular in Mark, where Matthew and Luke have the plural.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 8:10 μυστήρια mysteries

    He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

    Here: God's hidden purposes, now disclosed to some. These are secrets that have been revealed, not puzzles that can never be solved. Luke (like Matthew) has the plural; Mark has the singular.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 11:25 μυστήριον mystery

    I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

    Here: A part of God's plan that had been hidden and is now made known. It is not an unsolvable puzzle. The content follows in the 'that' clause.

1 Corinthians · 6

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:1 μυστήριον mystery

    When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

    Here: God's plan, once hidden and now made known in the crucified Messiah (see 2:7). It is not a puzzle and not something unknowable. Many manuscripts read martyrion, 'testimony', here instead (see textual notes).

  2. 1 Corinthians 2:7 μυστηρίῳ a mystery

    No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began.

    Here: A secret held by God that people cannot work out for themselves, until God reveals it. The word is about something being hidden and then revealed, not about it being impossible to understand.

  3. 1 Corinthians 4:1 μυστηρίων of the mysteries

    So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

    Here: The 'goods' the stewards manage: God's purposes, once hidden and now made known, centred on the crucified Messiah (2:1-2, 2:7-10). These are not puzzles to be solved. They are revealed truths handed over to be passed on.

  4. 1 Corinthians 13:2 μυστήρια mysteries

    If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

    Here: God's hidden plans and purposes that he reveals to his people. These are not riddles that stay unsolved; they are secrets God has made known by revelation.

  5. 1 Corinthians 14:2 μυστήρια· mysteries;

    For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries in the Spirit.

    Here: Plural, 'secrets'. These are things that belong to God and stay hidden from the hearers because nothing has disclosed them. Without interpretation the content stays sealed.

  6. 1 Corinthians 15:51 μυστήριον a mystery

    Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

    Here: A part of God's plan that was hidden and is now being made known. Paul is not offering a riddle. He is revealing what happens to believers who are still alive when the end comes.

Ephesians · 6

  1. Ephesians 1:9 μυστήριον mystery

    And He has made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ

    Here: A plan God kept to himself and has now disclosed. It does not mean a puzzle nobody can solve. Its content follows in v. 10: to bring everything together under Christ.

  2. Ephesians 3:3 μυστήριον mystery

    that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly.

    Here: God's purpose, hidden in earlier generations and now openly disclosed. Verse 6 states its content: the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of one body and sharers in the promise in Christ. It is a secret that has been told, not a puzzle nobody can solve.

  3. Ephesians 3:4 μυστηρίῳ mystery

    In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

    Here: God's long-hidden plan, now disclosed. It is not a puzzle and not something beyond understanding. Verse 6 says what it is: the nations are fellow heirs, one body, and sharers in the promise in Christ.

  4. Ephesians 3:9 μυστηρίου mystery

    and to illuminate for everyone the stewardship of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.

    Here: God's secret purpose, which nobody knew until he disclosed it. Verse 6 says what it is: the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus.

  5. Ephesians 5:32 μυστήριον mystery

    This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.

    Here: A part of God's purpose that was once hidden and has now been made known. Here it is the deeper meaning in the 'one flesh' words of Genesis 2:24, which Paul now sees fulfilled in the union of Christ and his people.

  6. Ephesians 6:19 μυστήριον mystery

    Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel,

    Here: God's long-hidden purpose, now revealed. In Ephesians it centres on Gentiles and Jews made one body in Christ (3:6). It is something to be announced, not a puzzle to be left unsolved.

Colossians · 4

  1. Colossians 1:26 μυστήριον mystery

    the mystery that was hidden for ages and generations but is now revealed to His saints.

    Here: God's secret plan, kept hidden until God chose to make it known. It is not a puzzle that cannot be solved. Verse 27 says what it is: 'Christ in you,' meaning among the Gentiles, 'the hope of glory.'

  2. Colossians 1:27 μυστηρίου mystery

    To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

    Here: God's plan, kept hidden until now and now openly revealed (v. 26). It is not a riddle that cannot be solved.

  3. Colossians 2:2 μυστηρίου mystery

    that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,

    Here: God's long-hidden plan that has now been disclosed (1:26–27). It is not a puzzle beyond understanding. It is a secret that God has opened up.

  4. Colossians 4:3 μυστήριον mystery

    as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

    Here: God's long-hidden plan, now made known. Colossians says what it is: "Christ in you, the hope of glory," with Gentiles now included in God's people (1:26–27). It is a secret that has been revealed and is meant to be told, not a puzzle.

2 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 2 Thessalonians 2:7 μυστήριον mystery

    For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.

    Here: A hidden reality that is not yet out in the open. It is not a puzzle. Lawlessness is active now in concealed form, and later it will be 'revealed' (vv. 3, 6, 8) in a person.

1 Timothy · 2

  1. 1 Timothy 3:9 μυστήριον mystery

    They must hold to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

    Here: In Paul's usage this is God's purpose, hidden in the past and now made known in Christ. It is an open secret that has been revealed, not a riddle no one can solve. Here it means the content of the gospel that deacons must hold onto.

  2. 1 Timothy 3:16 μυστήριον, mystery:

    By common confession, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, was taken up in glory.

    Here: A secret purpose of God, once hidden and now disclosed. It is not an unsolvable riddle. The next six lines are the disclosure.

Revelation · 4

  1. Revelation 1:20 μυστήριον mystery

    This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

    Here: The hidden meaning of a symbol, which is now being revealed. It is not a puzzle left unsolved. The speaker is about to explain it. Its form could be the subject ('the mystery is this') or the object of 'write' in v.19 ('write... the mystery').

  2. Revelation 10:7 μυστήριον mystery

    But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as He proclaimed to His servants the prophets.”

    Here: God's secret plan for history, which he kept in his own counsel and showed to the prophets. It does not mean an unsolvable puzzle.

  3. Revelation 17:5 μυστήριον, a mystery:

    And on her forehead a mysterious name was written: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

    Here: Most naturally stands alongside "name" to describe it: the name is a mystery, i.e. a symbolic name whose real meaning has to be revealed. The angel immediately says, "I will tell you the mystery of the woman" (17:7). Some translations (KJV, WEB) print it as the first word of her title.

  4. Revelation 17:7 μυστήριον mystery

    “Why are you so amazed?” said the angel. “I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and ten horns.

    Here: Not a puzzle with no answer. It is a hidden meaning that God now discloses: what the symbolic picture stands for. The word echoes 17:5, where 'mystery' is written on the woman's forehead.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.