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The remaining mysteries of Paul's early ministry, considered
in the light of the apostle's claims.
We have so far examined the mysteries of Romans and found
no reason to call in question the accuracy of Paul's statement
before Agrippa, and we must now go on to consider the two
mysteries that are specifically mentioned in 1 Corinthians. We
use the word `specifically' because there are also two general
references in chapters 4 and 13:
`Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of
the mysteries of God' (1 Cor. 4:1).
`Though I ... understand all mysteries and all knowledge ... and have not
charity (love), I am nothing' (1 Cor. 13:2).
These `mysteries' however, are not defined and cannot
therefore be called upon as evidence in the case we are
examining. The two mysteries in 1 Corinthians 2 and 15 on the
other hand, are specific, and must therefore be examined. The
first of these passages reads as follows:
`We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom,
which God ordained before the world unto our glory' (1 Cor. 2:7).
Because we have a reference here to a time `before the ages',
there has sometimes been a tendency to ignore the context and
assume that the passage refers to the mystery of Ephesians and
Colossians. If we go back to the previous chapter, we find that
the apostle speaks of the wisdom of God in connection with the
cross of Christ (1 Cor. 1:24), and also, by contrast, of the
wisdom of this world (1 Cor. 1:20,21). In the second chapter, he
reminds the Corinthians that when he came to them, he did not
pander to human fancies and indulge in `excellency of speech or