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The words recall the language of Rom. 16:25 f. ( v. supr. ) Eph. 6:19. ejn parrhsiva/ gnwrivsai to; musthvrion tou' eujaggelivou —‘the mystery of the Gospel’—the revelation contained in the Gospel.

( c ) 1 Tim. 3:9. e[conta" to; musthvrion th'" pivstew" ejn kaqara'/ suneidhvsei —‘holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.

Tim. 3:16. k. oJmologoumevnw" mevga ejsti;n to; th'" eujsebeiva" musthvrion —‘the mystery of godliness.’

B. Apoc. 10:7. kai; ejtelevsqh to; musthvrion tou' qeou', wJ" eujhggevlisen tou;" eJautou' douvlou" tou;" profhvta" —where ‘the mystery of God’ is a revelation now imminent (vs. 6 ‘there shall be delay no longer’: cf. Dan. 12:7) and the language is that of Amos 3:7 ‘Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth his secret unto His servants the prophets.’

(2) In the sense of a particular truth, or detail, of the Christian revelation, the word occurs seven times in St Paul, and three times in the Apocalypse.

A. ( a ) 2 Thess. 2:7. to; ga;r musthvrion h[dh ejnergei'tai th'" ajnomiva" .

Cor. 4:1. uJphrevta" Cristou' k. oijkonovmou" musthrivwn qeou' . :2. ka]n e[cw profhteivan kai; eijdw' ta; musthvria pavnta .
:2.
pneuvmati de; lalei' musthvria .
:51.
ijdouv, musthvrion uJmi'n levgw —‘a mystery’—a heavenly truth—revealed to me. Rom. 11:25. ouj ga;r qevlw uJma'" ajgnoei'n to; musthvrion tou'to o{ti pwvrwsi" ajpo; mevrou" tw'/ jIsrah;l gevgonen a[cri ou| to; plhvrwma tw'n ejqnw'n eijsevlqh/ k.t.l.

( b ) Eph. 5:32. to; musthvrion tou'to mevga ejstivn, ejgw; de; levgw eij" Cristo;n kai; ªeij"º th;n ejkklhsivan —‘this mystery’—this revealed truth of a unique relationship.

‘The law of marriage laid down in Genesis as given to Adam was for St Paul a preliminary indication of a hidden Divine purpose or ordinance, the full meaning of which was to be revealed only by the revealing of Christ as the Head of His spouse the Church’ (Hort: Prolegomena to Romans and Ephesians , p. 160).
B. Matt. 13:11.
uJmi'n devdotai gnw'nai ta; musthvria th'" basileiva" t. oujranw'n, ejkeivnoi" de; ouj devdotai (Lk. 8:10 toi'" de; loivpoi" ejn parabolai'" ).

[Mark 4:11 has uJmi'n to; musthvrion devdotai , where perhaps the singular may be regarded as = gnw'nai ta; musthvria of Mt. and Lk., and, for the second clause, ejkeivnoi" de; toi'" e[xw ejn parabolai'" ta; pavnta givnetai .]

Apoc. 1:20. to; musthvrion tw'n eJpta; ajstevrwn —‘the mystery of [the inner meaning of the truth signified by] the seven stars.’

Apoc. 17:5. k. ejpi; to; mevtwpon aujth'" o[noma gegrammevnon, musthvrion, Babulwvn k.t.l. —where musthvrion = ‘name significant of a spiritual truth.’

Apoc. 17:7. ejgw; ejrw' soi to; musthvrion [the mystery—the inner significance of—the unseen fact signified by] th'" gunaiko;" k. tou' qhrivou .

[The history of the use of the term in pre-Christian Greek deserves further study. Already in Plato, Theaet. 156 a, a[lloi de; komyovteroi, w|n mevllw soi ta; musthvria levgein the word is used metaphorically, not, that is, of the actual, ceremonial, ‘mysteries’ or mystic implements, but of philosophical doctrines belonging to men of a particular School and expounded with authority by them alone,


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