WHAT EXACTLY IS THE MYSTERY THAT HAD BEEN HID IN GOD?
From my discussions with Christians who are honestly searching the Word of God, I have realized that many do not really understand exactly what the secret was that had been hid in God. I hope this paper will help alleviate that problem.
The mystery that had been hid in God is described in Eph. 3:6. Unfortunately, many do not understand the difference between the mystery of Christ and the mystery that had been revealed to Paul after the end of the Acts period. The correct understanding of these two mysteries is crucial to a correct understanding of the mystery hid in God. The reader is therefore encouraged to examine the paper on this web-site The Mysteries Of The New Testament to see that the mystery of Christ is not part of the mystery that had been hid in God.
Eph. 3:6, "That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel". A better understanding of some of the Greek words used in this verse will help a great deal in determining the correct understanding of this verse.
ETHNOS
The Greek word translated "Gentiles" in the KJV of Eph. 3:6 is "ethnos". "Ethnos" occurs 164 times and is translated "Gentiles" 93 times, "nations" 64 times, "Heathen 5 times and "people" 2 times.
The truth that "ethnos" is used of Gentiles as opposed to Jews is found in Matt. 10:5-6, ".....Go not into the way of the Gentiles....but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel". Here, it is clear that Gentiles are all those who are not Jews.
The truth that "ethnos" is used of a nation as an entity is shown in such verses as Romans 4:17, where in reference to Abraham we read, "I have made thee a father of many nations". I believe the reader will see that to translate "ethnos" in this verse to read, "I have made thee a father of many Gentiles" totally destroys the sense of this verse. In other words, we must use common sense when determining whether "ethnos" means nations or individuals in the nations.
Consider also Acts 13:18-19, "And about the time of forty years suffered He their manners in the wilderness. And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, He divided their land to them by lot". Obviously, God did not destroy seven Gentiles and give their land to Israel. Again, common sense tells us that in this verse "ethnos" does not means individuals in the nations, but nations as an entity.
As mentioned above, "ethnos" is used by the Holy Spirit for Gentiles and for nations as entities. But nations are made up of individuals, and the Bible also uses the word "ethnos" in reference to the individuals in the nations as well as the nations as an entity in themselves. The truth that "ethnos" is used of people in the nation is seen in John 11:51-52, ".....he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation (ethnos); and not for that nation (ethnos") only.....". It is clear that Jesus died, not for a nation as such, but for the people in the nation(s).
Let us continue our study of the Greek word "ethnos". If we translated it as "Gentiles" that limits its meaning to only individuals. But if we translated it as "nations" we may understand it to refer to either nations as an entity, or to individuals in the nations.
It may seem strange that the same word ("ethnos) could be used of both nations and individuals in the nations. But consider that the word translated "sleep" is used of a normal sleep and of death. And the Greek word "egiro " is used of a normal rising up and of resurrection. I will not attempt to explain why that is, I believe we should accept that as fact. But I would like to say a word about how the use of "ethnos" in Eph. 3:6 is quite profound in its perfection. Even in English "nations" sometimes is understood as a nation as an entity as in the phrase "America is a wealthy nation" and also as the people in the nation, such as in the phrase, "America has been generous in her charitable giving".
WHAT IS THE BEST TRANSLATION OF "ETHNOS" IN EPH. 3:6?
I believe that "ethnos" should be translated "nations" in Eph. 3:6. "Ethnos" is the noun of this sentence and, as with many other languages, the adjective (in this case "sunkleronoma", "sussoma" and "sunmetocha") must agree in number with the noun it modifies. Because "ethnos" is obviously a plural noun, the adjectives must also be plural. As the reader will see in the paragraphs below, the correct definition of the prefix "sun" in the three Greek adjectives used in Eph. 3:6 means "together" or "with". That definition plus the fact that "sussoma" is a plural adjective makes it clear that the KJV translation of "same body" is not the best translation of "sussoma". That is to say, because "sun" means "with" or "together", and because "sussoma" is a plural adjective, obviously there must be more than one "body" that is together. In the translation "same body" there is no sense of together and no sense of the plurality of the adjective. If we translate "ethnos" as "nations" in Eph. 3:6 then we have a perfectly clear statement that is in line with Greek grammar, i.e. "Nations are together bodies".
THE THREE ADJECTIVES OF EPH. 3:6
SUSSOMA, TOGETHER BODIES
The three Greek words translated "fellow-heirs", "same body" and "partakers" are, "sunkleronoma", "sussoma" and "sunmetocha" respectively. Note that each begins with the preposition "sun" (The prefix in the word "sussoma" is spelled differently, but is the same prefix as is used by the other two words under consideration.) As always, we must understand the meaning of the Greek word by how it is used in Scripture by the Holy Spirit. I will give just a few examples of how the prefix "sun" is used with other roots, as "sussoma" is used only one time and would not give a clear picture.
It is translated "with" 15 times, as in Mark 14:54, "And Peter followed Him from afar.......and he sat with the servants....". It is translated "together"13 times, as in "....and were set down together....". It is translated "fellow" and "joint" one time each. I believe it is clear that the prefix "sun" means "with" or "together".
The root of "sussoma" is "soma" and is used of the body. I believe that just two occurrences of "soma" should suffice to determine what "soma" means. Matt. 5:29, "....for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not that the whole body should be cast into hell". And Matt. 6:22, "The light of the body is the eye....".
The Greek word "sussoma" is found only in Eph. 3:6 so we cannot determine its meaning by how it is used. But we are not left in the dark as to the meaning. We know by its usage that "soma" means "body". And we have learned above, also by how it is used, that the prefix "sun" means "together" or "with". That tells us that the most literal translation of "sussoma" is "together bodies". How are we to understand the literal term, "together bodies"? I believe we will understand it best if we consider two Old Testament passages that tell us that Israel had been separated by God as a nation apart from all other nations.
I King 8:53, "For Thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be Thine inheritance....". Lev. 20:24, "......I am the Lord your God Which hath separated you from the people". In other words, part of the mystery hid in God was that Israel was no longer a separated nation, all nations were "together bodies".
Let us return to the discussion of Eph. 3:6. The event that made nations "together bodies" was of course, the putting aside of Israel. That is to say, that as long as Israel was separated unto God the nations could not be "together". As we have already seen, the prefix "sun" is used three times in Eph. 3:6. Three times we are told that all nations and all individual believers in the nations are together. But we are not told that Gentiles are together with Israelites (even though that is obviously the implied message). No, instead the Holy Spirit directed Paul to write that all are together without even bringing Israel into the discussion. In my opinion, this makes the point so beautifully, and so much stronger than if Paul had written that Gentiles are together with Israelites. That is to say, it is one thing to say that Gentiles are together with Israelites, but Paul, through the Holy Spirit, by not even mentioning Israel, makes the point so obvious that Israel is reckoned among the nations, and that being the case, all are together.
Let us try to summarize what we have learned thus far. The nations are sussoma, i.e. "together bodies".
SUNKLERONOMA, TOGETHER HEIRS
Now that we understand that "ethnos" of Eph. 3:6 should be translated "nations", we must consider the phrases "together heirs" and "together partakers". May I remind the reader that "ethnos" is used for both the nation as an entity and for individuals in the nation. It is clear that in regard to being together heirs and together partakers it is not nations as such that is in mind, but the individual believers in the nations.We might ask then, if "ethnos" refers to individuals in regard to heirs and partakers, shouldn't we translate it as "Gentiles"? Let's try that out. "Gentiles are together heirs". Together heirs with whom? If we take the Bible as it is written and not add words that are not in the texts, we must conclude that Gentiles are together heirs with Gentiles. But the fact that Gentiles are heirs with Gentiles was never a secret hid in God. Paul could not write that Gentiles are heirs with Israelites, because Israel no longer occupied a position separate from the nations. Israel, after She was put aside, was numbered among the nations.
I suggest therefore, that we continue with the translation of "ethnos" as "nations" but understand that in this case, it refers to individuals in the nations. So individual believers in the nations are together heirs.
SUNMETOCHA, TOGETHER PARTAKERS
To what are those of the nations partakers? We read in verse 6, "partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel". I believe that once we determine which gospel Paul had in mind, we will then be able to determine to what those in the nations were together partakers.
If, for the sake of clarity, we omit the phrases about Paul's unworthiness to preach this gospel, it will become more clear what the gospel of verse 6 is. Verses 6c to 9 would read, "together partakers of the promise in Christ by the gospel whereof I was made a minister..... that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; even (Gr. "kai") to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery". The gospel Paul is referring to is not the gospel of salvation, it is the gospel, i.e. the good news, concerning the fact that all nations are together. In other words, the fact that all nations and all believers in the nations are together is the subject of this passage. Salvation has nothing to do with all nations being together, therefore, the gospel of Eph. 3:6 has nothing to do with salvation.
But if the gospel of Eph. 3:6 is not the gospel of salvation what are these "unsearchable riches" to which Paul refers? The answer to that question is found in the parallel passage, i.e. Col. 1:26-27. Col. 1:27 reads, "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory". The Greek word translated "in" is the preposition "en" and the Companion Bible tells us that when used with a plural it should be translated "among". So the riches of the mystery among the Gentiles is "Christ among you, the hope of glory". To whom does the "you" refer that Christ is among? The epistle to the Colossians, like all Paul's epistles, are written to believers (see Col. 1:2). That means that Christ is among believers. What does that mean? The next phrase will help us to answer that question. "Christ is among you (believers) the hope of glory".
In order to fully appreciate that believers of the dispensation of the mystery have the hope of glory we must understand the place of the believing Gentiles before the mystery was revealed. We read in the Old Testament that Israel will be glorified in the millennial reign of Christ. Gentiles were grafted into Israel but the glory was not theirs as such, it was Israel's glory. There was no glory for believing Gentiles apart from Israel. Let's look at just a few of those Old Testament passages that speak of the glory of Israel in the millennium.
Is. 60:14,"The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you (Israel); all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you The City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel"
Isaiah 60:3, "Nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your dawn".
Is. 60:5,"Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you riches of the nations will come".
Is. 60:10, "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you".
These passages all show the glory of Israel in the millennium. But in the dispensation of the mystery, believers of every nation have been promised glory in resurrection that has nothing to do with Israel. Where we read of the "riches of the glory of this mystery" we are reading of the fact that Christ is among the people of the nations and that glory will be theirs in resurrection, again apart from Israel.
So the good news of Eph. 3:6 is the truth concerning the dispensation of the mystery which, because all nations are together bodies, all believers of the nations have their own hope of glory apart from Israel.
CONCLUSION
After considering what the mystery hid in God is not (i.e. the mystery of Christ) and after coming to a correct understanding of the Greek words "ethnos" and "sun", we are now ready to answer our question: what exactly is the mystery that had been hid in God? It is that all nations are together bodies, i.e. there is no nation separated unto God from another. And that individual believers in the nations are together heirs and together partakers of the promise given to them by God that because Christ is among the believers of every nation, they will be glorified apart from Israel.
APPENDIX I
So much of how we understand Eph. 3:6 depends upon how we understand the Greek word "sussoma" that I would like to add another thought as to its meaning.
The widely held view is that "sussoma" should be translated as it is in the KJV, "same body". But as mentioned in the body of this paper, that cannot be a correct translation because the word must be plural in order to be in accordance with the Greek law of grammar which states that adjectives must agree in number with the noun they modifes. Because the noun "sussmoma" modifies the noun "ethnos", which is obviously plural, the adjective must be plural.
Part of the reason that Eph. 3:6 is not understood correctly is that "sussoma" is used only once and therefore we cannot determine the meaning by its usage. Furthermore, I am told that the word is not used in classical Greek literature either, so there is no help even there. But the Holy Spirit did not use a word just to leave us confused, He obviously wanted us to understand what He was saying. What are we to do in order to understand a word that is used only once?
Let us assume for a moment that the English word "anthropology" was used only one time and we didn't know what it meant. How would we determine its meaning? In my opinion, the most natural thing for us to do would be to break it down into its component parts and go from there. "Anthro" means, of course "man", and "ology" means of course, "the study of". If we, after determining what the meaning of the two component parts then put those two words together we see that "anthropology" means "the study of man". But we must not stop there because sometimes the meaning of a word is not determined by simply putting together its component parts. "Understand" for example does not mean "to stand under". We must continue in our study of a word by seeing if it fits the context in which we find it, and in the case of a word in the Bible, it must not contradict any other passage of the Bible. Let us continue with that in mind with the Greek word "sussoma".
As mentioned in the body of the paper, "sun" (spelled "sus" in "sussoma") means "together" and "soma" means "bodies" with a plural noun. If we put those two words together we understand "sussoma" to mean "together bodies". Does that fit the context, "Nations are together bodies"? Yes it does. Does it contradict other scriptures? Not it does not, in fact it enhances the truth that at one time Israel had been separated unto God from all the nations, and having been put aside at Acts 28, Israel is no longer separated, but "together" with all nations.
APPENDIX II
It has been suggested that the Greek word "sussoma" in Eph. 3:6 should be translated "joint body members". The implication is that Gentiles are joint members with Israel of the body of Christ. Let us consider this suggestion.
I must explain to the reader that I do not know Greek. When I study God's Word I, as much as possible, determine the meaning of a Greek or Hebrew word by how it is used by the Holy Spirit. But "sussoma" is used only once in the Bible which, of course, makes it impossible to determine its meaning from its usage. But in the case of "sussoma" it is not at all difficult to determine its meaning by putting together its parts, as I have done above. That is to say, the prefix "sun" means "together" and the root "soma" means "body", i.e.together bodies"
The translation "joint body members" adds the word "members". It is argued that sometimes we need to add a word in order to make the meaning clear to the English reader. That is absolutely true. Let me give an example to make this point. The Greek word "nomikos" is used nine times. It is translated "lawyer" eight times, but in Titus 3:9 we read, "But avoid foolish questions ......about the law...". The Greek word "nomikos" is translated "about the law". Obviously, the word "about" was a needed addition so that the English reader can better understand the meaning of the Greek. But, we may not, in my opinion, just add words willy nilly that are not needed to make the meaning clear. The phrase "nations are together bodies" is perfectly understandable, additional words are simply not needed to express what "together bodies" means. Must we add the word "members" to understand the meaning of "sussoma"? Only if we assume that "ethnos" refers to individual Gentiles. But if we accept Eph. 3:6 at face value (i.e. we don't add unneeded words) "sussoma" makes perfect sense. It tells us that nations are together bodies.
But it has been argued that "members" is inherent in the word "sussoma". I disagree. "Members" is perhaps inherent in the concept of a body, but not in the translation. There is huge difference between a concept and a translation. Let me try to explain that by using the German word "volkswagen" as an example. It means literally "people's car". "Volks" means "people" and "wagen" means "car". We don't need any added words to translate "volkswagen". But the word "door", while not inherent in the meaning of the word "volkswagen", is inherent in the concept of a volkswagen. That is to say, when one thinks of a Volkswagen, one thinks of doors and many other things as well. But we wouldn't think of saying that "Volkswagen" must be translated "peoples car with doors, with a windshield, with a motor" etc. . Doors, windshields and motors are of course, inherent in the concept of a Volkswagen, but certainly not inherent in the translation of the word "Volkswagen".
Now let's put this in terms of "sussoma". As mentioned above, "sun" means "together" and "soma" means "bodies" when it is used to modify a plural noun". So, the word "members" is certainly not inherent in the translation of the word "sussoma". But when we think of a body, we do indeed think of members of a body. So "members" is inherent in the concept of "sussoma" but not in the literal translation. Again, it is an added word, one that is not needed to make sense of "sussoma" to the English reader.
Let us take this discussion one step further.Webster's Dictionary of the word "body" when it is used of a literal body is, "a total organized substance of plant or animal". As we shall see in the quote given below of Matt. 5:29 that is exactly how the Holy Spirit uses the word "soma" when speaking of a literal body. But Matt. 25:9 is also quoted as an example of how the Holy Spirit uses the word translated "members". As we shall see, a body is one thing (a "total organized substance), but a member of a body is something entirely different. I am suggesting therefore, that because a member is something totally different than a body, the word "members" cannot be inherent in the translation of the word "sussoma". Now let us consider how "body" and "members" are used by the Holy Spirit.
The Greek word translated "members" is "melos". The first occurrence is found in Matt. 5:29 where we read, "If thy right hand offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish and not thy whole body". In this verse there is a contrast between body and members. That is to say, it would be better to lose a member of the body rather than to lose the whole body. That being true, "members" cannot be inherent in the translation of the word "body".
The verse quoted above from Matt. 5 has to do with a literal body. Now let us consider the body in the sense of a group being composed of many members. In Romans 12 Paul makes the point that each member of the body has a different gift but that these gifts should not cause one to think more highly of his gift, or of himself, than others. We read in verses 4-5, "For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and members one of another". We can say that each member has a different "office", but we cannot say that the body has a different office. I trust the reader can see that it is simply not possible to conclude that "members" is the same thing as "body". Therefore, the suggestion that "members" is inherent in the translation of the word "sussoma" is not supported by scripture. Again, members are, of course, inherent in the concept of a body, but not in the translation of the word "sussoma"..
I Cor. 12:20 and 22 are also helpful. "But now are they many members, yet both one body". And "Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary". Here the point is that all members are equally necessary to edify the body. And while some members seem to be more feeble, the body is never seen to be feeble. Here again, it is clear that members are one thing, and the body is something totally different. Again, because members are not the same as a body, I do not believe that scripture will allow for the interpretation that the word "members" is inherent in the translation of the word "sussoma".
In Eph. 5:30 we read, "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones". If we include the added words suggested by some, we have in this verse almost the same phrase as the phrase in Eph. 3:6 ("soma" is used instead of "sussoma"). But if the Holy Spirit meant for us to understand "sussoma" to mean "joint body members", He would have written the same phrase as we find here in Eph. 5:30. But He did not.
The word "members" is not only not needed in the translation or the understanding of "sussoma", the suggestion that it is needed contradicts the scriptural meaning of the word "members" and of the word "body", and it also minimizes the thought of Eph. 5:30.
I have suggested in the body of this paper that in Eph. 3:6 "ethnos" is to be understood both as nations, as entities, and as individuals of the nations. It has been argued that Paul did not use "ethnos" in the sense of "nations". I believe that as we look at Rom. 4:17-18 and the Old Testament passage from which it is quoted, it will be exceedingly clear that that argument has no credence. Rom. 4:17-18 reads, "As it is written, 'I have made thee a father of many nations'....". And "Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations according to that which was spoken, 'so shall they seed be'". The phrase, "I have made thee a father of many nations" is a quote from Gen. 17:5-6 which reads, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee". Note the phrase, " kings shall come out of thee". This makes no sense if we take this passage to mean that Abraham will have many children, but it makes perfect sense if we see it as Abraham becoming the father of many nations.
Also, note that we read that Abraham will become fruitful and he will be the father of nations. The "and" tells us that to be fruitful is not the same as being the father of nations.
One more fact needs to be considered which, I believe will prove without doubt that Abraham is said to be the father of many nations in Rom. 4. It is true that sometimes "ethnos" is translated "people" but the context of that translation makes it clear that those "people" are Gentiles. Therefore, if Paul by the Holy Spirit wanted to say that Abraham was the father of many people, He would have used the word for "people" not the word for "Gentiles". If "ethnos" in Rom. 4 were to be translated "Gentiles" instead of "nations we would read that Abraham was to be "the father of many Gentiles". But then that would not include the fact that Abraham was the father of Israel. Israel, by definition is not a Gentile nation. We must conclude therefore, that indeed Paul does use "ethnos" in reference to nations as entities
But those who want to add "members" to the translation of "sussoma" have argued that Eph. 3:6 has a singular verb ("should be") and my suggestion makes it a plural subject, and that is not allowed in grammar. I agree, of course, that we cannot have a singular verb with a plural subject. But the Holy Spirit uses one word ( "ethnos") as the subject,. It so happens that in English we must use two words, i.e. one word to express the concept of a nation and a different word to express the concept of the people of the nation. For example, we may use the word "America" to express the concept of "nation" and "Americans" to express the concept of the people in the nations.But the fact that the Holy Spirit used only one word "ethnos" shows that this one word has two concepts, i.e. the nations as entities and the individuals in the naitons.
In fact we have the same thing in English. That is to say, even in English we use a singular verb with a noun that has a plural concept. For example, if we were to say, "the herd of fat cattle is being gathered", we have a singular verb ("is being") but the word "herd", like the word "ethnos" implies both an entity (the herd) and the individuals in that entity (the cattle). The point is that one word, in this case "herd" can imply to two different things, but because only one word is used, the verb is singular. Another example is when we say, "The senate is convening this afternoon". We have a singular verb, "is convening", but the noun "senate" refers both to an entity, and to the individuals of that entity. Therefore, "herd" and "senate" are nouns that incorporate both an entity and the individuals in that entity, but a singular verb is used. So too is "ethnos" a noun that is used of an entity and the individuals in the entity, therefore a singular verb, not only can be, but is used with the noun "ethnos".
This paper was written by Joyce Pollard. If you would like to respond to this paper, please e-mail me at: janjoyce@aol.com