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INNER CIRCLE: This Great Mystery

INNER CIRCLE: This Great Mystery

Last updated on: September 11, 2026 at 10:01 pm by Keith Giles

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INNER CIRCLE: This Great Mystery 2026-09-11T22:01:02+00:00 Keith Giles

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Ephesians 3:2-6

“Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

Everyone loves a good mystery. Was it Colonel Mustard in the library with the rope? Or did the butler do it? Who’s behind the curtain? What’s in the box? Our pattern-seeking, meaning-making brains just can’t resist a good mystery.

Paul’s great mystery is that, somehow, both Jews and Gentiles are “members together of one body, sharers together in the promise of Christ.” But why is that a mystery? Why is this intertwining of Jews and Gentiles into one body mysterious? Only because, for a few thousand years, everyone was convinced that the two were separate and distinct. Jews, especially, were taught for several hundred years that they were ordained by God to be set apart from the Gentiles. Some even taught that God’s Holiness was reflected in this separation of peoples from one another.

The first person to suggest otherwise was Jesus. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus blatantly defies the teachings of Moses from the book of Deuteronomy when he says, “(God) causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45)

This teaching is only scandalous if, as a devout follower of Judaism, you were always taught that God favored those who obeyed God’s Law, and cursed those who did not:

“(God said) ‘…then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil.” (Deut. 11:14)

“Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” (Deut. 11:16-18)

Jesus flips that around completely and suggests that we should love one another – even our enemies – because this is what God does: God sends rain on the righteous, and on the unrighteous; the believer, and the unbeliever; the Jew and the Gentile alike.

This is radical stuff.

The Apostle Paul considers this the Great Mystery. The idea that, all along, God’s love was for the entire human race, and not merely for those faithful Jews who kept God’s commandments.

Understand, for the Jews, there are only two groups of people: The Chosen People and everyone else. The category of “Gentiles” is meant to include everyone who is not descended from Abraham. So, when Jesus dares to suggest that God’s love and kindness extends to everyone, regardless of race, religion, or creed, that’s a big deal. When the Apostle Paul teaches that everyone – Jews and Gentiles – are both “members of one another,” that’s a radical idea, to say the least.

In other words, there is no separation between Jew and Gentile. We are all one in Christ. (Sound familiar?) It should, because the Apostle Paul has been saying it all along in every possible way he knows how. There is no separation. There is only one Humanity. We are all one in Christ. There is no separation between us and God, and there is no separation between any of us, either. We are all one, and – here’s the Great Mystery – we always have been.

We were told otherwise by our religious leaders, but they were deceived. We were taught that God loved us but not them, but now we know that there is no “them,” and there was always only us.

Later, Paul goes on to say:

“Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things.” (vs. 8-9)

The riches of Christ are boundless. They are more than enough to enrich both Jew and Gentile. And this great mystery? It was kept hidden in the heart of God for ages past, but now, at long last, it can be declared as loudly and boldly as possible: We are all the children of God!

Halleluiah!

Keith Giles is the best-selling author of the Jesus Un series. He has appeared on CNN, USA Today, Coast To Coast with George Noory, BuzzFeed, and John Fugelsang’s “Tell Me Everything.” He co-hosts the Heretic Happy Hour Podcast.

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