Section 88
216Cf. the expansion of this thought in Eph. 3:2-12. The difference in the use of μυστήϱɩον in the two letters is not so great as some exegetes have thought. According to M. Dibelius, the “mystery” in Col. 1:26-27 is “das eschatologisch-mystische Christusgeheimnis” (An die Kolosser, p. 84); according to C. L. Mitton, it is Christ’s indwelling in his people (The Epistle to the Ephesians [Oxford, 1951], pp. 88-89). The “mystery” of Ephesians, on the other hand, is God’s acceptance of the Gentiles which, says Dibelius, “is no μυστήϱɩον for Paul.” (Of course not, because it is being fulfilled in his ministry.) But the μυστήϱɩον is not simply the acceptance of the Gentiles; it includes their incorporation together with Jewish believers in the community of the Messiah. And in Col. 1:26-27 the emphasis is not just on Christ’s indwelling in his people but more specifically on his indwelling in Gentile believers. Cf. G. Bornkamm, TDNT 4, p. 820, n. 145 (s.v. μυστήϱɩον); E. Percy, Die Probleme, pp. 379-82.
217Cf. Col. 3:4; also Rom. 5:2; 1 Cor. 2:7; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Thess. 2:12; 2 Thess. 1:10; 2:14.