Everyone likes a mystery. In a sense the entire Old Testament contains clues of a mystery, namely, what God had planned for the world. The sacrifices since the time of Adam and Eve (animals had to be killed for the skin coverings), the promise of blessings to Abraham and the prophecies pointing toward a Messiah—these were all clues. Albeit they provided hope for a continuously rebellious people, that someday, somehow God would take care of the sin problem once and for all, both for the Jews and also for the Gentiles.

God finally revealed the mystery and Paul was the one to receive it and make it known. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul outlines what that mystery is. It was something not fully understood before, but now has been made known.

At this point in the letter Paul only makes reference to it as “an administration.” This term could be translated as “stewardship” or “the management of one’s household.” The mystery had to do with how God was managing things. It was the full revelation of His plan, as it was “the summing up of all things.” Keeping with his theme in this opening salvo of truth, the plan is “in Christ.” The Lord Jesus Christ was the pinnacle of God’s revelation to the fallen world, of all God’s character and person. In particular, Christ reflects all the wisdom and insight (vs. 8) of God. In other words, this revelation of God’s mystery, this administration of grace, is His “Big Idea,” the truth  that sums it all up.

Notice, this plan is not just for the Jews, or just for the earth, but it is a plan that encompassed all of creation, including the heavens (notice the term “heavens” is plural, referring not to the abode of God, but to interstellar space, and thus the universe). We infer from this that whatever God may be doing throughout the universe is related to what Paul writes about in this letter. If there turns out to be life on other planets, then they are affected by this same plan of God.

Now, His plan all along was to reveal the solution to the mystery when it was “suitable to the fullness of the times.” The subject of the mystery is found in  the Lord Jesus Christ. ^“But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law…” (Gal 4:4). The full implications will be set out by Paul in this letter.