Sigurd Grindheim, «What the OT Prophets Did Not Know: The Mystery of the Church in Eph 3,2-13», Vol. 84 (2003) 531-553

The purpose of this essay is two-fold. First, it argues that the inclusion of the Gentiles is referred to as a previously unrevealed mystery because it is based upon the abrogation of the Mosaic law and entails a degree of nearness to the Lord that exceeds the expectations of the old covenant. Second, it addresses the question of authorship. Assuming Pauline authorship as a working hypothesis, it shows that the use of the concept of mystery in Eph 3 is intimately linked with Paul’s terminology and thought world attested in the undisputed letters. It is unwarranted, therefore, to find proof of a post-Pauline development in the use of the term "mystery" in Ephesians.

Israel. This is described as a previously unknown mystery because of the unexpected manner in which this takes place. Observance of the Mosaic law is no longer a condition for incorporation into the people of God, and now both Jews and Gentiles can enjoy a nearness to God that transcends the expectations under the old covenant. In this respect, the passage in Eph 3,2-13 emphasizes the element of discontinuity between the old and the new covenant.

        Although there is a development in the use of the term "mystery", this development is not of such a kind so as to warrant the conclusion that Ephesians is post-Pauline. A conclusion regarding the authorship of Ephesians must be drawn on a more comprehensive basis than the issues we have discussed here⁷⁴, but we have seen that the use of "mystery" terminology does not militate against Pauline authorship, but rather confirms it. The discourse on "mystery" in the letter to the Ephesians has interwoven many well attested and genuine Pauline themes, such as the historical primacy of Israel, the development of redemptive history and the abrogation of the Mosaic law, the Jews and Gentiles being united in the same body, the identification of the church and re-created Israel, the church as the temple, and, most importantly, the motif of a reversal of values and status claims. The merging of the two temporal schemas, the before and now of redemptive history and the before and now of personal salvation, is another device that is known from Galatians. These themes are reformulated and applied to the particular purpose of this letter: "identity formation" with a focus on ecclesiology. The letter betrays complex re-applications and creative combinations of Pauline themes and terminology. An imitator would more likely resort to formulaic mimicking of familiar Pauline expressions and perhaps introduce his or her own ideas with their own nomenclature, without being able to demonstrate such a degree of creative integration with Paul’s