“Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Romans 16:25-27)
Paul here expresses one of the great theological truths that undergird our Christian faith. The truth is that what was foretold but the prophets was a wondrous mystery that has now been revealed. That mystery had two parts to it. The first was the Incarnation which we celebrate at Christmas time. While the prophet’s had revealed that Almighty God was going to send a Messiah, a Savior to save His people, how exactly that Messiah would do it was not clear to the Jews. At the time of Jesus, the religious rulers of Israel interpreted this as a temporal or earthly Messiah who would overthrow the Roman oppressors by military might and reestablish the great Kingdom of David. But what Paul proclaimed was that the Messiah would reconcile the world unto God and free the world of sin and death. What is now made known in Jesus is that though the Messiah was a man, born in a lowly stable to suffer and die for our sins, He is also God.
The second part of that mystery is that the Kingdom of God is no longer a temporal Kingdom nor is it composed merely of Jews. The Kingdom of God is now the Church of Jesus Christ. The Church is open to all men and women of all ethnicities, languages, races, nationalities and socio-economic groups including the poorest of the poor, even slaves. Such was the very makeup of the church at Rome and most of the 1st century church.
This great mystery revealed in and through believers, solves the problems of racism, hatred, pride, and arrogance. God works through Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit and His Church to establish His will and His rule. The unity we have in Christ alone is the good news we have to offer all. Would that all men would turn in repentance to Jesus.