I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery

I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery

There’s a warning in Romans 11:25 that most believers have either never heard or never taken seriously. And that’s heartbreaking. Because it’s not a gentle nudge—it’s a piercing rebuke. Paul isn’t simply informing the church; he’s confronting a dangerous condition that has crept into the Body of Christ and taken root. He writes, “I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits…”—and you can almost feel the urgency in his voice. He’s not just teaching. He’s pleading.

Our doctrine should not be open for negotiation or compromise. It's not supposed to be treated as a casual curiosity. The mystery Paul refers to isn’t a side topic—it’s the very program we’re living in. It was hidden from the prophets, kept secret since the world began, and revealed only after Christ ascended and chose Paul to unveil it. And yet, despite its weight and wonder, it’s treated like an optional extra. Something for the “deep” Christians. Something we’ll get to later. 

However, if we read further, we'll learn that Paul doesn’t give us that luxury. He says plainly: if you’re ignorant of this mystery, you will be wise in your own conceits. Not might be. Will be. And that’s exactly what we see today. Churches filled with sincere people who are sincerely wrong. Preachers standing in pulpits, crafting doctrine from imagination, blending Israel and the Body, prophecy and mystery, law and grace—until nothing is distinct and everything is confused. They quote scripture, but they quote it out of place, out of context, and out of order. And the result is not spiritual maturity. It’s spiritual conceit. A kind of self-assured wisdom that feels biblical but is built on sand.

Friends, this is not just disappointing. It’s dangerous. It keeps people in blindness to truth, babes in Christ that savour milk, never knowing what spiritual buffets of knowledge and truth there are to have by simply reading the Word of God for themselves, and to marvel at the manifold wisdom and purpose of God in His multi-layered redemption plan.

The mystery revealed to Paul is not a footnote in God’s plan—it is the interruption of prophecy, the unveiling of a new creation, the formation of the Body of Christ with a heavenly calling and a message of grace. It is not found in the prophets. It is not part of Israel’s covenant. It is not the kingdom program. And yet, many preach the kingdom as if it were ours. They claim Israel’s promises as if they were written to the church. They teach the Sermon on the Mount as if it were church doctrine. They flatten the distinctions God has drawn and call it unity. But it’s not unity. It’s confusion. And confusion will never result in maturity, understanding, and good judgement.

Paul didn’t say to commit truth to popular men or clever men. He said to commit it to faithful men—men who will guard what was entrusted, not reinvent it. Faithfulness begins with submission. Not to tradition. Not to emotion. But to revelation. And if you don’t understand the mystery, you’re not ready to teach. If you can’t see the difference between what was spoken and what was kept secret, you’re not rightly dividing, and that means you are not approved of God, according to 2 Timothy 2:15. If you’re not trembling at the thought of misrepresenting God’s Word, and this dispensation, you’re not walking in wisdom.

We need to develop a deeper sense of accountability and stewardship, and it’s time we felt the weight of it.

God interrupted prophecy to reveal a mystery. He blinded Israel in part and turned to the Gentiles. He formed a new Body, gave it a heavenly calling, and entrusted it with a message that had never been spoken before. That message is not found in Isaiah or Jeremiah or the Psalms. It’s found in Paul. And to neglect it is not innocent. It’s irresponsible.

I say this with grief, not pride. Because I watch good people drift into error simply because they were never taught to rightly divide. I’ve seen churches disintegrate under the weight of blended doctrine. I see believers lose assurance, lose clarity, lose joy—because they were fed a gospel that wasn’t theirs. It breaks my heart, but it also stirs me to speak plainly.

We’ve been lazy. We’ve been careless. We’ve been content to preach what sounds good instead of what’s true. But it’s not too late to turn ignorance into knowledge. It’s not too late to open the scriptures and yield to what God has revealed. Not to be clever. Not to be different. But to be faithful. Because ignorance is not innocence. And conceit is not wisdom.

What Is the Mystery Paul Warns Us Not to Ignore?

When Paul says in Romans 11:25, “I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery…”, he’s not being vague or poetic. He’s issuing a doctrinal warning to the Body of Christ—a plea to understand something that God kept hidden for ages, but has now revealed through Paul for our edification, assurance, and stewardship.

This mystery is not a general concept. It’s a specific, divine revelation that explains what God is doing in this present age. It is the key to rightly dividing Scripture, understanding our identity, and walking in spiritual maturity.

Let’s break it down.

The mystery refers to a body of truth that was:

• Kept secret since the world began (Romans 16:25)
• Unsearchable in the prophetic Scriptures (Ephesians 3:8-9)
• Revealed only after Christ’s ascension (Ephesians 3:3-5)
• Entrusted uniquely to Paul for the Body of Christ (Colossians 1:25-27)

It is not part of Israel’s prophetic program. It was not spoken by the prophets. It was hidden in God until the appointed time.

What the Mystery Includes

Each part of the mystery reveals a distinct aspect of God’s present work:

1. Israel’s Temporary Blindness

Israel, as a nation, rejected their Messiah. As a result, God blinded them in part—not forever, but for a season. This blindness was prophesied (Isaiah 6), fulfilled (Matthew 13), and declared (Acts 28). The mystery explains that this blindness will last “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25).

2. Salvation Sent Directly to the Gentiles

With Israel set aside, God turned to the Gentiles—not through Israel’s rise, but through their fall (Romans 11:11). This was never foretold in prophecy. It is part of the mystery: that Gentiles would be saved by grace alone, apart from covenant, law, or national identity.

3. The Formation of the Body of Christ

God is now forming a new creation—a spiritual body made up of Jew and Gentile alike, reconciled in one body by the cross (Ephesians 2:13-16). This body is not Israel. It is not the kingdom. It is a heavenly people with a heavenly calling, seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3; 2:6).

4. A Heavenly Destiny and Purpose

The Body of Christ is not awaiting an earthly kingdom. We are not heirs of land, law, or temple. We are heirs of grace, called to display “the manifold wisdom of God” in heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10). Our destiny is not to reign on earth, but to function as Christ’s fullness in heaven (Ephesians 1:22-23).

5. The Pause in Prophetic Time

When Christ ascended, only seven years remained on Israel’s prophetic clock (Daniel 9:24-27). But those years have not yet unfolded. Why? Because God interrupted prophecy to reveal the mystery. The prophetic program is on hold. The mystery is the reason why the kingdom has not come.

Why You Must Not Be Ignorant of This

Paul’s warning is not academic—it’s spiritual. If you do not understand this mystery, you will misread Scripture. You will claim promises that aren’t yours. You will preach law where grace reigns. You will confuse Israel with the Body, the kingdom with the church, and prophecy with mystery.

And in doing so, you will become wise in your own conceits—thinking you are rightly dividing, when in fact you are blending what God has separated.

This is not a minor error. It is a failure of stewardship.

The mystery is not hidden anymore. It is written plainly in Paul’s epistles. But it must be received with humility, studied with care, and guarded with faithfulness. It is the foundation of our doctrine, the framework of our calling, and the lens through which we must read the Word.