Being ignorant of the mystery is being wise in your own conceits
In Romans 11:25, the apostle Paul offers one of the most sobering appeals found in his writings: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits...” This is no casual remark—it’s a Spirit-breathed warning to avoid a dangerous kind of self-assurance that blinds the believer to the truth of God’s current work. Paul is addressing the potential for pride that creeps in when spiritual ignorance is disguised as insight. And the antidote? Understanding the mystery revealed to him concerning the Body of Christ.
To be “wise in your own conceits” is to elevate human ideas—traditions, interpretations, emotional experiences—above the revealed truth of God’s Word. Conceit, by definition, is inflated self-regard. When applied to theology, it becomes a tragic substitute for submission to the Scriptures rightly divided. It’s the kind of wisdom that leans on the natural mind, not the Spirit’s illumination. Solomon warns against this posture: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:7), and Paul later echoes the same urgency in Romans 12:16.
But what is this “mystery” Paul doesn’t want the Church to be ignorant of? It is the sacred truth that was hidden in ages past and now revealed through Paul’s unique apostleship. The mystery is that God is forming a new, heavenly people—the Body of Christ—made up of Jew and Gentile alike, reconciled by grace through faith, and made righteous apart from the covenant promises and law given to Israel. This was not prophesied. It was not declared by the prophets of old. It was a new work, a secret kept by God until it was time to unveil it through Paul. As he explains in Ephesians 3:3-6 and Colossians 1:25-27, this mystery forms the foundation of the Church’s identity and calling today.
