a deutero-pauline mystery? 191
gospel.41 in romans “gospel” is not used in this technical way at all but
in 16:25–26 “mystery” is the object of γνωρίζω.42 in 1 Cor 1:23 “Christ cru-
cified” is used in this technical way and in 2 Cor 4:5 it is Jesus Christ as
lord (cf. 2 Cor 11:4; Col 2:6). Phil 1:15 refers to someone preaching Christ.
in gal 3:23 “faith” is probably used as a circumlocution for “gospel” and
in Phil 1:14 the technical term for the content of Paul’s preaching is λόγος
(cf. 1 thess 1:6, 8; 2:13; 2 tim 4:2). apparently, “the grace of god” can be
used similarly (2 Cor 6:1; Col 1:6). this is ample evidence that, through-
out the Pauline corpus, there are a number of terms Paul finds pertinent
to denote the content of his preaching. there is also a certain laxity in
the use of the term in ephesians. it has not become a term with a fixed
meaning. it is, therefore, unwarranted to find evidence for a post-Pauline
development in the employment of “mystery” as a technical term for the
gospel in ephesians.
The Picture of the Apostles
ephesians also shows evidence of a different picture of the apostles, and
these differences are even more striking than the differences directly
related to ecclesiology. Both 1 Corinthians and ephesians attest to the idea
of the church as the temple (1 Cor 3:16–17; 6:16; eph 2:21). Both 1 Corin-
thians and ephesians use this idea to emphasize the unity of the church
and its ministers. in 1 Corinthians, however, Christ alone is the founda-
tion of the building (3:11), whereas ephesians refers to the apostles and
prophets as the foundation as well (eph 2:20). Many scholars find here
a reflection of a later stage in church history, a time when the apostles
were a phenomenon of the past.43 this difference goes back to the dif-
ferent perspective of the two passages. in 1 Corinthians 3, the point is
41 wolter, “Verborgene weisheit,” 304; wolfgang schrage, Der erste Brief an die Korinther
(eKK 7/1; neukirchen-Vluyn: neukirchener Verlag, 1991), 1:240; helmut Merklein, Der Erste
Brief an die Korinther: Kapitel 1–4 (ÖtK 7/1; gütersloh: gerd Mohn, 1992), 224; raymond F.
Collins, First Corinthians (sP 7; Collegeville, Mn: liturgical, 1999), 123. the reading “mys-
tery” is unlikely to be original in 1 Cor 2:1 (grindheim, “wisdom,” 695). if it were, however,
it would be an even clearer example of an identification of the term “mystery” with the
gospel.
42 the weight of this observation depends on one’s view of the integrity of the ending
of romans. this question falls outside the scope of this essay.
43 lincoln, Ephesians, 791; Pokorný, Epheser, 134–35; gese, Das Vermächtnis, 200;
Muddiman, Ephesians, 154; Mayer, Einheit, 32; sellin, Epheser, 236. similarly, Collins, who
also finds that the apostle Paul himself is given a superior role compared to the role he
claims for himself in the undisputed letters (Letters, 166–69; but cf. below). sellin con-
cludes that, in ephesians, Paul himself has become part of the mystery that is proclaimed
(Epheser, 248).