1:27a
To them: This refers to “the saints” in 1:26b.
God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery: There are two ways to connect the phrase among the Gentiles to the rest of the verse:
(1) The phrase among the Gentiles should be connected to the glorious riches. So this verse means that God wanted the saints to understand that the glorious riches of this mystery were for the benefit of the Gentiles—the Gentiles are included in the riches of his glory.
(Revised Standard Version)
(2) The phrase among the Gentiles should be connected to the verb make known in 1:27a. So the Berean Standard Bible interprets this verse to mean that God wanted the gospel to be made known among the Gentiles.
(Berean Standard Bible)
It is recommended that you follow the first interpretation (1).
Gentiles: This refers to all people who were not Jews.
the glorious riches of this mystery: See meaning 1 of “glory” in the glossary.
1:27b
Christ in you: In 1:26 Paul began writing about the “mystery” (God’s secret plan). In this phrase he explains what the “mystery” is. It is that Christ dwells in Gentiles who believe in him. When Paul says in you, he means “in you Gentiles.”
The Greek text translated literally says Christ in you—there is no verb. However, in your translation you will probably need to use a verb. For example:
Christ is in you
-or-
Christ lives/dwells in you
Paul was writing about something that was already true when he wrote the letter—Christ was now in the hearts of the believers.
1:27c
the hope of glory: The phrase hope of glory means “the glory ⌊you⌋ hope for” or “the glory ⌊you⌋ expect to receive.” Most scholars believe that this refers to the future glory Christians can expect to receive in heaven. Some English versions express this as “your hope of sharing God’s glory” (Contemporary English Version, see also New Living Translation (2004), Good News Translation).
glory: See meaning 2 of “glory” in the glossary.
General Comment about 1:27b–c
In Greek it is not clear how to connect this part of the verse, “the hope of glory,” to 1:27c, “Christ in you.” However, most scholars believe that Paul was saying that “the hope of glory” is the result of Christ being in someone: that is, “Christ is in you, and as a result you confidently expect to have glory.”
General Comment about 1:26–27
Paul had written about the “mystery” in 1:26 and 1:27a–b, but he did not say specifically what the mystery was until 1:27c. In some languages it may be necessary to rearrange 1:26–27 to help people understand this. A possible way to do this would be:
God decided to tell his people how wonderful his plan was for you who are not Jews. His plan was this: that Christ should live in you, so you can confidently expect to share God’s glory. In the past, God did not reveal this plan to people. But now he has told his people about it.
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