The Hidden Wisdom of Paul and the Mystery of the Kingdom of God

In exploring the hidden wisdom of Paul and the mystery of the kingdom of God as portrayed in Mark’s Gospel, we find that both writers embed profound theological concepts within their narratives. These concepts are meant to be discerned by the spiritually mature and challenge the conventional understanding of divine wisdom and salvation.

Exoteric and Esoteric Content of Paul’s Wisdom

Paul’s hidden wisdom contains both exoteric and esoteric elements. By contrasting it with the wisdom of the age and recalling that the rulers would not have crucified Christ had they known it, Paul evoked the subversive wisdom implicit in the cross and the eschatological inversion of the weak and the strong. This forms the exoteric content. However, the esoteric content is hinted at in 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4, where a careful and worthy reader might begin to understand the fundamental concepts. By addressing the recipients of this wisdom as "spiritual people" and contrasting them with "natural people," Paul anticipated his discussion of the two Adams in 1 Corinthians 15. Furthermore, by using the term glory to describe both the Lord and what God has prepared for Christians, Paul implied a connection between this wisdom and the glory of the resurrection body, which he later elaborated in the enigmatic chapters of 2 Corinthians 3 and 4.

The Spiritual Transformation

Paul’s scattered and enigmatic discussions on these subjects were consistent with how authors of his time treated the esoteric aspects of their teachings in publicly available writings. This approach ensured that few Christians were even vaguely aware of these deeper aspects of Paul’s understanding of salvation. Most are inclined to think of salvation in terms of participation in sacraments and the more exoteric themes Paul emphasized, such as grace, faith, justification, righteousness, and atonement. However, passages focusing on suffering and bodily corruption as sources of glory indicate that the ritual act of dying and rising with Christ in baptism is merely the beginning of a process symbolically indicated, which must be realized throughout the believer's life as an inner transformation into a perfected (angelic) state with the gnosis of the mind of Christ.

Esoteric Teachings in a Private Setting

Paul’s use of the phrase "in the mystery" implies revelation through concealment, akin to teaching through parables and other enigmatic and paradoxical language. This is how Jesus taught the mystery of the kingdom of God to his inner circle in Mark 4. The purpose of esoteric teaching is not to convey secret information but to help a worthy person achieve glimpses of inexpressible noetic truths, moments of insight that would feel like revelations from the beyond. These direct experiences of divinity, rather than the content of private teachings, infused true wisdom. Paul described this knowledge in terms of access to God’s private thoughts, especially concerning eschatology ("what God has prepared for those who love him"). Like Philo and the Therapeutae sect, Paul might have communicated these transcendent realities through figurative interpretation of the Scriptures, with the ultimate goal of cultivating transformative visions of Christ as the Kavod.

The Parallels Between Paul and Mark

The strong parallels between Mark’s exoteric and esoteric aspects of the kingdom mystery and Paul’s hidden wisdom have significant implications. We are not dealing with an isolated claim by Paul of possessing advanced esoteric instruction, but with a well-preserved esoteric tradition in a gospel that Clement of Alexandria believed was intended for more advanced Christians. Understanding that advanced esoteric teachings existed during Paul’s time and that Paul himself claimed that some spiritual people could access God’s mind through the Holy Spirit and possess the mind of Christ makes the rise of Gnosticism much easier to comprehend.

The harmony of intent shown by the canonical and mystical versions of Mark’s Gospel in narrating the exoteric and esoteric aspects of Paul’s wisdom reinforces the conclusion that the same person wrote both versions of this gospel. This individual was likely someone close to Paul, as suggested by the consistent thematic treatment and literary techniques used to convey these profound spiritual truths.

Conclusion

Paul’s hidden wisdom has both exoteric and esoteric content. The exoteric aspect contrasts with the wisdom of the age and highlights the eschatological inversion of the weak and the strong, emphasizing the subversive wisdom implicit in the cross. The esoteric aspect, hinted at in 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4, speaks to a deeper understanding of the glory associated with the resurrection body. Paul’s discussions of suffering and bodily corruption as sources of glory point to a lifelong process of inner transformation for the believer, culminating in a perfected, angelic state with the mind of Christ. This esoteric wisdom aligns with Mark’s portrayal of the mystery of the kingdom of God, suggesting a shared tradition of advanced esoteric teachings among early Christian leaders.

This blog post is based on content from Scott Brown's paper, L'esoterismo in Paolo: La sapienza nascosta di 1 Cor 2,6-3,4.