Posts: Mysteries

The Mysteries

Every time a mystery is mentioned in the New Testament, the mystery is disclosed in the next paragraph: The low response rate among Jews (Romans 11:25); For all nations (Romans 16:25 – 27, Ephesians 3:3 – 9, 6:19 – 20); The things which God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:7 – 10); Raised to immortality (1 Corinthians 15:51 – 58); What God desires (Ephesians 1:9); The relationship of Jesus and His church (Ephesians 5:32, Revelation 1:20); Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:24 – 2:3); The Word, faith (Colossians 4:2 – 4, 1 Timothy 3:9 – 16); Details of the destruction of Jerusalem (2 Thessalonians 2:1 – 12, Revelation 17:5 – 7); God’s plan (Revelation 10:7).

Some facets of the gospel were not revealed in advance, but were called mysteries. One is explained in Romans 11: why so few Israelites had recognized their Messiah. God explained that He did it this way to force the few (the remnant) to preach to Gentiles, that this inclusive gospel would provoke Israel to jealousy, that the jealousy would provoke many Israelites to take a second look at Jesus. Sounds risky to me. Ponder the genius of the plan.

Until the gospel was broadcast, people who cared about God had not been able to figure out how to have a one-size-fits-all system that just might work. It was a mystery. Paul closed Romans (16:25 – 26) with a brief summary. The good news was and still is that God was not looking for an obedience to rules (because we keep messing that one up), but an obedience based on trusting God – faith. Further, the message did not have to wait and get manipulated by our normal philosophical channels. Significant miraculous help is provided.

The creation in which we live has been in a slow downward spiral since the beginning. That which is eternal can’t be like that. The engineering of the transition was a mystery until being revealed through the church – at least as much as our earth-bound mentalities can picture. (1 Corinthians 15:35 – 58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 5:11) “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet … the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

The mystery of what God wants has been made known. Ephesians 1:3 – 14 describes that God arranged before creation to achieve His goal of adopting faithful spirits into an eternal, united family. God didn’t need to be a rocket scientist to predict that people were going to mess this up, so He inserted the fix before making the first photon. With credentials like that, I think I should let Him plan my time, too.

The mystery of the scope and method of the good news has been made known (Ephesians 3:3 – 12). As planned from the outset, messengers with miraculous credentials were dispersed among and for all peoples who in turn would expose angels to the same wisdom. We understand the part about apostles and prophets. We accept that all peoples are included. Have you ever considered that the wisdom of God is made known to angels by the church? We are responsible for building faith in all spiritual beings, not just those with mud suits.

The mystery of how the eternal King would reign in the eternal kingdom is illustrated in a Christian marriage (Ephesians 5:21 – 33). Before Jesus, many rabbis proposed many theories, most with a strong authority component. Since Jesus, many theologians have proposed many theories, most with a strong cultural component. Today, the illustration has been obscured by political posturing. The relationship is founded on mutual selflessness. The husband’s job is to engineer opportunities for transformation for His wife. Yes, that’s a novel approach, but it’s not rocket science.

The mystery of how an eternal kingdom could be populated by flawed people was explained by “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Glory is a parade of what makes one valuable. For a conquering general, it is the spoils of war. For the faithful, our glory is our newly minted, godly character traits promised through the power of God placed in escrow in us. Forgiven failures would fracture eternity in less than a week. The kingdom will last forever because we are being transformed into the character duplicate of Jesus.

“Great is the mystery of godliness” (1 Timothy 3:16). I hear that! The secret to achieving godliness on earth is summarized in a little poem or song: God came to earth to demonstrate it; the power of the Spirit gave it legal weight; angels and people witnessed it; and God returned to heaven victorious in a parade of those godly character traits. The secret to being what I have dreamed of being, to being victorious over me, is tied up in imitating the God who lived as a man, gave abundant proof, and beat the system of this world.