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Paul tells us in Col 1:26 that the mystery of God that had been hide for ages is now revealed to the Saints. What is a mystery and what specifically is "the mystery" referred to by Paul? The quest of this article and a number to follow is to understand the mystery of God.
First of all there are a number of definitions for the word mystery. One definition defines mystery as something not fully understood or something that baffles or eludes the understanding an enigma. The definition of the word mystery in a religious sense is a religious truth that is incomprehensible to reason and knowable only through divine revelation.
The word mystery occurs more than twenty times in the New Testament. It appears in the Gospels, the writings of Paul, and John. Paul uses this term more by far than any of the others, however most of these twenty New Testament references are about the mystery of Christ and His work on the cross.
In my attempt to explain this mystery and to show why it is the most important mystery of all time, I will combine the two definitions of the word mystery from above with the concept of a good mystery book.
A modern mystery book starts out with a major event happening early in the book with certain facts concealed. These concealed facts (the mystery) is not fully understood until little by little it is revealed throughout the book with the final key to understanding only coming at the end. A modern mystery usually contains a villain and a good guy with both being exposed for who they are at the end of the book. This holds true with the mystery of God.
The Bible is the greatest mystery book ever written. The crime scene is the Garden of Eden. Satan is the bad guy. The evil event takes place in Genesis chapter three where Satan encourages Adam and Eve to rebel, however as we read the Bible we will discover that the mystery actually started prior to the world being created. Because of God’s foreknowledge he knew of the upcoming event and put a plan in place to defeat the evil schemes of Satan.
In 1 Cor 2:7, Paul tells us God’s wisdom (plan) that had been hidden was foreordained before the world was created. Therefore the mystery actually starts before the event because of the foreknowledge of God. He foreknew of the evil activities of Satan and put a plan in place to defeat him.
The final revelation of this mystery of God is revealed in the final section of the Bible, the book of Revelation. In Rev 10:6-7, just before the final trumpet that initiates the final events for this world, God’s Word says let there be no more delay the mystery of God should be finished.
What is this mystery? You must either read the upcoming articles or read the entire Bible in order to understand. However, the Bible tells us that it is different from other mystery books because a secret ingredient is needed for understanding. That secret ingredient is that the reader must have the Spirit of God in them to understand this mystery.
If you don’t already have the Spirit of God as a companion, it is my prayer that during your reading of the upcoming articles you will be "born again" of the Holy Spirit. Then the Holy Spirit will lead you to a full understanding of "the mystery of God".
This is the first of a number of articles addressing the greatest mystery of all time. |
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