There’s just something about a good mystery that I like. What about you? Do you like to look for the clues? Do you feel elation when you discover the answer?
Keith was in the Air Force for 22 years, and we lived in the Philippines, Italy, the East and West Coasts and in the Midwest. We enjoyed unwrapping the mystery of the differences in the lifestyles, priorities, values, and ways of thinking of the different cultures. Yes, people on the East Coast have very different ways of “doing life” than Californians.
Have you ever felt like some passages in the Bible are a mystery to you? You see the words, but you don’t understand them, nor do you understand how to apply the passage to your life.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
But sometimes we have to dig deep, don’t we? We have to take that magnifying glass out and search the Scriptures, going back and forth from the Old Testament to the New Testament, from one book of the Bible to another, then we turn to the commentaries–but most of all, we PRAY and ask the Holy Spirit to teach us what He would have us to know.
The Bible mentions “mystery” 22 times. Paul writes about the “mystery of God” four times in Colossians and the “hidden things” three times in this book.
Imagine Mary as she heard the shepherds tell of the angels proclaiming the birth of Jesus.
But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. Luke 2:19
Imagine her searching for Jesus and finding Him in the temple explaining the Scripture to rabbis, or watching Him turn water to wine. Clues to the Son of God.
But there she stood at the foot of the cross. How was this in the plan? She thought her Son was the answer to the mystery of God.
There He lay in the tomb. What clues did she miss?
The unfolding of the mystery was still taking place. Jesus rose from the dead! He walked and talked with Mary, the disciples, and over 500 people for 40 days (Acts 1:3). He talked about the kingdom of God, and He ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God to speak to the Father on your behalf.
But He did not leave us alone. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to teach us to continue unfolding the mystery of God to us.
Mystery of the Word of God Revealed
In Colossians, Paul writes that Jesus is the image of God and the fullness of God our Father and that Paul was writing to the Colossians, “… to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:25-27
This mystery is that Jesus dwells in those who follow Him and call Him “Lord,” and this indwelling of Jesus is the hope of glory.
In Jesus, you and I can “reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ” Colossians 2:2.
Abiding in Jesus as He indwells in us–that’s the hope of glory!
Delight in Jesus, the hope of glory.
My prayer
Our Father, thank You for Jesus dwelling in us. He is truly God, truly all that we need. In Him we have Your fullness. In Jesus, we have the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of Your mystery. In Jesus we have the hope of glory. Help us to understand more fully, what a great treasure we have. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
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