Afterwords -- the big secret
"At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison..." (Colossians 4:3)
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” (C. S. Lewis)
May 19, 2024
Dear friends,
We love learning secrets, don’t we, whether it's about learning to beat the next level on a computer game or hearing today's celebrity gossip? On the History Channel we are invited to "learn the secrets" of the pyramids, of ancient aliens, of Sasquatch, or of the Oak Island treasure. We eagerly attend seminars and buy books which purport to tell us the secret to weight loss or the secret to financial gain. Scientists seem to be unlocking new secrets all the time in the physical world, whether on the subatomic level or out in the galaxies of space.
The Apostle Paul uses the word "mystery" (μυστήριον, mustērion) twenty times in his epistles. Two key passages I've been pondering are Ephesians 3:1-4 and Colossians 1:26--2:2, where he speaks of God's eternal plan as a "mystery".
Most scholars recognize that both churches who received these letters from Paul were living in regions where "mystery religions" were very popular. These were pagan cults that professed to have secret knowledge accessible only through their initiations, ceremonies, asceticism, and the pursuit of visions. The secrets of the universe were available through them if you were elite enough, and willing to join.
But Paul takes the word "mystery" and turns it in a different direction. It is the Gospel of Jesus, he says, which is the declaration of the true and ultimate Mystery. The New Testament uses the term “mystery” to refer to a truth previously hidden but now made known by divine revelation. NT commentator James Dunn summarizes this as, “The movement of world history is a linear progression which has also been directed by a secret purpose determined from the beginning by the one God.” (cited by Tom Constable, Commentary on Colossians) So "the mystery" is not some cosmic secret revealed only to a select few, it's the big secret that is being progressively revealed in history and is being proclaimed to the world through the gospel.
This mystery, or we might say, the Big Secret, is that all of creation and history revolves around a crucified Judean rabbi, who also happens to be God, who came down to us poor, non-elite mortals. It is about Jesus who is preeminent over all creation. It is Jesus who is Creator, and the Redeemer of mankind. It is Jesus who has authority to guide history, and he is the one toward which all of history is moving. He is the heir of all things, and his return will be the glorious consummation of God's secret plan which is now being openly proclaimed in the Gospel.
This plan included the first Adam, the fall, the judgments, the patriarchs, the calling of one nation (Israel), prophecies about the Messiah (the Christ), the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and the result that people from all nations are being welcomed into God's eternal family bound for a new creation.
So, the mystery is not about seeing angels (good or bad), having visions, being ascetic, or practicing mysticism. Today, we could add that the secret of life and the universe (and everything) will not to be found in the search for extraterrestrial life, or in DNA research, or through the latest live-forever diets or exercises. It will not be found in eastern meditation, or through astrology, or communicating with spirits. It will not be found in scientology or scientism or scientific technology. No intelligence, whether real or artificial, will be able to unlock the secrets of who we are, why we are here, and where we are going, except God's revelation of his plan in the gospel of Jesus.
This knowledge is available to all of us! Paul wrote to the Ephesian believers, "...in all wisdom and insight [he made] known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." (Ephesians 1:8-10)
And that's the big secret! Once we learn this Mystery, then all of the world and its history and life itself begin to make sense to us. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” And that's a secret worth telling others about!
IN OTHER NEWS.
-- Francis Schaeffer died 40 years ago this week (5/15/1984). His books shaped my thinking as a young Christian, and I return to them often through the years. Of special help to me have been The God who is there (and the rest of the Trilogy); True Spirituality; The Finished Work of Christ (on Romans 1--8); and No Little People, a collection of his sermons. Colin Duriez wrote an excellent biography on him, entitled, Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life (Crossway, 2008). Here's a little bit about L'Abri, the ministry of Francis and Edith.
-- "We were made by God to know and love the truth -- both himself as Truth itself, and also the many truths about the things he made." Read "Why Should a Christian Study the Humanities?" by Nathaniel Peters.
-- "For adults, one of the main benefits of writing by hand is that it simply forces us to slow down." Read "Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning." Btw, King Charles of England endorses Parker Pens.
-- "Staying or Going?" Here's a good message by Alistair Begg on John 6:60-71.
FINAL QUOTE.
"God is working out his eternal purpose, not only in spite of human and satanic opposition, but by means of them." (A. W. Pink)
That's it for this week!
Sandy
Image credit. Drawing above, "Ornamental Cherry Trees -- Inn at Virginia Tech", is by Steven White, whose art can be seen at news.vt.edu/doodles. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.