Seven Parts of the Mystery Part 2

If you did not read last week’s post I recommend it before moving on to this week’s.  A lot of material I went over last week will be useful as you wade through the next 3 parts of Paul’s mystery.

4.  The fourth piece of the mystery is that Israel will be hardened for a time.  Romans 11:25, “For I do not want you, brethren to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”  This truly is a mystery, I am not sure how this fits in with free will, but it is not the first time God has used this tactic to bring about His will (Exodus 7:3).  I also don’t know how many or how long it will take until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.  However, God has not forgotten about the nation of Israel, despite her rejection and disobedience He will provide a way for her salvation (see Revelation).  

5.  The fifth part of the mystery is the rapture of the church.  I Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed….”  Keep reading until the end of the chapter if you just need a little hope and encouragement.  Once again we see this is a mystery that was not revealed in ages past, but is now revealed to the church through Paul.  There are more details about the rapture in I Thessalonians.

6.  The sixth part of the mystery as taught by Paul is that believers are united with Christ through the church.  Ephesians 5: 29, 30, 32, “for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.  This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”  This passage is about marriage, but there is a great mystery hidden in this context.  We are members of Christ’s body and united with Him through the church.  I plan to go into this mystery in much more detail in later blogs so I will let it rest for now. 

Number 7 is coming next week and it is a doozy.  Thanks for reading and studying your Bible it is a true encouragement to me.

Seven Parts of the Mystery

Over and over again Paul writes in his epistles about a mystery.  I wrote briefly about this mystery and what the word mystery means (Look at my posts from 2011).  However, I will give a brief recap.  The word Paul uses that is translated mystery means a completely new, unprophecied event.  This means that much of what Paul wrote, taught, and died for was not backed up by the Old Testament.  No wonder everyone was out to get Paul, he could show Jewish believers how the Scriptures pointed towards Jesus as Messiah, but he could not convince them of the truth of this mysterious gospel (Ephesians 6:19).  He especially had a hard time when he declared in Acts 13 that due to Israel’s stubborn rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, he would turn his attention to the Gentiles.

So what is this mystery that Paul was beaten, shipwrecked, hungry, poor and eventually died for?  It is a shame more people who study the Bible don’t know.  I have broken the mystery down into 7 parts.  Each part could be a sermon unto itself, but I don’t have the space (and you probably don’t have the patience), so I will put them down quick and easy.  Please understand that this is only the tip of the iceberg where each is concerned. 

1.  The first part of this mystery is that it was hidden by God and revealed by God .  Romans 16:25-26, “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith.”  This is a mouth full, but proves that Paul takes ownership of this gospel that is different from other methods of salvation in times before.  It also shows that this gospel was kept secret, but now is manifested to all the nations according to the commandment of God. 

2.  The second component of this mystery is that Gentiles are fellow heirs and members of the body.  Ephesians 3:6, “to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, of which I (Paul) am a minister.”  Once again we see Paul’s ownership of this gospel.  However, the rest is revolutionary.  Gentiles, who Jesus himself called dogs (Mark 7:26-29), are welcomed into the body as second class citizens.  No, coheirs!  In fact Romans 8:17 teaches that we are not even coheirs with Israel, but coheirs with Christ!  Who am I, not a dog any longer, but a coheir according to this gospel being taught by Paul.

3.  The third part of this mystery is that Christ dwells in believers.  Colossians 1:25-27, “I became a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from the ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  Paul has been given a ministry from God to reveal a mystery which was hidden and now is manifested.  This mystery is made known to Gentiles and includes the hope we have by the indwelling of Christ. 

Wow, time has flown, I will teach the 4-7 parts of the mystery next week.  Thanks for reading and please leave a comment if you need further clarification or explanation.  See you next week!

I am back, and I had a great summer!

Hello again, I am back writing after taking some time off for the summer.  Honestly, I have a few reasons for taking a break, but none was more important than I just didn’t have a clear direction of what to write about.  Every time I sit at the computer I ask God to show me what to write and I wasn’t hearing anything so I took God’s hint and took a needed break.  In that time I have been enjoying my family, friends and recreation. 

I have also been working with a publishing company to finish my book, From Prophecy to Mystery.  It will be available for purchase at the end of 2012.  They just finished the cover design, and I am trying to trust the experts to make my project the best it can be.  I am discovering that I am a bit of a control freak, but as this is my first venture into publication, I will have to trust. 

So, I am taking up the pen again and will attempt to post weekly until I am unsure again about direction or subject matter.  However, for now I feel I am to expound on the meaning of the word mystery in Paul’s writing and explain the parts of this mystery.  I will focus most of my attention on the mystery of the church as written by Paul.  I will lay out the parts of the church, the function of the church, the unique nature of the church.  I think this should be an interesting study and one that I will learn much from.