|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
It is hard for me to keep a secret.
I love to talk; I love to tell exciting news; I can’t shut up. Yes, I promise not to tell, but then I fail! It is your fault as you shouldn’t put me in this situation.
The word for “mystery” in the New Testament can also be translated “secret.” The entire New Testament – all the books, all the chapters, all the words – is about telling a secret.
I am in good company with the Bible and not being able to keep a secret.
And the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do you speak in parables?” Jesus answered, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries [secrets] of the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 13:11
Paul writes:
I was made a minister of the gospel… so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is the mystery [secret] which had been hidden from the past generations, but now has been revealed to His saints… Colossians 1:26
Agreed that God, His prophets, and scripture kept this secret until the fullness of time. I, however, would keep the secret of what you purchased someone for Christmas – for about an hour! It’s best that when you tell me something, to go ahead and give me the mobile number of the person from which the secret is kept.
What is this secret, the mystery revealed in the New Testament?
That you can be forgiven, not by your works, but by the sacrifice of Jesus; that God has a plan for you, a plan that involves you ruling with Christ for all eternity.
No philosopher, no religious writing, no eastern mystic, not even the Jewish scholars of the Old Testament understood this secret.
No one figured it out.
Grace, a mystery for all ages, had to be revealed. It had to happen in a historical event – demonstrated at the tomb – for the secret to be seen and understood.
Below, I collapse Ephesians 1 from many paragraphs to a few sentences. Read the chapter sometime as it explains a mystery. The secret is revealed:
He unveiled His secret desires to us… the hidden mystery of his long-range plan… and because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through all ages… I pray God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination… until you experience the full revelation of the hope of His calling… that you would continually experience the immeasurable greatness of God’s power… the same power that was released when God raised Christ from the dead. NASB, TPT, OGV
Secrets are best when revealed dramatically – like gifts at Christmas and an engagement ring with strolling minstrels.
The angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased.” You cannot get better drama for unveiling a secret.
God so loved the world that He became man. He was so concerned about your lack of peace, that He paid the price for your sins. God wants a relationship with you. You can experience Him – the Father, the Son, the Spirit.
He serves you through grace and mercy! This is the secret revealed.
Okay, with the biggest secret of the universe revealed, do you want to know what you are getting for Christmas?