| Christian Life and Doctrine | April 1959 |
The Mysteries of God
“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” —Deuteronomy 29:29
TWO important considerations are emphasized by Moses in our text. (1) We are reminded that “secret things belong unto God,” which by implication teaches that it is folly on our part to undertake to pry into aspects of his plans and purposes which he has not revealed clearly through his Word. And (2) that his purpose in revealing certain things pertaining to his plans and purposes is “that we may do all the words of this law,” or to us, all the words of the Gospel.—Rom. 1:16
The Lord says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—Isa. 55:8-11
Here, also, it is emphasized that the Lord’s purpose in sending forth his Word to reveal whatever portion of his “high thoughts” he desires his people to know, is that something might be accomplished thereby, and he assures us that his Word will accomplish that which he pleases. So far as the individual child of God is concerned the important accomplishment of the Father’s Word is in his own heart and life—“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy Word is truth.”—John 17:17
David wrote, “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear [reverence] him; and he will show them his covenant.” (Ps. 25:14) The marginal translation reads, “and his covenant to make them know it,” suggesting that one of God’s covenant promises is to reveal the secret of his plan to those who reverence him.
This does not imply that the Lord reveals to his faithful people all that they might like to know, for he does not. When the disciples asked Jesus, “Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” (Acts 1:6,7) Here was a “secret” which God did not then reveal to his people.
“Mysteries” Revealed
JESUS said to his disciples, “It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 13:11) This does not mean that all the mysteries pertaining to the kingdom are revealed to the followers of Jesus during the present age, but only those which they need to understand in order to know and to do the will of God.
In I Corinthians 4:1 Paul speaks of himself as one of the “ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” To this he adds, “It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” (vs. 2) Thus an understanding of the mysteries of God’s plans imposes responsibility, and only by being faithful in the discharge of those responsibilities can we be pleasing to the Lord. Faithfulness as “stewards of the mysteries of God” calls for self-sacrificing zeal in making known those mysteries to others.
Paul wrote, “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”—I Cor. 2:7-10
Regardless of how faithful we may be in declaring these mysteries of God, none will be able to understand them except those to whom they are revealed by God. We may proclaim these secrets from the housetops, yet they will remain secrets to all but the one here and one there, in all, a “little flock,” to whom it is the Father’s good pleasure to give the kingdom. Since it is God’s will to give these the kingdom, he is pleased to reveal some of the mysteries of the kingdom to them.—Luke 12:32
Many Mysteries
IN I Corinthians 13:2 the Apostle Paul speaks of understanding “all mysteries,” meaning, of course, “all” that the Lord had been pleased to reveal to him. This expression, nevertheless, indicates that there is more than one “mystery of the Gospel.” (Eph. 6:19) Important among these is “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to the saints.” To this Paul adds, “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”—Col. 1:26,27
Through his prophets of the Old Testament God had set forth the “hope of glory” for the Messiah, who is Christ of the New Testament. Peter mentions this, explaining that it was the Spirit of God in and through the prophets which “testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.”—I Pet. 1:11
Prior to the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the “sufferings of Christ” constituted one of the mysteries of the divine plan. The disciples expected Jesus immediately to set up the messianic kingdom, not realizing that it was necessary first that Christ should suffer and die.—Luke 24:26,27
The hearts of two of the disciples burned within them as Jesus unfolded this “mystery.” Doubtless all his followers experienced the same joy when they realized that the death of Jesus was not a miscarriage of the divine plan, that it was necessary so that mankind might be redeemed from death.—Luke 24:31,32
But there was a further aspect to this “mystery” which the disciples did not understand prior to Pentecost, which was that the foretold sufferings of Christ were not completed at Calvary. It was this further feature of the “mystery” that Paul wrote about, saying, “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church.” (Col. 1:24) It is because those who are a part of his “body” have the privilege of suffering with Christ that they have the same “hope of glory” which enabled him to endure the cross and despise the shame heaped upon him by his enemies.—Heb. 12:1-3
Concerning this mystery Paul further wrote, “We are members of his body. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph. 5:30-32) This relationship of the now glorified Jesus to his body members still in the flesh is so vital that he said to Saul of Tarsus, who was persecuting the disciples, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”—Acts 9:4
For those to whom this “mystery” has been revealed it is not complex or difficult to understand. Indeed, it explains many things. It explains, for example, why the faithful people of God throughout the age have been permitted to suffer. It explains why the kingdom of Christ was not established at the first advent. It explains why the world has not yet been converted to Christ. By understanding this mystery, we know that the divine purpose for this age has not been the conversion of the world, but the gathering out from the world those who, in the divine providence, hear the call to discipleship, accept it, and prove their faithfulness by suffering and dying with Christ.
The Gentiles Also
THERE is another aspect to the mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” It is that in this blessed and vital relationship with Christ, believing Gentiles share even as do believing Jews. Paul wrote to the brethren at Ephesus concerning this, which we quote:
“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the Gospel.”—Eph. 3:1-6
Paul was very appreciative of the fact that God had selected and empowered him to preach this great mystery of the divine plan to the Gentiles. He wrote, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.”—Eph. 3:8,9
To us there is nothing mysterious about the fact that Gentiles should be accepted into the fellowship of the body of Christ. But the situation was quite different at the beginning of the age. Prior to that time the natural descendants of Abraham were considered to be, and were, the chosen people of God. God had said to these, “You only have I known of all the families of the earth.”—Amos 3:2
When Jesus sent his disciples into the ministry he specifically told them not to go to the Gentiles. (Matt. 10:5) Even though after his resurrection Jesus broadened his commission to his disciples, telling them that they were to be his witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth, it was difficult for the Jewish disciples to grasp the “unsearchable riches of Christ,” which included the opportunity for believing Gentiles to be fellow-heirs with them.
To assist Peter in grasping the broadening of the “mystery,” the Lord gave him that wonderful vision of the sheet let down from heaven filled with all sorts of “unclean” animals. Later, by the Lord’s further providence, he went to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, where he presented the Gospel. There he witnessed a manifestation of the Holy Spirit coming upon the believing Cornelius and his household. Concerning the significance of this, Peter said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.”—Acts 10:9-35
This revelation to Peter that now Gentiles, through belief and dedication, could be fellow-heirs with Jewish believers, was a great help to him in his ministry of the truth. Throughout his first epistle he not only continued to emphasize that the true disciples participate in the foretold sufferings of Christ, but also that Gentile believers share this opportunity to prove worthy of the promised messianic glory.—I Pet. 2:20,21
He wrote, “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”—I Pet. 2:9,10
“In time past were not a people, but are now the people of God.” This is, or was, one of the mysteries of the Gospel, a mystery closely associated with the mystery that Christ is not one member, but many, the mystery of Christ in you, the “hope of glory.”—Col. 1:27; I Cor. 12:12-14,27
Mysteries, But Not Mysterious
THE mysteries of the kingdom which are revealed to the Lord’s people are to them no longer mysteries, but understandable facts concerning the divine plan for the salvation of the world of mankind from sin and death. It is important to realize this, and to rejoice in the fact that things which are revealed now belong to us to understand and to be our inspiration and joy.
These revealed mysteries are not mysterious. It does not require specially trained minds to understand these simple truths. Some have the mistaken notion that these “deep things of God” are deep, in the sense of being complex and difficult to grasp. But this is not true. If it were true, then the Lord would have called only those with brilliant minds.
However, while God’s revealed mysteries are easily grasped by those to whom the Lord has given his Holy Spirit, there are almost limitless opportunities in the Word of God for study in order to become more familiar with all the “exceeding great and precious promises” pertaining to the glorious truths which he has now supplied for us as “meat in due season.” But the fact that every point of revealed truth is established by many promises of God does not make that truth mysterious, or more difficult to understand.
Over and over again the Bible assures us that those who suffer and die with Jesus will live and reign with him, but the simple fact remains that those who share in the sufferings of Christ will, if faithful even unto death, partake of the promised “glory to follow.” Over and over again the Bible assures us that believing Gentiles are “fellow-heirs,” and, together with believing Jews, are members of the body of Christ; but this repetition does not complicate the simple truth that believing Gentiles and believing Jews are all “one in Christ Jesus.”—Gal. 3:27-29
All the glorious truths of the divine plan which God has revealed to his people in this harvest period at the end of the age are simple, and easily understood. Actually, a few sentences are all that are required to set forth the entire plan of God. But how marvelously these simple truths shine forth in their lustrous beauty as one after another the appropriate promises of God are associated with them!
Jesus said to his opponents, “It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.” (John 8:17) It is in keeping with this detail of his own Law that our Heavenly Father, through his Word, has established every point of truth with respect to his plan of salvation, not by two “witnesses” only, but by many. How many times we are told, for example, in one form of words or another, that “the wages of sin is death,” and that “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”—Rom. 6:23
And think of the number of “witnesses” the Lord has provided, to give us a firm foundation for faith in that glorious truth that Jesus Christ “by the grace of God tasted death for every man,” that he “gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (Heb. 2:9; I Tim. 2:3-6) So we might mention one after another of the vital doctrines of the divine plan and note how substantially each one is supported by God’s “witnesses,” the Holy Scriptures.
And not only so, but the Lord has furnished an almost endless array of types, “shadows,” and illustrations, all of which help us to understand the simple doctrines of his Word more clearly, and make the study of them ever more refreshing and stimulating. But here we should guard against the common mistake of considering all the personalities and happenings of the Old Testament as types. Certain ones in the Old Testament are referred to in the New Testament as types. Moses, for example, was a type of Christ. (Acts 3:22) David was a type of Christ. (Luke 1:32) Isaac was a type of Christ and his church.—Gal. 4:28
But this does not mean that all the personalities of the Old Testament are typical of individuals or groups with whom the Lord deals at a later time. But they are examples of faithfulness to the Lord, if they were faithful; and those who were unfaithful serve as warnings against following their example.
How beautiful and inspiring is the devotion to God’s people reflected by Ruth when she said to her mother-in-law, “Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.”—Ruth 1:16,17
We think at the moment of that long list of faithful ones mentioned in the 11th chapter of Hebrews. Some of these we know were typical, and they all serve as that “cloud of witnesses” by which, as we meditate upon their faithfulness, we are inspired to greater diligence as we endeavor to be faithful to the truth by which we are guided in the doing of God’s will.
How wonderful that the Lord has provided us with all these aids to faithfulness! They do not complicate the simple truths, but are designed to help us apply them in our daily lives, and thus to be conformed more and more to the image of God’s dear Son. Let us not get the notion that complicated, indefinite, and hard to understand explanations of the truth are “deep,” or, to use another expression of the Bible, the “strong meat” of the Word.
It is this mistaken idea that, throughout the ages, led to many of the unreasonable and contradictory traditions with which the professed Christian world today is plagued. Ask the proponents of these fanciful theories for an explanation, and they demur with the excuse, “That is one of the mysteries which we are not supposed to understand.”
We freely grant that among the “high thoughts” of God there are many things our finite minds are unable to understand. These are the “hidden things” which belong to God. But those things which he has revealed to his people belong to us, and they are simple and understandable, so much so that frequently we find that even children are able to grasp and appreciate them.
In Isaiah 1:18 the Lord asks us to reason together with him, but not on a level that is beyond our comprehension. In extending this invitation God states the subject, saying, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Here the Lord is assuring us that our sins, “red” though they may be, can be made white through the arrangement which he has provided for this purpose. Our “reasoning” with the Lord on this point reveals that this great blessing comes to consecrated believers through the merit of the shed blood of Christ. This is not mysterious.
Let us avoid the mistaken notion that there is a “deep,” “hidden” meaning attached to nearly every word and incident in the Bible. This erroneous viewpoint leads to all sorts of fanciful guesses and “interpretations,” and often to spiritual pride on the part of those who indulge in this sort of Bible “study.”
May our rejoicing in the revealed truths of the Bible increase, as day by day, through our study of the Word, we discover texts and promises which give us additional assurance of the veracity of one or another of the precious doctrines of the divine plan of the ages. The “precious Bible” is indeed a “boon most sacred from the Lord.” It is given to us as the channel through which he reveals those otherwise hidden things of his plan which he wants us to know.
Just as the poet has said, the Bible is a “mine” deeper than any mortal can go; for we will never cease to find nuggets of simple truths which harmonize with, and support, the great fundamentals of the divine plan. These “new rich gems” of truth are usually precious promises of God which we hadn’t noticed before, or perhaps had forgotten.
If our “digging” for “treasures” in the Word of God is properly conducted, we will be built up more and more in our most holy faith. But if we spend our time searching for the mysterious, in the mistaken idea that such constitute the “deep things” of God,” we are apt to find ourselves more and more confused, and far from being established in those revealed truths, the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,” which have been so graciously made known to us in this end of the age. These revealed and simple truths constitute the “Gospel of Christ” which is “the power of God unto salvation.”—Rom. 1:16