Explaining the Mystery

So here we are, after all this time, the last three verses of the Book of Romans. The Book of Romans, as we found out last week, is, I've referred to it a lot in my life as Christianity 101. Those of you who've been to college know what 101 means. It's the basic course of what it means to be a Christian and how you get to be one. And so as he comes to the end, Paul just never stops teaching. Even in the very last phrase, he's gonna be teaching something. And when I started to look at these verses, I thought, boy, in verse 25, he's teaching. He's teaching, and look what he says.

He says, now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ and according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past. The key words that jumped out at me were establish, my gospel, preaching of Christ, mystery, and kept secret. But now is manifested and by the scriptures of the prophets and according to the commandment of the eternal God as made known to all the nations, leading to the obedience of faith. And obedience of faith is pretty simple. God says, believe, I obey, I believe him. to the only wise God through Jesus Christ be glory forever.

So in doing, putting this together, I thought, well, one of the things that we learn, especially in an environment like we live in, which is a focus on God's word and teaching, what are we trying to accomplish? What's to make us all really smart so that when we, before we go to heaven, there's a quiz and we want to pass?

No, we want to be established. Established. So what does established mean? Well, the definition is it means to render you firm and constant, to keep you from falling, sterizzo, to make you stable, placed firmly, set fast to strengthen to make you firm.

So what God is trying to do through his word is to establish us. That's what the whole book of Romans is about, is establishment, to make you firm in believing. God has all the power and ability to establish believers in the truth, and that your faith might be fixed on God's facts. When I say fixed on God's facts, I know your mind says, well, that's kind of boring. But God's facts are very exciting, as you'll see some of them here today. So establishing is something that the Lord's about doing, and he does it, as Paul says, according to my gospel, my gospel.

So it takes place as we are in agreement with the gospel that Paul preached, the book of Romans, chapter one, one, all the way to here. We're settled on that, we're firm on it. And when it's achieved, the Romans who are gonna get this letter will be settled and confirmed in their faith. That's the whole purpose.

The expression my gospel is found two other times in the Bible. Paul says in Romans 2.16, on the day when according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

And in 2 Timothy 2.8, he said, remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead, descended of David, according to my gospel. What's the word gospel mean?

Good news, my good news. So that brought my mind said, well, in what sense then Was it Paul's good news? It's God's word, but Paul says it's my gospel. I think there are two reasons. The first one is that the gospel of the mystery and of Christianity was given to Paul, entrusted to him.

He said in 1 Timothy 111, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which I have been entrusted, he'd been given a stewardship of the gospel. It's communicated to me. For I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I'm under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward. But if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me, a stewardship of the gospel. Wouldn't it be nice if our attitude, all of us was, boy, I have been entrusted to me the stewardship of the gospel. That's my job.

That's what my whole life is about. And the second reason is, is that there was a unique revelation to him. Galatians 1.12 says, for I neither received it from man, You know, when Paul began to understand things and the Lord was teaching him, he didn't go check it out with the apostles to see how it went. He went to the apostles to make sure they were teaching what he knew. He was established. For I didn't receive it as man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through revelation of Jesus Christ.

So that's how his ministry is based on. His good news, that's why he refers to it as my gospel. And added to that, the preaching of Jesus Christ. So Paul's gospel centered, focused in the person of the Lord Jesus, not anything else. It was always personal and it was always a person. It wasn't a theology, it was a person.

He not only preached Christ, 2 Corinthians 4 or 5, but he rejoiced when others preached Christ, Philippians 1.18. He was really happy. He made it clear from the start of this epistle that Jesus Christ, God's eternal son, was the center and the core of the gospel. So the gospel is not a theology, it's a person. And when Paul preached the mystery of the gospel among the Gentiles, he did not neglect to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

He did that all the time, Philippians 3.8. Only as we are separated, you and me, separated from the world system and then devoted to the person of the Lord Jesus can we be separated unto and devoted to the gospel. The gospel and Christ go together. You can't add the world into it. You can't add your opinion into it. You can't add sin into it. It's the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the gospel, the news about him. So he says, now to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ.

And this phrase sort of just lit my mind on fire, the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept secret for long ages past. So doesn't that make you want to say, well, I wonder what the mystery is. Is it the cross? Is it, you know, what we study?

Well, the first thing I wanted to do is to expel two errors that we hear a lot. One of the errors is that Paul was the only person who received revelation of the mystery. He wasn't. He was corrected. This is corrected in Ephesians 3.5, which teaches that the mystery truth was revealed to God's holy apostles and prophets. But that's not the total of the mystery. He was not the only steward of the mysteries of God. And the second thing is that there's a belief that the mystery was not made known until Paul showed up on the scene. Again, that's not true.

The mysteries of God are revealed in the fullness of their value in Paul's epistles, but Paul was not the first to reveal these secrets. So let's see if we can figure out what's the difference between what Paul knew and what some of these other apostles and prophets knew.

Why would he make such a statement? So mystery truth had been revealed according to the verses here, at least in the germ form by our Lord Jesus himself, Matthew 13. and in the upper room discourse, John chapter 14 through 17. It's referred to, but it's in germ form. So I'll give you some examples. The mystery of the church was anticipated in Matthew 13, 45 and 46.

The mystery of Christ in you was anticipated in John 14, and certainly in John 17, 23, but explained in Colossians 1.27. The mystery of the oneness of Christ and his church.

Ephesians 5.31 and 32 explanation, but it was anticipated in John 17.21 through 23. The mystery of the rapture. That wasn't a mystery, the church knew. It was 1 Corinthians 15. but it was anticipated in John 14. He talked about the rapture.

The mystery of the present status of the nation of Israel, Romans 11.25, but it was anticipated in Matthew 13.44. If you want this list later to see me, there are some handouts with the list on it.

The mystery of Jews and Gentiles being united together in one body, anticipated in John 10, 16, but explained, opened up in Ephesians 3, 5, and 6. So these are examples of things, of mysteries that were secrets and not sort of teased about, but a little bit of revelation in different parts of scripture, but not explained openly until Paul shows up. So according to the revelation, there are five passages in the Bible that clearly define what a New Testament mystery is. And if you, I put up here, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept secret for long ages past, I looked at the interlinear area and it said, in times eternal, having been kept secret. So there are things. And we'll talk about some of them today that were kept secret.

So what is a mystery? Ephesians three, chapter three, verse four says, and by referring to this, when you read, you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets in the spirit. There were things, the mystery of Christ, they knew the Messiah was coming, they knew a lot about him, but there was so much about who Christ was and what he was gonna do that it wasn't laid out as much, maybe put it that way.

Ephesians 3.9, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery, which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things.

Colossians 1.26, that is the mystery, which has been hidden from past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to his saints.

Matthew 13, 35, so that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, saying, I will open my mouth, I will open my mouth in the parables, I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world. So God wasn't holding back anything, he was just keeping things reserved for when Christ showed up and to talk, because everything was centered in him. And then our verse here, verse 26, now is manifested by the scriptures of the prophets according to a commandment of the eternal God has been known to all nations leading to the obedience of faith. You ever notice that God does everything to set up an environment where he just requires humanity to believe him when he says something.

In light of these passages, here's the definition, a mystery is that which was hidden, kept secret, not made known to men in previous generations, prior to Paul's generation, but was made clear and revealed in the New Testament era to and by the New Testament apostles and prophets.

So lots of times things referred to not made clear until the gospels or until the epistles. Verse 26 says, has now been made known. So let's go at it for a minute. The mystery which had been kept secret. God had a certain purpose. Now listen to this, because we don't talk about this very much. To take certain creatures into his own glory. Does that register? Think about that for a minute.

To share that glory, And he desired also that these should know him in his nature as love and be with him before him in a blissful atmosphere of pure love forever. That's what he was wanting. And that's what he's gonna do. So, it was God's purpose to clearly reveal himself in all that he is, not in holiness and righteousness and truth only, not only that aspect, but in his infinite love, in his grace, his mercy, his tenderness, his gentleness, his patience. Until Paul started to write, you didn't know that God loved you. Until John wrote, God so loved the world. Nobody knew that God loved them.

But after revealing his love and mercy and gracious tenderness towards sinners, what does God do? The Son of God goes to the cross. And there is revealed the eternal, unchangeable holiness of God in his hatred of sin, together with that love capable of giving the Son his delight to bear sin in the world that rejected and despised his Son. He did that in spite of everybody hating him.

And then the mystery which Paul speaks that's not been revealed. Was it not prophesied in the Psalms and prophets and witnessed in the times of the offerings that the Son of God, the Messiah should suffer and that for human sin? Yeah, that was there. Luke 24 says that it is written in the law, the prophets and the Psalms, that Christ should suffer, rise again from the dead on the third day. Our risen Lord said to his disciples in Luke, the mystery has been hid in God who created all things, hid from ages past and generations. So what is the mystery that nobody knew about? I think it's wrapped up but not totally revealed in John 17. For here we find the Lord Jesus praying for a company of humans given to him by the Father out of the world. Who is that company?

It's us. It's the church. 1722, our Lord says plainly, the glory which you have given me, I have given them. Now think about that. That's a mystery. The Lord Jesus Christ as a man was gonna go to heaven, go to the cross and go to heaven and be glorified with the fullness of who God is in a man. And guess what? So are we. We'll be glorified. That is a concept that you can dwell on for a long time.

So that this glory into which Christ was to enter was to be shared with those whom the Father had given him, which is us, the church. Then, This is the foundation of the revelation of the mystery. We'll go through certain were brought in Christ into the divine glory. I think this is, being brought into God's divine glory is something that Christians never talk about or think about or even, you know, fellowship about.

They were to manifest with him in glory at his appearing. Do you know that when the Lord Jesus is presented to the world when he comes, he will be presented in all the glory of God in a man. What are you going to be doing? You're going to be presented with him and his glory is going to be presented and come through you. For God to decide that he's going to take some human beings and glorify them with his glory and manifest them to the world is the secret.

Nobody knew that. All this is because they had entered into the glory never before given to a creature. It wasn't ever given to angels, seraphim, or cherubim, but to the blood-bought sinners as members of Christ. Nor was such ever proposed of Israel.

Saved Israel will see the glory of God. They'll see it. And I shall see the king in his beauty, as promised in the beloved restored nation, Isaiah 33. that over restored Jerusalem the glory shall be spread a covering. You get that? That's different than being presented as the glory in the glory of Christ. But there's never a hint in the Old Testament there would be a heavenly calling, a company who would enter into that glory and be glorified with this glorious one. That's not talked about in the Old Testament anywhere. So we're kind of privileged, kind of. So Paul declares, we'll establish the saints. The unfolding of this mystery has the capacity to establish us, to make us solid, to settle us down.

When you think about who you really are in Christ, Some of these other things that you sort of play with, think, well, boy, that's nothing compared to what's going to happen here. For it involves a revelation that we were chosen before the foundation of the world. That we were foreknown and foreordained to be conformed to the image of God's Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. This conforming image isn't being Christ-like on the earth, though that's part of it. It's being glorified. That's what the conformity is all about. That we, having a sinful history in Adam, Adam the first would not only have our sins put away, but in God's grace, by the blood of Christ. that we would be so identified with Christ, by God's astonishing act, we'd be cut off from any connection with the first Adam, any connection with the first Adam, and be created in Christ, now risen from the dead.

Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I now live. that we would not only be enlifed with him, but we would be raised with him and made to sit with him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, Ephesians 1. That we In the riches of the glory of this mystery, Christ would be in us, dwelling in our hearts by faith in the energy of the Holy Spirit. That our hearts being a mirror, we would behold the glory of the Lord and be transformed into his image.

You notice that 2 Corinthians 3.18 doesn't say, that by beholding the glory of the Lord in God's word that I am transferred or transformed from being a bad guy to a good guy or from a less sinful to more sinful. No, it says from glory, because that's where you start, to glory. from glory to glory. So when you read God's word, what's going on there spiritually, you're being transferred from one state of glory to the next state, to the next state. So that by the time you're revealed in Christ, you'll be just like him. That our Lord's second coming, our bodies would be instantly redeemed. so that by Christ fashioning us anew and at once our bodies will be conformed to his glory. You can't show up with an unglorified body, you gotta have one. You ever think about this?

When we are raptured and go to the Bema and then we go, we're being prepared for the wedding feast of the Lamb, do you know what's going on there? What's Christ doing? He's preparing his bride. Well, I would think, well, what do I have to do? Put the new clothes on? White robes? If you understand that the Lord Jesus Christ will be, we will be married to him, united to him, we have to be like him in order to be married to him. Do you get that? He's not gonna marry down. And you're not gonna marry up. It's the same. It's the same. That's part of the secret.

So that we should be like him and we shall see him as he ever is. Why? That in the ages to come, for all eternity, God will show the exceeding riches of his grace in the kindness to us in Christ Jesus. You know, God does everything for one reason, to manifest his glory, and guess what? He picked you to be part of that. That Christ and his bride, the church, shall be together forever, that they may be one, they may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which you gave me and the glory which you have given me, I've given to them. It's not a little bit less, it's the same. So, what do you do about all of this information?

The only verse I could find that really made sense to me was 1 Timothy 4.15.

The new King James says, meditate on these things. and give yourself entirely to them, that you may progress and it may be evident to all. The New American Standard says, take pains with these things to absorb in them, be absorbed in them, and that your progress may be evident to all. Interlinear, these things be diligent, in these things, be involved that your progress may be manifested to all." The beginning of the manifestation of God's glory in those of us begins here. Meditate on these things.

In closing, I took some stuff from Newell that I thought, I couldn't find anybody that could explain this glory environment any better than Newell did at the end. He said this, we shall see and realize that our history in the first Adam was ended at the cross. That's a great step.

We shall see that Christ with whom God has now connected us is wholly a heavenly Christ. and that neither Christ nor those in him have anything to do with Israel after the flesh, nothing, to whom the law was given and to whom the Messiah came. We shall see ourselves vitally connected with and joined to this heavenly Christ so that we have been received in Christ as belonging to heaven. That's where we belong. Even as he is, that we are the righteousness of God in him, that we are loved even as he and that our citizenship is in heaven. That's who we are. That we shall see the blindness has befallen Israel. We sure do see that. We also see the mystery of lawlessness is working. Just turn on the news. We were talking about it in Sunday school class.

The latest term is that evil is mental problems. Mental, how do they define it? What's the term? Mental illness. It's not mental illness, it's sin. It's sin, but you know who only can see that? We're the only ones that can see that it's sin. They think it's mental illness.

You can't fix us in nature, but they're gonna try. That our earthly testimony of the church has failed, no kidding. That iniquity will abound and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse in professing Christendom. And of all these things, we shall be certain. We see it every day. And you contrast that with who you really are in Christ.

But knowing them beforehand and understanding that the course of things on the earth has nothing to do with our heavenly calling, we shall continue steadfast in faith. We'll believe what God has told us. It is not only true of us now, but what will be. there'll be an ever-deepening humility in your hearts, and it'll be wrought in us by the knowledge that we have been called into this divine union, so that there is fulfilled in us what our Lord prayed for, that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, they also may be one in us. not only humility, but it gives us great hope. The true hope of the instructed Christian, the one who really knows what's going on and what will go on, will rise and well up in our hearts looking for that blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Titus 2.13.

What's the result? The believer now walks consciously, justified from all things and in newness of life. He walks as a new creature in Christ, as made alive together with Christ and raised up in him and made to sit with him in heavenly places. What's the result?

With Paul as the example, he runs his course towards Christ himself. as walking through many dangers in this earth, yet holding fast the head, who's the head? Christ Jesus, in whom is all fullness and whom in constant appropriation of his fullness, the believer is being made full. And with ever absorbing hope, he expects the day when Christ shall appear and become in a moment like him, seeing him as he is. And that's why the last verse doesn't need any explaining. To the only wise God through Jesus Christ be glory forever, amen, amen.

Father, how thankful we are for what you've done. Our desire is that we could enter more fully into it all the time. And I don't mean it, I mean him. to just come to the realization of what you intended by calling us out to be just like your son is overwhelming. But it's true, and that you would establish us in these words and this information and this mystery. And we'd settle down with it and walk with your son, the Lord Jesus. We thank you, Father. We pray in your son's precious name. Amen.