The Subject of the Ministry (Col. 1:26-27)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/17/2017 8:46 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  The Subject of the Ministry

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Colossians 1:26-27

            Message of the verses:  “26  that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, 27  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.”

            We can see what the ministry was that Paul was proclaiming which is “the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints.”  Now we go to a favorite verse of mine to show that there are some things that God does not reveal to anyone “"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).”  Psalm 25:14 shows us that God reveals other things only to certain people “The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.”  Proverbs 3:32 says “For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright.”  I have read a long time ago that when the word mystery is used in the New Testament that it is revealing things that was written in the Old Testament.  The Greek word for mystery is “musterion.”  MacArthur writes that “Paul use of this word is not to indicate a secret teaching, rite, or ceremony revealed only to some elite initiates (as in the mystery religions), but truth revealed to all believers in the New Testament.  This truth, that has now ‘been manifested to His saints,’ namely the Old Testament era and people.  ‘Now’ refers to the time of the writing of the New Testament.  Such newly revealed truth includes the mystery of the incarnate God (Col. 2:2-3, 9); of Israel’s unbelief (Rom. 11:25); of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:7; cf. Rev. 17:5, 7); of the unity of Jew and Gentile in the church (Eph. 3:3-6); and of the rapture (1 Cor. 15:51).  This mystery truth is available only for those who are saints—true believers (cf. 1 Cor. 2:7-16).  The phrase ‘to whom God willed to make known’ clearly indicates that the mysteries are not discovered by the genius of man, but are revealed by the will and act of God.  It is God’s purpose that His people know this truth.”

            Now the most profound truth found in the New Testament is found in the statement found in verse 27, at the end of that verse where Paul writes “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  I began listening to the Bible on the first of January of this year and am doing it in a bit different way this year as I am listening to the ESV of the Bible and also reading a daily devotional written by John MacArthur in this devotional Bible.  You read from the OT each day and also from the OT book of Psalms each day and then a chapter or two, depending on the day from the New Testament each day.  Yes it does take a while, but I am glad that I can listen to it and not have to read it as there are some words in the OT that are difficult to pronounce.  While listening to these early chapters in the OT I have noticed some of the different prophecies concerning the Messiah and even when the tabernacle was built I can see Christ in it too.  Wood represents His humanity and gold His deity.  The bronze represents His judgment which will come when He returns again to planet earth.  It is good to find those jewels that speak of the coming Messiah either His first coming or His second coming.  However none of the OT prophecies of the coming Messiah revealed that the Holy Spirit would be living in the hearts of the believers and also that the Church would be mostly made up of Gentiles with only a few Jewish people in it, but those who are in the church are of one body.  MacArthur writes “That Christ indwells all believers is the source of their ‘hope of glory’ and is the subject or theme of the gospel ministry.  What makes that gospel attractive is not just that it promises present joy and help, but that it promises eternal honor, blessing, and glory.  When Christ comes to live in a believer, His presence is the anchor of the promise of heaven—the guarantee of future bliss eternally (Cf. 2 Cor. 5:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14).  In the reality that Christ is living in the Christian is the experience of new life and hope of eternal glory.”

2/17/2017 9:17 PM