I would like to talk about a matter which is generally relegated to what is called the deepest of the deeper teaching. People tend to feel, “Oh, dear! To begin talking on a matter like that, we will be lost right from the start.” But I don’t believe so at all. I believe that the Lord can give us such help, such grace, such illumination and revelation, that we shall begin to see something clearly as we have never seen it before.

The days in which we are living require clarity of vision. We live in the midst of people, believing people, who are used to contradicting what they believe in practice. There is a spirit that has gone right through Christianity that we believe wonderful things, we believe in ideals, we believe in tremendous truths. However, as for the practice of it and the experience of it, it would shock us if in actual fact it were to be so. Of course, it is very easy for us to blame everybody else and to say, “Well, of course they don’t practice what they preach.” The fact comes down to you. Anyone who says of somebody else, “they don’t practice what they preach” is normally not practicing what they preach. In other words, in the final analysis, the only way you and I ever really become aware of truth is not just by the preaching of words, or the preaching of truths. It is because the truth has got into that person like fire and somehow then the words and the preaching coalesce and somehow, we are affected. When we see a life, however weak and with whatever number of failings, in which the Lord is dwelling, and in which the Lord is manifesting Himself, we all recognise this.

Now, this is what we really need. So I am going to embark upon a matter which I shall explore a little by the grace of God. We shall start on the foundation of the whole thing. Later, we shall come right down to the practical relevance of all this in our life as the people of God — in your life, in my life, in our family life, and in every aspect of our life.

The Foundation

Now, the phrase that has been so much with me is this little phrase in Ephesians 3:4:

whereby, when you read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ.

This chapter three of the Ephesian letter is a parenthesis. In other words, the apostle Paul was writing or dictating this letter and when he got to what we call chapter three, verse one, “For this cause I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus, on behalf of you Gentiles,” he suddenly broke off on a digression! Then in chapter four, verse one, he comes back again, “I, therefore the prisoner in the Lord, beseech you to walk worthily of the call, wherewith you were called.” This chapter three is a kind of heavenly digression.

Now, many preachers are guilty of digressions — not always heavenly — but most preachers are, at one time or another, drawn off on this way or drawn out on that way and digress from the matter. Having said that in one sense it is a heavenly digression, a kind of parenthesis that is in brackets, do not for one single moment think that it is just a confused jumble of thoughts out of the apostle’s mind — not at all. This digression actually comes to the very heart of the matter.

As is so often with the apostle’s asides, it comes right behind the scenes to the whole matter that lies behind this Ephesian letter, and indeed, behind everything. So it is not to be overlooked or to be treated as of secondary importance, as though his real theme, which he began in chapter one and two and which he goes on with in chapter four and five, is the main, fundamental matter and that this digression is secondary — no, not at all. It is as if the apostle draws aside the veil of the Holy of Holies and takes us from the Holy Place into the most holy place of all. It is as if, suddenly, by the Spirit in this digression, in a flash of divine inspiration, he brings us immediately to the heart of the whole matter. That, I find, is tremendous.

The Significance of Salvation

What is the significance of your salvation, the real significance? I don’t mean salvation in that you have been saved. Some people think that is the significance — ”I’ve been saved! I’ve been saved from sin. I’ve been saved from hell!” But what is the real, eternal significance of your salvation as far as God is concerned? Why did God bother about us useless little bits of clay? Why did He labour with us, when He could, with one single word, have cancelled out everything and started all over again? What is the significance of your salvation? What is the real significance of Christ’s coming into this world and of His finished work on the cross?

The Significance of God’s Dealings

What is the real significance of all God’s dealings with mankind? Why did he start with Adam and when Adam and Eve failed, why did he go on with Abel? Then later with Shem? Then with Abraham? Then after Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob, with Joseph, and on through all the great line of the people of God? What was it that He was doing? What is the key to it all?

The Significance of History

What is the significance of history itself? Is the history of the nations just one sort-of coincidental mass of details? Or is the history of the nations something over which God rules with something (like the apple of His eye) something in His mind the whole time? In other words, it is not just that God has an eternal object in eternity, outside of time, but time itself is related to that objective of God. What is the significance then, of history itself, of the nations, of the world, of all the great empires that have come and gone? Of Israel — its exile, its regathering, and its final salvation and destiny? What is the significance of the creation of this universe and of mankind? Why did God begin the whole matter? Why has He persevered?

Now I believe that the little phrase “the mystery of Christ” introduces us to the heart of this matter. We come to the answer to all these questions in this little phrase “the mystery of Christ.” For instance, in Ephesians 3:3–5, “how that by revelation was made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote before in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, [from Adam until that time] as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit;” Then he explains it: “to wit, that the Gentiles, are fellow-heirs, and fellow-members of the body, and fellow- partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.”

Now, I don’t know what that means to you, but evidently this whole mystery of the Messiah has to do with the Gentiles becoming fellow heirs, fellow members of the body. That was an altogether new phrase never before used: “fellow members of the body and fellow partakers of the promises.” What promises? All the promises God made to the patriarchs, to the fathers; all the promises God made to the prophets, to Israel, to His chosen people, to His elect people. Well, I say, that is something worth considering. This thing that has been hidden for generations has now been revealed. But is it not a tragedy that the vast majority of Christian believers have no idea as to the mystery of Christ? In fact, most of them will say, “Oh dear, that is too theological for me.” They would creep away. And yet, if I understand what the apostle Paul is saying, he is telling us that this is the birthright of every child of God.

Then look again in the same chapter, Ephesians 3:9–11. Listen to these marvellous words. This is the apostle again speaking, he says: “and to make all men see what is the dispensation of the mystery which for ages hath been hid in God.”

What a wonderful phrase! Have you ever thought about it? Which for ages has been hid? Where has it been hid? Hid in God. So it has come out of His heart. It has come out of not only His mind, but out of His heart. It has been hid in Him, locked up within the very being of God. So this is no small matter. This is something absolutely tremendous. This is something essential, something fundamental. It has been locked up in the very being of God and now, the apostle says, “It is my job to make all men see what is the dispensation.”

The word dispensation is a dreadful word — one of those theological words. I think it is unfortunate that the word used is dispensation because people get the idea of dispensational truth, and they carve everything up into so many ages. Now, there may be truth in that, but I think it is a shame that as soon as we use the word dispensation people get a kind of connotation. I think it is rather good in the New American Standard Bible where it says, “to make all men see what is the administration of this mystery, which has been hidden for ages in God.” You see, the word is management, it is household management. The word has the idea of the running of the household, the administration of a household, the sort-of watching. Stewardship is another word that could be used — the stewardship of the mystery. He says, to make all men see, what is the stewardship of this mystery, what is the administration of this mystery which has been hid for ages in God.

Then he goes on, “… who created all things …” So, we get a hint there, that God created all things with this mystery locked up in His heart. This mystery, this secret was the real significance of why He created all things: the universe, the things which are seen, the things which are not seen, mankind itself.

God’s Purpose from Eternity Past

Now he goes on:

to the intent that now unto the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places might be made known through the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Here is another wonderful word: He purposed something in Christ Jesus our Lord. It was not some coincidental purpose.

It was not some secondary purpose. It was not some subsidiary purpose. It was the eternal purpose of God. That is going right back before times eternal. God had a design, a plan, an objective, an ultimate goal, in the light of which He created the universe, all things that can be seen, as well as not seen, things visible and things invisible, and then created mankind. When mankind fell, He already had in His heart, the whole answer to the fall in the person of His own Son. Well, that is very wonderful. It is rather a lot. It is almost overwhelming! But it is rather wonderful that it says, “according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Those of you who have the Revised Standard Version will see that it very beautifully puts it like this: “according to the eternal purpose which He realised in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So it is not only that He purposed this in Christ Jesus our Lord, but the Lord Jesus was, as it were, the foundation, the basis for the whole matter, but more than that, He realised it in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not just through Him, but in Him He has realised something. The very thing that God wanted from the start for mankind, for the universe, He has secured in the Lord Jesus; He has realised in the Lord Jesus. Now, those of you who have got the New American Standard Bible will see that it is rather awkwardly translated, but I think very tellingly translated. It says, “according to the eternal purpose, which He carried out in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”

Now, I do not know what you feel, but I think that those few scriptures alone, just make me stand back and think, “My word, what is in this matter? There is something tremendous in this matter.” It makes no difference whether you are an aged saint, or a person who has just been saved a day ago, or an hour ago, there is something in here for us if we are saved. There is something tremendous in this for us. We are involved with this. This is not something that is just left for theological minds, for those who go to Theological Seminary. This is meant to be the kind of revelation that puts a dynamic into our living, and an impetus into our service. This is the kind of thing which gives us a goal, it gives us a horizon, it lifts us out of one dimension into another. It is something which suddenly gives us as it were, the whole thrust of our worship and of our service.

Let me just put it like this: I cannot help but worship a God who has a heart like that. It would be marvellous enough, if God was just sentimental, and had in some corner of His heart some sentiment for me and saved me. But when I think that God has a plan for the whole universe, and for mankind, and in spite of its fall, He has somehow or other laid a foundation through which He can reconcile the whole thing back to Himself, to bring it back to Himself, and then finally fulfil His purpose, that is tremendous!

That lifts this whole matter onto another level, doesn’t it? Instead of the normal kind of thing we get in Christian circles, where we talk about streets of gold, and pearly gates and angels dancing round with harps and trumpets, and the saints sitting on damp clouds in glorified nighties singing, “Hallelujah” forever and ever. I mean, you can understand the world sort of thinking that we are old fashioned squares who should have gone out with Queen Victoria. This kind of revelation is the kind of light that brings scope into our service, and scope into our Christian life and living. It gives us perhaps a glimmer of an understanding.

Expressions of This Mystery

Marriage

Now, let’s come back again to this matter. It is not only in this chapter. If we turn to Ephesians 5:32, we find that here the apostle Paul has been talking about marriage. When he talks about marriage, he comes to this in verse 32: “this mystery is great, but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church.” Now in this incredible chapter in talking about husbands loving their wives, and wives being subject to their husbands, and husbands treating their wives as their own flesh, their own body, the apostle Paul says, “You see, this whole matter of marriage is an expression in time of an eternal reality that is in the heart of God.” He ends by saying, “this mystery is great, that two can become one flesh.” He says, “This mystery is great, but I speak in regard of Christ and of the Church.” What does he mean? Listen to it, he means that we have not just become fellow partakers of promises given to the Fathers and to the Prophets, to the people of God under the Old Covenant. We have not only become fellow heirs with them of all that God has, as it were, made a heritage for His Son. We have become fellow members of His Body. That’s the heart of the matter.

The Body — Bone of His Bone

In other words, the Lord Jesus looks upon every born-again child of God as His own flesh. Remember when Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus, somewhere along the Golan Heights, and was struck down by a revelation of the Lord Jesus. When he saw light that shone greater than the midday sun (and the midday sun is something in those parts with no mist nor upper vapor to make it easier), he heard that voice saying “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?”
Saul said, “Who are you, Lord?”
This heavenly One said, “I am Jesus, whom you persecute.
It is hard for you to kick against the goad.”

You know, it was the beginning of a revelation. Later on, the apostle Paul said in his Galatian letter, “When it pleased God … to reveal His Son in me …” You might wonder when that happened. It went back to his very conversion, and perhaps again after when he went into the desert of Arabia for those three years and pondered and pondered and pondered. It must have come to him again and again, “How could I have persecuted Jesus? He wasn’t there. It was those disciples that I persecuted. I know it was wrong, but it was the disciples I hounded to death, that I brought a false witness against, that I did this and this and this and this.” Then it must have come as a revelation to him: “No, when I touched the most insignificant one of those disciples, the most ignorant one of those disciples, the most unworthy one of those disciples, I touched Jesus. It was as if they were His body. It was as if they were His flesh. When I martyred them, I martyred Him and when I beat them, I beat Him and when I rejected them, I rejected Him and when I tortured them, I tortured Him.”
So He said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?”

That is the mystery of Christ, oh glory! It would transform every life in this room if we saw it — but we don’t. Few of us really see it. We think we see it. We mentally appreciate it, but few have ever really seen it. It is like a spiritual blockbuster when we suddenly realise what union with God really means. We suddenly realise what union with Christ really means! We have become His body, we have become His members, we have become His limbs, we have become partakers of the divine nature. Somehow, we have been introduced into God’s Christ. We are in Him. It is tremendous!

So the apostle speaks of this mystery. He says, “This mystery is great.” Just as woman was taken out of Adam, bone and flesh, out of his open side, so the apostle John, in the 19th chapter of his gospel says, “One of the soldiers went up and pierced His side with a spear, and forthwith there came out, blood and water.” Then as if it meant a tremendous amount to John the apostle he said, “And I who bear witness, my witness is true.” Most people would say, “Well, what is he getting so excited about? The thing to get excited about is that Jesus uttered the cry, ‘Finished!’ That’s the thing to get excited about.” But not John. John was not only excited about the word “finished,” he said, “You know what it was? His side was open, and out of it came blood and water.” Later, writing a letter he said there were three things: “blood and water and spirit.”

What he was really saying was: This is the last Adam. This is the second Man. He was put to sleep on the cross. When He said “Finished,” He died! His eyes closed, His spirit went, and His side was opened, and out of His side was taken the Church, the Bride. She came out through blood and water, created out of Him, out of His life, out of His nature, out of His sacrifice, out of His death, so that when He was raised from the dead, it was as if He said, “This is flesh of My flesh and bone of My bone.” On the day of Pentecost, when He obtained the promised Holy Spirit from the Father and poured out the Holy Spirit upon the whole church, it was as if He was saying, “Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone. This is Me.”

“This mystery is great,” said the apostle, “but I speak of Christ and the church.” Oh, if we believers only saw what a wonderful thing this is, how tremendous this is, how it would revolutionise not only our lives, but our living.

He Purposed …

Then, of course, I think of Ephesians 1:9–11 in the same connection. This is where the apostle had introduced this matter, but I think when you don’t get hold of his marvellous digression in chapter three, this becomes very heavy. But listen to it as he puts it now in the light of what I have said,

making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him unto a dispensation of the fulness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say, in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;

Well, I find that absolutely marvellous. It means that your salvation, your conversion was not some afterthought of God where He sort-of saw you in an evangelistic meeting and said, “Oh, so-and-so looks interested! I’ll save them.” According to this, it says you were foreordained in some unfathomable way that you and I will never be able to understand. Somewhere back there before times eternal, God knew us all. Now, since this is wonderful, don’t you think there is a reason for you and me to start sitting up about it and saying, “Do I understand this?” Maybe mentally you appreciate it, but get rid of that mental business. Mentally appreciated truth is grave clothes. Whenever we “get” something only in our head, it ties us, inhibits us, binds us, darkens us. It is only when it comes by divine illumination that suddenly it lives and we see it and then we are alive to God. It becomes power, and life and grace. I do not care who you are, or however long you have been walking with the Lord, ask him for fresh revelation on this matter. Let the Lord shine into your heart on this matter.

Take those Colossian words in Colossians 1:26 and listen to what the apostle says here that again is very interesting. He speaks about difficult things, things that are beyond the ordinary. He speaks about filling up in his flesh, what remains of the sufferings of Christ, for the body’s sake, which is the church. I doubt whether anybody has really fully understood what that means, except that in some way, our Lord has left a little residue of suffering, which He calls His own sufferings, and He says, “You can come into the fellowship of it if you want to.” What is it all for? Something so deep, something so profound, something so unusual? What is it for? He says,

… the dispensation of God which was given me to you-ward, to fulfil the Word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid for ages and generations.

He said ages and generations. Generations are one thing … ages are another! So that means all the ages and generations.

hid for ages and generations, but now hath it being manifested to His saints

It is not just to the special ones, those that the Popes have at one time or another canonised (many of whom have now been found never to have existed in the first place). These of whom he spoke are biblical saints, those who God has saved, God has sanctified. Now what happens? Look again.

But now hath it been manifested to his saints, to whom God was pleased to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles …

I find that very wonderful: this “mystery among the Gentiles.” What it really means is that if you are a Christian, you are not a Gentile. You are in the Israel of God. You have been introduced into something else: “this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you.” In the Greek “in you” is in the plural. It is: “in you all.” Not just in me personally, but in you, and you, and you, and you, and you, and you. Christ in you all, the hope of glory. So there we have something else about this mystery.

This Strategic Purpose

If you go on, of course, then the apostle starts to talk about the personal side. He says, “and we labour day and night,” Why? “… that we might present every man perfect in Christ,” in this Messiah. Then he goes on in the next paragraph, “that they may know the mystery of God, even Christ in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.” Now, we have to underline the simple fact that the way in which the apostle introduces this matter of the mystery of Christ is not some optional truth, glorious, but not fundamental. He presents it as something which is vital and fundamental to our whole understanding of God’s purpose, fundamental to our whole understanding of the age in which we live, in which we are found. In other words, and I use the word carefully, it is in fact, strategic.

This whole matter of the mystery of Christ being revealed to us, being manifested to us, made known to us is to do with the strategy of God. It is not just the strategy of God for a few people in a particular generation, but a strategy of God in saving mankind through His Son, in redeeming the church, which is His body.

Now, I do not know how much that means to you, but have you ever really understood what this word mystery means? What does it mean? In common usage, the word mystery means: “a secret for which no answer can be found, for which no explanation is adequate.”

Shall I say that again? In common usage, when we use the word mystery, we mean a secret for which no answer can be found and for which, no explanation is adequate. For example, say some people are speaking about some sort of happenings in some so- called “haunted house,” and the scientists all go down there, and then they say, “It is a mystery.” They have ideas, but their ideas do not constitute an answer and their explanation is not adequate to the facts. Now, it is not just that, there are all sorts of other things which they call mysteries. But whenever they say something is a mystery they mean that, at present, its explanation eludes us.

Initiated

Now, that is the way most believers consider the mystery of Christ, something that eludes them … and that is the tragedy. They have taken a completely contemporary idea of the word mystery and transferred it. For them, it is something that God has made a secret for which there is no answer, something for which no answer can be found and for which no explanation is adequate. Yet that is not the meaning of this word. In biblical usage, particularly the New Testament, the Greek word means “that which is known only to the initiated.” That means something a little different. That which is known only to the initiated. This will horrify some people, but it is just as well, because some people get so worked up on pagan things. They say, “Oh, dear, dear, dear! You can’t use any pagan sort of thing!” But you see, the New Testament uses lots of words that had pagan origin, and this is one of them. In classical Greek, this word would have meant: to initiate into the Greek mystery religions. The apostle Paul knew all about that. It was a very common thing, because there were all kinds of secret religious societies and you had to be “initiated into the mysteries.” It is very interesting really, because only the initiated could share an understanding of whatever it was. Do you see? Now, the apostle Paul makes actual references and uses the very word in Philippians 4:12:

I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret.

That in the Greek is this: I have been initiated. I have been initiated. This is the root of this word, translated, mystery. It is to be initiated. So, much more than getting the idea that it is something withheld from you, it is something into which you are initiated. Perhaps you do not like that word initiated. Shall we say introduced? Into which you have been brought? Into which you have been introduced? When we begin to see it like that, it transforms the whole thing. The Holy Spirit uses this word with the emphasis, as Vines says, not on knowledge withheld, but on truth revealed.

Then comes the punch. We thus discover that nearly all the special terms associated with this word in the New Testament, are all to do with our understanding. Notice this: we were taught that the mystery is made known unto us or manifested to us or revealed to us or preached to us, or we are told that whereby you can perceive by understanding of the mystery. The emphasis is not on that it is withheld, but that it is communicated. Now, I find this really rather wonderful that every born-again believer is an initiate in this matter. You haven’t got to be special, you haven’t got to be elite. You haven’t got to be one of the overcomers. If you are born of God you are a candidate for being introduced into this truth that God has revealed and wants to illuminate for you. Therefore, we have to ask.

You see so many of us have this strange idea … people always come to me and say, “You know, God has never spoken to me in my life.” Well, of course not! I knew a boy once who actually became deaf because he did not want to hear. He grew up in a noisy family and he did not particularly like his father or his mother. So he developed a kind of a mental deafness, which finally became a physical deafness. Do you know there are thousands of believers like that? It is not that they do not want to believe, but they have a funny idea that God will never ever speak to them. “Oh, He’ll speak to Lance, and He’ll speak to Ron and He would probably speak to some of the others. But to me? I mean, God will never speak to me.”

We have the same idea about this matter of the mystery. We say, “He would not reveal it to me. If I was a Watchman Nee He might, or Amy Carmichael, or one of the great men and women in the church militant; He might then consider revealing it to me. But not to me.” But just wait. If you are born again, you are a candidate. The only ground that God requires is that you have been saved by His grace and if you have been saved by His grace, you are a saint. That is your standing. You may not be a saint yet in character, but your standing is that and if your standing is that, your birthright is this: God wants to make known to you this mystery among the Gentiles.

Well, again I say, to me this is something very, very wonderful. You see, even in the Old Testament, you have got the same thing. The Hebrew equivalent of this Greek word is an Aramaic word raz. It has been translated in our Bible in Daniel 2:28 in pretty much the same way:

but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,

That is the same word, only in Hebrew.

and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.

Then in verse 47, listen to what the king says,

The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.

The Holy Spirit uses the term of “truth” which cannot be naturally understood, but has to come through revelation. No one can naturally understand God’s salvation. It has to come through revelation. The mystery of the gospel has to be revealed to every one of us. We can go from Sunday school and know it all but there comes a moment when suddenly the light shines, and now we say, “Ah! I see it!” Then what we have heard for years is translated into living — the mystery of the gospel, God initiates us, He introduces us, He brings us in. But then there are many other things that we have to take note of, really, the thought behind it. I asked a brother if he would like to think for a few moments and look up some of the things on this matter, and he did. This is what he said, which I think is very helpful. He said, “Well, the best way to put it is this: it is a secret revealed as a privilege to the initiated.” Well, I think that is very wonderful.

Then, note its use in the New Testament. I will just give you the scriptures. Here you have got all the kinds. For instance, in Matthew 13:11 we read of the mysteries of the kingdom. “Unto you hath it been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” But to the rest — parables. Unto you hath been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom. Not mystery (singular), but the mysteries of the kingdom — the secrets of the kingdom! Then what about I Corinthians 4:1, when the apostle Paul speaks

of them being ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries? Oh, I wish there were more servants of the Lord that were stewards of the mysteries. Don’t you think so? I mean, if a man has not seen the mysteries himself, how can he communicate them?

Once God has started to show you and illuminate you and you begin to see something, you can communicate it to others — although not at once. I always say that when God first reveals something to you, I find it takes two years before you can start talking. To begin with, you only have seen something and you know when other people talk on that subject: “Now, that’s not right, that’s not right. I know it’s not right. I can’t put it into words, but it’s not right.” You can’t explain it. If you do, you get tongue tied, and people can tie you up in knots. But after a year or so, suddenly, it is as an open door. You can utter the mystery of Christ, you can begin to communicate it.

Or think of this in Ephesians 3:4. We read of the supreme mystery, the mystery of Christ. In Colossians 2:2, he puts it this way, that they may understand the mystery of God, even Christ. Then comes the most wonderful thing of all, when you have understood that, in Revelation 10. In the midst of all those visions of persecution, martyrdom, dreadful beasts, and dragon serpents, and the whole thing in foment, then we read this wonderful verse in Revelation 10:7, “but in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, then is finished the mystery of God, according to the good tidings, which he declared to his servants the prophets.”

So the mystery of Christ, the mystery of God, even Christ — it has got to be completed! It is going to be completed in the midst of the whole world in foment. It is going to be completed, according to the good tidings, which He declared to His servants the prophets. It is not going to be less, it is not going to be kind of half done. This work is going to be completed, accomplished, and absolutely perfected. Well, I want to be in that! How can you and I be really in it if we don’t even see it? If we have never got on our knees and said to God, “Oh, Lord, You have saved me, but I do not understand this mystery. I want to understand it.”

More Mysteries

Israel

Or then think of these other mysteries, I will just give them quickly to you. First: the mystery of Israel — Romans 11. Some people get so tied up on this, it really is a mystery. For them, it is a secret withheld. But it does not have to be. About this, the apostle Paul says, “This mystery is great.” Then he talks about “a hardening in part which had befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; and so shall all Israel be saved.” Some people get tied up in knots over this. When some people heard me before, they asked, “Does it mean then that Israel has got priority over the house of God? Isn’t this a little sideline that we are now getting caught up in, distracted into?” What rubbish! It is not Israel and the church. In some wonderful way, in the end, it is Israel and the church come together. That is yet to be. Praise the Lord!

The mystery of Israel is a mystery. It lies behind everything and actually underlies the church. It is the root that carries the church. The church really, in this age are the branches, which are carried by that root. Praise the Lord!

Rapture

Then there is the mystery of the rapture. Well, I am waiting for that. I do not know whether I will get there. Maybe you will be burying me before we come to that rapture, but it doesn’t bother me too much, because I think that even if it is a little while, the dead in Christ will rise first. I remember saying that to a dear sister when she knew she was going. “We won’t get there before you.” She lived her whole life in the light of the coming of the Lord. But you know, when the Lord comes the dead in Christ will rise first, and then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up. We will not prevent them. They will be there first!

Then the apostles says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed.” The dead in Christ and those who are alive at His coming, their bodies will go through a transfiguration in a moment of time — suddenly the body of sin is changed! People say such silly things. For instance at a funeral — I don’t like the word funeral — but you know what I mean. They say, “What does it matter?” Listen, don’t you understand, that when you come to the end, right at the end, when the Lord comes, if you are alive it is your actual body that is transfigured? Is there another body that comes down and the Lord says, “Kick that one out of the way!” and down comes the other one and you jump into it and say, “Ahhhhhh!” No! This body! That is the miracle of it! It was your spirit that was dead in sin that was raised and justified, and it was your soul that has been saved, and now it is your actual body — with its sin! Somehow God drives the sin out and redeems it. In the twinkling of an eye. That is less than half a second. That is a mystery.

I find that it is just as much a mystery to think of the dear apostle Paul and some of the others who have been dust for almost 2000 years (I mean their bodies). Then suddenly when the trumpet sounds and the Word of the Lord … the dust comes together and the atoms make up the body again and we have a raised body — a resurrection body. I can’t wait for it. I think it is so wonderful! Oh, just think of it! You’ll just waltz straight through the wall and out the other side, just like our Lord did. He would suddenly come through a wall and stand in the midst, and yet eat a meal. People say, “Oh, are we going to eat?” Yes! Because our Lord ate broiled fish. So I take it that we are going have something to eat. I don’t know who’s going to do the cooking, but I know that it is not going to be some sort of ether-type existence, floating around as disembodied spirits. I mean, you know that kind of idea that Christians have got, but it’s a Greek idea, the kind of idea that we no longer have bodies. God never made us like that. If He wanted to make us angels, He would have made us that way! They are spirits without bodies. God made us spirit, soul, and body.

When Moses went up before Pharaoh he said, “not a hoof nor a horn should be left in Egypt” and dear old Spurgeon, in that great sermon said, “You know what that means? Not a toenail of the believer’s body will be left to Satan. Not a hair.” And that’s what our Lord said! “Not a hair of your head shall perish,” He said (Luke 21:18). What it means is this: not a single atom of your body will be left to Satan or to corruption. Not an atom! So amazing was this, that the apostle Paul said, “according to that power, whereby He shall change this vile body into his own likeness.” Our salvation is absolutely marvellous.

Well, it is a mystery! That is all I can say. We have been initiated into it. We do not understand exactly how it is going to happen, but at least it has been revealed to us. At least to me it has. I only know I have got a body and I know that this body is not going to be left to Satan. Praise God for that! I am redeemed! Not just what is inside. I am a redeemed being — spirit, soul, and body! Thank God! I’ve got no part with that evil creation, or with that usurper of the authority of God. I have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, by the Passover blood of the Lamb, and I belong to Him. Not a hoof or a horn of me is going to be left in Egypt.

Well, I hope you see that. Make sure you put it in your will that you are getting a decent, proper burial, not just shoved into the ground sort of willy-nilly, thinking: “It doesn’t matter. It’ll get there.” The thing is that we have an amazing connection between this actual body and our resurrection body. Those of us who are alive and remain — it will actually happen! That is why he calls this a mystery. He says, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall all be changed (see I Corinthians 15:51–52). It will be amazing, won’t it? You with your aches and pains — and me with mine. Suddenly in the twinkling of an eye I shall look at you and say” “Oooohh!” and you will look at me and say, “Wow! What has happened?!” Yet, I suppose we won’t have time to be able to do anything like that. We will be with the Lord!

Even More Mysteries

Then, there is the mystery of the faith in I Timothy 3:9. That is a very interesting one, the mystery of the faith. Then there is the mystery of godliness in I Timothy 3:16. Then there is the mystery of lawlessness — which we shall soon see with our own eyes — the mystery of lawlessness.
My word, I think we need to be initiated. I think a lot of Christians will be taken in by this antichrist if they don’t keep alert. If there is enough darkness in them, and enough ignorance, many could be swept along, just like German Christians were swept along by Adolf Hitler. Unless we have been initiated into the mystery, so that we are alive and alert, we have some understanding and an anointing which teaches us what is true and what is a lie, we could be swept along. Now, do you see? This is a great subject, isn’t it? It does not seem to me that it is some small matter. It really does seem tremendous.

To Whom are the Mysteries Revealed?

Who are those to whom these mysteries are revealed? Who are the initiated? To whom does God reveal the mystery of Christ? Now, there may be of course many mysteries of the kingdom, but the comprehensive mystery is the mystery of Christ and the answer is very simple. It is twofold. First, we see it is to those who are born of God. It is as simple as that. It is the birthright of every born-again believer. Listen to the words of our Lord in Matthew 13:11,

unto you hath it been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom.

Now he wasn’t just speaking of the twelve apostles, He was speaking of those whom the Father had given Him and whom He was keeping. In that great high priestly prayer in John 17, He said, “I pray not only for them, but for all of those who believe on me through their word” (see verse 20). That is you and me.

Or again, Colossians 1:26–27 it says,

… but now hath it been manifested to His saints, to whom God was pleased to make known … what is this mystery.

Has God been pleased to make known what is this mystery to you? Maybe you have never thought about it, never sought Him, never humbled yourself before Him. What a tremendous need then there is to seek the Lord for such illumination and understanding. We do not have a lot of time left to us, but surely one of our great priorities should be to seek the Lord for this. Lord, give me understanding.
How does it affect our life here? How does it affect our building up? How does it affect our contribution, our participation? What does it mean as far as our gathering together is concerned? What does it mean for my personal life, my business life, my career life? What does it mean for my family life, my home life, my relationships? Surely something that is so comprehensive brings it all within its scope. You are born of God.

The second thing is such revelation and illumination can only come through the person and work of the Holy Spirit. That is why in I Corinthians 2:9–12, (it is often misquoted) it speaks of things which God has prepared. Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, heart has not perceived, understood what God has prepared — but it has been revealed unto us by the Spirit. So it is something that has been revealed; we have received a glimmer of it.

Then he says, “We cannot know the things of God except by the Spirit of God, which has been given to us” (see I Corinthians 2:11– 12). I think that is very, very important, indeed. That is why the apostle Paul prayed that the spirit of wisdom and revelation be granted to them that they might know and then explain all that they should know.

Four Things Needed

I think then we have to recognise just these four things, if we are going to really understand the mystery of Christ. Now, what are these four things? You might say, “Well isn’t that enough? If it’s the Holy Spirit who does it and you have to be born again, that’s enough.” No, that is just the tragedy. I know thousands and thousands of born-again believers who haven’t got the slightest idea as to what the mystery of Christ is. It is their birthright. God wants to reveal it to them, yet they don’t know. They’ve never bothered their little heads about it.

There are four things. The first is humility. I don’t care who you are. You might have walked with the Lord for years — or seemingly — but where there is no humility, there is no revelation. Our Lord put it so very, very simply in Matthew chapter 11. We normally only think of it as in a gospel context, but it wasn’t in the gospel context that He spoke it. Matthew 11:25, Jesus said,

I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto babes.

Now a babe is a very defenceless being. No arrogance. No sufficiency. A babe is a very dependent being. Then He goes on,

yea, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in thy sight. All things have been delivered unto me of my Father: and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal Him. (verses 26–27)

You can serve and shout and sing and do everything else. But if the Son does not will to reveal to you the Father, and the heart of the Father, you will never see. That brings us to a place of humility. You cannot be arrogant here. You cannot push. You have got to search yourself. You must humble yourself.
And listen to these lovely words, we never read all these verses together:

Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–29)

Humility. That is the first thing.

The second thing is recognition. That may sound to you very simple, but the second thing is very important. What do I mean by recognition? In all the places I go to, I rarely ever hear brethren really recognising before God, how unwise they are. I am always surprised because it is the very first lesson I ever learned, the day after I was converted. It was taught me by a Swedish sister who said, “If you ever want to get anywhere with God, there is one thing you must always ask, and that is for wisdom.” She turned me to the Book that I had never read in my life, and read out a promise in James 1:5. (I had never heard of James.)

But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

I do not know what happened, but it burnt itself into my heart and from that day onwards, twice a day, every morning and every evening, when I was 12 years of age, and right the way through, oh! for many years, I used to say, “Lord, Lord, I ask you for wisdom. I have none.” You see, I don’t think revelation ever comes unless we recognise that we have no natural revelation. It all comes from God.

It says: “If any man lack wisdom.” No one is going to ask for wisdom if he does not think there is a need, if he thinks, “Well, I know the Lord.” But if you know you lack wisdom, “… let him ask of God, who give it to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” That is so beautiful. It is not as if the Lord says, “You are so stupid, always asking for wisdom. Why do you always come back asking for wisdom?” He does not upbraid. The very recognition of our lack of wisdom is enough to touch His father’s heart. That is the second thing.

The third thing is the Holy Spirit. I’ve already quoted the word in I Corinthians 2:12 and 14:

But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God; that we might know the things that were freely given to us of God …

… the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged [spiritually discerned].

So, you will never come into any understanding of the mystery apart from the Holy Spirit. You can settle that right now. You can go to Bible college, Theological Seminary, read theological tomes, and I don’t know what else. You can come to every Bible study happening, but until you ask for the Holy Spirit, graciously to be poured out upon you, and to break through all the inhibitions in your life, you cannot go on and on in revelation. Sometimes He is there, but quenched. Sometimes He is there, but locked up. That is the third thing.

The last thing is the cross. You can never really come into an understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom, or the mystery of Christ and of God except through the operation of the cross. Now, you might wonder where that is. It is in II Corinthians 4:6–10. Again, it is often not associated with this, but this is in context.

Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.

You know, light is a wonderful thing, but if you want to know real light, you have got to go the way of the cross. If you want to have a life without any perplexity, without any breaking, without any dying, you will have no revelation. To have revelation, you have to go that way, by the Holy Spirit. It is not that way by which everybody else knows you are going that way, looking grim, dark, and heavy saying, “Ohhh, the way is the cross.” That is not the way of the cross. The way of the cross is when the Holy Spirit so fills you that people, when they touch you only touch vitality, life, and joy. It is life in them — death in us.

There is something terribly wrong when we touch others and we touch death. If you are really walking the way of the cross, everyone else gets life, and when they touch you, they do not touch death at all. They touch only life. They touch revelation, they touch light, they touch love, they touch power. But for you, personally, inwardly, it may be a very different story. That is revelation. When the apostle Paul was caught up into the third heaven and saw things and things were revealed to him, and he heard things which are not even lawful for a man to utter, then a thorn was given to him, in his flesh, a messenger from Satan, to bring him down. It was always so. The greater the revelation, the more the Lord has to take measures to see that we are kept humble, broken, and dependent.

May the Lord help us in this matter. I have only introduced this. I hope that you will start to explore these things, looking through the scriptures, really asking the Lord, “Give me light on this matter. I want to really know this.” Just get this one thing. This is not something which is withheld from you. This is something which God wants to communicate to you in such a way that it floods your whole life and being. May God do it for us all. Let us pray.

Dear Lord, we need such revelation and only Thou canst give it to us. Oh Lord, we pray that every one of us may have an understanding of the mystery of Christ. Dear Lord, oh, that it might be born into our hearts in such a way that it will come as joy and peace and life and power. We may know the Lord in a deeper way, may discover Him in ways we have never discovered Him before. Use this to that end, Lord, give us a horizon. Give us a goal.

Give us some understanding, Lord, of what we are in and help us. We ask all of this in the name of our Lord Jesus.