1Timothy 3:16 says, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. The New Testament is a revelation, or an unveiling, of the Old Testament. Those things that were mysteries in the Old Testament are no longer mysteries in the new. Some times Christians are looking for some deep mystery in the New Testament, when it has already been made plain by the Holy Spirit. We should not look past the obvious text of the New covenant to find some mysterious meaning. It is true, that as you prayerfully study the New Testament, you will find deeper meaning every time you read it. However, as the old saying goes, if the plain sense makes the most sense – then seek no other sense. You will have your hands full enough with the obvious revealed truths of the Bible to keep you busy for the rest of your Christian life.

The Greek word musterion, translated mystery, means a secret or hidden thing, not obvious to the understanding. As stated, the OT is full of mysteries, or hidden things, that are made known in the NT. Many ancient cults and orders are full of mysteries that only a select few may know as they ascend the different levels of their religion. Often times these cults are sworn to secrecy, and put themselves under a curse - even death - if they reveal them. In contrast, the mystery of the Gospel is to be shouted from the roof tops! It is made known to anyone who has “ears to hear”, and is to be published through out all the world. The mystery is no longer a mystery! Praise God we live on this side of the cross!

In Mt. 13:10-11, the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables. Jesus told them that it was given unto them (all of His disciples, who had ears to hear, Mk 4:10) to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, or of God. Was Jesus exclusive? Can only certain chosen ones know the mysteries of the Kingdom? Since the Bible says that it is God's will that all be saved an come to repentance (1Tim 2:4, 2Pt 3:9, Tit 2:11), we can be sure that Jesus is not leaving anyone out. So what is Jesus saying? He is saying that only those who have ears to hear (Mt 13:9) will understand the mystery. Not all who followed Jesus were truly seeking the things of God. Many were following Jesus to get physically fed, or to see some miracle. Such is the case today. We must ask ourselves why we follow Jesus. Do we just want our bellies filled? Are we miracle chasers? Do we seek Jesus wholeheartedly, wanting His life and wisdom to be working in our life and changing us – or do we just just seek to have our carnal needs met? If we have ears to hear, a heart that is truly pursuing the things of God, then the mystery of the Kingdom will be made known to us. Whosoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit God, for they are foolishness to him. He cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1Cor 2:14). You see, the heart of the natural man is shrouded by a veil. It is blinded by the god of this world (satan) to the things of God. However, when their hearts turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away, and they can see clearly the mysteries of God (2Cor 3:14-17, Rom 11:25). That is why we should not cast our pearls before swine (Mt 7:6). What does this mean? It means that as you preach salvation through Jesus Christ, if the hearers don't want to hear it – then don't waste your time. This is why Jesus spoke in parables. You had to want to know the things of God, before you could receive them. There has to be a pursuit of God to know the things of God. Those who are spiritually lazy and indifferent – or even hostile – will remain blind by their own choice.

Does not a man pursue the woman he loves? Does he not come early, stay late, comb his hair, and brush his teeth? Does he not call, write, e-mail, and text his love? Does he not take her out, buy her gifts, and give her as much of his time as he can? Of course he does. He wants her. He pursues her. So it is with Jesus Christ. You must want Jesus. You must pursue the things of God. If you don't, then you won't have Him; and you will have no one to blame but yourself. It's easy to be saved – if you want to be. It's easy to know the mysteries of God – if you want to know them. It's up to you. If a police investigator had a mystery to solve, he would have to put forth effort to solve it. If he just said, “Well, I hope this gets figured out someday. I'm going for pizza.”, then he probably wouldn't have a job very long. It is his duty to try every means available to solve the mystery.

The great mystery of Godliness has been revealed. If you want to know it, then you can know it. Seek and you shall find, ask and you shall receive, knock and it will be opened up to you today. Until next time, rejoice in the Lord!

The Mystery of Godliness, Part 2

By Pastor J.D. Link

agf-blanco.com

1 Tim 3:16 says, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” As was stated last week, the mystery of godliness (or the gospel) is no longer a mystery. It has been revealed by the Apostles-specifically Paul. It was made known unto him by the revelation of Jesus Christ (Eph 3:3). The things that were shrouded in mystery in the Old Testament, were explained and made perfectly clear in the New Testament. Let’s get into God’s Word.

In 1 Corinthians 15:51, Paul said, “Behold, I show you a mystery”. He was not saying this is still a mystery. He was saying , “Christians, I’m going to explain to you clearly something that up to this point was a mystery.” The specific subject he was explaining was the “catching away”, or rapture, of the church. He was speaking of the first resurrection-the resurrection of the saints (see also 1 Thess 4:13-18). Ephesians 1:9 says that the mystery of God’s will has been made known unto us.

Bible reading is extremely important. If you don’t know God’s Word, then you don’t know God. I’m not saying you’re not saved, but you will not think Godly if you don’t now what God says. The only way you will know what God says is to read His Word. Paul said in Eph 3:4 that when we read God’s Word (specifically the Epistles), we can understand his knowledge in the mystery of Christ. God gave us His Word so that we would read it and understand it. If there are ignorant Christians, it is because they either do not have a Bible; or they have a Bible and don’t read it.

In Eph 3:9-10, Paul wanted all men to see what is the fellowship of the mystery; and that the church would know the manifold wisdom of God. Because of God’s great love for us, He longs for us to know Him. He has made the way to Him plain. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by Him. Do you remember when Paul Harvey would have a morning program, and then in the afternoon you could tune in to hear “the rest of the story”? The New Testament is the rest of the story.

The mystery, which was hid from ages and generations, is now manifested to His saints (Col 1:26). God has made known the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is this: Christ in you, the hope of the glory (Col 1:27). Imagine this! The Lord Jesus Christ, God manifested in the flesh, dwells inside every believer. The God who holds the thousands of galaxies and solar systems and stars in all of the universe in the palm of His hand, has chosen to live inside His people. We are the temple of the Holy spirit. Christ is in us-and that is our blessed hope for everlasting glory! Praise God for His abundant grace and goodness!

When we acknowledge the mystery of the Trinity, it comforts our hearts, which are sown together with God’s love, and gives us full assurance of understanding (Col 2:2). This is what God wants for us. This is His amazing love for us. He is good to His children. If people only really knew God! Oh, the depths of His goodness and love are beyond comprehension! Yet, He has revealed it to us through Jesus Christ!

When Paul described the marriage covenant in Ephesians 5, he said it was a great mystery that described Christ and His church. Jesus laid down His life for His bride. He washes her with the pure water of the Word. He presents us to Himself a bride without blemish: pure, holy and righteous. We in turn, as His bride, should reverence Him and submit ourselves to Him because He is our head and our savior. When we as married couples fulfill our God given roles as described in Eph 5, we become a picture of the mystery of Christ and His bride.

We as Christians should pray as Paul did in Eph 5:32 and Col 4:3. We should pray for boldness to proclaim this mystery. That we would have a door of utterance (an opportunity to speak) about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know this is sometimes hard, especially this day in age. We don’t really rely on each other anymore. We keep to ourselves, and the busyness of our own life often keeps us from these opportunities. However, if we pray for opportunities to be presented, we can believe that God will give them to us. May we look for them as we go through out our daily lives.

I pray you have been blessed by these truths, and until next time, rejoice in The Lord!

THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS PART 3

By Pastor J.D. Link

agf-blanco.com

This week we will bring to a close this series on the mystery of Godliness. Our text has been 1 Tim 3:16, a verse some commentators have considered to be an early Christian creed. If you wanted to state in one verse what the New Covenant is, this would probably be the one. We will examine this verse today, and find out exactly what the mystery of Godliness is. Let’s get into God’s Word.

Fist we see that the mystery of Godliness is great, or “mega” in the Greek. Not that it remains a mega mystery, but rather that this mystery that has been revealed is indeed great. How can we escape the judgment of God if we reject such a great, vast, and mighty salvation (Heb 2:3). Jesus, God’s salvation, is indeed great. All the fullness of God dwells in Him (Jn 1:16, Eph 3:9, Col 1:19 & 2:9). If you do not have Christ, you do not have God’s fullness. You may have some form of Godliness, and you may have a standard of right and wrong. You may even be a good person - relatively speaking. However, without Jesus, you do not have God’s fullness; for it is only in Christ. A form of Godliness is lacking, and will not bring salvation. You must have the fullness, You must have Jesus.

Second, we see that God was manifest in the flesh. This means that God Almighty took on human form. This was Jesus Christ (Isa 7:14, Jn 1:1, 14, Heb 1:8, 1 Jn 5:7). In Isa 9:6, we se that the child that was born, the Son that was given, is called the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father. Jesus is no mere prophet, angel, or teacher. He was no created being. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the eternal God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob in human form. How is that possible? With God, all things are possible (Mk 10:27).

Third, we see He was justified, or vindicated, by the Spirit. His supernatural birth; His miracles, signs, and wonders; His baptism, His transfiguration, His resurrection, and His ascension all point to the fact that He was Who He said He was. A multitude of witnesses, and fulfillment of prophecy, show clearly that Jesus is indeed the Christ. ( See Rom 1:3-4, Acts 2:22-28, Eph 1:20-23, Philp 2:5-11, & Col 1:15-24).

Fourth, we see that He was seen of angels. The angels saw Him create the foundation of the earth (Job 38:1-7, Jn 1:1-3); They testified of His birth; They ministered to Him after the wilderness temptation; They ministered to Him in the garden before His crucifixion; They were at His resurrection; They were at His ascension into glory.

Fifth, we see that Jesus was preached to the Gentiles. I do not think we know how important this is. To Israel were given the blessings, the promises, the covenants, and the ordinances. The Gentiles were “without hope” (Eph 2:12). Jesus brought us hope. In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, free nor slave, male nor female. We are all, through faith in Christ, one body (1 Cor 12:13, Gal 3:28, Col 3:11, Eph 2:11-3:6).

Sixth, we wee that Jesus was believed on in the world. Not that the whole world has believed, but that there are Christians in every nation. Through Jesus, the world has been turned upside down (Acts 17:6). The Gospel is going forth into all the world (Rom 10:18 & Col 1: 5-6).Even in nations severely hostile towards Christianity, the church multiplies. People are still being saved even today, praise God! Jesus said, “Whosoever will - come!”

Finally, we see that Jesus was received up into glory (Lk 24:51, Mk 16:19, Acts 1:9). Many eyewitnesses saw Him ascend up into Heaven. He is seated at the right hand of the Father- alive and well - even today. He was the first fruits of many that would come after Him, which are those who believe. He will come back for us at the appointed time (Jn 14: 1-5).

This is the mystery revealed. This is Christianity. No secrets, gimmicks, or games: Just Gospel truth. I pray you have been blessed by this teaching, and until next time, rejoice in The Lord!