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THE MYSTERY OF
CHRIST IN YOU (Col 1:26-29) 06/25/17 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert MYSTERY OF THE PEDDLING SMUGGLER A MAN comes up to the border on his bicycle. He's
got two large bags over his shoulders. The guard stops him and says,
"What's in the bags?"
"Sand," answers THE MAN.
The guard says, "We'll just see about that ~ get off the
bike." The guard takes the bags and rips them apart; he empties them out
and finds nothing in them but sand. He detains THE MAN overnight and has the
sand analyzed, only to discover that there is nothing in the bags. The guard releases THE MAN, puts the sand
into new bags, hefts them onto the man's shoulders, and lets him cross the
border. A week later, the same thing
happens. The guard asks, "What have you got?" "Sand," says THE MAN. The guard does his thorough examination and
discovers that the bags contain nothing but sand. He gives the sand back to
THE MAN, who crosses the border on his bicycle. This sequence of events is repeated every
week for three years. Finally, THE MAN doesn't show up one day and the guard
meets him in a RESTAURANT. "Hey,
Buddy," says the guard, "I know you are smuggling something. It's
driving me crazy. It's all I think about. I can't sleep. Just between you and
me, what are you smuggling?" THE
MAN looks both way to make sure no one else was listening I. MYSTERY MANIFESTED TO THE
SAINTS (Col 1:26) A. Meaning of Mystery 1. The
Greek word for “mystery” is mustêtrion, and its own etymology
is a mystery. Its literally meaning probably means to “close” or “shut.” It
would come to mean that which is shut up in secrecy or is hidden. 2. Theologically, it depicts God’s truths
and programs that were previously hidden from men, but now have been revealed
by God. 3. Col 1:26-27 defines it for us. a. This
mystery, which was contained in the preaching of the Word (Col 1:25), had
been hidden. “Hidden” is the Greek word apokruptō and
literally means “to hide from” (Eng. cryptic). Figuratively, [it is] knowledge that cannot
be known except through divine revelation, keep secret or hidden [Luk 10:21,
1Co 2:7; Eph 3:9] (Fri). b. God had not revealed these truths in the
past “ages” (aiōn - time or eras) and “generations” (genea
- peoples and races). c. These truths and programs are “manifested”
(phaneroō - to become visible or revealed, God’s revelation of
something) first to the apostles and then to the saints, those who place
their faith in Christ. B. Mystery Religions and
Gnosticism 1. Mystery
religions, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of
the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates
(mustai). The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy
associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice,
which may not be revealed to outsiders. (wiki) 2. The Gnostics practiced mustêrion,
even though it was not identical to the Mystery Religions. The Gnostics
believed that everything was a secret hidden by Ialdabaōth.
Enlightenment could only be received in silence and secret (gnōsis).
Receiving the secret that they were divine was paramount to their salvation. 3. Paul used the word mustrion in a
completely different sense than the Mystery Religions and Gnosticism. He did
not deal with the unknowable through mystical means for initiates only,
rather he publicly shared what God had revealed to the apostles (Col
1:28-29). 4. As for the Biblical Mysteries, mustêrion
was used approximately 28 times in the NT. It is difficult to categorize all
of uses of mustêrion because they often overlap and all find their
basis in Christ. Ultimately, the mystery is Christ Himself where all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him (Eph 3:4; Col 2:2-3; Col
4:3). 5. Scofield and J. Hampton Keathley III both
come up with 11 mysteries, though they do not agree on all 11 categories. C. Major Biblical Mysteries
(Some) 1. The
Mystery of Christ (Eph 3:4; Col 2:2-3; Col 4:3) 2. The Mystery of Israel's Unbelief (Rom
11:25) 3. The Mystery of the Body of Christ (Eph
1:9, 10; 3:3, 4, 5, 6, 9; 6:19) 4. The Mystery of the Indwelling Christ
(Col 1:26-27) 5. The Mystery of the Rapture (1Co 15:51-52)
6. The Mystery of Lawlessness (2Th 2:7) a. Mysteries
- DRH 1) The
Mystery of the Kingdom of God (Mat 13:11; Mar 4:11) 2) The Mystery of Israel’s Blindness (Rom
11:25) 3) The Mystery of the Rapture (1Co 15:51-52) 4) The Mystery of the Body of Christ (Jew and
Gentile) (Eph 3:3-11) 5) The Mystery of the Bride of Christ (Eph
5:25-32) 6) The Mystery of the Indwelling of Christ
(Col 1:26-27) 7) The Mystery of the Christ (Col 2:2-3) 8) The Mystery of Godliness (1Ti 3:16) 9) The Mystery of Lawlessness (2Th 2:7) 10) The Mystery of the Seven Stars (Rev 1:20) 11) The Mystery of Babylon (Rev 17:5, 7) b. Additional
Mysteries 1) Mystery
of the Gospel (Eph 6:19) 2) Mystery of God (Rev 10:7) - Keathley 3) Mystery of His will (Eph 1:9) D. Manifested to His Saints 1. According
to Deu 29:29, God has secrets that belong only to Him. He also has some
truths that He reveals to man. But Paul tells us that in addition to these,
God has truths that He keeps hidden for a time and then reveals them to His
saints. 2. In fact, it is this third aspect that
appears to be God’s common method. He will either build upon and expand in
greater detail some truths (Progressive Revelation, Tit 1:2-3; Heb 1:1-2) or
He will keep some truths hidden until His proper revealing (Rom 16:25-26). 3. In an incredible act of God, He has
revealed these divine truths and programs to His saints. People from
past millennias did not know these truths, but they have been revealed to the
church. Because of this knowledge, I believe the Church Age is one of the
greatest times to be living. 4. Jesus stated that because we have been
given such truths and knowledge, we have an intimate relationship with Him
(Joh 15:15 cf. 1Pe 1:10-12). II. MYSTERY OF THE BODY OF
CHRIST (Col 1:27a) A. Paul gave more detail
regarding the mystery that he had been commissioned to preach as an apostle. B. First it was God who willed to make this
mystery known. “Willed” is the Greek word thelō and carries
the idea of action along with desire. The idea is that God wanted to make
this mystery known, so He did. This is a description of a sovereign God who
brings about the end from the beginning. C. Secondly, this mystery is described as “the
riches of the glory.” This mystery is glorious because of the glorious
person and glorious work behind it. It is glorious because of all that it
accomplishes, including the glorious eternal life. The riches are the
blessings that the entire body of Christ receives. D. This mystery is described as the “mystery
among the Gentiles.” God’s mystery in Christ was that the Gentiles are
now included in the body of Christ with all the riches in Christ (Eph
3:1-10). 1. Paul
received the mystery concerning the Gentiles from God (Eph 3:1-3). 2. It is included in the overall mystery of
Christ (Eph 3:4). 3. It was previously hidden but was now
revealed to the apostles and prophets in the Spirit (Eph 3:5). 4. Specifically, the mystery was that now
Gentiles can be fellow members of the body through Christ (Eph 3:6). The body
of Christ is the church, so this is the mystery of the church (Col 1:18 cf.
Eph 5:32). 5. Paul received the mystery because he had
been appointed as an apostle (Eph 3:7). 6. The mystery of the inclusion of the
Gentiles was Paul’s message (Eph 3:8-9). 7. The church itself is now the bearer of
the mystery and wisdom of God (Eph 3:10). III. MYSTERY OF THE INDWELLING
CHRIST (Col 1:27b) A. Paul explains in even more
detail that this mystery was Christ in you, the hope of glory. B. Perhaps it would have been enough for
Gentiles to just be saved. It also would have been enough to just be fellow
heirs, fellow members, fellow partakers of the riches of Christ. C. But the revelation of this mystery is that
Christ, Himself will dwell in believers, Gentiles included. 1. Christ,
through the Spirit, indwells all believers (Rom 8:9-10; cf Joh 6:56; Joh
14:20, 23; Joh 15 :4-5; Joh 17:23; 2Co 13:5; Eph 3:17). 2. In fact, the entire Godhead indwells the
believer: Father (2Co 6:16), Son (Col 1:27), and Spirit (Joh 14:17; 1Co 3:16;
6:19). D. Earlier in Colossians we
learned about the “hope laid up in heaven” (Col 1:5), and the “hope of the
gospel” (Col 1:23). Now we learn of the “hope of glory.” E. The hope of glory is Christ. Christ is our
salvation, our assurance, and our guarantee. But the hope of glory is more
than going to heaven, Christ is what makes heaven, heaven. IV. MYSTERY OF MATURITY IN
CHRIST (Col 1:28) A. Christ is who Paul “proclaimed”
(kataggellō - to declare plainly, openly, and/or aloud). Christ
is to be proclaimed in speech (1Co 9:14) and action (Rom 1:8; 1Co 11:26). B. Paul proclaimed Christ by “admonishment”
(noutheteō - encouragement and or warning) and teaching
(i.e teaching and preaching the Word) outside and inside the church. C. Paul’s vision was for “every man”
to hear the proclamation of the gospel of Christ (Rom 15:19), and if
converted, to be taught the word of Christ (Col 3:16). D. The ultimate goal was that every man
(believer) be presented to Christ complete in Christ. “Complete” is
the Greek word is teleios and means to reach an end, totality, or
measure. It can mean perfection or in can refer to maturity (1Co 2:6; 14:20;
Heb 5:14; Jam 1:4; 3:2). E. This latter sense is Paul’s meaning.
Believers do not reach perfection until the next life, but they can become
mature in this life (Eph 4:12-16). F. Gnostics supposedly reach perfection
through the enlightenment and recovery of their prior knowledge of their
divinity by gnosis. Such perfection was worthy of returning to the divine
(salvation). V. MYSTERY OF THE POWER IN
BELIEVERS (Col 1:29) A. The practical reality of
the indwelling Christ was that He lived and worked powerfully through Paul.
With that power, Paul labored for the purpose of the maturing the body of
Christ. B. It was indeed Christ’s “power” (dunamis
- effectual power) that worked in Paul. Literally it reads, “according
to His working (energeia - operational energy) that is working (energeō)
in me powerfully.” C. Nevertheless, by that power, Paul “labored”
(kopiaō - labored hard, 1Ti 4:10) “striving” (agōnizomai
- struggle in public games, wrestle, Eng. agaonize) all the more for that
purpose (cf. 1Co 15:10). There is something to be said about to the degree a
believer labors for Christ will be the degree of success by Christ. VI. OBSEVATIONS AND
APPLICATIONS A. Christ in “you” 1. This was
not just an abstract principle that Christ dwells in believing Gentiles, but
Christ is in “you,” the Colossians. Furthermore, not just the Colossians, but
every believer, that means “You” B. Christ in you as your
riches 1. This was
not just an abstract principle that Christ dwells in believing Gentiles, but
Christ is equivalent to all spiritual riches and blessings. Christ is all and
in all, and in all you. C. Christ in you as your
strength 1. This was
not just an abstract principle that Christ dwells in believing Gentiles, but
Christ lives in believers strengthening them (cf. Php 4:13). 2. Christ desires to live His life in us and
through us. That is a mystery, but that is the Christian life, and that also
is the secret to living the Christian life. 3. How do you do this? By Faith. “Col 2:6
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” D. Christ in you as your goal 1. This was
not just an abstract principle that Christ dwells in believing Gentiles, but
Christ is living in you that He might produce Himself in you, that is
Christlikeness, that is maturity in Christ. 2. Each week we give applications that you
can take home with you. Not this week. This week I’m admonishing that you
take Christ home with you. |
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Grace Bible Church · 4000 E. Collins Rd · PO Box #3762 · Gillette, WY · (307) 686-1516 |
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