Appreciation of the Mystery of God`s will

My humble question to all who claimed to believe in Jesus Christ is, are we truly appreciative of the mystery of God's will which was hidden from men of other ages but has now been revealed to His saints?  The hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1 Corinthians 2:8)!
I believe that we need to show more of our appreciation of this mystery by being Obedient to the faith, and fulfilling the purpose for which it was intended. In rendering his benediction the apostle Paul said; “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith – to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

Because of the apostle Paul’s deep understanding of this mystery he wrote; “For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen” (Ephesians 3:14-21).

One cannot do anything to reimburse God for the amazing grace He has lavished upon us, we can only show our appreciation, and express our gratitude to Him by His mercies, to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Him, which is our reasonable act of worship.

But how can sinful mortal man presents himself holy and acceptable to God? The only way this can be accomplished is by fulfilling our role as priests of the New Covenant. Because as priests our duty is to be holy to our God, because we offer the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and the bread of our God; therefore it is imperative that we be holy.

We are to be as obedient children not conforming ourselves to the former lusts, as in our ignorance; but as He who called us is holy; we also are to be holy in all our conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

We should appreciate the fact that, we were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from our aimless conduct received by tradition from our fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for us who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that our faith and hope are in God.

Believers must understand and learn to appreciate this mystery. To the Jews it is a stumbling stone, to the Gentiles it is foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."

Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, and "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense." They stumble, being disobedientto the word, to which they also were appointed.

Most people can rattle by heart the scriptures found in John 3:16 which reads; “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” But do we truly know what exactly must we believe concerning Jesus Christ in order not to perish, and have everlasting life?

Jesus said quite emphatically; “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life.” If we truly believe this statement, how are we to express this belief?

Again Jesus said categorically, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." (John 6: 47, 48, 51).

Therefore, the secret mystery which was hidden from men of other ages, but has now been revealed to the saints is how Jesus Christ would give up Himself as the living bread from heaven, so that one can eat of it and not die.

The sad thing is that, most people are stumbling at the stumbling stone, the rock of offence, because they are disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. Jesus said quite emphatically; “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him" (John 6:27).

So what is that food which the Son of Man has given us, which endures to Everlasting life? The question is, are we feeding on it? This is what Jesus said; “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven --- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:57-58)

So are we truly appreciative of this mystery? Are we fulfilling the purpose for which it was intended? Remember, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

The Lord's work of salvation involves much more than His death and resurrection. It includes also the giving of His flesh to eat, and His blood to drink, which is the mystery of the ages, as exclaimed by the Jews who said' “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" This also includes Jesus Himself who is our High Priest, seated at the right hand of the Father to make intercessions of our behalf. 

Failure to comprehend and properly apply this mystery is the root cause of problems to many believers and so we have been admonished saying; "Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep" (1 Corinthians 11:27-30).

Truly, these times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent:  A bright and prosperous New Year to all the saints in the light which began yesterday.

Copyright © 2012 by Lucius Joseph

All rights reserved