THE MYSTERY, NAMELY CHRIST - PART 2

THURSDAY 01 SEPTEMBER 2022

The more I study the Word, the more I feel that there is something more which I need to know and add to my Christian faith, regarding the inexhaustible mystery, namely Christ. As really and as completely blessed as I am in Christ, I am yet to grasp or fathom the lowest level of this mystery, let alone the higher dimensions of it.

Reference: Colossians 1:26-27 New Living Translation (NIV) "The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord's people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

According to referenced Scripture, this mystery, which is Christ in you, is replete with glorious riches. However it was introduced into the world through a human vessel, namely, virgin Mary. She had a profound pregnancy experience of carrying the mystery in the womb for 9 months while as born again Christians, we now have a more privileged lifetime experience of Christ living in us permanently. Jesus was eventually set apart from Mary's womb but today, Christ lives in the womb of our spirit; He dwells in the tablet of our hearts by faith and nothing, absolutely nothing can separate us from Him. What an untold mystery!

Paul acknowledged this truth in Galatians 1:15-16 which reads, "But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called by His grace, to reveal His Son in me..."(NKJV). Did you grasp this Scripture? Now let me bring an accurate understanding to this knowledge. The new birth is a mystery you can only experience after you are separated from your mother's womb. Got it? In other words, no human born of a woman gets born again in the womb of their earthly mother; you must have come out first, before you can experience Christ through salvation. So Paul established in his epistolary expression to the Galatians, that after God set him apart from his mother's womb, He later called him by His grace to reveal Christ in him. Please pay attention to this: Apostle Paul is telling us that there is divine timing in revealing the mystery, Christ, in every Christian called and chosen by God. So he emphasized this by saying, "But when it pleased God...", meaning that the timing is important to God and up to God. Be that as it may, it is always after your mother has naturally given birth to you. Simply put, natural birth precedes new birth.

This is not my personal observation, but a revelation fuelled by my insight into Jesus' teaching while addressing Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. To explain further, in their discussion that very night, Jesus revealed a great Kingdom mystery to Nicodemus which seems to have shaped my curiosity, with built-in desire to solve Pauline mystery's statement in the book of Galatians. Here was the conversation with Nicodemus: Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again." "How can someone be born when they are old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit" (John 3:3-6 NIV). Notice Nicodemus' question which is very important: "How can someone be born when they are old? Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother's womb to be born." Nicodemus' curiosity drives us to understand that being born again can only take place after the natural birth.

Beloved, Christ in you is a profound mystery, and mystery begets mystery. No wonder Psalms 36:9 has this to say about the mystery, Christ: "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light" (NIV). In other words, through this mystery, we gain access to light which empowers us to understand who we truly are in God's kingdom, what we are made of and what we are transformed to become. So Christ is simply the sum total of divine mystery. Paul called the mystery, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. This is evidenced by the doxology in Romans 11:33: "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (ESV). The riches of the mystery, Christ, is too vast and deep; He is the hidden Quickener behind the origin of life and all existence. Digging for the depth of this mystery can propel us to feel awe whenever we encounter the revealed wisdom and knowledge of God involved. Stay tuned for part 3. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Daniel 2:22; Psalm 19:8; Ephesians 3:17; Galatians 2:20.

Exuberant Declaration: By faith, I believe in the mystery, namely Christ. I belong to Jesus and I know that He lives in me. In Him I live, move and have my being. Everything about my life is influenced by His presence. To walk daily by faith in Christ is to practically function by the existence of divine realities, and to acknowledge Him as the Son of God, who loved me and gave up His life for my salvation and new birth. Hallelujah!