Paul wrote to the Romans,
"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 has been kept secret
for long ages past, but
now is manifested"
(Rom. 16:25-26).
The apostle's special
commission was to make known to all a
tremendous mystery concerning Jesus Christ
which had been hidden for ages. He exulted
in the fact that this secret was now made
manifest. Though he was the one to make this
knowledge widely understood, particularly
among the Gentiles, it was not a separate
gospel from that which Jesus proclaimed, but
rather a further
unfolding
of Christ's message.
Notice that Paul's gospel
centered on the preaching of Jesus Christ as
He had now been revealed. In Colossians, he
explains that the mystery is "Christ in you,
the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). Of all the
inheritance that is ours by faith, the
greatest aspect is simply to really know the
true God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
and to experience His life lived through us
on a moment by-moment basis through our
being joined as one with Christ.
In Christ, God revealed
Himself plainly to mankind. He was "the
radiance of His glory and the exact
representation of His nature" (Heb. 1:3).
Previously, God had been known in portions
(verse one); now He was plainly revealed,
indwelling the human Jesus.
Just as Jesus was a living
representation of God, so we manifest God
when Christ dwells in us. John tells us that
"as He is, so are we in this world" (I Jn.
4:17). When we are joined to Christ, we are
in the kingdom of heaven and live as God's
representatives here on earth.
Jesus Himself explained this
mystery in His parables of the kingdom. We
read that "what was spoken through the
prophet" was fulfilled in His ministry. I
will open My mouth in parables; I will utter
things which have been
kept secret
since the foundation of the
world" (Matt. 13:35). Though it was not
given to the masses to understand, there was
a growing revelation in the minds of the
disciples, finally culminating in the
manifestation of this secret in the ministry
of Paul. Today, we can look back upon the
parables of Jesus and see how they dovetail
perfectly with the plain teaching of the
apostle to the Gentiles.
The mystery of Christ in us
reveals that when we become joined to Christ
we are a new creation - a new man. There is
neither Jew nor Gentile any longer, but only
this new, spiritual man who is a member of
the heavenly kingdom.
It was concerning this new
man that John wrote in his first letter. He
wrote to "little children," "young men," and
"fathers." Little children tend to be
self-centered, rules-oriented, unable to
take care of themselves, and delight in
things. (But they are still heirs!)
Youth is a time of
development. It is a time of transition from
childhood to adulthood - a time when there
is little patience for the childishness of
the children. Though youths are largely able
to take care of themselves, they are still
dependent to a degree, and they are still
self-centered. They delight in strength
-dramatic power. They have yet to learn that
God comes to us in a "still, small voice,"
with gentleness. They are characteristically
power-oriented, and not yet "fixed" as
mature individuals.
Spiritual fathers and mothers
are mature. They are not only capable of
taking care of themselves, without need for
constant counseling, but can be counted on
to reach out and care for the little
children as well as the youths. They are not
self-centered, and neither are they
rules-oriented. They are led by the Spirit -
both free from law and free from the flesh.
They delight simply m knowing the Father -
not externally, but within.
Spiritual childhood, or
youth, or adulthood have no relationship
to chronological age. Some are born into the
kingdom of God and zip into adulthood almost
immediately. On the other hand, one may
remain a spiritual babe all of his life.
This was Paul's heartache with the
Corinthian church.
Do you know what our calling
is? We have been called to be free from law,
free from rules - these things are for
children. And we have also been called to be
free from the power-oriented
self-centeredness of youth. Our freedom is
not to become an excuse for letting our
physical desires enslave us (Gal. 5:13). We
are to go on to fatherhood, whereby God is
fully manifest in our flesh! True, God
indwells us even as children - but He wants
us to press on through youth, and into
fatherhood.
Philip asked Jesus, "Show us
the Father, and it suffices us." Jesus'
reply was, "If you've seen Me, you've seen
the Father, Philip." Philip missed the
revelation of the Father because his
expectations were different from what he
actually saw. He had childish perception. He
didn't realize that God is manifesting
Himself in ordinary human beings like you
and me!
That is glory.
Through us, God is showing
Himself to the world, just as He did in
Jesus, for those who have the eyes to see
Him.
