2017-05-26
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I was commanded to write about God’s mystery, as described in COL 1: 26-27 and COL 2: 2-3. The word “mystery” comes from the Greek word, mysterion, which means once hidden, now revealed. God [Christ] doesn’t hold back any of His teachings which come from the Father from us [GN 22: 8-18; JN 15: 13-15]. Once we understand the meaning of being made alive in Christ [RO 6: 6 and 11], we can have a deeper understanding of EPH 5: 25,31-32. Certainly, Paul was expounding on marriage here, but he was also telling us to apply these statements to the church. “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave His life for her…For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. This is the profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.” Such a statement would certainly explain why Christ told people to put their faith in Him as a first priority.
Paul’s writing and speaking were in one way a defense against the efforts of heretics to spread Gnosticism in his time. However, the principle of understanding the mystery of the Gospel is critically necessary for all of us. That mystery is Christ in us, so that God’s will is carried out by us as individuals and also as congregations within the church. As for the metaphor of Christ as the Bridegroom and the church as the bride, it most definitively applies here. It is God’s will that we all agree on the basics of God’s teaching; however, sinful mankind has led to segmenting the church into denominations, often over minutia. Setting an example, Paul describes himself as an “ambassador of the Gospel” who hopes he will spread it with accuracy and fearlessness [EPH 6: 25-26]. (We must remember he was imprisoned in Rome at the time). For us to be united and to demonstrate the love of Christ is important. When Paul was writing to the three cities of Colossae, Hierapolis, and Laodicea, he mentioned that he was pleased with their orderliness and love of Christ [COL 2: 5]. Had this not been important, he wouldn’t have mentioned it. Their love wouldn’t have been evident without a full understanding of God’s mystery. It is because of Christ’s love for us that He has opened the way for us to tap into the richness of God’s knowledge and wisdom.
MK 4: 11-12 [Christ speaking to His disciples and other faithful], “The secret of Kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.’” [IS 6: 9-10]. The Lord Jesus likened His preaching to that of the prophet, Isaiah, who was met with understanding by the faithful and exposed to the hardening of those opposed. Each of us must take the time to become knowledgeable regarding the Lord’s teaching, so that we can recognize what is true and what isn’t. Without this, our faith is not acted upon. We must understand the “head-heart-hands” connection that practicing true believers find as motivation from the Lord for our attitudes, thoughts, decisions, words, and actions.
Please read 1 COR 2: 6-13 and consider its truth for us as individuals and corporately as Christ’s church. Our way to tap into God’s amazing wisdom is through the Holy Spirit, Who dwells within the souls of believers. Without the Holy Spirit, we are unable to have the perspective and understanding that God can give. Remember 1 COR 2: 14, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Had the people living in Christ’s time on earth had the Holy Spirit, they would have recognized Who He is and would have not called for His crucifixion.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are grateful for the blessing of the Holy Spirit that You have bestowed upon us. It is our responsibility to seek You out and to listen to Your teaching given to us through Him. We are forever open to learning what You teach us. Our lives are not easy, nor have You promised that while on earth they will be. However, when we follow Your advice, we will prayerfully think first before making decisions and acting. We find Your patience with our imperfections a blessing. It gives us time to learn through working, step by step, through our challenges what to do and what not to do—what pleases You and what doesn’t. You also give us time to mourn for those lost to us, seeking Your perspective, and eventually, coming to acceptance of such losses. We understand that our times of greatest advances in maturity come through learning to come to the end of ourselves and to rely on You. We offer You reverent praise and thanks for always being here for us. In Christ’s mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: There is more to write about the impact of God’s mystery on our lives as individuals and as His church. That will be the subject of next week’s devotion. As I am writing this message, Holy Week is approaching. For me, this is a very special time of the year, because we are recalling the suffering, physical death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. As a member with my husband of our congregation’s choir, we will sing 8 services this week. While that will be physically taxing, it is so little to give in comparison to what our Lord went through for us. So, I can hardly complain. As a church, our congregation spends a healthy percentage of its time in serving many ministries that reach people less fortunate than ourselves. One such group, Royal Kings Kids, provides summer camps and other activities throughout the year for children in foster care or who face family troubles. I lead two groups that knit and crochet items for people facing illnesses, divorce, loss of loved ones, and other crises. These are prayed over and then given to them without cost. There are many other ways people are helping others while they serve God. I mention this, because it is my belief that such voluntary service to God is good for us, as long as we balance our service with a healthy lifestyle. I know we wouldn’t be doing that if it were not for willingness to let the Lord be the Leader in our lives.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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