Author: Paul Nordman

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The Mystery Proclaimed

A good friend of mine is entrepreneurial by nature: where some balk timidly at a challenge, he steps eagerly into an opportunity. Working through a complex legal matter one day, John struggled to comprehend the nuances of the law as it applied to his situation. He queried his legal team repeatedly until one of his attorneys, finally giving up, said, “John, I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.” (What a great line!)

Over the past three weeks, we have been exploring the mystery of God, which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”1 It had been a secret “kept hidden in God”2 for immeasurable ages past, concealed until the time of His revealing. Interestingly, the original Greek word translated “mystery” in English refers to something unknowable, completely hidden from anyone other than the one who initiates the secret and those to whom he or she reveals it. So it is with Christ: He is known to us only as God illumines Him in our heart. Stated differently, no one can “understand” Him for us, nor can we “understand” Him for anyone else.

But “explain” Him, we can! In fact, this is our call. Paul wrote, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”3 He was speaking about the apostles, but surely all who have experienced Christ have likewise become stewards of this mystery now revealed. Like those who have gone before us, “We speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.”4

So what is our message? What revealed mystery do we now proclaim? Living in us, Jesus is our hope of glorious resurrection.1 Moreover, we live with an inner fullness that we could not know outside of Christ, for “the fullness of the Deity” lives in Him who now lives in us.5 In this “mystery made known,”6 says Paul, “we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”7 And God “made known to us the mystery of his will … to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”8 Eternal life in Christ, fullness of life in Christ, relational freedom and confidence in Christ, oneness under Christ—this is the message we explain to open ears and the truth God brings to understanding in open hearts.

Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16 ESV)

Father, thank you for revealing your mystery to me and for placing my life in your Son, Jesus Christ. Speak your truth through me that others would hear and understand. In the name of Jesus and by the power of your Spirit, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is confidence.

1 Colossians 1:25-27
2 Ephesians 3:9
3 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2
4 1 Corinthians 2:7
5 Colossians 2:9, 10
6 Ephesians 3:3
7 Ephesians 3:12
8 Ephesians 1:9, 10

Click here to read part 1 of our mystery series, “The Mystery Concealed.”
Click here to read part 2 of our mystery series, “The Mystery Revealed.”

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The Mystery Revealed

With the holidays still fresh on your mind, take a moment to think back through a lifetime of occasions and special moments. Can you remember the gifts that touched you most deeply—the ones that planted a lump in your throat, ushered a tear from your eye, or emptied the words from your lexicon? Personally, I think of the log cabin quilt Peggy stitched for me while we were engaged and the sleeve of golf balls my son, Matthew, bought me to celebrate the first time I shot under 50 for nine holes of golf. Though these expressions of thoughtfulness had little in common with each other, love enwrapped them both

It is one thing for a kindness to melt our heart from the outside; it is an entirely different thing for a gift to become our heart from the inside. Sound too fanciful? It happened. In fact, God prepared the world for its eventuality, prophesying through Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you . . .”1 Yet as we learned in last week’s post, the mystery of the prophet’s foretelling was “kept hidden in God”2 until the chosen moment of its revealing.

Then at just the right time and in just the right place, there came the Man from God telling his small band of disciples, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven …”3 He lived perfectly and spoke powerfully; He taught authoritatively and healed amazingly; He served humbly and forgave wholly. And hours before He would be hoisted up on the executioner’s cross, He prayed to His Father on behalf of everyone who would ever believe in Him, “that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.”4

And therein, said the apostle Paul, lay “the mystery that had been kept hidden for ages and generations, but now disclosed to the Lord’s people.” For to people of every nation, wrote Paul, “God has chosen to make known . . . the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”5 The Son of God, in whom eternal life exists is now life in us eternally; and just as “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,” so also “in Christ [we] have been brought to fullness.”6

This is the long-hidden mystery of God—once concealed and now revealed: He has made us one with Himself, our lives are fully and forever enwrapped in His, and no one can ever separate us from Him. Our new heart is His heart; our new life is Christ, our sure and certain hope of glory.

Father, how deeply you must love me. Let me never be deceived into thinking anything less. Thank you for the gift of Christ in me. May I live freely and confidently in Him. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is life.

1 Ezekiel 36:26
2 Ephesians 3:9
3 Matthew 13:11 [NASB]
4 John 17:22, 23
5 Colossians 1:25-27
6 Colossians 2:9, 10

Today’s post is part two in a three-part series. Click here to read last week’s post, “The Mystery Concealed.”

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The Mystery Concealed

In over 30 years of marriage, I can count on one hand the number of times I actually surprised my wife at Christmastime. This is because Peggy is astonishingly observant and I am hopelessly obvious. One year, however, Peggy’s sewing machine reached the point where it had become as much hindrance as help, and she resigned herself to the fact it was time to replace it. I tucked her comment away in my mind, and that fall, shopped for the one that—considering both functionality and price—offered the best value. Purchased then on lay-away, the gift remained hidden at the store while I paid on it incrementally over time with cash. It was only when Peggy was in the maternity ward, resting up from childbirth, that I redeemed the package, wrapped it, and surprised her with it on Christmas morning! (And that’s what it takes for Mr. Slick to pull off a surprise around here.)

It is amazing to think about how intentional and personal God was in giving the world its first Christmas present. He knew exactly what we needed, He planned His gift from ageless age beforehand, and He kept it well hidden until the right time for it to be revealed. He even readied us ahead of time, foretelling His plan through His prophets, though they themselves couldn’t figure out the mystery or its time of delivery, despite their greatest efforts to do so. “Concerning this salvation,” writes Peter, “the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing. . . . It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you.”1 God was thoughtfully preparing a people for acceptance and belief, even while keeping His means of grace a mystery. How did He hide it so well? “The mystery . . . which was not made known to people in other generations,” writes Paul to the early church, “was kept hidden in God, who created all things.”2 What present could possibly be so big that it had to be hidden in God himself? What gift could be so valuable as to be held safe and secure in Him whose riches are unsearchable? What benefactor could be so patient, preparing the world through His prophets, orchestrating events in His sovereignty, and concealing His treasure until “the fullness of time”?3

In next week’s post, we’ll unwrap this present and behold together “the mystery” kept hidden for so long. Until then, we marvel at a God who cares about us so much that He goes to eternal extremes to show it. That in itself is a mystery to ponder.

Father, as we approach Christmas Day, inspire us to stop long enough to try to imagine the depths of your love for us. As we give and receive our gifts this year, may we also do so in selfless love. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Christ in me is hope.

1 1 Peter 1:10-12
2 Ephesians 3:4, 5, 9
3 Galatians 4:4