Divine Mystery
Secret of Christ
Praise his Holy Name.
How fortunate are we to have Jesus?
Paul the Apostle explains the Divine Mystery to us.
We must remember God has all things planned at certain times.
His decision was to form the Lord, Holy Spirit, and Jesus as one at a certain time, Jesus was the fulfillment.
The divine mystery is God’s fulfilled plan of Jesus Christ revealed in the New Testament.
This mystery was not made known to man in previous
generations. This was hidden in all the wisdom and knowledge and brought
out in Christ.
(See Colossians 2;2-3 below.)
God decided when and where Jesus Christ would come about. He
made sure he was a Jewish man. Jesus loved all Gentiles and Jews and
they were equal. Jesus had to perform many miracles. It’s
all about the wisdom of hidden treasures of love, faith, humility,
righteousness, forgiveness, blamelessness, sanctification, and serving
Jesus and others. It’s about why we are here on earth.
We must remember we have limited wisdom given to us by God for our reasoning.
God’s wisdom is infinite, we can’t begin to comprehend it.
God created everything.
God owns everything we have.
God plans out everything for us.®
The laws, precepts, rules, and regulations from God are the key points to the kingdom of God.
The Word, the Bible is our operators, reference, instructions,
and technical manual of rules, laws, and regulations for life here on
earth. ®
Our goal as a Christian is to be like Christ, not like the flesh of the world.
We must not be hard of hearing,
We must not shut our eyes,
We must study scriptures over and over, repetition is the key to retention.
We must stay tuned up and not rust.
We must resist and rebuke the enemy for he attacks Christians in the most subtle and indirect ways. The enemy plants weeds.
God instilled disobedience in all people so he could show mercy to them.
The secrets of God are revealed in the Bible, no where else.
We must give up our worldly lifestyle and transform to a
Christ like life style serving others with love, humility, faith, and
blamelessness.
Paul explains that both the Jews and the Gentiles are equal.
Romans 11;32
32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.
Paul’s Relationship to the Divine Mystery
Ephesians 3;1-13
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that by revelation the divine secret was made known to me, as I wrote before briefly. 4 When reading this, you will be able to understand my insight into this secret of Christ. 5 Now this secret was not disclosed to people in former generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, 6 namely,
that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members
of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. 7 I became a servant of this gospel according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the exercise of his power. 8 To me—less than the least of all the saints—this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ 9 and to enlighten everyone about God’s secret plan—a secret that has been hidden for ages in God who has created all things. 10 The purpose of this enlightenment is that through the church the multifaceted wisdom of God should now be disclosed to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly realms. 11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access to God because of Christ’s faithfulness. 13 For this reason I ask you not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.
Romans 16;25-27
25 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, 26 but
now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to
the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the
nations, leading to obedience of faith; 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11;28-36
28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake,
but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the
fathers. 29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how fathomless his ways!
34
For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?
35
Or who has first given to God,
that God needs to repay him?
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.
Colossians 2;2-20
You Are Built Up in Christ
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say
this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. 5 For
even though I am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit,
rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in
Christ.
6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and
empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the
elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in
Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and
authority.
Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
1 On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. 2 And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore. 3 He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7 Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 The one who has ears had better listen!”
10 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not. 12 For
whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever
does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 For this
reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see,
and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand. 14 And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand,
you will look closely yet will never comprehend.
15
For the heart of this people has become dull;
they are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they would not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 “But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For
I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see
what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not
hear it.
18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When
anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the
evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed
sown along the path. 20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But
he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 The
seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly
cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces
nothing. 23 But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the
person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a
hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 So
the slaves of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good
seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’ 28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let
both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the
reapers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned,
but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He gave them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It
is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the
greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come
and nest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is
like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour
until all the dough had risen.”
The Purpose of Parables
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. 35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Explanation for the Disciples
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his
disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in
the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The
Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom
everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!
Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a
field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold
all that he had and bought that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. 49 It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” 52 Then
he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been
trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who
brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”
Rejection at Nazareth
53 Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Then
he came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their
synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such
wisdom and miraculous powers? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?” 57 And
so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not
without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.” 58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Matthew 10;26-33
Fear God, Not Man
26 “Do not be afraid of them, for nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do
not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.
Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 Even all the hairs on your head are numbered. 31 So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.
Foolishness
Romans 1;18-32
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in
unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For
since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal
power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood
through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For
even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give
thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish
heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and
exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form
of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling
creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For
they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions;
for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is
unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the
natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one
another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their
own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any
longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which
are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and
although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such
things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give
hearty approval to those who practice them.
✝️imothy skön, Chaplain
serving others, guided by Jesus
2/12/16