The Mystery Revealed

 

“With all wisdom and understanding, he (God) made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure…”

—Ephesians 1:8b-9a

I’ve mentioned before how very much I enjoy mystery novels. I have read hundreds of them over the years. When I was traveling 39 weeks out of 52, I wiled away my time in airports and on airplanes reading mystery novels.

I don’t try to figure out the mystery. Rather, I let the mystery unfold and immerse myself in the storytelling of the author. That gives me much more pleasure than trying to out-guess the author’s plot points.

I find myself reacting that same way to the Christian life. As a young boy, I grew up hearing the stories of Jesus. I literally cannot remember a time when I did not know that Jesus was the Son of God who became a man and who then died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin. Even when I did not begin to understand the full import of those words, I knew the story of redemption.

At nine years old, in 1956, an evangelist, Rev. Oral Bradford, came to my church for a week of special meetings. He was a chalk artist. One night he preached on the horrors of eternal damnation. When he finished his sermon and gave an invitation, I could not get to the altar fast enough. Then and there I acknowledged the gift God had given me of salvation through His Son, Jesus.

As the years passed, I became more and more aware of the great mystery of salvation—not the full understanding or “solution” to that mystery, but that the mystery existed. And, at 69 years old, that’s where I am today. I know salvation is a great mystery. I understand a bit more about it than I did 60 years ago. But, I do not yet have the full solution. Nor should I, because it is a holy mystery, a spiritual mystery.

The Apostle Paul recognized that the new Christians gathered in Ephesus needed to obtain a clearer view of what God had done for them through Christ. So, Paul penned these words recorded in Ephesians 1:7-10:

In him (God) we have redemption through his (Jesus’) blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he (God) made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

And, that’s the explanation we will receive. Does it solve the mystery of God’s mercy, grace, and love? No, of course not. Does it give us a glimpse at the process of redemption? Yes, yes it does. Will we learn more when we move from this life to the next? I believe we will.

So, what do we get from these verses? We gain a realization that this mystery of salvation is completely a gift of God to us through Christ. The gift is a lavishing of God’s grace that we do not deserve. God, who knows everything, has given us a peek at His will revealed in what He has done for us through His Son—paid the penalty for our sin and united us to Himself as dearly loved children.

At the start of a new day, as we think about this magnificent gift, we should feel gratitude and unsurpassed humility that God would choose us to belong to Himself and redeem us through the shedding of His Son’s precious blood. It is this act of God’s mercy, grace, and abiding love that brings unity to all things in heaven and on earth.

Christ is our monarch. He is the Great King. And, He is our brother. It is an amazing mystery, but one we should be glad that we’re a part of the plot.

 

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