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It
is the Glory of God to Conceal a Matter,
It
is the Glory of Kings to Search out a Matter.
Proverbs
25:2
MYSTERIES
OF GOD
Introduction
Revelation, inspiration, searching, knocking,
asking; these are all pathways that lead a
seeker into the knowledge of the mysteries
of God. "God is a Spirit," says the
scripture. His divine existence is one that
can only be perceived, believed on a non-sensing
level. If I say that I know God, whom you neither
know nor see, you can only judge my assertions
on the basis of my personal credibility. Some
spokes persons for God or more credible than
others. The early apostles did not so much
argue the existence of God as a theory or concept
but to prove His existence by supernatural
attestations, demonstrating the Power of God.
(1Corinthians 2). So we have the matter of
proving to a materialistic non believing world
that God is real and that He still has a part
in the day to day affairs of this world and
its occupants.
Progressive Revelation
God is a god of mysteries
and hidden things. The parables taught by Jeshua
(Jesus) had within them truth at varying levels,
plain story-level truth and higher spiritual
level revelation. There is and always was that
matter of hidden truth. To Christ's disciples
it was given to know the secrets of the Kingdom
of God while others received no more than a
moral homily. God reveals himself to some and
not to others. Heaven and its mysteries are
not laid bare for any to intrude upon as there
are defining limits between darkness and heavenly
light. The Bible truths and hidden mysteries
are not delineated as point by point, topic
by topic facts and realities. Thus the key
to unpacking and deciphering the Word of God
can not be achieved strictly by academic skills
and study alone. Without the Holy Spirit which
is the teacher and discipler of truth we are
limited pretty much to the moral homily level
of the listener.
We
are given understanding in the light of Jeshua
(Jesus) in a line by line, precept upon precept,
understanding that Jesus is the Word of God,
Itself the greatest mystery. For when the Scripture
is made known in its completeness we
shall See Him as He IS.
The
following writings deal with the subject of
Mysteries. They do little more than introduce
the topics of God's mysteries, some of the
mysteries. There remains, more, much more to
be gleaned within these domains of study. Moreover,
there are likely more and more mysteries and
mysteries within mysteries which will come
into our field of view in due time.
Revelation
is progressive and always deepening as His
truth is being revealed by God's Holy Spirit
in God's divine time. God is withholding
certain things from us because it is not yet
His time. Contrary to some ecclesiastical authorities
we do not have all the answers (facts) as to
Who God is and what His complete plan is for
His Body, The Church (another mystery).
Matthew
16:16 But who say ye that I am?
Jesus asks his disciples, "Who do you
say that I am?" Peter, answers and says,
"You are the Messiah, the son of the Living
God." Jesus then tells Peter, "-
- - Flesh and blood have not revealed this
to you, but my Father who is in heaven. This
is an example of how we receive knowledge of
hidden things,
Mysteries revealed by God
1Corinthians 2:0 - -"Eye has not seen
nor ear heard, neither has entered into the
heart of man, the things which God has prepared
for those that love him. 10:
But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit:
for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the
deep things of God. 11.
For man knows the things of a man, save the
sprit of man which is in him? Even so the things
of God, know man knows, but the Spirit of God.
THE
MYSTERIES OF GOD
Revealed in
the Word
THE MYSTERY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
THESE
BIBLICAL MYSTERIES REMAIN UNREALIZED BY
MOST NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. HOWEVER, THE
TEACHINGS HERE ARE NOT HIDDEN OR ESOTERIC
(hidden) AS MANY OF THE SO CALLED OCCULT AND
NEW AGE TEACHINGS CLAIM TO BE. TRUTHS
IN THE BIBLE REMAIN NONE THE LESS, VEILED TO
THE UNDERSTANDING OF MANY. IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT
WHO REVEALS TRUTH TO US. ANY SPURIOUS RELIGIOUS
DOCTRINE HAS ITS OWN SET OF DOCTRINES AND DOGMA.
SOME OF THESE DOCTRINES ARE NOT BIBLICAL. RELIGIOUS
LEADERSHIP TENDS TO PROMOTE THE ORTHODOXY OF
THAT SECT. IF YOUR ORTHODOXY IS PROCLAIMED
AS INERRANT THE INDIVIDUALS UNDER ITS AUTHORITY
ARE CONFORMED TO SAME UNDERSTANDINGS AND ARE
OFTEN OUTRIGHTLY BLINDED FROM KNOWING THE SIMPLE
BIBLICAL TRUTH. "CONTINUE IN MY WORD,
Jesus states, AND YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH,
THIS TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE. (Christian disciples
are learners who grow in the knowledge of truth
in Christ Jesus.)
RIGHTEOUSNESS
IS SOUGHT BY ALL SEEKERS. . . WHETHER
THEY SEEK TRUTH IN CHURCHES OR SEEK TRUTH FROM
ENLIGHTENED TEACHERS, GURUS, OR WISE MEN. RELIGION
IS A SYSTEM WHICH PROMISES CONDITIONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS,
OR A RIGHTEOUSNESS TO BE EARNED BY DISCIPLINES
OR CONFORMITY TO THE RULES OF THEIR SECT.
Some topics covered in this
study include:
A
Fallen Human Race -
The
Righteous Line
The
Deliverer and Lawgiver
The
Gospel is the Gospel of Righteousness
The
Mystery of the Cross
The
Exchange of Righteousness at the Cross
Jesus
Judged Not Guilty
God
Extends His Hand to us in Peace
The
Power of a Newly Formed Spirit
Righteousness
is Without Cost to Us
THE
MYSTERY OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
The
way of God is a mystery.
The Truth of God is veiled. The Holy Spirit reveals
it. The knowledge of God is free to all. But, the
knowledge of God is hidden or veiled until the veil
is removed by the Spirit of Christ Jesus. We who are
of the faith may say, "I was once blind, but now
I see." It is God's will that we should not be
ignorant of spiritual matters -" (1 Corinthians 12:1.)
The
message of the Gospel bears witness that Jesus is
alive and has sent an awakening and life-giving spirit
to bring us into knowledge of the Son of God and the
rich spiritual inheritance which is afforded in the
knowledge of Christ.
He
has brought us into new dimensions of liberty, peace
and righteousness. The Kingdom of God is not meat
and drink (ordinances of religious performance or
behavior) but righteousness, Peace and Joy in the
Holy Spirit.The
Way of Righteousness
God
who made heaven and earth is a Holy and Perfect Being,
Full of Love, Mercy and Full of Glory and Full of
Power. He wants to share His LIFE with His creation.
The Word of God that says he created Man and the Worlds
for His pleasure and Joy.
This
God-created man (Adam) was directed to live in perfect
harmony in an earthly domain. God gave Adam authority
to rule and reign in this world. The earth was to
be a blessing to humankind. Nothing was present to
limit that fruitfulness and felicity that God had
wished to lavish upon his creation. A
Fallen Human Race - Separated from the Life
of God
After
the "temptation" and the "fall" of the race of Adam
we see the rulership of this earth given to the Devil,
Satan, by default. Satan, the Devil, appeared as a
seducer and a deceiver to the couple in the garden.
If Adam had taken authority over the situation he
could have banished Satan permanently and blocked
any of the kind of hassles or interference, but such
was not to be the case.
Prior
to this time, wickedness, pride and rebellion entered
into a spirit being, Lucifer. This arch angel was
deceived into believing that his own glory was equal
to his creator. Lucifer was cast out of the heaven
of God. Though exact time and the details are debated,
we know that Lucifer was exiled, cast down to Earth.
Since then the earth has born the consequences of
Satan's presence in disruption and contamination.
The
Bible traces man from a certain time period, the Adamic
age. (Ezekiel. 28, Isaiah 14). Mankind was created
good and perfect. We believe the Biblical account
of creation. To contend with the Book of Genesis is
to contend with every doctrine which is written in
the whole Bible. Human knowledge and understanding
and science will ultimately bear witness of the accuracy
of the creation account though at the present, we
are not able to sort out all of the evidence sensibly.
Adam, was God's first man. Perfect, in a perfect world.
Adam and his mate were given authority in their world
and told to have dominion, be fruitful, multiply;
God was their friend and provided all things for them
(Eden). Because of the subtlety of Lucifer, mankind
was tempted, fell from doninion, and was cursed. (Genesis
Chapter 1;2;3).
The
Bible is the story of how God is reclaiming the earth,
and preparing people, once more, to be His personal
pride and possession. In God's plan (Revealed in the
Holy Bible) God chose a people, had a plan, and a
had time-table for his actions.
God
Chooses a Man
God
chose the patriarch Abraham and his descendants; God
chose Moses; God chose David and his descendants;
God chose Mary of Nazareth; God sent a Son who was
foretold by holy prophets and in full detail. It was
foretold who he was to be, where he was to be born;
and what his mission and calling were to be. The
Righteous Line
Righteousness
is right-standing with God. The Bible teaches that
no man since Adam has ever been righteous before God
on the earth. None are righteous, not even one;
every man turns aside to his own way, no one seeks
God." (paraphrased, Psalm 14, Psalm 53)
God
chose to grant righteousness through one man of his
own chosing. Abram who was later renamed Abraham,
was to become the father of all persons of faith and
obedience. (See Genesis 12-24.) He was the 'father'
to the righteous line of inheritance which was later
to produce the "Christ."
God
made a covenant with Abraham. Through the line of
Abraham a righteous "olive tree" was planted in the
earth. The descendants of the line of Abraham were
righteous only by virtue of covenant rights though
not righteous in spirit. The
Deliverer and Lawgiver
Moses
was selected by God to deliver his covenant people
from the bondage of Egypt, which was the first captivity.
Moses' deliverance pre-figures the deliverance of
the whole race of humanity from Satan's rulership.
God brings his people out of Egypt with mighty signs
and wonders and with an outstretched arm. He brought
them out and he continues to bring them out, with
the intention of having a favored and a particular
people of his own, a special treasure in the earth.
God declares that his people are to be a nation of
worshipers, they are to be kings and priests. (Exodus
19.)
The
laws of Moses could not make man good inside. They
could still not be made spiritually righteous. It
was necessary for God to provide a priesthood (the
Levites of Israel) to perform blood sacrifices in
order to cover the sins of the people. (Hebrews
1,2,3,4) The law made it possible for God to manifest
to the people of covenant in limited ways.
Yet,
no man was made righteous under the law. As is noted
in the letter to Galatia, the law was really given
for one man who would fulfill its provisions in
entirety. Jesus who was without fault under the law,
fulfilled the law.
(Gallatians
3;15-20) The
Gospel is the Gospel of Righteousness
What
is the Gospel of Righteousness? That God was in
Christ reconciling the world to Himself. (2 Corinthians
5:19) The Gospel is good news. We hear it called
"good news" but few of us know how deep are its blessings
and how wonderful are its provisions!
Men
and women could now have access to God. They could
hear from God and communicate directly with Him. They
could even be called "sons and daughters of God".
They could experience God through the same spirit
that was in Jesus Christ. The
Mystery of the Cross
The
cross of Jesus' crucifixion is the core of the mystery
of the Gospel. The covenant was expressed and sealed
formally in the upper room at the Passover Seder
hosted by Jesus before his betrayal. Drinking the
wine and bread, the symbol of of covenant, Jesus announced
the new covenant in his blood as he sat with his
Jewish friends and disciples at the Pesach (Passover)
feast. He presented himself as the sacrificial Lamb
of God, the "delivering" sacrifice who would set every
captive free, whose own blood would be applied to
the post and the lintel (the cross) so that the angel
of death and judgment would pass over them. Jesus
was the lamb who the prophet, John the Baptist,
announced in an earlier day.
Here
in the Passover meal the cup was drunk and the bread
was broken fulfilling the everlasting covenant
that Moses received in Egypt. A lamb had been chosen
from among the flock, a lamb without blemish, a perfect
lamb was sacrificed and consumed and all who participated
were delivered from bondage and brought out of Egypt
to serve God. The
Exchange of Righteousness at the Cross
On
the cross, Jesus, a man who knew no sin became sin
for you and me. We who knew no righteousness had the
entire list of all of our offenses, our un-righteousness,
and our sentence of death, nailed to His cross!
How
did this exchange happen? The devil waged a continuos
campaign to destroy God's seed (Jesus) from ever being
manifested. For the two thousand years from Abraham's
time to Jesus' time Satan has waged a campaign to
sidetrack the plan and purposes of God, set in motion
through his people, Israel. Finally, in the fulness
of time, the seed of the woman came into the earth,
born of a virgin, fulfilling numerous prophecies;
A child was born, a son was given. Upon him rests
the hope of the gentiles; In him the fall and rising
of many; In him the righteous branch from the stem
of Jesse, In him the righteous servant; In him the
lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.
The
time came to accomplish this. A plan was thus orchestrated:
An unbelieving religious tradition rejected Jesus.
Deceitful witnesses came forward to condemn him. Caesar's
representative tried him. In the court of Pilate he
was found guilty. Men (soldiers) and magistrates (Pilate)
and a betrayer (Judas Iscariot) were all used by Lucifer
to destroy the Son of Man.
Lucifer
however made a serious tactical error! A man without
sin became sin. "He was made sin for us,- cursed is
every man who hangs on a tree"(cross.) We without
righteousness could now receive it as a free gift.
He bore for us the penalty, the pain, the guilt, the
shame, the fears; through all manner of torture and
anguish. We then, would not need to face these curses.
(Isaiah 53).Jesus
Judged "Not Guilty"
A
man without sin was not subject to death, according
to scripture -"The soul that sins shall die,"
(Ezekiel 18,4.);and, "He who was without sin was
made sin for us that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him," (2 Corinthians 5:21). as God's
perfect life would preserve him. Thus Jesus voluntarily
gave up his life. God raised him up from the world
of the dead, the world of spirits. Death could not
hold him! He was raised gloriously from death to live
again. By the shedding of his own blood, he entered
as a high priest into the Holy Place in the heavens
to reign as a high priest over a new covenant! (Epistle
to the Hebrews)
Jesus
is now alive. He is now enthroned as both king
and as the great High Priest. Now he is alive and
reigns in power.
He
returned from death to tell his disciples, "All
power in heaven and earth are given unto me."
Earlier, in the beginning of the Gospels we see that
the realm of earthly authority belonged to Lucifer.
(See Matthew 4:9 or Luke 4:6)
Lucifer
is still called the Prince of the power of the
air and the god of this world. He excercises
his authority in the children of disobedience, those
who are not yet redeemed.
The
authority of Jesus' position is now Universal and
Eternal. Jesus shares this throne with no other entity
or name. Every spirit knows him and his authority.
It remains that the vast majority of people in the
earth, even professing Christians are the only ones
ignorant of this truth. God
Extends His Hand to us in Peace
Because
of the exchange made at the cross we have a obtained
a New Covenant from God. This is the covenant
that recognize and give assent to when we take the
bread and the cup of the new covenant. Religiously
it is called "Communion," the Last Supper but it is
that which Jesus said it is. A new covenant in his
blood. It is the culmination and fulfillment of the
Passover, which is eaten and drank as often as we
desire to "show the Lord's death until he comes."
A new life with God is possible, a new life not only
with God but IN GOD was made possible through faith.
Because of this new covenant, WE can pray the disciple's
prayer, " - Our Father in Heaven -".
Without this exchange at the cross no person would
be able to say the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.
Do
not for a moment believe that we are inherently the
sons of God, for this is ignorance and deception.
He who was without sin was made sin for us, that we
may become the righteous of God in Christ Jesus.
The Mystery of Righteousness:The
Power of a Newly Formed Spirit
Righteousness
is granted through faith in Jesus Christ. A mighty
spiritual force penetrates the veil of darkness, blindness,
ignorance and separation from God and begets inside
of the believer a spiritual life. We are assumed into
Christ (the living Power of God) forever. The father
records a name in a book of Life in a heavenly place,
"begotten in the Lamb -- Holy unto the Lord!"
Righteousness is Unearned,Righteousness
is Without Cost to Us
Now
righteousness is a gift. It has come to us from Jesus
only. There is no cost but to believe. The word of
God is very clear on this matter. Though the gift
of God is entirely free and open, there is no other
option upon the earth by which we can obtain it. There
is no other Gospel. There is no other name, no other
Jesus. There is no other Spirit other than Christ's
Spirit of compassion and forgiveness which ushers
in the redeemed life.
"He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but
he that believeth not shall be damned."(Mark 16:16)
and (John 3:18) "He that believeth on him is not
condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:19)
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil."
Alas,
without receiving the free gift of righteousness,
we face a terrible penalty of those who reject the
Son of God. We must then continue on the pathway of
death and damnation. The consequence of reject the
Savior is judgment and separation from God, Hell.
Saying this, instantly brings Satan's words into our
minds, "Did God really say this, surely won't die
and be condemned." (See Genesis chapter 3:4.) Our
reason wants to agree with Satan. This is the flesh
exalting itself over the cross and it is the place
where the final temptation is encountered. Faith in
the veracity of the Word acknowledges this terrible
consequence, there is judgment facing each who chooses
to trust in themselves. God does not recognize man's
righteousness.
Hearing:
True hearing is a spiritual process. The Spirit
of God empowers us to hear.
"Knowledge
makes arrogant, love edifies."
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