“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:2
Paul’s letter to the Colossians is a monumental declaration, and revelation, of a body of truth so vast, that time, and creation, cannot limit it. Perhaps one of the most extraordinary aspects of the revelation of this mystery, is that, though it is eternal and Divine in nature, yet it has come to lost man, that he, by the grace of God might become a participant of it. What is this mystery? To answer the question, we need to go to Pentecost, and grasp something of the realized promise of God. We also need to see, and understand, the time in which we live, as the unveiling of this mystery applies to a period called: “the last days.”
On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter stood up and proclaimed to all who would hear, that the outpouring of the Spirit which Jerusalem was beginning to know and experience, was the fulfillment of a prophecy, declared and written down by the prophet, Joel, some eight hundred or more years before Christ’s death on the cross. However, in that declaration, is not only revealed the very evident time for the outpouring, but the description of what the outpouring meant. There was, in the outpouring, a “mystery” unveiled to men, which would change the world.
Throughout the Old Testament, we learn by our study of the work and ministry of the Spirit of God, that He was instrumental in the creation, but also, in every event in human history that pertained to the revelation of the glory of God, and the accomplishment of His work. That which is most extraordinary at Pentecost was the magnitude of God’s saving power and strength, revealed not only in circumstances, and “upon” the believers, but in the fact that He had come to indwell the heart. Paul, in his epistles, would write of “Christ dwelling in the heart by faith.” The Apostle John would speak of Christ, knocking at the door, waiting to gain entrance into the heart. In Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome, he would write: “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.” (8:9) He goes on to use the phrase: “…and if Christ be in you…” (v.10) What do we begin to see here of the ministry of the Spirit, the result Him being poured out at Pentecost? It is that Christ, by His Spirit, has not only come to bring an individual to a new birth by the Spirit, but also to place that person IN CHRIST, in living union with Him. The work of the Spirit of God, in part, is to reveal to the believer the truths of this great salvation, with regard to our union with Christ. The truths concerning this union with Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection are extraordinary, both in their scope and power to change the life. There is also the unveiling to the believer that Christ IS his life, and that now his position is IN Christ, in heaven, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. In other words, the hidden truths of this union with Christ, are unveiled so that the believer, in grasping the vast dimensions of Christ work on Calvary, can, and must know, the power and blessing of His indestructible, eternal Life.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he speaks of his mission to preach to the Gentiles, or nations, “the unsearchable riches of Christ. His objective is “…to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been made hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” (3:8.9) Here Paul is speaking of making known the truths of the Gospel, and at the same time, declaring that the “power of the resurrection” is to be known by the Spirit which has been poured out.
Dear Father, Give to us in this hour to prove the sweet OMNIPOTENCE of Thy love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.