Enjoying the mystery of faith

Mystery is what keeps us reading a book or watching a movie or play. Can you imagine wanting to continue to watch a show if the plot was totally revealed in the first few minutes? We all are drawn by the “who done it?” and the intrigue of trying to figure it out before it is revealed. Why is it then that we get frustrated with the mystery of Christ? Why is it that we demand that we know exactly what He is doing and why before we get to the end of His story in our lives? The New Testament concept of “mystery” is not to be confused with our English word “mysterious.” While a mysterious person or event might intrigue us, if a person or event continues to be mysterious, we will lose interest and move on to something or someone we can understand. When the Apostle Paul talks about the “mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19,20) or “mystery of godliness” (I Timothy 3:16), he was not inferring that the gospel or godliness is mysterious! The Greek word that he uses is musterion from which we actually get our English term, mystery. The term literally refers to something that is hidden but is now or will be revealed. The fact that all people from all ethnicities can become Christ’s bride, the church, by faith lone in Christ alone by grace alone, was something that was a mystery or hidden during the Old Testament times. In the New Testament era, this good news for all was clearly revealed by Jesus and the Apostles. (Ephesians 3:6).

As believers we need to embrace the mystery of the gospel and how God works godliness into our lives. To think that we can figure out how He does His work in us or the lost or even worse to think we have it figured out by using certain “sale proof” marketing methods is to miss out on the mystery of the Holy Spirit’s powerful work. The church that seeks to remove the mystery of God’s powerful work can fall into what Paul calls the “peddling of the Gospel.” (2 Corinthians 2:17). In the process the glory of God gets lost and rather than enjoying Him we get pretty excited about what we have done!

When we embrace mystery in the life-song that God is writing with our lives, there is joy and intrigue in our journey. Spiritual boredom is erased when we acknowledge that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” (Isaiah 55:8 ESV) The mystery of the gospel’s power in our lives will be revealed at the end of our story when we, “will know as we are fully known.” (I Corinthians 13:12) Until then, enjoy the mystery — the author is a really good writer!

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as He is pure.” (I John 3:2-3 NIV 84)

David Ley is president of Alaska Bible College in Palmer.