Colossians Study Outline

Jesus Christ the Creator God the Visible Presense of the Invisible Godhead

Deuteronomy 29:29a

"The secret things belong unto the LORD our God:…"

Why? Because He’s Sovereign. Listen, most of us have been or still are parents, and when our kids were little were there things that you didn’t want your kids to know? Well of course there were, you were the parent. I can remember when I was one of those little folks, if my grandparents didn’t want me or my brothers or sister to know what they were talking about, they would talk in German or as with our parents did they would go behind closed doors. We’d sit there and cock your ear and you'd thought we had lost your hearing, but they were keeping some things secret from us, because we were kids. Well God can and has done the same thing, He’s Sovereign, He doesn’t have to tell everything, and He didn’t. But if we have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, He'll open these things up to us throughout the scriptures as buried treasures, we just have to dig and pan for them. By way of asking with out hypocrisy, which simply means without WAVERING, which is mans religion of counterfeit holiness. This is why Jesus phrased His statement of Matthew 11:29 in the idom of a Hebrewism as He did.

 

 

Deuteronomy 29:29b

"…but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we (as far as Israel is concerned, NO! The words spoken by God through His promises and those appointed Prophets, Apostles and teachers only? NO! ourselves also) may do all the words of this law."

God is dealing on that same basis with the Gentile world. He has kept all these revelations that come through the Apostle Paul a secret. Jesus never betrayed any of these secrets in His earthly ministry to Israel. Jesus never made mention of anything about the Body of Christ, and the saving of Gentiles outside of Judaism. He did however meantion His Church which would be built on the foundation in the understanding or revelation of these secrets. (look at Matthew 13:35, 16:18, 25:34, Luke 6:48-49, and John 17:24 and then Paul in 1Corinthians 3:10-11, Ephesians 2:19-22) He never did any of that, though He did allude to it. Why? It was not time to reveal it, and He was not about to betray that Sovereign attribute until He wanted it revealed. I personally think that the secret of understanding Scripture, is that God didn’t not reveal anything until the appointed time. As He came up through Scripture, even dealing with the nation of Israel, He didn’t tell them everything from start to finish, it was a progressive revelation, it was buried as a great treasure of intrinsic value. Just as the Christ and His Blood are of intrinsic value for us. He is painted as a shadow throughout from Genesis chapter 1:1 through Revelation chapter 22 verse 21. When He picks back up dealing with the nation of Israel and the Hebrew people again and the overflow of the nations. But to this Jesus did reveal a glimps in Luke 8:17-18 after speaking of the seed which falls on good ground, which ties this all together.

 

Then we come to the ministry of Jesus the Messiah-Christ of Israel and again even that’s a progressive revelation. But when we come finally to Acts chapter 9 and the appearance of the Saul of Tarsus, who will become the Apostle Paul, out comes these revelations of secret things. Paul is always referring to them as the mysteries. And remember the word mystery in the Greek is "musterion." It is the word translated usually as mystery, but also at times is translated secret. So the two words are synonymous. If it’s been a mystery kept in the mind of God, it was a secret, and that’s what Paul is constantly referring to then as this body of truth that he calls the mysteries. Which are contained written in the small book and a series of seven seals which are written signatures, which a few of the Prophet saw but weren't allowed to speak of. This scroll is not sealed as the scroll which has wax seals is. Again as I've said there are other such books some small (thin) and some great in thickness some sealed with wax like seals and others not. Let’s come back to 1Corinthians chapter 4, and these are all verses that we’ve looked at in days gone by but let’s look at least some of these references.

 

 

1Corinthians 4:1-2

"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards (overseers, or managers) of the mysteries (the secrets) of God."
What secrets? The things that God has kept secret, vailed, until now. The appointed time which are being revealed, unvailed by His Spirit. To those He has quailified to hear and see and then to understand them. 

1Corinthians 4:2

"Moreover it is required in stewards, (managers, or overseers) that a man be found faithful."

Our question is, How is one found faithful? As many claim to be a pastor or a teacher or a Prophet or an Apostle and even an evangelist (missionary). This is the answer we've found to the above question: “that a man be found faithful”; “to the trust reposed in him; to his LORD and Master that has appointed him to this office; and to the souls that are under his care: and then made a minister / servant to all, be said to be so, and which is his greatest glory, when he proclaimes the pure unadulterated word of this Gospel of Christ without any human mixture, as the doctrines and inventions of men are; and this whole Gospel, declaring all the counsel of God. Keeping back nothing, and watering it down by deluding it because this renders it unprofitable to souls; he seeks not to please men, but God; and not his own glory, and the applause of men, but the honor of Christ, and the good of souls: and such a faithful steward was this Apostle himself.” (quote taken in part from John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, with limited editing) Mans only purpose is to bring each of us to the acceptence of Redemption and after Redemption mans hands are not in the mix, only the Holy Spirit is to be from that point on ward and forever more. But earthy, worldly, carnal men keep trying to complicate things by messing God's plan up. This is what caused me the greatest of trouble in my early years because I did not understand what the Holy Spirit within me was saying. I know that if this was true of me it is also true of many who are like me. When the “I” of “selfwill and pride” is removed from the equation we have the Holy Spirit alone to do the fruit bearing through us. We are no longer men pleasers but rather God pleasures filled by Him. He then speaks through us as He spoke through the man Jesus Christ and then Paul. He puts all the hidden meanings of the secret things together for all to understand. He brings the Light that separated the darkness, to bear on His Will.

 

 

Genesis 15:2

"And Abram said, Lord GOD what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?"

Well, what did he mean? Eliezer was the manager of Abraham’s possessions. It was more than what Abraham could handle himself, so he had this hired manager or steward. This man was not a family heir but rather a servant, a bondservant, a trusted hired hand. Now, it stands to reason, if you’re going to be faithful to the owner of the estate and you are now at the second tier of management, if you’re going to be all that you should be, you will be what? FAITHFUL! Because the name of the game is to do all that you can to enhance your Master’s Estate. This is what Paul is bringing into the mix, the same idea down to the revelation of the mysteries, this revelation of secrets that we as believers are put in a place of responsibility as a manager over a business. But first we have to learn of Him, we as individuals must know Him. We are to be faithful in passing these things on to those who have never heard. It’s our responsibility. And we’d better know what we’re talking about because this is what the world is hung up on. Confusion and deception, and we have to come with that which is pure Truth. The revelation of these things that had been kept secret. And the Apostle Paul is the only one who is over and over referring to that very same concept.