2Peter
3:15-16
"And
account (understand) that the long-suffering of our
Lord is (of course. That’s the main theme of the
whole Bible and it over shadows our Redemption through which we have
to pass in order to receive) salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul
also according to the wisdom given unto him (by the
revelation of the secrets, this wisdom we will see again in chapter 2
of Colossians) hath written unto you. As also in all his
epistles, (from Romans through Philemon and quite possibly
Hebrews) speaking in them of those things (the things
that pertain to salvation) in which are some things hard to be
understood, (That’s Peter writing by inspiration) which
they that are unlearned and unstable wrest (twist, make light
of and distort them by misquoting and thereby misappling and misguide
the unlearned and even mock because they are unlearned and unstable)
as they do also the other scriptures, unto their
own destruction."
Do
you see what the man is saying? That when Paul reveals these
mysteries that had been kept secret it was such revelation, such
breaking of new ground, that even good old Peter couldn’t grasp it
all. It was beyond him. And we can see why. Because Peter was
steeped in Judaism. He was steeped in Judaisms legalism and religiousity. In all the ritualistic
customs of the fathers. He was steeped in the Jesus of His earthly
ministry as many are today. And so when the Apostle Paul comes along and
presents all this to the Jewish and Gentile world, like I've shown you. Who did
Peter address in Acts chapter 2 & 3? “Ye men of Israel, the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers,” and
then all of a sudden have this promoted among the Gentile world. I
can see why Peter couldn’t comprehend it. And I don’t believe he
had a full understanding of it right up until the time he was
martyred. It was just something totally beyond him. Why? Because he
could not get his head around it, what the LORD
Jesus told him and the others that were there with him. They actually
were operating in unbelief just as many are now, but there are a few
though, this list is very small, who have received the Light. Why? For
the same reason that Peter did not come to grips with this revelation hidden
in Christ, he was not open to it. Or at least not its fulness.
So
when Paul speaks of these secrets, mysteries, for goodness sake don’t
just shove it off and say you just can’t understand what he’s
talking about. He’s merely telling us that he is being used of the
same God that Enoch, Elijah and the Prophets walked with and Who
called Abram and blessed his trust through fellowship with him
and his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. The One Who called the twelve
disciples up there in Galilee, that the same God Who is now revealing
to this Apostle a whole new concept of things that had never been
heard of before. One of which is that we are joint heirs with Christ.
This means that we are not subjects to a king but are rather friends
who know what He is about doing. A people that He communicates with as He did Abraham and Isaac and even king David. In the same fashion and category of
Abram. Another one is that one day the trumpet will sound and we’re
going to be gone. Now I know that’s hard for a lot of people to
swallow, because it’s not in the rest of the Scriptures, in plan
sight, it is only in Paul’s writings. It is part of the revelation
of the mysteries, and then it is not hard to comprehend.
Colossians
1:26
"Even
the mystery which hath been hid from ages (thousands of years
God kept it secret) and from generations, (all the
generations of Israel and even the pagan world of the Gentiles) but
now is made manifest to his saints:
The
world doesn’t know what I'm talking about, and a good percentage of
Christendom don’t know what I'm talking about either. Do you know
why? Because they avoid Paul’s writings like the plague, they won’t
come into Paul’s writings if they can possibly avoid it. I had a
gentlemen e-mail the other day and stated, "I’ve been keeping track,
every Sunday morning for the last three months, our sermon has been
out of the book of Matthew." Why would this be? I have nothing
against Matthew, it’s the Word of God, but when you spend 90 to 100% of
your time in Matthew, you’re missing the revelations of the
mysteries. I hear of many saying the same kind of things from all
sections of our friends on Face book and else where. No wonder so
many remain as lost as a goose in the wind storm and under the veil
which for them is not lifted. They don't seek God about such matters
nor do they take advantage of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of all
Truth Who they claim to have within them.
They’re
missing justification by faith alone, they’re missing this whole
concept of the Body of Christ, as it’s not in Matthew or the four
synoptic gospels. Nor in the Old Testament and its accompanying
economy. They’re missing this whole concept of the Grace of God,
it’s not in them. They’re missing the whole concept that they’re
sins are already forgiven. They’re missing the whole concept about
the blessed hope as Paul writes to Titus that one day the Great God,
and our Savior Christ Jesus will appear for us in the air. See that’s
not in Matthew. And there are just countless others that they’re
missing including Paul’s Gospel by which is the only Way we have
Eternal Life, NOW. Jesus said that “if” we love Him and Believe
Him then we will receive Him Who is Eternal Life. That was only given
to Paul. So when they leave Paul’s writing out of they're
study, they’re missing out on all the good things that God wants us
to have.
I’ll
never forget years ago, we hadn’t been in Wisconsin very long and
we had our family doctor come by while I was in the hospital. He
would sit right in front of me. And oh he would almost sit there like
a starved bird and would say every so often, "Bill why haven’t
we been taught these things before? Thirty years I’ve been going to
Church and now I can see they’ve been cheating me." Well I'm
afraid that’s too often the case, and you know why? Because they
will not study the mysteries, they don't know Christ as the risen
LORD, they only know Him as Jesus the Son of man, and this is where
it’s at for us Gentiles. Many only see God and even Jesus as being
someplace out in outer space some where, or in the Eternity that is
for them out of sight and therefore out of reach. I say this kindly.
You have to understand the revelation of the mysteries to understand
the wisdom and knowledge of God’s dealing with Gentile world. We
have to learn Christ and His present day ministry. Christ in us, our
glory and the greatest blessing. Our inner man being healed and
restored to Him, through Him.
Before
moving on let's look at the word “saints,” a saint is a cleansed
one, as being restored to innocent, modest and perfect before God. Man
only sees the outside and the persons past what ever it maybe of have
been. And thereby is a respector of man which we know God is not. He
sees Christ Jesus in us when we have become His, this is called
Salvation, which distinguises us from the world of ordinary man. This
is the richness of Christ that will soon be set before us.
Colossians
1:27a
"To
whom (the saints, the believers of the Church Age Gospel) God
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles;…"
I'm
not leaving the Jewish people out of this, but I'm going to say what
the Scriptures says, that this is directed primarily to the Gentiles.
I know I have many Jewish believers in the reading audience, I know I
do. I have a Jewish Christian couple in Israel, and here in
Cleveland, TN. and I can revel in these things. But for the most part
the Hebrew can’t except the fact that their Messiah has already
come the first time. So this secret in particular that Paul’s
talking about here is for the Gentiles with the few Hebrew
exceptions. It use to be the other way around didn't it. Now Israel
and the Hebrews knew Him only as the distant God, only His Prophets
knew Him as the close one, the one Who sticks closer than a natural
brother. This is also what keeps the people in Religion chained to
Satan's deception and misdirection by what Paul revealed was Israel's
sin in Romans 1:18-32, which also applies to those chained to Satan,
in mans doctrines. Today when we go to cast our vote for an amendment
to our Constitution or a State Constitution we need to have legal
help to be able to read and understand what the amendment is actually
saying. This is not what our forefathers intended to happen, they
wanted things made plain as day, and that is why God has given to us
His Holy Spirit when we have received Redemption. He makes the hidden
things plain as day to us, this we will soon see and find out as we
progress. He wants to break the chain and remove the veil that restrains us. He wants us freed.
Colossians
1:27b
"…God
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, (by the person of
the Holy Spirit) the hope of glory:"
That’s
what we’re living for. We’re not living for this world. Oh, we
all have our ambitions and we're just as ambitious as anyone. We all
love our family and friends as every body else does, but hey this
isn’t the end. Glory is the end, that doesn’t mean we can’t
enjoy these things in this earthly sojourn. We just value the
knowledge of Christ more than the riches of this world. Because
they're all temporal, rusting and corroding and passing away but
Christ and Eternity are forever, Eternal. The LORD by His vary name
and presence within us wants us to be producing fruitfulness through
Him. This with the knowledge of Him will bring us joy unspeakable and
full of glory. How do we produce fruit by being a living witness of
His Grace and Truth and Eternal Life in Light within us. We become a
Light to the world through Him. We carry His signature upon our very
being as a wife carries her husbands on her, as her seal.
Colossians
1:28-29
"Whom
we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom;
that we may present every man perfect (spiritually mature, a
saint) in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving
according to his working, which worketh in me mightily."
Paul
tells us that all is through the illumination that the Holy Spirit
imparts to our re-birthed spirit according to His workings. When we
get into chapter 2 we'll be looking at more of the secrets or
mysteries that are revealed to and then through Paul. It is these
secrets of Christ that He builds His Body, the Church upon, by way of
illumination for understanding and knowledge. Not as the world turns
but rather As He increases within us again. Now man seek what in
his mind is wisdom but this wisdom is based on Israel and mostly
Israel only, or worse yet in the literal, practical understanding of
scripture. This Paul and the writer of Hebrews warnings is in the
wrong direction and will lead us no where. Even James explains that
the OT is there for our learning how to suffer through all of lifes
pressures, trials and many tribulations. Most of todays “Christendom”
does not want to hear that. They see Israel as being prosperous and
with earthy blessing which may have been so. But to remain stuck in
that mode is misdirection and they then are earthy, carnal and
worldly to the max. This is distortion, without clear vision or
understanding. So we are not to prosper as the world prospers or even
to live in divine health as the world see things. Because it does not
realize that when we enter His Salvation we are healed spiritually
which is the greater of the two blessings, as they desire only the
materal things of this world, we the spiritual and heavenly. They get hung up on the literalism and
legalism of the worlds disception.
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