Today, I will look at the reason for the secrets and mysteries of GOD. Under the title of Deity Veiled because of this, GOD is spoken of as being hidden or of hiding Himself. For the unredeemed and even the redeemed this may on the surface appear to be so. But since the day of the giving and receiving of GOD's Spirit, in the person of His Holy Spirit, it is not so. For when we are on the receiving end of the promises and secrets and mysteries of GOD, we become His face among men, just as did Jesus. And as the prophets and righteous men and women of old were. For now we carry His image and likeness again in the person of Christ in Whom are found grace and truth and love and faith and so much more. For we the living Church, the living Body of Christ, in the world but not part of it. Because He has separated us from the world. And because this section is short I will add another section titled, God Invisible. Through all I will use the ESV translation for ease of reading and editing of the LORD within me. For we are the human form of Christ, the same Christ that dwelt, occupied, Jesus in human form. Formerly unseen but known as in a shadowy form by the old prophets and those who acquired righteousness status, being approved of GOD.
Deity Veiled,
Job 23:8-17 "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive Him; on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food. For He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? What He desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me, and many such things are in His mind. Therefore I am terrified at His presence; when I consider, I am in dread of Him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face."
Psalm 10:1-2, 3-4 "Why, O LORD, do You stand far away? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD. In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek Him; all his thoughts are, "There is no God."
Psalm 13:1-2 "How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?"
Psalm 89:46-48 "How long, O LORD? Will you hide Yourself forever? How long will Your wrath burn like fire? Remember how short my time is! For what vanity You have created all the children of man! What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?"
Isaiah 45:14-17 "Thus says the LORD: "The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you and be yours; they shall follow you; they shall come over in chains and bow down to you. They will plead with you, saying: 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides Him.'" Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, the Savior. All of them are put to shame and confounded; the makers of idols go in confusion together. But Israel is saved by the LORD with everlasting salvation; you shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternity."
GOD Invisible, unseen by man,
Exodus 33:17-23 with Job 9:11, 23:8 "And the LORD said to Moses, "This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by (another) name." Moses said, "Please show me Your glory." And He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you My name 'The LORD.' And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But," He said, "you cannot see My face, for man shall not see Me and live." And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by Me where you shall stand on the rock, and while My glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen."
Job 9:1-12 Then Job answered and said: "Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right with God? If one wished to contends with (disputes) Him, one could not answer Him once in a thousand times. He is wise in heart and mighty in strength —who has hardened himself against Him, and succeeded?— it is God who removes mountains, and they know it not, when He overturns them in His anger, who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble; who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; who made the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the chambers of the south; who does great things beyond searching out, and marvelous things beyond number. Behold, He passes by me, and I see Him not; He moves on, but I do not perceive Him. Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain Him holding Him back? Who will say to Him, 'What are You doing?'
Job 23:8-17 "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive Him; (because Job admits to being in rebellion in verse 2) on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him. For He knows the way that I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold. My foot has held fast to His steps; I have kept His way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food. For He is (unique) unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? What He desires, that He does. For He will complete what He appoints for me, and many such things are in His mind. Therefore I am terrified at His presence; when I consider, I am in dread of Him. God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face."
John 1:14-18 "The Word (of the promise) became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of (Christ known as) Grace and Truth. (John bore witness about Him, and cried out, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because He was before me.'") For of His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus (the possessor of) Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only GOD, Who is at the Father's side, He has made Him known."
John 5:30, 31-32, 33-47 Jesus is speaking. "I can do nothing on My own. As I hear, I judge, and My judgment is just, because I seek not My own will but the will of Him Who sent Me.
If I alone bear witness about Myself, My testimony is not true. There is another who bears witness about Me, and I know that the testimony that He bears about Me is true.
The Witness of John,
You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.
The Witness of Works,
But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about Me that the Father has sent Me.
The Witness of the Father,
For the Father who sent Me has Himself borne witness about Me. His voice you have never heard, His form you have never seen, and you do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe the One whom He has sent.
The Witness of Scripture,
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. For I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in My Father's name (Immanuel plus Messiah ie... the Christ One), and you do not receive Me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?"
Colossians 1:15-20 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (as seen in Genesis 1:26-27) For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him. For He is before all things, and in Him all things held together. For He is the head of the Body, His Church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything He might be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross."
1Timothy 1:12-17 "I thank Christ Who has given me strength, Christ in Jesus our LORD, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our LORD overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ in Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. For I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus (the first possessor of) Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe and receive Him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. The Amen."
1Timothy 6:11-16 with 1John 4:12 "As for you, O man of God, flee perverse things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, Who gives life to all things, and of Christ in Jesus, Who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus (who possessed, the second Adam) Christ, which He will display (make known) at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, Who alone has immortality, Who dwells in unapproachable light, Whom no one has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. The Amen."
GOD is Love,
1John 4:7-14, 15-18 "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him (the messenger). In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loves us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loves us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abided in Him, and He in God. So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (making us a true Christ one) By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love."
Next I want to look at the Incarnation of Christ, both a mystery and a revelation.
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