To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
Today we live in the age of mystery, where God relates to His people not in a physical or outward way but spiritually, mystically, and inwardly. From the incarnation of Christ (which is a mystery) all the way to the coming of the millennial kingdom, everything is a mystery.
In Rev. 10:7 we see that when the seventh angel is about to trumpet, the mystery of God is finished.
From Adam to Moses and from Moses to Christ everything was open, unveiled, manifested, and there was no mystery – God was among His people as long as His people worshiped Him, offered sacrifices, and obeyed the law.
But starting from Christ (the mystery of God), everything is a mystery – our regeneration is a mystery, salvation is a mystery, growing in the divine life is a mystery, sanctification and transformation are mysteries, and our conformation and glorification are mysteries.
Whenever we move out of the unseen and spiritual realm and try to improve the government, run for office, get into politics, and generally change the world system around us, we “live and work in the wrong age”.
Our job today, our living and our work in this age is to hasten the Lord’s return by living the church life in our mingled spirit one with Christ as the mystery of God, so that we would become the mystery of Christ! When we live in such a way, we hasten the Lord’s return, and He will deal with all the outward problems in the world!
“To Seal Up Vision and Prophet”
In Daniel 9:24 we see that the prophet and the vision will be sealed up after the gap, the age of mystery, the age of the church. Today we live in the age of the mystery, where Christ is the mystery of God and the church is the mystery of Christ.
God desires to soon close the age of the mystery, to finish the mystery of God (Rev. 10:7; 1 Tim. 3:9). People today can’t understand why we Christians believe in a God whom we have not seen, who has not physically spoken to us, and who doesn’t require us to do outward physical things for Him.
We base our life on the word of God and on a mystical spiritual relationship with God. We pray by speaking words from our heart to God – this is such a mystery! We believe in the prophecies in the Bible, and we see them fulfilled in history and in our lifetime.
But there will be a time, when the seventh angel will trumpet when the age of mystery will be over, and then everything will be open and unveiled for all to see.
Until then, Christ’s incarnation is a mystery (1 Tim. 3:16), Christ and the church are a mystery, the kingdom of the heavens is a mystery (Matt. 13:11), we preach the mystery of the gospel (Eph. 6:19), the indwelling Christ is a mystery (Col. 1:26-27), and the coming resurrection and transfiguration of the saints is a mystery (1 Cor. 15:51-52)!
All these mysteries are hidden in the times of the ages, in the age of mystery (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:5)!
God is a Mystery. Christ is a Mystery. The Church is a Mystery.
Where is God today? How can we touch God, speak to God, see God, feel God, taste God, or relate to God? God is a mystery, and God Himself has a mystery – the mystery of God is Christ (Col. 2:2). All that God is, all He has, all His fullness, is in Christ.
God’s divine nature, His characteristics, His attributes, and all the fullness of the Godhead dwell bodily in Christ (Col. 2:9). To know God, you need to come to Christ, who embodies God. Christ Himself is a mystery, and He is in a divine and mystical realm.
If we don’t have Christ in our spirit, we can’t share in the mystery of God. To know God, contact God, and relate to God, we need to have Christ and even be in Christ, because God is in Christ!
The second part of this great universal mystery is the church as the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4, 6). To know Christ and see Christ today you need to come to the Body of Christ, the church.
To contact Christ, receive something of Christ, and see Christ expressed, you need to come to the church, the Body of Christ. The church is very mysterious – it is the mystery of the mystery (Christ) of the mystery (God)!
God is a mystery; Christ is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of Christ. Even more, Christ and the church as one spirit are a great mystery, and their union is typified by a union of a husband with a wife (Eph. 5:32; 1 Cor. 6:17). We truly live in an age of mystery today…
Degradation Comes In when we Move from the Invisible Realm to the Visible Realm
The Christian life is a life of things unseen, and the Lord’s recovery is to recover His church from things seen to things unseen (Rom. 8:24-25; Heb. 11:27; 1 Pet. 1:8; Gal. 6:10).
When the church today as the mystery of Christ moves from the invisible realm to the visible realm, degradation comes in. Most of what Paul spoke about in his 14 Epistles was concerning the age of the mystery.
In Ephesians 1 he mentions the mystery of His will, in chapter 3 he speaks of the mystery revealed to me, verse 4, my understanding of the mystery of Christ, v. 5, the economy of the mystery.
It is a mystery, but it is a fact – our faith, the Word of God, God Himself, are facts only in the divine and mystical realm, and not in the visible realm. We need to have a spirit of wisdom and revelation to see!
Throughout the ages, when God’s people moved from the invisible things to the visible things, degradation came in. When the things in the Bible became paintings, physical images, icons, or when believers got engaged in politics, social welfare, etc, degradation came in.
When Christians get into politics they betray their calling. Don’t bring the age of mystery to the visible age. We don’t have to take ownership or change the rulers of the present world. We need to stop angling for human power and start proclaiming the power of Christ!
When Christ comes, He will take care of the human government – we don’t need to get into a political party or coalition to be elected or to change something!
There’s a great danger that the pure and small mustard seed would grow into a monstrous giant tree filled with all kinds of unclean things, and that leaven would be added to the pure flour and the whole lump becomes something big (as per Matt. 13).
We don’t belong to this world, we don’t live for this world, and we are not trying to change this world. We are heavenly people with our eyes fixed on the heavens, living in an age of mystery where Christ is mysteriously building up His church to be His bride (Matt. 16:18; Eph. 4:16; Rev. 19:7-9).
Lord, cause us to set our eyes on You and on the things which are above. Save us from bringing the mysterious things of the kingdom of God into the physical realm. May we remain here, in the age of mystery, enjoying Your mysterious growth in us, Your mysterious building up of the church, and Your mysterious preparation of the bride. Save us from betraying our calling. Keep us enjoying You in our spirit day by day until we will be fully transformed and conformed to Your image!
References and Further Reading
- Sharing inspired from brother Andrew Yu’s speaking in this message and portions in, The Mysteries in God’s New Testament Economy (chs. 1-3), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on Crystallization-Study of Daniel and Zechariah, week 4 (entitled, The Vision of the Seventy Weeks and the Age of Mystery).
- Further reading:
# Matthew 13:31-35 with the footnotes on the great tree, the leaven the woman took, and the meal.
# Portions in, The Decline of Evangelical America (an article in New York Times in Dec. 2012; quote: “For me, the deterioration and disarray of the movement is a source of hope: hope that churches will stop angling for human power and start proclaiming the power of Christ.”)
# Basic Training (msg. 1, by Witness Lee). - Hymns on this topic:
# Myst’ry hid from ages now revealed to me, / ’Tis the Christ of God’s reality. / He embodies God, and He is life to me, / And the glory of my hope He’ll be.
# Thou art the hope of glory, / Thou art the mystery, / The center and the focus / Of God’s economy; / The secret of the ages, / Veiled from eternity, / The hidden dispensation, / The Triune God in me!
# In the time He designed / He was born of a virgin’s womb / To reveal what was sealed from eternity. / He was born in human history / To reveal its greatest mystery.
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When the seventh angel is about to trumpet, the mystery of God will be finished. In the dispensation from Adam to Moses, and from Moses to Christ, everything was unveiled, manifested, and there was no mystery. It will be the same in the dispensation of the millennial kingdom and in the new heaven and the new earth—everything will be unveiled and there will be no more mystery. But in the dispensation from Christ to the millennial kingdom, everything is a mystery. The incarnation of Christ, as the beginning of this dispensation of mystery, is a mystery (1 Tim. 3:16). Christ Himself (Col. 2:2), the church (Eph. 3:4-6), the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 13:11), the gospel (Eph. 6:19), the indwelling of Christ (Col. 1:26-27), and the coming resurrection and transfiguration of the saints as the ending of this dispensation of mystery (1 Cor. 15:51-52) are all mysteries which were hidden in times of the ages (Rom. 16:25; Eph. 3:5; Col. 1:26). All these mysteries will be over, completed, and finished at the trumpeting of the seventh trumpet. At the trumpeting of the seventh trumpet, not only God’s judgment of wrath upon the earth, but also “the mystery of God is finished” [Rev. 10:7]. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 311-312)
In the dispensation from the incarnation of Christ to the millennial kingdom – the church age, the age of grace – everything is a mystery. The incarnation of Christ, as the beginning of the age of mystery, is a mystery; through the incarnation of Christ, the infinite God was brought into the finite man. In this universe there is a divine mystery, and this mystery is of 2 parts: the mystery of God – Christ (Col 2:2); and the mystery of Christ – the church (Eph 3:4,6)! When we know Christ, we will know God; when we contact the church as the Body of Christ, we contact Christ! When the seventh trumpet (Rev 10:7) is sounded, all the mysteries will be over, completed and finished! The age of mystery will be over, everything will be unveiled and there will be no more mystery. Hallelujah we are part of this mystery! May we see and remain as a part of the great mystery today, by living in the divine and mystical realm in our spirit! Turn us Lord, from the things seen to the things unseen!
What s t mystery of God?
Col 2:2 … Being knit 2gether n Love & un2 all t riches of t full knowledge of t mystery of God, Christ.
PTL, we can know, b n, & have a share n Christ through His Indwelling Spirit & we can know the mystery of Christ by contacting His Body t church! Eph 3:4,6
Amen 🙂
In the age of mystery, everything is mysterious. Who is God, where is He? Who is Christ and where is He? What is God’s economy? I am so thankful that Christ is in my spirit and I am in Him and day by day Christ is being revealed in me for me to experience Him. Yes, God is a mystery, and God has a mystery. Col 2:2 tells us that the mystery of God is Christ (Col: 2:2). All the riches, all the divine nature, and all the fullness of the Godhead dwell bodily in Christ (Col 2:9). All that God is, and everything related to God is embodied in Christ. This is such a high gospel: “If you do not know Christ, you do not know the mystery of God, and if you are not in Christ, you are not in the mystery of God. And if you do not have Christ in your spirit, you do not have any share in the mystery of God. If you want to know God and contact God, you have to be in Christ, because everything of God is embodied in Christ and Christ is the mystery of God…The mystery of Christ is the Body of Christ, the church (Eph 3:4, 6). Thus, if you would like to meet Christ, know Christ, and receive something of Christ, you must contact the Body of Christ, the church. Just as Christ is the mystery of God, the church is the mystery of Christ.”
Thank You Lord, in our spirit, the Triune God is so real and enjoyable to us. And on that day at the sounding of the 7th trumpet, all the mysteries will be over. I just love You and worship You, You are most worthy.
O Lord, Keep us living in our mingled spirit, living in the divine and mystical realm in this age of mystery while being built up as Your bride for Your coming.
God desire to soon close the age of the mystery, to finish the mystery of God {Rev.10:17 1Tem.3:9. people today can't understand why we christian beleive in a God whom we have not seen, who His not physicaly spoken to us, and who doesn't require to do outward physical things for Him. right we are living in this age of mystery, mystery to those who never have open their heart to the Lord, nor lesten to the word of God they were totally veiled of the TRUTH. O thank You Lord Jesus that You recovered my whole being and renewed into a new creation since i received Your Life giving Spirit, this is a mystery every words spoken in the Bible are mystery.but because of the life that growth in my spirit. everything spoken by Your words it is no longer mystery in my understanding.it is now my enjoyment expereincing living the age of mystery, thru taking Christ as my understanding as the reality of the mingled spirit working lively into my whole being..Hallelujah….
Christ is the mystery of God….Revealed!
Hallelujah, to us today the mystery of God has been revealed in spirit! What a mercy!