Mysteries in Scripture are truths God hid and then made known.
There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
The mystery hidden for ages and generations is now revealed to His saints.
A biblical mystery is not a puzzle for the clever.
It is a secret of God that stays shut until He opens it,
and then it is to be preached,
not locked again.
Daniel stood before a king who demanded both dream and meaning. The Chaldeans said no man on earth could do it. Daniel said the secret had not been shown because he was wiser, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. That sentence governs the word.
- Moses had already said the secret things belong to the Lord, and the things revealed belong to us that we may do them.
- Jesus spoke of the secrets of the kingdom given to disciples and withheld in parables.
Paul filled his letters with the same term.
- The mystery of Christ is that Gentiles are fellow heirs.
- The mystery among the nations is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
- The mystery of the gospel is to be proclaimed with boldness.
- The mystery of godliness is great:
- He was manifested in the flesh,
- vindicated by the Spirit,
- seen by angels,
- preached among the nations,
- believed on in the world,
- taken up in glory.
- He also names a mystery of lawlessness already at work, and John sees mystery written on Babylon’s brow.
Not every hidden thing is holy. Some secrets are the dark of a rival kingdom. The church’s work is to steward what God has opened and to refuse what He has not. We know in part. We prophesy in part. When the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
- Mystery means hidden-then-revealed, not unsolvable.
- God reveals. Men do not climb into the secret by technique.
- Revealed things are for obedience, not for a second elite.
- Several mysteries, one Revealer: kingdom, Christ and the nations, godliness, Israel’s hardening, the gospel, lawlessness, Babylon.
- Stewards of the mysteries are servants of Christ.
- In part is honest. Full sight waits for the day.
- A mystery on a harlot’s forehead is not a mystery to imitate.
- Hidden by God – Kept for ages until the time He chose.
- Revealed in Christ – The Son is the opening of the secret.
- Preached – Once opened, announced to the nations.
- Stewarded – Held in trust; not owned as private light.
- Several Names – Kingdom, Christ, gospel, godliness, Israel, lawlessness.
- Partial Now – We know in part until we see face to face.
- Counterfeit – Mystery of lawlessness; mystery Babylon.
- Daniel 2:22, 28-30 – “He reveals deep and hidden things… but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries… this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living.”
- Deuteronomy 29:29 – “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”
- Matthew 13:11 – “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
- Romans 16:25-26 – “…according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith.”
- Ephesians 3:4-6, 9 – “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ… This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel… and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God.”
- Colossians 1:26-27 – “The mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
- Ephesians 6:19 – “…that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel.”
- 1 Timothy 3:16 – “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
- 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 – “But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory… these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit.”
- 1 Corinthians 4:1 – “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 – “For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away… Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:51 – “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.”
- Romans 11:25 – “Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
- Ephesians 5:32 – “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
- 2 Thessalonians 2:7 – “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.”
- Revelation 1:20 – “As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands…”
- Revelation 10:7 – “…in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled.”
- Revelation 17:5, 7 – “On her forehead was written a name of mystery: ‘Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.’… I will tell you the mystery of the woman.”
- Amos 3:7 – “For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.”
- Colossians 2:2-3 – “…to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
The secret things belong to the Lord. The things that are revealed belong to us, that we may do them.
The mystery hidden for ages is now revealed: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Gentiles fellow heirs.
Great is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh… taken up in glory.
We are stewards of the mysteries of God. Proclaim the mystery of the gospel with boldness.
We know in part. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Mystery Babylon is not our mother.
All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. Ask Him. Preach what He has opened. Leave shut what He has not.
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