I was just sitting there. I had
this verse on my mind a little bit this morning. It's a verse
out of Nehemiah. I'll read it to you. And Ezra
opened the book in the sight of all the people. And when he
opened it, all the people stood up and they read in the book
in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense. and cause
them to understand the reading. That's what I want to do this
morning. God enable me to do it, please. I want to talk to you this morning
about, try to, wisdom in a mystery that's revealed. Wisdom in a
mystery revealed. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter
2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and look at verse 6 through 8. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 6
to begin. Howbeit we speak wisdom among
them that are perfect Yet not the wisdom of this world nor
of the princes of this world that come to knowledge, but we
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of
the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would
not have crucified the Lord of glory. I want to go through those
and try to make sense out of, give the sense, not make sense.
God does that. Give the sense of the language. In verse one of that chapter,
if you'll look at that for just a second, Paul states that he did not come
to these believers in excellence of speech or wisdom in declaring
the testimony of God, but in this passage, verse six, he begins
with the word, how be it? That means however, however. You can replace that word with
however. He's saying that he does nonetheless
speak wisdom, it's just not the wisdom of the world. The wisdom that he speaks is
the gospel, the preaching of Christ and him crucified. And
he's speaking to them that are perfect. Look at verse chapter
one and 23 and 24. Chapter 1, we preach Christ crucified
unto the Jews, a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness,
but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God. That is the mystery of
God revealed. Hebrews 1. And verse two says that God hath
in these last days spoken to us by His Son. That means that
He speaks, God speaks in the language of His Son. The language
speaks to us in the language of His Son. The meaning of the
word perfect there in means to be mature, or grown up, or grounded
in the truth. And he speaks this wisdom among
those who know the gospel. That's what those verses are
saying. Those who know the gospel, who know God in Christ. He's speaking to those who speak
the same language. Word perfect here, in this context,
doesn't mean here that they were sinless. Paul's argument is not addressing
that subject. He's saying that they were qualified
to understand. He's saying that they were qualified
to understand the gospel in contrast to the world's carnal-minded
carnally minded, who reject the wisdom of the gospel and the
things of Christ as being foolishness. It's not the language they speak,
but it's the wisdom of God. And that mystery has been revealed. Paul is saying here that he preaches
the gospel to every man. And what he preaches is foolishness
to the world's wisdom. Paul is speaking to believers
and worshipers of Christ. Now that word perfect may also
be applied to the work that Christ accomplished on Calvary Street,
through which and by which we stand perfect before God. Christ has, by one offering,
perfected forever them that are sanctified. What offering? The offering of himself. Those
perfect ones that could be in the meaning of this word perfect
have the gift of faith and God has abounded toward them in all
wisdom and prudence. God's people know all things. He says, you know all things. Now that doesn't mean you're
a genius, but you know all things that pertain to redemption. You got it. There's nothing more. All wisdom. These are the elect
to whom he has made known the mystery of his will. Now, then
again in verse six, Paul reiterates, that in no way when he speaks,
what he speaks involves the wisdom of the world because that wisdom
comes to nothing. That's said in 1 John. Verse
seven, those who are described here as perfect are those who
have been ordained by God to receive and embrace the truth I'm sorry. Those who are... Notice the word
even and wisdom in verse 7. Both of those words are in italics. indicating that they've been
supplied by our translators and the sense would be more clear
and easily understood if they were taken out. A better reading
of the verse would be this, if you look at it. We proclaim the
divine wisdom hidden in a mystery. Paul is not saying that his preaching
was mysterious. nor that his doctrine was not,
or that his doctrine was unintelligible, but he refers to the fact that
the wisdom has been hidden in a mystery from people up until
that time. That time. But it's now revealed
in and by the gospel. In other words, He does not say
that what he was then declaring was hidden in a mystery, but
that he made known the divine wisdom which had been hidden
from the minds of the people for ages. The word mystery with us is commonly
understood as something to be uncipherable, not to be understood,
that which is beyond comprehension. And it's often applied to such
doctrines that are difficult and which we're not able to explain. But that's not the sense in which
Paul uses the word mystery here. Our Lord said, It is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to
them, it's not given. That's the contrast between verse
one and verse six. He speaks of the wisdom of the
world and then the wisdom of God's people in a mystery. This
mystery spoken of here is applied to those truths which until the
revelation of Christ were concealed from the people. They were either
hidden under obscure types, shadows, or prophecies in the Old Testament,
which had been altogether unrevealed and unknown to the world until
Christ came. In fact, It remains a mystery
to the world and to its legal works religion to this very day,
to this very day. Their minds were blinded for
until this day remains the same veil not taken away in the reading
of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. But even
unto this day, when Moses is read out of the Old Testament,
the veil is still upon their hearts. In reality, what is revealed,
what is revealed, is very plain. It's easily understood. The doctrines
to which this word relates may be in themselves clear and simple,
but they're hidden. in mystery until they are miraculously
revealed by God in the giving of that soul life from the dead. Totally goes over their head.
Our Lord, thank God, His Father. And He said this, I thank Thee,
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you've hid these
things from the wise and the prudent and have revealed them
unto babes. And he also said this, it's given
unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but
to them it's not given. Now I want to consider the meaning
of that. That statement means that the believer speaks a mysterious
language that natural man can never understand or perceive. Because God-given faith produces
no, now listen to me, God-given faith produces no visible evidence
except that faith which is given to His children. And faith is
invisible. Faith, false religion, has hordes
of evidence that proves them to be God's children. They look
at themselves, they look at their works, they take satisfaction
in those things, but the evidence is only in that which they can
see and what others can see. Praise the Lord. All the religious antics that
go along with those things that proves them to be people of God. that only satisfies the mind
of natural man. The children of God walk by faith
and not not by sight. I want you to see that Paul is
addressing the mind of God here. The reason why the world can't,
cannot grasp the meaning of the mystery and the reason that God's
elect do grasp it is that it's ordained of God ordained of God
for His people, individuals, and only for His people alone.
This hidden wisdom was ordained for the glorification of God's
elect in Christ. I don't know whether you saw
that or not. Look at 7, verse 7. God ordained. This amazed me when I saw it.
God ordained. which God ordained before the
world unto who? Our glory. Not His. And maybe that glory
is not visible at this point, but it's going to be one time
in eternity. How that ought to put a smile
on our faces. Thank God for His love. He's
not left us to ourselves. We're bound to give thanks always
to God. Beloved, brethren, beloved of
the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen us to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and what? Belief, faith
in the truth. Where unto he called us by the
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That gospel, is the mystery revealed. Christ is the mystery revealed. In verse eight, something which
I, which the longer I thought about, the more interesting it
got to me. At face value, look at verse
eight. It's saying that if the princes of this world had known
that Christ was the Son of God, they would never have even attempted
or even ventured to destroy such a dignity. But why would that be the case? Who, what, when, where, why,
and how? That's how you read this book. Why wouldn't they
have wanted to do so? That can only be caused by a couple of things. One, if they had known who he
was, that he created the world and all things in it, the universe,
that he was God, they wouldn't have killed him. Why? Self-preservation and political advantage. Had
they known the power and authority that he possessed over the world
in its very existence, and them and their existence, they would
have joined the same political party. Yeah. For the power that they might
be delegated. That makes sense, doesn't it? If they had known they would
have not killed him to gain personal advantage in this natural world,
and personal power. But I say this, but what if they
knew and believed that he must suffer these things and enter
into his glory? What if they'd known that? What
if that was the cause of them not killing him? What if they
knew and believed that he was redeeming a people and chose
not to kill him? Just think of the obstinate,
stubborn nature of false religion and our own depraved nature and
utter rebellion. Men would choose their own works
to justify themselves rather than to receive it freely from
another. Men would choose their own way,
their own merit over that of Christ crucified as their only
hope of salvation. It's like the fellow that David
spoke of the other night. The fellow that told him he wasn't
coming back to church, I'll make it on my own. No, that won't
work. That won't work, not for me.
Would men refuse Christ as all of salvation in order to hold
on to their notion of free will and personal merit? Yeah, they
would. If you don't believe that, if
you've never read the Fox Book of Martyrs, read it. Man, they
were killing. In either case, the fact remains
that they did not know he was the Lord of Glory, and in their
vile hatred, they crucified him exactly as God had ordained. And He's ordained that His children
would see the hidden mystery open to their God-given understanding
and that in Christ and His work in justifying His people. Those
who understand this mystery are described in verse 10. Didn't
read it, but we will. Verse 10, God hath revealed them
unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things,
yea, the deep things of God. Go back to verse 7 there. We
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world under our glory. Now let's ask
this question. What is this wisdom of God in
a mystery? I think the answer is given over
in Romans. He says, now to him that is of
power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching
of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery
which was kept secret since the world began. But now, now is
made known, made manifest, made visible. And by the scriptures
of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting
God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. If
I can try and give the sense of that, simply stated, the revelation
of this wisdom of God in a mystery is contained in the gospel. It's
contained in the gospel. The seed of woman was prophesied
In Genesis chapter three and verse 15, this will give you
some sense of it, I do hope. I'm gonna give you a couple examples.
As it was stated, it was an unrevealed mystery. Can you imagine having
nothing but the Old Testament and reading in the very first
book of the Bible these words, it shall bruise thy head and
thou shalt bruise his heel. What in the world did that mean? Was that a mystery? Yeah, because
Christ had not been revealed in fulfillment of that prophecy.
The mystery unrevealed at the time that was said to be Satan. The mystery unrevealed at the
time this was said to Satan himself was Christ and him crucified
in the gospel. Isaiah said this, he spoke of
a child being born. He said, and for unto us, a child
is born unto us, a son is given and the government shall be upon
his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor,
the mighty God, the everlasting father, the prince of peace.
You see the name Jesus in there anywhere? His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. It's rather mysterious that God
might become a man. Did you get that out of that
scripture? That's his name. A child born. The Mighty God. That was a mystery. That was
a mystery. But there it is. His name shall
be the mighty God. That mystery was manifest and
made known only when Christ came into this world. Listen to this
prophecy, Exodus chapter 13. It says this, sanctify unto me
all the firstborn. Whatsoever openeth the womb Among the children of Israel,
both of man and of beast is mine." Now, rather delicate here. I know
that that verse speaks of the firstborn of man, but it also
says a beast there. I don't have any explanation
for that, but I can explain man. Technically speaking, No man
of Israel, no one ever born in Israel, no one ever born, has
ever opened the womb of his mother. You realize that? Until Christ came. He's the only
man that ever opened the womb of a woman. Who opened the womb
of your mother? Your father. Your father. Who opened the womb of Mary? Huh? Of our Lord, the mother of our
Lord. It was Christ himself. He was born a virgin and miraculously
conceived by the Spirit of God. Do you remember this? When Mary
took the newborn Lord Jesus to the synagogue to do the custom
of the law, Simeon recognized him by the spirit of God. I can't
quite explain that, but he understood the scriptures in the Old Testament.
He knew there was one coming and he knew there was going to
be a child born and that it was going to bruise Satan's head. But he recognized him by the
Spirit of God as the one prophesied to come. And in Luke, it says this, Simeon
took him up in his arms, that baby. And when he took him up
in his arms, he understood and saw the God who created the heavens
and the earth. And he said, He blessed God and
he said, Lord, now let us tell my servant, thy servant, depart
in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen your
salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people. A light to lighten the Gentiles
and the glory of thy people Israel and Joseph, listen to this, and
Joseph, And Mary marveled at the things which Simeon spoke
of Christ. And Simeon blessed them and said
to Mary, his mother, Your child, behold, your child is set for
the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign
which shall be spoken against that the thoughts of many hearts,
listen to this, the thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed. Every heart here of a believer
this morning has been revealed to God. How did old Simeon recognize
it? By the power of the Spirit of
God. He was holding in his arms the mighty God. The wisdom of
God in a mystery had been revealed to him right there in that synagogue
in the form of that baby. The Apostle John was standing
with two of his disciples one day and they were watching Christ. His buddies standing next to
him. Christ, they saw him walking. And John pointed at Christ, said,
hey guys, there goes the lamb of God. There he is. Huh? He ain't no lamb. He ain't no
lamb. All of those lambs. Thousands
upon thousands that were sacrifices in the Old Testament are finally
revealed, there is, in the person of Christ. He's
the wisdom of God in a mystery revealed. Wisdom of God, who is Christ, can only be found
in the Gospel. which is the power of God unto
salvation. That makes me tremble in my boots
standing here. That God would use these words
to quicken the soul of some lost sinner. Our God is determined. He's dead set determined that
not all of the human race is going to perish. He said, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. And I'll add these words,
there ain't nothing you can do about it. There ain't nothing
you can do about it. Christ has died. He's redeemed
a people and God's gonna call him. He's granting that people
an ungodly, dead dog sinners, faith to believe that Christ
has indeed obtained redemption for a people. Christ has come. taken the sin of the elect and
put it away forever. The salvation of God's children
of his elect is done. It's accomplished. It's over.
And somebody's going to hear about that and say, wow, that's
me. That's me. You believe after
you hear of your salvation. Read that in Ephesians. You don't
believe until you hear of your salvation. And when you hear
it, you're amazed that it's already done. Finally, I believe that every
essential part of this mystery is revealed of Christ can be
found in the book of Ephesians. And I'll leave you with this.
Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians to a Gentile, they
were a Gentile church, a bunch of Gentiles. And to that point,
only the promises were revealed to Israel. It was a nation. And Paul took this message to
the world, and Peter. The purpose of his writing to
the Ephesians was that by revelation it was made known to him this
mystery, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons
of men, as it is now revealed unto his apostles and prophets
by the Spirit that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of this
promise revealed in the mystery. That they should be fellow heirs
and of the same body and partakers of the same promise in Christ
by the gospel. Whereof Paul was made a minister
according to the gift of the grace of God unto him by the
effectual working of God's power. Unto me, who am less than the
least of all saints, is this grace given, to reveal it, that
I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery,
which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who
created all things by Christ, to the intent that now under
the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made
known by the church the manifold wisdom of God according to the
eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. The things of that mystery are multiple things. They're
the things of Christ, but all those things that have been revealed
in Christ is that mystery openly made manifest and fulfilled. So when somebody talks to you
about a mystery, you know a mystery that's been revealed in the sense
in which we understand it. Paul took it to the Gentiles.
That's what I just read. That's a part of the revelation
of that ministry and how we ought to thank God. It ought to thrill our souls.
Every one of us that the Gentiles sitting here this morning are
recipients and in the family tree of what Paul revealed. when he revealed that mystery
in Christ and wrote it down for us to pass it on to others. Pray that the Lord blesses you.