Let us turn again to God's Word
here in Colossians chapter 2 and I'll read the first three verses
Colossians 2 1 to 3 For I would that ye knew what great conflict
I have for you and for them at Laodicea and for as many as have
not seen my face in the flesh that their hearts might be comforted
being knit together in love and unto all riches of the full assurance
of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of
the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge." The charge that's given to the
Lord's servants, the ministers of His Word, is surely to preach
the mystery of God revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ and in
the context here the beginning of this chapter and also the
end of the previous chapter Paul has much to say with regards
to his own ministry the unfolding of that mystery Verse 25 of Chapter
1, he says, Whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation
of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill the word of
God, even the mystery which hath been heard from ages and from
generations, but now is made manifest to the saints, to whom
God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of
glory. The glory of this mystery, he
says, among the Gentiles. And I want us really tonight
to consider something of this mystery as he goes on to speak
of it further here in chapter 2 and verses 2 and 3, that their
hearts might be comforted, he says, being knit together in
love and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding
to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of the Father
and of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. The mystery then of God revealed
in the Lord Jesus Christ is the theme and as I said That is the
charge that the Lord gives to his servants whom he has called
to preach the gospel of that grace of God's. When the same
Apostle Paul is giving instruction to Timothy in that first pastoral
letter that's addressed to the young man, he speaks of the officers
of the church both the overseers and the deacons. And with regards
to the deacons, he speaks of the necessity of such holding
the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. The mystery of the
faith. What is the mystery of the faith? Well, that expression, the faith,
in the context there is referring of course to that great body
of doctrinal truth that we have here in God's words the mystery
of the faith that's the doctrine of God himself and that's greatest
of all the mysteries which is the truth of the trinity and
it's all together above And beyond the comprehension of any man,
it's a mystery, it's a secret really, that can never be found
out. Canst thou by searching find
out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It is highest heaven. What canst
thou know deeper than hell? What canst thou do? What a mystery
it is. God we know is but one, there
is only one living and true God, Hero Israel, the Lord our God
is one Lord, and yet that one God subsists in three persons,
three distinct persons, the three that bear record in heaven, the
Father, and the words, and the Holy Ghost, and John says these
three are one. What a mystery! This is surely
the greatest of all the mysteries that are revealed to us here
in Holy Scripture. To comprehend the Great Three
One is more than highest angels can, or what the Trinity has
done, from death and how to rescue man. But all true Christians,
this may boast a truth from nature, never learn that Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, to save our souls, are all concerned. We oft times
sing that lovely hymn of hearts on this doctrine. Our God reveals
himself really in the saving of sinners. Oh, the mystery then,
that the Apostle is speaking of as he's writing to this church
at Colossae. It's a profound mystery. It's
really the whole doctrine of the Gospel, how God has revealed
himself in the salvation of sinners. And I was struck some while ago
reading, I think it must have been in a sermon of J.K. Popham's, where he made the statement
that salvation is built on distinctions in the Godhead. The salvation
of the sinner is built on the very doctrine of the Triniton. And I think I've said previously,
that is surely brought out in the great first chapter of the
epistle to the Ephesians. Remember we have those long sentences
there in chapter 1 verse 3 through to 6. The Apostle speaks of God the
Father and the great purpose, the eternal purpose, how he has
made a choice of the people, he has elected them in the Lord
Jesus Christ, and then he goes on at verse 7 through to 12 to
speak of Christ, God the Son, manifest in the flesh, who has
come and accomplished and procured that great salvation that was
purposed from all eternity by the Father and then in verses
13 and 14 of that chapter Paul speaks of the necessity of the
ministry of the Spirit to make application of what the Father
purposed and what the Son accomplished. The Spirit seals the whole work
of salvation in the souls of elect sinners. How remarkable
it is. And when we think of Christ as
He comes, it is of course God the Son, it's not God the Father,
it's not God the Holy Spirit. It is the second person in the
Trinity who is incarnate, who comes in the fullness of the
time. But when the Lord Jesus begins
His ministry, It opens with his being baptized by John there
in the river Jordan, and we see how all the persons in the Godhead
are there at the beginning of that ministry. There is God the
Son, the God-man, coming up out of the waters of baptism, and
the heavens open, and the Spirit descends upon him in the form
of a dove, and the Father utters those words, This is my beloved
Son. in whom I am well pleased. And so, with that baptizing of
Christ is the commencement of His great ministry. The life
that is to live, the death that is to die, His resurrection,
and then His ascension having accomplished all that work. And
when the sinner is saved, brought to saving faith, Does he not
then profess that faith in believers' baptism? And baptism also is,
as you know, in the name of God Christ is baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. There, as we begin our Christian
life, we profess that great mystery, the doctrine of God. Well, let
us turn to these words here in Colossians 2, verses 2 and 3. He speaks of the full assurance
of understanding to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God and of
the Father and of Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. All of this then is revealed
in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. There is the fullness of that
revelation of God. We're told in verse 9, "...in
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." And of
course back in the opening chapter There in the beginning of verse
15, he speaks of Christ as that one who is the image of the invisible
God. He is the image of the invisible
God. It's in the Lord Jesus Christ
that we have the full revelation of that mystery, which is the
doctrine of God. without controversy. Paul says,
great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh. There are various aspects to
that mystery and we've already referred to the words that we
have at the end of chapter 1 there at verse 25 following part of
that mystery is that there's going to be the calling of the
Gentiles. And Colossae is principally a Gentile church. And Paul speaks,
you see there, of a mystery that was hidden, now revealed among
the Gentiles. Christ in you, the hope of glory,
there's salvation even for sinners of the Gentiles. He speaks of
it much more fully in Ephesians chapter 3. But when we think
of the the revelation of the mystery which is God, we see
it very much in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus. Think of the words that Christ
speaks at the end of John 15, those familiar chapters where
he's speaking of the coming of the Holy Spirit, and with his
expedient that he should go away if he goes not away the spirit
will not come but if he goes he will send the spirit and he
says there at the end of that fifteenth chapter in John when
the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the Father
even the spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father ye
shall testify of mine there are certainly in the Old Testament
many indications that there are three persons in the Godhead.
But it's only when we come to the New Testament and Christ
that we have the fullness of that revelation. And here in
this verse we see it's very much a Trinitarian verse. He speaks
of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, whom he says, I will send unto
you from the Father. Though the Spirit comes from
the Father, He is the Spirit of truth that proceedeth from
the Father, says Christ. And what does He come to do?
He comes to testify of Christ. It's in Christ that we come to
see the fullness of that revelation then of God. It's completed here
in the New Testament Scriptures. And what do we read at the end
of the second verse and there in verse 3? The mystery of God's
and of the Father, and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge." All the great treasure of this mystery
is found in Christ. And in that we see all the persons
in the Godhead. And surely here at the end of
the second verse there is some reference to the three persons. I know that the Holy Spirit isn't
specifically spoken of, but we do read of God, and of the Father,
and of Christ. And as we proceed I trust that
we will see that the first reference here is actually to that gracious
work of the Spirit. But let us consider the doctrine,
its first and greatest of all the mysteries, which is the doctrine
of God, the mystery of the Father and of Christ itself. Now evidently,
we have to recognize that there could never be an eternal Father,
who is being spoken of here, except there is also an eternal
Son. If he is an eternal Father, he
must have an eternal Son. And that is the truth that we
see so clearly here in the New Testament. And John in particular
brings that truth out in the Gospel and in his three epistles. For example, there in the second
epistle, in verse 9, he says, Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God, he that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If we're abiding in the doctrine of Christ, we have the
Father and we have the Son. Again, he had already said in
the first epistle, There in chapter 2 verse 23, Whosoever denieth
the Son, the same hath not the Father. But he that acknowledgeth
the Son, he hath the Father also. As I said, if there is an eternal
Father, there must be an eternal Son. And remember the words of
the Lord Himself during the course of His ministry, No man knoweth
the Son, He says, but the Father. neither knoweth any man the Father
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." And
it's interesting when Paul, as was his wont, introduces this
letter to the Colossians, we have the normal sort of greetings
that we're accustomed to in all of Paul's epistles. Paul, an
apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, and Timotheus, our
brother, to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ, which are
a colossal, grace unto you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. And so
he launches forth into his epistle. But observe the distinction that
he makes here. He desires grace and peace for
them, he says, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But
then there's this distinction. We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's our Father, that's the Father
of Paul and all believers, those believers at Colossae, God our
Father, But then in verse 3 it's the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. There is a distinction there.
He is our Father by the blessed truth of adoption. But He is
the Father of Christ because He is begotten. Again, when he
speaks to the women after his resurrection, what does he say?
I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your
God. There is a distinction that is
to be observed. Because Christ's relationship
to God in the Godhead, his relationship to the Father, is very different
to that of the believer. They say Christ is the one who
is begotten of the Father. The believers are those who are
adopted into the family of God. Here then we have something of
that mystery, the mystery of God and of the Father and of
Christ. in whom I hid all the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge." So, turning in the second place to
say something with regards to God the Son. God the Son. What does John say? I said that
John is one who makes much of the doctrine of Christ the doctrine
of the person of Christ. He says, "...we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth." He is the Son of the Father in truth and in love,
as we've said many, many a time. Of course, He is that One who
is eternally begotten as the Son of God. I will declare the
decree, He says. The Lord hath said unto me, Thou
art my Son. This day have I begotten thee. Not yesterday, nor tomorrow,
but this day, the now. Always the present time. That's
eternity. There's no past, there's no future
in eternity. It is always this day. He is
eternally there. Begotten of the Father. When
there were no depths, He says, I was brought forth. When there
were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were
settled, before the hills, was I brought forth, eternally brought
forth, eternally begotten. And that was why the Jews sought
to kill him, because he said that God was his father, making
himself equal with God, for a good work. They said, we stone thee
not, but for blasphemy, and because of thou being a man, makest thyself
God. And wasn't that the charge that
they brought against the Lord Jesus before Pontius Pilate? We have a law And by our law,
he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. He didn't make himself the Son
of God. He always was and always is the
Son of God. Well, this is that great mystery
that is being spoken of here, the mystery of God. and of the
Father, and of Christ. And that third verse, of course,
is referring quite specifically to the last person spoken of
in the second verse. It's referring to Christ. He
is that one in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The great doctrine of godliness that God
was manifest in the flesh. Oh, it is that doctrine of God,
the first and the greatest of all the mysteries, that God is one and yet God is
three. As we've already said, how can
we explain that? There's no explaining. It's a
matter of faith. It's inexplicable to our poor
finite minds. God is altogether beyond our
understanding. That is the first and greatest
of mysteries. And then, the doctrine of the
person of Christ. It's a second mystery, and it's
like unto that first mystery, because here, when we think of
Christ, we have one person, and yet in that one person, those
two distinct natures. He is He is God. And yet, at the same time, He
is man. And those two natures are distinct,
one from the other. Not a mingling of the natures,
but He is what they call the hypostatic union. That's the
technical term, the theological term for it. He is in everything
he does, both God and man, at one and the same time. It's a
mystery. It is a mystery, the person of the Lord Jesus. But what a wondrous mystery it
is. Because as God, of course, he is able to say to the Ottomans,
And yet as man, he is touched with the feeling of all our infirmities. He was tempted in all points,
like as we are, and yet is without sin. It bears our careful, pondering
meditation that God should make such provision for poor, needy
sinners who can do nothing to help themselves or save themselves.
the doctrine of God the Father, the doctrine of God the Son.
But as I said, there's no specific mention of the Holy Ghost. But He is here. Of course, He
is here in the sense that the words of Paul are inspired by
the Spirit. It is the words of the Spirit
that we're considering. But he is here also under the
name of God, the mystery of God, the references to the Holy Spirit.
It has been observed if he were not essentially God he never
would have inspired the Apostle to name and place him as God
before the Father and the Son. but he does place himself by
that name before the Father and before the Son. And it's interesting
when we find these statements in the New Testament, Trinitarian
statements, to observe the order. The words of 2 Corinthians 13,
14, which we call the Apostolic Benediction, we're so familiar
with it, it is the normal way in which we conclude our service
of worship, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love
of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all, Paul
says to those Corinthians. He doesn't add the Father, but
the Father is there, but the Son is placed first. It's the
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and then the love of God. After
that it's a fellowship or the communion of the Holy Spirit. In those words in 1 John 5-7
that we've already referred to, that much disputed text of Scripture,
which mentions the three that bear record in heaven, it's the
Father, it's the Word, and it's the Holy Ghost. There, clearly,
the Father is put in the first place. And so here, you see,
it is the Holy Spirit who is spoken of in the first place.
Just as in those other texts, it might be the Son who is placed
first, or the Father who is placed first. And what does it teach
us? There's no priority, no inferiority,
between these three Divine Persons. They are eternal. and their equality is an eternal
equality. The Son is no less God than the
Father, and the Holy Spirit is no less God than the Father and
the Son. And there we see quite clearly
that the Holy Ghost is God. Think of those words that we
have in Acts chapter 5 concerning Ananias and Sapphira. Very solemn
passage there at the beginning of that fifth chapter. They come to deceive these two. And what does Peter say? The opening verse is in that
chapter, A certain man named Ananias with Sapphira, his wife,
sold the possession. and kept back part of the price,
his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part
and laid it at the apostles' feet." As if they were giving
the whole, you see, that they'd acquired by this sale. They brought a certain part and
laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why
has Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and
to keep back part of the price of the land? Whilst it remained,
was it not thine own? And after it was saw, was it
not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this
thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men,
but unto God. You see in verse 3 it says to
Adonais that he has lied to the Holy Ghost. But then in the following
verse it says thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. He recognizes
the Holy Ghost himself to be God. He is God. He is a divine
person. He's a divine person. He's not
some sort of attribute or some quality in God, but he has a
personality. Personal pronouns are continually
applied to him. When the Lord Jesus is speaking
of him in those chapters in John, and he's coming into the world,
what does the Lord say? When He, when He, the Spirit
of Truth has come, He will guide you into all truth. And when the Spirit speaks to
the church at Antioch, in Acts chapter 13, he says, separate
me, a personal pronoun. separate me Barnabas and Saul
for the work whereunto I have called them." He is clearly spoken
of in Scripture then as a distinctive person. And as a person, he can be sinned
against. You can't sin against some inanimate
object. But remember the words of Peter
to that man Ananias, Satan hath filled thine heart to lie, to
lie to the Holy Ghost, to sin against the Holy Ghost. And what
was the consequence? Well, Ananias, hearing these
words, we're told, fell down and gave up the Ghost, and great
fear came upon all them that heard of these things. Oh, he
sinned against the Holy Ghost and now he falls down there at
the rebuke of Peter dead. So sorrowful. All manner of sin
and blasphemy is to be forgiven men except the sin against the
Holy Ghost. There is a sin against the Holy
Ghost. Now we need to be aware of that.
This is the dispensation of the Holy Ghost as we were saying
only last Lord's Day. Considering those words in the
second chapter of the Acts. The great day of Pentecost when
it was fully come. The Feast of Weeks was having
its accomplishment, its fulfillment. Christ had given that promise
in the first chapter. You shall receive power after
the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and when the Spirit comes. And isn't Paul really speaking
in a way of that ministry of the Spirit? In the first chapter, that passage
from verse 25, he's made a ministry, he says. I am made a minister
according to the dispensation of God, which is given me for
you to fulfill the word of God. Even the mystery which hath been
hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his
saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the
glory of this mystery. And it's coming even to the Gentiles.
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Look at the word that he uses
here. He talks about the dispensation
of God which is given to me for you. What is this dispensation?
Well, the word has the idea of the administration or the distribution. And it's all to this end, to
the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the
mystery of God as we see here in the second verse. The full assurance of understanding. From whence does that full assurance
come? How does it come? It can only
come by the gracious enshining of the Holy Spirit. He is the
one who seals the work of Christ, who seals the great purpose of
God the Father in the salvation of sinners. No man can say that
Jesus Christ is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Paul doesn't
he also speak there in that wonderful text in 2nd Corinthians 4.6,
how God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath
shined in our hearts to give the knowledge of the glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ. Well, this is a ministry of the
Spirit. He takes of the things of Christ and reveals those things
to sinners. And the sinner is brought to
see that all the fullness of salvation is only found there,
in Him who is the Savior. Christ in you, the hope, of glory,
in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, the
one in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead. This is the great mystery that's
revealed to us then here in the Gospel. As I said at the beginning,
what is the mystery? It's the whole doctrine of the
Gospel. And now that doctrine very much
centers in the person of Christ. No man hath seen God at any time.
It's the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father,
who hath declared Him. And how does He now declare Him? It is in and through that ministry
of God the Holy Ghost. Oh, the Lord, then help us to
meditate upon these precious truths and bless His Word to
us.