The lesson this morning is in
Colossians 1, verses 26 through 29. And our subject is this,
a manifest mystery. Now let's read these four verses,
then I'll make some comments. Colossians 1, verse 26. Even the hidden 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 among the Gentiles, which
is Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach warning
every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Whereunto I also
labor, striving according to His working, which worketh in
me mightily." There's four basic fundamental things that I want
us to look at that I believe are clearly set forth in these
few verses of Scripture here in Colossians chapter 1. First
of all, he tells us in plain language that the gospel of Jesus
Christ is a great mystery. It's a mystery. Turn with me
to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. I was raised in a religious home. My folks went to church every
Sunday, every Wednesday. My father attended on a regular
basis and took us kids with him when he went. I went to Sunday
school. After Sunday school, we had regular
meeting, a worship service, and then on Sunday evening, another
service, and on Wednesday evening, another service. And we went
to all the revival meetings. Whoever had a revival, which
is what they called their special meetings, we went to them if
they were in driving distance. And then they had young people's
associations and different things that he signed me up for, and
I went to those. Then in the summertime, we went
to summer camp. Now, this was up in northern
Ohio in the center for all the denominations in Ohio was in
Columbus. So we'd go up to Columbus and
they had a big what they called campgrounds up there, the state
campgrounds. And we'd go up there and during
the afternoon we'd play softball and whatever. But there was preaching
in the morning and preaching in the evening every day for
a whole week. And then later on after I married
Kathy, we decided to settle down and and do what most young kids
do when they begin to settle down. We decided that we needed
to go to church and do things right, and so we did. We picked
out a small community church, and we went down there. And then
after a while, I began to play my guitar and sing, and I went
from church to church to church and visited all these denominations. And in all these years and in
all these churches, not one time Not one single time did I ever
hear the Gospel preached. Not one time. You know why? Because it's a mystery. It's
a mystery. He told us here in these verses
that it's been hid from ages and generations. Whole generations
went by. who never knew the Gospel. There
are generations today who don't know the Gospel. There are nations
today, the majority of which have never heard the Gospel. It's a great mystery to them.
They don't understand it. This world believes the Gospel
is turning over a new leaf. I've had that preached to me.
Turning over a new leaf. They believe it's preaching that
the death of Christ opened the way for all men to exercise their
free will. That's what they call the gospel.
They believe it's Christ dying for your past sins. Somebody
told me that one time. I said, I don't understand this
thing of the sacrifice of Christ. I don't understand what he's
saying here concerning my sins. If my sins have been blotted
out, then I should have no sins." And he said, no, he said, that's
talking about your past sins. And then I heard Brother Mahan
preach, which one of your sins was past when Christ died. They
was all future, weren't they? They think it's God trying to
get men to clean up their lives and reform themselves. The gospel
is a mystery. It's always been a mystery. Look
here in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 7. Paul's already established the
means of preaching as the means ordained of God. And then he
tells them in chapter 2 that when he came to them, he didn't
come to them. He said, I determine when I come
to you to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
And he goes on down and he tells them the reason for that is because,
I don't want your faith to stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God. Now watch what he says here in
verse 7. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. Now if you
want to know what this wisdom is, back up to chapter 1 and
read verse 30. But of Him. is Christ Jesus made
unto us wisdom. Isn't that what that says? This
wisdom of God is in a person. The believer's wisdom. And we
speak that wisdom. That wisdom of God in the person
of Christ is a mystery to men. They don't understand that. They
don't understand that. It's the wisdom of God. 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." This gospel was a mystery to Pilate. He didn't
understand it. If he would have understood it,
if he could have discerned or perceived the mystery, he wouldn't
have crucified the Lord of glory. Herod heard it. He didn't understand
it. It was a hidden mystery to him.
He wanted to know it. He was curious about it. But
he didn't see it. He didn't see it. It was hidden
from him. If it wasn't hidden from him, he wouldn't have crucified
the Lord of Glory. It was hidden from the princess
of Israel. The high priest heard it. He
didn't understand the mystery. The Sanhedrin heard it. They
didn't understand the mystery. Had they understood it, they
wouldn't have crucified the Lord of Glory. You see what Paul is
saying here? And I'll say this to you, if
this world knew the mystery, they wouldn't boast of a free
will. They wouldn't boast of it. They
wouldn't talk of it. They wouldn't discuss it. They
wouldn't argue about it. If this world knew the mystery,
they wouldn't despise His dominion. They despise the absolute sovereignty
of God, His right to do with His own what He will. You won't
despise it if you ever see the mystery. If they knew the mystery, they
wouldn't preach decisionism and legalism and ceremonialism. If they knew the mystery, they
wouldn't be angry and persecute believers. If they knew the mystery,
They wouldn't entertain the idea of making themselves acceptable
to God. The gospel is a mystery. He says this over and over and
over to the church. It's a mystery. So let that be
established first that the gospel is a great mystery. That's what
he's telling us here. And even greater in this mystery
of the gospel is the mystery of these Gentiles. These were
heathens. They had no covenant with God.
They had no prophets in their history. They had nothing. They had nothing. Paul reminds them of that in
Ephesians 2. Reminds them of it. It's a great
mystery. And those who preach it know
this. And their long suffering toward the hearers. Understanding
that this thing has to be revealed. Has to be revealed. And then
secondly, I want you to see that it's the will of God to make
this mystery known to His saints. He's not going to make this mystery
known to everybody. This great mystery hidden from
ages and generations, now listen, is now made manifest to His saints. Colossians 1.26. Well, who are
God's saints? Who's He talking about here?
Well, this word saint is short for sanctified one. That's what
it means, the sanctified one. In Jude 1, it says we're sanctified
by God the Father. set apart by God the Father for
divine use before the foundation of the world. God chose a people,
God the Father chose a people in Christ before the world was,
thereby sanctifying them, setting them apart, chosen of Him and
set apart from other men and women according to the good pleasure
of His will and according to the praise of the glory of His
grace. And then in Hebrews 10, verse
10, it said, we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all. Sanctified. Sanctified in Him. And then in II Thessalonians
2, verse 13, he says, God has from the beginning chosen us
to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit. So there's a threefold
sanctification here accomplished by the triune God, and this is
what determines who are saints in this world. And so this mystery
is made known to those who were chosen of the Father, redeemed by the Son, and made
able to receive it by the work of God the Holy Spirit. Why just
to His saints? Why would God, by His eternal wisdom, why would
He just make this thing known to His saints? Do you know what
He says? Because that's what He wanted
to do. And now what it says, it's according to the good pleasure
of His will. Our God does all things. He worketh
all things after the counsel of His own will. His own will. And there's no other answer for
it. Over in Romans chapter 9, they're arguing about the sovereignty
of God in His absolute election of men. And they say, well, why
does He yet find fault? Who has resisted His will? If
God does everything according to His will and nobody can resist
it, why does He yet find fault? The answer is, who art thou that
replies against God? Is that it? We're going to pin
the eternal God in a corner and put our fingers in our suspenders
and demand of Him? Is that what it is? How foolish
the natural man is. If God had not ordained that
some hear and some repent and some believe, nobody would. Now that's just the truth. Nobody would. Look at verse 27
of our lesson here in Colossians chapter 1. To whom God would
make known. Ain't that what this says? You can't hardly find a church
that believes that. I've been to a multitude of them,
I never found one, to whom God would make known. Who will? God will. Our God worketh all
things after the counsel of His own will. God said, I will be
gracious to whom I will be gracious. And salvation is of the Lord,
and it's all together by His grace. And this gospel mystery
is held in the hands of the sovereign of the universe, and he gives
it to whomsoever he will. And let me say this before I
get off this subject. God's purpose to reveal his gospel
to chosen sinners is not what keeps you from hearing. It's
your own rebellious heart and mind that keeps you from hearing.
It is the will of God that overcomes those things so that some can
hear. Otherwise, nobody hears. In Proverbs
1, verse 23, God says, Turn ye at My reproof, and I will pour
out My Spirit unto you, and I will make known My words unto you.
Isn't that something? He says that universally. Universally. And then He says this, I call,
but you refuse. Ah, you wasn't interested. Whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely, but you wasn't
willing. I called. He's calling this morning. He's calling while I'm teaching
this lesson here this morning. And some of you refuse. Some
of you are not willing. Some of you won't beckon to God's
call. I called and you refused. I stretched
out my hand and no man regarded." What happened? Why? You said
it not on my counsel and with none of my reproach. You wouldn't
have it. You wouldn't listen. You wouldn't
bow. Now, he says, over in Proverbs
chapter 1, he tells us this. He said, because of these things,
he said, In that day, when your calamity comes, I laugh at you. And you'll call on Me early and
I won't hear you. I won't hear you. I tell you
this, if God does not intervene, no man will regard. In Matthew
13, verse 11, our Lord said to His disciples, It is given unto
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to
others These others, these Pharisees, these proud, these prudent men,
it's not given. It's not given. And you can go
on and on. By grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. The Gospel
is a great mystery, and is a mystery made known of God to His saints.
And then thirdly, I want you to see that if God, to see this,
if God will enable you to, what this mystery is. It's Christ
in you, the hope of glory. That's the mystery. It's not in doings and goings
and willings and all of these things. It's in Christ. It's
in Christ. And the man who sees that lays
hold of Christ, embraces Christ, receives Christ into himself. And that's his hope, all of his
hope. is in this person of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's everything
to Him. That's His hope of glory. Christ
in Him. Christ in Him. Now, this is to
be connected with all that's been said up to this point. He's
the riches of the gospel mystery. God's perfections are more clearly
manifest in Him than at any other time or in any other thing. God's love, His mercy, His grace,
His kindness, His justice, His righteousness, His holiness,
all manifested in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He who is rich became poor that
we through His poverty might become rich. All God's promises
in Him are yea and amen. Every one of them. All doubt
removed. All obstacles taken out of the
way. To have Christ is to own to yourself
all the promises of God. They're all yea and amen in Him. Outside of Him, there's ifs and
ands and buts. But not in Him. In Him is yea
and amen. What has God promised in Christ?
Righteousness, peace, pardon, justification, reconciliation,
sanctification, glorification. All of these things, yea and
amen in Christ. And Christ is the glory of the
gospel. He's the author of it. He's the
one who preached it. He's the revelation of it. He's
the subject of it. And he's the object of it. He
alone is the only begotten of the Father, the one mediator
between God and man. In him is wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. And to preach Christ is to preach
the gospel. And to preach the gospel is to
preach Christ. That's a mystery. That's a mystery. His glory fills the Gospel. He's the way, the truth, and
the life. He's the fulfillment, not only of all the Old Testament
prophecies, but also of every type and allegory and parable
in the Bible. He's wisdom incarnate, love incarnate,
mercy and grace incarnate. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And as chosen sinners hear and
understand this gospel, they become partakers of these riches. II Thessalonians 2.14, whereunto
He called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is that which lays hold
of, eats and drinks of the heavenly bread and the spiritual water,
and is a partaker of His glory. Believers glory in His glory. They don't glory in the church.
They don't glory in buildings. They don't glory in finances.
They don't glory in numbers. They glory in His glory. And then I add to this. the contemplation
of His presence and blessings throughout all eternity. Throughout
all eternity. He is the hope of glory. You see what I'm saying? Paul
said this is a great mystery, and this mystery according to
the wisdom of God, is now revealed to these Gentile heathens, these
heathen idolaters. It's revealed to them. And this
great mystery is this. Christ in you. Christ in you. He's the hope of glory. Christ
laid hold of. He that hath the Son hath life.
to whom coming, Peter said, is unto a living stone, and are
built up as lively stones of spiritual house upon him." Believers
rejoice in Christ Jesus, hope in Christ Jesus, rest in Christ
Jesus. And they do that because they
find in Him a full sufficiency for all their needs. You know
why we say empty? We're looking in the wrong place.
Looking in the wrong place. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in Him. Complete. The riches of the glory
of this mystery, even among the heathen Gentile, is Christ in
you, the hope of glory. And then finally, what those
who see the glory of this mystery do? What do they do? What does
one do when he sees this glory? Well, he comes to him, first
of all. He comes to him. And he kneels down before him,
bows down before him in total surrender, willingly. A willing bond slave. You're
free. Go out. No, I won't go out. I love my man. I stand by the
door. You bore my ear with an awl and
put the ring in it. I'm your servant. I'm your bond
slave." He bows to him in total surrender. He gives him all things. It's his. It's his anyway. But he gives it to him. Gives
himself to him. What does this man do? Well,
he risks. He rests in Christ. He comes to Christ, and then
He rests in Christ. He finds in Him a full sufficiency
for all things, and He rests. He rests in His righteousness.
He rests in His shed blood. He rests in His intercession
and glory. He rests in Christ. He rests
in His eternal appointments. He rests in His accomplishments. He rests. Even in the grave,
He rests. Our Lord said they're not dead.
He's just sleeping. He's sleeping. He's resting.
Resting. What's he waiting? He's waiting
on that hope of glory to call him out of that tomb. What's this man do? He rests.
He rests. What else does he do? He rejoices.
Oh my soul, if you ever see him, if you ever come to him, you'll
rejoice. You'll rejoice. You won't see. I'm telling you, when God begins
to convince a man of sin, in his own eyes, he cannot be saved. Now, before that, he could be
saved by anything. He'd be saved by walking down
an aisle, shaking a hand, going into the baptistery, whatever.
He could be saved by anything. But when God convinces him of
sin, not even God Himself can save him. Then he has to be convinced,
after being convinced of sin, of God's righteousness, to give
him hope. And I tell you, when he sees
it, when God convinces him of it, and of judgment satisfied,
he'll rejoice. He'll rejoice. What else do they
do, these people who see the glory of this great mystery?
Well, he tells us here in Colossians 128, whom we preach. Whom we preach. He didn't say
what we preach, did he? He said whom we preach. Whom
we preach. Every man is not called to a
public pulpit ministry and those who are can't go out and do what
they do without support so that when I go here or go there, it's
this church that's going here and going there. It's not just
me. It's this whole church. This whole church as a pillar
and ground of the truth. This is the business of the church
to preach Christ and Him crucified. And those who truly see Him and
are made partakers through Him will do all they can to promote
and teach and further the gospel to all men. This is the ordained
means of salvation to chosen sinners. They preach this gospel. They open this great mystery.
And to some, God makes it known. That's what this lesson's all
about. That's what Paul's talking about here. God will make known,
to whom God will make known, this great mystery. This great
mystery. Even to heathen idolaters. He's
going to make it known. And He's going to do it. And
here's the mystery. Christ in you. Christ in you. God help us to understand what
that means.