Zophar asked Job the question,
Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out
the Almighty unto perfection? The answer, never. The wisdom
and power of God are made known to all men in creation, and to
some extent even His goodness. But that revelation of God that
is given in creation, while it leaves all men without excuse
and is damning to all, that revelation is not enough to satisfy a soul
convinced that God is holy, or to quieten the conscience convicted
of sin, or to soothe a heart bowed down with a load of guilt.
A guilty sinner wants to know. How can I be just with God? How
can I satisfy God in His holiness and justice? How can His wrath
be appeased and His anger propitiated? How can I know that He is my
God, reconciled to me and I to Him, that He has pardoned all
my sin? How can I be assured that He
accepts me? Could you comprehend all of God's
great works in creation? Were you able at once, as the
Lord said to Job, to enter into the treasures of the snow? Comprehend
by what way light is parted and the wind scattered? Were you
able to bind up the sweet influences of Theodes and loose the bands
of Orion? Could you give strength to the
horse, wisdom to the hawk, or teach the eagle to soar into
the skies and build her nest in the lofty mountains on high?
Still, the question that must be asked, must be answered to
the satisfaction of a man's soul is this, how can a man be just
with God? How can he be clean that is born
of woman? Again, Zophar's question. Canst
thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
to perfection? Some of you sitting where you
are right now must acknowledge never. I have searched and read
and listened. I have tried to pray. I've gone to church. I've investigated
religion, but still God is far off from me. I find no way of
access to the Holy God. Even the knowledge of God that
you might gain by reading the law is at best vague and shadowy. It's true. The law is a reflection
that sets forth God's holiness, His justice, but the law can
never be more or less than the Spirit of God declares it to
be. Administration of death and condemnation. The law speaks
of death, but never of life. The law doesn't give one beam
of mercy, not one ray of hope to any sinner. I don't care where
you establish it, I don't care where you put it, you can hang
it on the walls, in the church house, in the school house, and
in the courthouse. The law of God will never give
a conscience peace, but only guilt and aggravated condemnation. Even the reading of God's Word,
the most diligent study of Holy Scripture, will not result in
a sinner. Finding God takes something more. It takes something more. You
can memorize the book from cover to cover. You can organize in
your mind the chronological history of all the events in this book
and never have the slightest clue who God is or how a man
can be just with God. A preacher, what does it take
to know God? Divine revelation. Did you hear me? Divine revelation. Not a decision. Not saying amen
to a sinner's prayer. Not joining the church. Not reforming
your life. Not deciding to accept Jesus.
Not deciding to get saved. What does it take for a man or
a woman to know God? God Almighty must step into your
life with the light of His grace and the power of His grace giving
you life. Now, turn with me if you will
to Ephesians chapter 1. Blessed be His name, God can
be known. Known by sin for me? known with
satisfaction, joy, and peace. In fact, there are folks sitting
beside you this morning to whom God has made known the mystery
of his will according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed
in himself. I want to talk to you this morning
about knowing the mystery of his will. knowing the mystery
of his will. Ephesians 1 verse 9. Having made
known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good
pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation
of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him. Now here the Apostle Paul tells
us that there are some people in this world, there are some
people in this world to whom God the Holy Spirit has made
known the mystery of God's will which he purposed in himself
in eternity according to the good pleasure of his own will. If God hasn't yet done that for
you, I pray that this day God the Holy Spirit will open your
heart and step in and give you the light of life and salvation
and faith in Jesus Christ. And if He has made known to you
the mystery of His will in the sweet and blessed experience
of the saving operations of His grace, I pray that he will grant
to you the sweet assurance and confidence that he will flood
your heart and soul with the sweet assurance and confidence
of faith in Christ according to that blessed revelation of
his grace. May he open our eyes that we
may now behold wondrous things out of his word. He's talking
to us about the wonders of redemption. When we talk about the mystery
of His will, we're talking about the wonders of redemption, purposed
by God and accomplished by God in eternity, which He comes in
time to make known to sinners, and finally executes in the ages
of time until at last all things are reconciled to Him. Look at
it, verse 7, in whom we have redemption through his blood,
the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein
he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having
made known unto us the mystery of his will. Redemption by Christ,
he tells us, is lavished upon us by all the wisdom and prudence
of God Almighty in the revelation of His grace, making known to
us and in us the mystery of His will. Now this revelation of
grace is altogether according to God's sovereign will. Look
at verse 5. He tells us it's according to
the good pleasure of his will. You see that? Verse 7. According
to the riches of his grace. Verse 9. According to his good
pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. Verse 11. He worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will. So the whole
work of redemption And the whole revelation of God's will in the
rediction of our souls by Christ is entirely up to God. And it is that which is done
altogether according to His own sovereign pleasure, and that's
just His right. He's God. He's God. But the fact
that He has made known the mystery of His will to you is the revelation that He declares
you, as He did Abraham of old, to be the friend of God. Turn
to John 15. Let me show you. Hold your hands
in Ephesians 1. I put a bookmark there. John
15. Abraham was called the friend
of God. What is it that makes a man God's
friend? What is it that reveals to a
man that he's God's friend? What is it that can cause a man
to look up to heaven and know he is on friendly terms with
God? When God makes known his secrets
to him. That's what it is. John 15, verse
14. Our Savior says, You are my friends,
if you do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not
servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth, but
I call you friends. For all things that I have heard
of my Father, all things that I, the mediator, Jehovah's servant,
have heard of my Father, I have made known to you. You've not
chosen me, but I've chosen you. When God, Jehovah's Spirit, comes
to sinners in the saving operations of His grace and makes known
the mystery of His will, He reveals the eternal secrets of God to
His children. And the revelation of the mystery
of His will is the God-given assurance of our election and
redemption in Christ. He has revealed these things,
these secret things to us. Now do you remember what the
Lord said about those secret things? Moses said the secret
things belong to God, but the things that are revealed to us
and to our children, that we may do all the words of His law. The Lord Jesus comes by His Spirit
and reveals all that the Father spoke to Him in covenant grace,
reveals them to you, that you may believe, that you may do
all that is written in His law. What is His commandment? That
you believe on the Son of God. He reveals these things to us
and in us, that we may walk in the Spirit. That's another way
of saying, believe on Christ. That we may live by faith, and
living by faith that we may grow in the grace and knowledge of
God's Son, Jesus Christ. Now, let's look at verses 9 and
10 in Ephesians 1. And I'm purposely going to spend
the bulk of my time concentrating on verse 9, and then the Lord
willing, We'll come to verse 10 again on Tuesday night. But
here in verses 9 and 10, the apostle writes to us that God,
the Holy Spirit, has made known unto us the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself,
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth, even in him. Now let me answer three
questions for you. First, what is the mystery of
his will? Does the word of God tell us?
Can we find a certain clear answer to that question in the book
of God? Second, what is the fullness of times spoken of in verse 10? And third, what is the gathering
together of all things in Christ. First, what is the mystery of
His will? What is it? Whatever the mystery
of His will, it is something that has been and is being revealed
to us. In other words, it's something
that God the Holy Spirit has made known by the revelation
of Christ in us, something spiritually discerned and understood by the
gift of grace. The mystery is that which is
revealed, though at one time it was secret and hidden. The
term mystery simply refers to God's secret thing, secret purpose. His purpose once hidden, but
now made known. And Paul is talking to us about
something that we did not know, and could not know, impossible
for us to know until God reveals it to us. And yet, This which
no man can know, this which it is impossible for any human being
to grasp, has been revealed and made known to every sinner born
of God. What does God say? They shall
all be taught of me. They'll not need prophet and
priests, saying to them, Know the Lord, for they shall all
know me from the least of them unto the greatest of them. Paul
is telling us here that the gospel we preach, the gospel of our
salvation, is the unveiling of a divine secret. I'm here much
like a lawyer who has called together the family. And a wealthy,
wealthy relative has died, and all the lawyer does is reads
the will. Now, it doesn't really matter
to folks who are gathered because they have hopes that maybe, maybe
Uncle Tom left some of his money to them. It doesn't matter whether
the lawyer stutters a little, or whether he's not very pretty
to look at, or whether his tie is crooked. Those things are
insignificant. All they're interested in is
what does that will say. What does that will say? Read
the ninth chapter of Hebrews. I'm here declaring to you The
will, the final will of God's darling Son, Jesus Christ the
Lord, who yet lives to execute His will. And when God the Holy
Spirit speaks through these lips of clay, He calls His chosen
sinners named in the will to hear of the blessed heritage
of grace given to them in Jesus Christ the Lord. He's talking
to us about this mystery, this secret thing. But it's something
into which we must be initiated. Something that cannot be discovered
by us. It can only be revealed, or only
be known as it's revealed. And in that sense the gospel
always has been, is now, and forever shall be a mystery. Would to God preachers would
understand this. Would to God you would understand
this. And I would understand this all the time. The only way
anybody will ever be convinced of gospel truth is if God the
Holy Spirit is in them. No need to try to make the gospel
palatable to sinful men. It can't be done. Preachers all
the time trying to figure out ways to say things so as not
to offend. If the gospel doesn't offend
you, it's not the gospel, I promise you. If the offense of the cross
ceases, if it ceases to cause offense in your proud speaking
flesh, I promise you, you've found the wrong gospel. The preaching
of the gospel is an offense to men until they're born of God. And when they're born of God,
they see these things clearly. Everything written in this book,
Everything written here is a mystery until it's revealed in you. Revealed
in you in the experience of it. I think I told you recently,
I used to listen to Brother Rob Barnard when I was a young man. And being a young man, I didn't
have any idea what he was talking about most of the time. But he'd
make a statement. Somebody'd ask him, they'd say,
Brother Barnard, do you believe everything in the Bible? And
you know what that preacher said? He said, I don't know, I haven't
experienced it all yet. I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to tell you something.
You'll never believe anything you've not experienced. Until
you experience it, it's just theory. It's just speculation. It's just so much yik-yak. Oh,
but when God the Holy Spirit reveals it in you, in the sweet
experience of His free grace. It's fixed permanently. This
word mystery is found 22 times in the New Testament. 22 times. Let me show you just
two or three of them. In Romans 16, I'm trying to answer
the question, what is this mystery? The mystery of His will. In Romans
16 and verse 25, The Holy Spirit identifies this mystery clearly
as the gospel. Now to him that is of power to
establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus
Christ, now watch this, according to the revelation of the mystery
which was kept secret since the world began but is now made manifest
and by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment
of the everlasting God. In chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians,
we read earlier that the mystery here refers to those things which
God has prepared for them that love Him. I have not seen, nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of men the things
which God has prepared for them that love Him. Prepared when? Prepared before the world was.
Prepared in old eternity, in covenant of grace, in the covenant
of grace. But God has revealed them to
us by His Spirit. How do you know what went on
in eternity? God showed me. How do you know
your name is written in the book of life? God showed me. How do
you know your name was written on the breastplate of the High
Priest as He offered sacrifice at Calvary? God showed me. How
do you know you've been called by grace? How can you be sure
of your calling and election? God told me I've been called
and I've been elected. How? He gave me faith in Christ. He revealed His Son in me. In Ephesians 3. Turn there if
you will. The Holy Spirit declares that
the mystery of Christ refers to the fact that Jew and Gentile
are one in Him. That all who trust God's Son
are one in God's Son and one with God's Son, heirs of God
and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. In verse 1 of chapter 3, For
this cause I bow, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for
you Gentiles. If you have heard of the dispensation
of the grace of God, the administration of the grace of God, which is
given me to youward, have it by revelation he made known to
me the mystery, as I wrote afore in a few words, whereby when
you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ.
The mystery, the mystery of his will, the mystery of Christ,
which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as
it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit. What is this mystery? That the
Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body, partakers
of his promise in Christ by the gospel, whereof I was made a
minister. The nation of Israel, that physical,
political nation, was typically God's covenant people. I say
typically. Just as Mount Sinai was typical
of God's law, typical of the revelation of God, Israel was
typically God's covenant people. But don't ever get it in your
head That that physical nation is or ever has been God's chosen
people. They were typical of another
nation. A holy nation. A royal priesthood. Called in
the scripture the Israel of God. Typical of God's church. God's
elect. Gathered out of all peoples throughout
all the nations of the earth in all times in history. So that
the nation of Israel portrayed a people whom God Almighty had scattered
in his wrath with the fall of Adam and the dispersion of the
nations with Noah's sons in all the nations of the earth, a people
whom he shall gather in his grace out of every nation, kindred,
tribe, and tongue, and so all Israel shall be saved. Now God
told Abraham this when he made his first revelation of himself
to him in Genesis chapter 12. He said, I will make you a blessing
to all nations. In thee and in thy seed shall
all nations of the earth be blessed. Well, what is Abraham's blessing?
Oh, the land promises over in Palestine. Those folks are going
to get, sooner or later, if they have to set off a nuclear bomb,
to get it. No. No. God's blessings to Abraham,
the promised blessing to Abraham was his spirit and all the gifts
of his grace flowing to sinners through the redicted blood of
Jesus Christ our Lord. Let me show you that. Turn to
Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Now look at the next
word, that. This is why Christ redeemed us.
This is why he died for us. That the blessing of Abraham
might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ. That is to say,
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
In Ephesians 5, Paul deals much with the same thing, talking
about the mystery being our union with Christ and our union in
Christ. He tells us that we are married
to Christ and Christ to us, that we are one with him. And that
when he gets done, his purpose of love and grace is such that
he's going to present us to himself holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in his sight. This is the mystery kept secret
before the world was. Now, go back if you will to Ephesians
chapter 1 and let me show you what this mystery includes just
as it's given to us in this chapter. The mystery is talking about
the gospel. The doctrine of the gospel, which is set before us
as the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven and of God, our Lord
says. The mystery revealed and apprehended
by faith in Christ is specifically that which makes these things
known. It makes known our eternal union with Christ. Our election
and predestination and adoption and acceptance in Christ and
with Christ. Believe in Christ. Oh, hear me,
hear me now. If right now, right where you
sit, you can believe on the Son of God, your faith in Him is
the revelation of God's secret purpose by which God declares
in your soul I've loved you with an everlasting love. I've chosen
you. I've redeemed you. I've bought
you. I accepted you. You're mine and
I'm yours. The mystery revealed in us is
the revelation of our redemption accomplished by the incarnate
God. Paul calls it later the mystery
of godliness. God manifest in the flesh, accomplishing
redemption. And this mystery speaks of our
effectual call by God the Holy Spirit, assuring us of our resurrection
glory with Christ. Look at verse 13. Well, Brother Donner, you preach
predestination and election, you preach effectual call and
irresistible grace, but how can I know that I've been called
of God? Do you believe on the Son of
God? Is that what our Lord asked that
man who had been healed of his blindness? Dost thou believe
on the Son of God? Josh, do you believe the Son
of God? That's what it's saying. Do you
believe Him? I can't say much. But this I
can say. I do believe Him. Not like I
would. Not like I should. Not like I
desire, but I do believe Him. My only hope, my only plea is
that Christ lived and died for me. Do you believe the Son of
God? Do you believe the Son of God?
Do you cast your helpless soul on Christ alone? If so, you've
been called by God's grace. That's what the book says. Ephesians
1.13, in whom you also trusted. After that you heard, after God
the Holy Spirit made you hear the word of the truth, the gospel
of your salvation. Oh, what good news! God the Holy
Spirit comes, reveals Christ in you, calls
you by His grace, and He says, God saved you. You heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation. In whom also, after that you
believed, that is, having believed, you were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest, the pledge, the assurance
of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of His glory. The mystery of God's will. has
been manifestly revealed to his saints. It is the mystery of
the new creation. Turn to Colossians 1. Colossians
chapter 1. Isn't it amazing how simple things
are when you read them in the book? I've got books in my office. Folks have written about these
mysteries, the mysteries of God, and the mystery of the kingdom,
and the mystery of the Jews, and the mystery of the Gentiles.
You know, all of them together don't amount to anything, because
they all are talking without understanding what the book says.
What is this mystery? This mystery is the mystery of
the new creation. I'm not talking about The new
creation that yet to come, I'll show you that in a minute, but
the new creation that now is. The new creation that is ours
in Christ, Colossians 1.26. Even the hidden mystery, which
hath been hid from ages and from generations, but is now made
known to all men. No, uh-uh. Who's it made known
to? Believers, his saints, nobody
else. To whom God would make known,
that is to his saints, to his elect. God would make known what
is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. What is it? Christ in you, the
hope of glory. Christ in you. What is this mystery? God who chose you in eternity? God who redeemed you with the
blood of His Son, God who has called you by His grace, put
Christ in you, made you one with Himself, and Himself one with
you, so that you are partakers of the divine nature. Therefore,
if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature, a new creature. All this great work of grace,
is according to the good pleasure, His good pleasure, which He has
purposed in Himself. Now this is what that means. God chose to whom He would reveal
the mystery of His grace. And God ordained when He would
reveal the mystery of His grace. I baptized a woman out in California. I've been preaching to her since
1995. Been in church all her life. 77 years old. Reckon why it took
so long? God's time. That's why. God's time. I baptized one dear
lady in her 90s. She was 93 years old when I baptized
her. Never had been in the least bit
religious. Started listening to the gospel. How come it took
so long? God's time. God's time. God's time. And He has ordained
the means by which you'll make known the mystery. The preaching
of the gospel. But not just me preaching to
you. Merle, I can't make anything
known to you or anybody else. But the preaching of the gospel
in the power of His Holy Spirit. in the demonstration of the Spirit. His power demonstrated in your
heart receiving God's revelation. Now, briefly look at verse 10. He made known this mystery, according
to His good pleasure, the mystery of His free grace, His everlasting
purpose, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He
might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him. What is the dispensation of the
fullness of times? I have a big comic book back
on my desk. It was one of our theology books
when I was in school. It's called Dispensational Truths.
You folks have seen those dispensational charts, haven't you? put these
things up on the wall. I mean, they'd have charts fixed
up, go all the way across that back wall of bed, down around
this other thing, and they'd show you the seven dispensations,
and got everything figured out. This time here, and that time
there, and this time there, and that time there. This is God's
timetable. This is how things are going
to be done. And they invented a lot. Well, the word dispensation
has got nothing to do with all that nonsense. It simply means
economy, or administration, or management. It's the word that
is used when you talk about the management of a household. When
Paul speaks here by the Spirit of God of the dispensation and
fullness of times, he's talking about the management of God's
household by God's servant for God's purpose. You got that? It's the management of God's
household by God's servant for God's purpose. Who is God's servant
to whom he's given all the rules of his house? Thou hast given
him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. The dispensation of the fullness
of times here refers to the final full accomplishment of God's
redemptive purpose in and by Jesus Christ. As I said at the
beginning, we'll look at this a little more Tuesdays, Lord
willing. But there is a time appointed of God called the times
of the restitution of all things. In that day, at that time, our
Lord Jesus Christ who rules the household of God, executing the
Father's will, shall at last redeem or deliver the whole of
God's creation from all the consequences of sin. Let me show you, Romans
chapter 8, verse 18. There's a day coming when not a blade of grass on this earth shall have any
remnant of the serpent's slime on it. There's a day coming when our
Savior shall take the whole creation of God and reconcile it to himself. Romans 8.18. For I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Now watch this.
For the earnest expectation of the creature, the word is the
creation, waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. This is what
it says. The whole world just waiting
for God to get done with you. The whole creation just waiting
for God to finish His work for you. Verse 20, For the creation
was made subject to vanity. Cursed be the ground for thy
sake, God said. Not willingly, but by reason
of him who hath subjected the same in hope. He cursed the graham,
but not forever. Cursed in hope. Because the creation
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the children of God. When God
grants us resurrection glory, He's going to deliver the whole
creation from the bondage of corruption. For we know that
the whole creation rode and prevaileth in pain until now. I used to love to go out in the
woods and the mountains after a fresh fall of snow in the fall
of the year. Had ten, twelve, thirteen inches
of snow, leaves still on the trees. You'd walk and listen
early in the morning as those trees would pop and crack, twisting
under the weight of the falling snow. And every time I think
of this passage of Scripture, that's what I think of. The whole
creation groaning and travailing in hope. Verse 23, And not only they,
but me too, ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit.
We've been born again. Even we ourselves, grown within
ourselves, waiting. in hopeful anticipation for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our bodies. Oh, and when that
comes, righteousness. And righteousness alone shall
be found in the earth. Not one particle of dust in God's
creation shall at last be tainted with the consequences of sin,
but everything delivered unto the glory of God and reconciled
to Him, so that even all that we behold in providence and consider
evil, in that day our Savior shall say, look here, I told
you this was good. I told you it was good. But what's
this gathering together of all things in Christ? The word would better be translated
that he might gather together again all things in Christ. Everything shall ultimately be
reunited and reconciled to God our Savior, everything. Everything
shall resound forever to the praise and honor and glory of
our Redeemer. I started to say I'm prepared
to wait and see how it all turns out. Most of the time I am. And I want to be altar. Don't sweat that. Let's see what
God's doing. Don't bother with that. Let's
wait and see what God's doing. No, don't worry about that. Let's wait and see what God's
doing. He will, in the dispensation of the fullness of times, reunite
everything to God. I'll show you a similar passage,
and I'll quote. Colossians 1.19. Paul is talking about the purpose
of God to give glory to His Son, and assuring us of the ultimate
glory of Christ, our Redeemer in all things. And he makes the
same statement here. For it pleased the Father that
in Him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through
the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things to Himself. By Him, I say, whether they be
things in earth or things in heaven, even all things reconciled
to Him. No wonder John closes the final
word of the book with this prayer. Even so, come Lord Jesus. I sure am anxious to see how
it all works out, aren't you? There are a lot of things I'm
anxious to find out. Just how was it, Lord, you were
doing good in that. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen. I tell you what, rather
than us singing a closing hymn, I want to put David Cohen on
the spot. How about you come up here and sing the Sands of
Time or Sinking? Can you do that for me? I believe that's number
509. I want him to sing it, but I
want you to look at the words while he sings it and join them
in your heart. Sometimes when we sing vocally,
we don't pay much attention to the words. David will sing this
hymn, and let's sing it in our hearts with him, and this will
be our benediction.