Day 8/6 – God’s Mystery

“…how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.” Ephesians 3:3

In his epistles Paul uses the word mystery in a variety of ways. A mystery deals with some aspect of God’s character or plan, which in the past was not understood, but is now revealed. For example, Paul says that one of the mysteries is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”284 People in the Old Testament did not know that God planned to indwell the saints; Pentecost was not anticipated in the Old Testament.

The Old Testament saints knew more about the first advent of Christ than the New Testament saints know about His second advent. God promised the Hebrews, “Surely the Lord God does nothing, without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.”285 The prophets predicted the Lord’s coming in great detail. Still, when He came, none (including His disciples) understood His mission. If the people in the Old Testament failed to understand events surrounding Christ’s coming, probably we will fail in our understanding of His return, especially in light of their having more information than we have.

No one can know the future but the One who decides it. Although He has revealed a great deal about the future, much of it can be misunderstood. His promises are true; your understanding of those promises is prone to error. Hold tentatively your convictions regarding the future. Your hope rests on His return, but you know little about when He will return, the exact order of events after His return, and what heaven will be like. Some mysteries have been revealed; more will be revealed when Christ comes again. Speculation may be fun, but it is not all that profitable. God does not want you to know all; He wants you to walk by faith.

284 Colossians 1:27
285 Amos3:7

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Psalm 70-71 Romans 8:22-39 (New King James Version)

Psalm 70-71
Prayer for Relief from Adversaries
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.
70
Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O Lord!
2
Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be [a]turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
3
Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, [b]“Aha, aha!”
4
Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
5
But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O Lord, do not delay.
God the Rock of Salvation
71
In You, O Lord, I put my trust;
Let me never be put to shame.
2
Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape;
Incline Your ear to me, and save me.
3
Be my [c]strong refuge,
To which I may resort continually;
You have given the commandment to save me,
For You are my rock and my fortress.
4
Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
Out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
5
For You are my hope, O Lord God;
You are my trust from my youth.
6
By You I have been [d]upheld from birth;
You are He who took me out of my mother’s womb.
My praise shall be continually of You.
7
I have become as a wonder to many,
But You are my strong refuge.
8
Let my mouth be filled with Your praise
And with Your glory all the day.
9
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
Do not forsake me when my strength fails.
10
For my enemies speak against me;
And those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together,
11
Saying, “God has forsaken him;
Pursue and take him, for there is none to deliver him.”
12
O God, do not be far from me;
O my God, make haste to help me!
13
Let them be [e]confounded and consumed
Who are adversaries of my life;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor
Who seek my hurt.
14
But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
15
My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.
16
I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only.
17
O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
18
Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come.
19
Also Your righteousness, O God, is [f]very high,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is like You?
20
You, who have shown me great and severe troubles,
Shall revive me again,
And bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
21
You shall increase my greatness,
And comfort me on every side.
22
Also with the lute I will praise You—
And Your faithfulness, O my God!
To You I will sing with the harp,
O Holy One of Israel.
23
My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing to You,
And my soul, which You have redeemed.
24
My tongue also shall talk of Your righteousness all the day long;
For they are confounded,
For they are brought to shame
Who seek my hurt.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 70:2 So with MT, LXX, Tg., Vg.; some Heb. mss., Syr. appalled (cf. 40:15)
• Psalm 70:3 An expression of scorn
• Psalm 71:3 Lit. rock of refuge or rock of habitation
• Psalm 71:6 sustained from the womb
• Psalm 71:13 ashamed
• Psalm 71:19 great, lit. to the height of heaven

Romans 8:22-39
22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession [a]for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
God’s Everlasting Love
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Footnotes:
• Romans 8:26 NU omits for us