Our 81st Word is Mystery

The simple definition of mystery is a previously secret truth about the plans or purposes of God revealed to one of His servants.

“The mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ.” (Ephesians 3: 3-4)

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Life is full of mysteries:

• Why do villains in movies, just before finishing off the hero, always feel the need to pause and deliver a long speech, thereby giving the hero’s sidekick time to show up and save the day?
• If the plural of goose is geese, shouldn’t the plural of moose be meese?
• Since jelly toast always lands face down, and cats always land feet first, what would happen if you strapped a piece of jelly toast to the back of your cat and shoved it off the refrigerator?

The story of God contains mysteries too, much more significant ones for sure.

Our English word mystery comes straight from the Greek word mysterion. The word means ‘secret things.” In the New Testament, however, it refers to God’s previously secret purposes that He has chosen to reveal to select servants.

Six times in his short letter to the Christians at Ephesus, Paul used this term to speak of the mysterious plan or will of God to bring Jews and Gentiles together into one body and make them co-heirs of all the riches of God. He also spoke of “the mystery of Christ”, the mystery of marriage, and “the mystery of the gospel.”

To be sure, not every spiritual mystery is revealed in the Bible. Deuteronomy 29:29 reminds us, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”

This side of heaven we won’t fully comprehend conundrums like these: how can God be three yet one, or how can Jesus be fully God and fully man, or why does a God who’s all powerful and all good allow evil and suffering?

In truth, it’s good that God doesn’t pull back the curtains and reveal everything. If He did, our little brains would short circuit and our hearts would explode.

The spiritual life is full of mysteries:

• How is it possible that Christ can actually live within us?
• Why would Jesus fiercely love and be devoted to faithless people such as us?
• How, as redeemed sinners in a fallen world, can we possibly live godly lives?
• What will that day be like when we are forever changed?

Since it’s doubtful in this life that we’ll fully comprehend such ineffable realities, maybe it’s enough to shake our heads in wonder and lift our eyes heavenward with humility and gratitude.

Question to Ponder

1. What biblical mystery baffles you the most?