Do you like mysteries? I asked this of those who came last week to encounter, a midweek Bible Study at Foothills Bible Church. In the section of the Bible we studied, Colossians 1:24-2:5, Paul takes on the false teachers of the day and lays out the Mystery has now been made known. The book has been written. The Mystery being Jesus Christ, has now been revealed not only to the Jews, but to the Gentiles. This is exciting news for all of us!
I shared with the class that there are “bookends” to this passage in Colossians. Paul starts with “rejoicing” and ends with “delighting” which is actually the same Greek word in the original language. Sandwiched in the middle is this word, Mystery, not once, but three times.
Rejoice…mystery, mystery, mystery…Rejoice!
–Duck, Duck, Duck…Goose 😉
So, Paul is driving home the point, we need to Rejoice because the Mystery is not a mystery anymore! Paul spoke of his ministry of suffering for this church in Colossi as well as Paul’s spiritual struggle for the believers and unbelievers in this area.
Paul is intentionally using Mystery in this passage to drive home a point. Not to mention (but I just did) this Mystery shows up many other times in Scripture (Mark 4:11, Ephesians 5:32, Ephesians 6:19, Colossians 4:3). Paul is taking on the false teachers in Colossi (Gnostics) who believed in a “mysterious knowledge” that only a few could possess. Paul is declaring that the Mystery is now made known so that the whole world would come to know Jesus Christ!
This is indeed good news and should cause us to rejoice!
I hope to see you tonight as we dive deep into Colossians 2:6-15 for an encounter with God and His Word! This section is all about Grabbing Grace!
