Introduction to "The Mystery of Christ"

This evening I delivered a sermon entitled "The Mystery of Christ" at College Church's Marion Park ministry. To keep posts from being extremely long I'm going to post my notes for this sermon in 8 parts: one for the intro and seven for the seven mysteries that I expound upon.

The text for my sermon is Ephesians 3:1-13, and you should read it before proceeding further.

Something about the human soul loves mysteries. We love to search things out. Crossword puzzles, brain teasers. Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. The glory for even those in the highest station is to search out mysteries. There's something about a good mystery that invites us to search out the answer. So I think that a mystery is a good thing. If a man says a woman has a mysterious aura about her, that is high praise and a good compliment. What makes mystery novels so enthralling for us? They are some of the most exciting page turners out there. The suspense that builds as chapter after chapter of unanswered questions build upon one another grows to be enormous, until that final last chapter when all is revealed. There are even many films today that follow this same pattern. There are hints all along that are never quite enough to give it all away, and so you are left thinking of the characters or the elements of plot one way, until everything is upturned during the final revelation at the end. The mystery is solved, the dots are now all connected together. And you can never watch that movie or read that mystery novel the same again. Because now you know the answer, now you know the key to it all, and you almost want to jump up and down as you see all the hints along the way.

Well, the Bible is no stranger to mysteries. After all, Jesus taught in mysterious ways, like his parables for instance. I think he did so partly to satisfy this desire for mysteries that he put in us, but also more importantly so that those who were intrigued by the mystery, who didn't think they understood it all, could go deeper, could pry into the mystery of his words, and find the answer. Jesus said himself that he spoke in parables to hide the mystery of the kingdom from the ignorant crowds. It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of his people to search them out.

Really the Bible itself could be seen as one great mystery story. Throughout the Old Testament there are so many themes and theological realities and foreshadowings that are held in tension, remarkable tension such that many see it and are perplexed. How can these two things be resolved? Let me give you a few examples to show you what I mean. Have you ever noticed the tension in the OT between whether the covenant is conditional or unconditional? between God's Justice or Holiness and his Mercy? between whether the messiah is going to be more like a king or more like a priest? So there are a whole slew of mysteries throughout the Bible that find their tension resolved in the person and work of Christ.

Well, in the text for tonight I see 7 mysteries that all related to the grand, ultimate mystery of Jesus Christ, and here they are:

1. The Mystery of Paul, the Prisoner-Apostle

2. The Mystery of Final Revelation

3. The Mystery of Broken Barriers

4. The Mystery of God's Gracious Gift

5. The Mystery of Gospel Proclamation

6. The Mystery of God's Eternal Purpose

7. The Mystery of Glory in Suffering