SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/17/2017
8:46 PM
My Worship Time Focus: The Subject
of the Ministry
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Colossians
1:26-27
Message of the
verses: “26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden
from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints,
27 to whom God willed to make known what
is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ
in you, the hope of glory.”
We can see what the ministry was that Paul was
proclaiming which is “the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and
generations, but has now been manifested to His saints.” Now we go to a favorite verse of mine to show
that there are some things that God does not reveal to anyone “"The secret
things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to
our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law (Deuteronomy
29:29).” Psalm 25:14 shows us that God
reveals other things only to certain people “The secret of the LORD is for
those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant.” Proverbs 3:32 says “For the devious are an
abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright.” I have read a long time ago that when the
word mystery is used in the New Testament that it is revealing things that were
written in the Old Testament. The Greek
word for mystery is “musterion.” MacArthur writes that “Paul use of this word
is not to indicate a secret teaching, rite, or ceremony revealed only to some
elite initiates (as in the mystery religions), but truth revealed to all
believers in the New Testament. This
truth, that has now ‘been manifested to His saints,’ namely the Old Testament
era and people. ‘Now’ refers to the time
of the writing of the New Testament.
Such newly revealed truth includes the mystery of the incarnate God
(Col. 2:2-3, 9); of Israel’s unbelief (Rom. 11:25); of lawlessness (2 Thess.
2:7; cf. Rev. 17:5, 7); of the unity of Jew and Gentile in the church (Eph.
3:3-6); and of the rapture (1 Cor. 15:51).
This mystery truth is available only for those who are saints—true believers
(cf. 1 Cor. 2:7-16). The phrase ‘to whom
God willed to make known’ clearly indicates that the mysteries are not discovered
by the genius of man, but are revealed by the will and act of God. It is God’s purpose that His people know this
truth.”
Now the most profound truth found in the New Testament is
found in the statement found in verse 27, at the end of that verse where Paul
writes “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
I began listening to the Bible on the first of January of this year and
am doing it a bit different way this year as I am listening to the ESV of the
Bible and also reading a daily devotional written by John MacArthur in this
devotional Bible. Your read from the OT
each day and also from the OT book of Psalms each day and then a chapter or
two, depending on the day from the New Testament each day. Yes it does take a while, but I am glad that
I can listen to it and not have to read it as there are some words in the OT
that are difficult to pronounce. While
listening to these early chapters in the OT I have noticed some of the
different prophecies concerning the Messiah and even when the tabernacle was
built I can see Christ in it too. Wood
represents His humanity and gold His deity.
The bronze represents His judgment which will come when He returns again
to planet earth. It is good to find
those jewels that speak of the coming Messiah either His first coming or His
second coming. However none of the OT
prophecies of the coming Messiah revealed that the Holy Spirit would be living
in the hearts of the believers and also that the Church would be mostly made up
of Gentiles with only a few Jewish people in it, but those who are in the church
are of one body. MacArthur writes “That
Christ indwells all believers is the source of their ‘hope of glory’ and is the
subject or theme of the gospel ministry.
What makes that gospel attractive is not just that it promises present
joy and help, but that it promises eternal honor, blessing, and glory. When Christ comes to live in a believer, His presence
is the anchor of the promise of heaven—the guarantee of future bliss eternally
(Cf. 2 Cor. 5:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14).
In the reality that Christ is living in the Christian is the experience
of new life and hope of eternal glory.”
2/17/2017 9:17 PM
No comments:
Post a Comment