Mystery Revealed


Colossians 1:21–2:5
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. 5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

After a stellar prayer for the hearts and souls of his readers Paul helps us understand how passionately he desires the salvation of all who would read or hear those words. He has given up his own safety, health, and ease in order to share the message. And it is a most powerful message; one worth the sacrifice.

He speaks of this message in terms of the revelation of a great mystery. In the person of Jesus Christ, God has revealed His divine plan for the salvation of the world. And it is a plan that is completely unexpected. While hundreds of prophecies exist in the Old Testament regarding a Messiah, no one knew just how that would play out. Now Paul shares the fact that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of those promises and the mystery is finally revealed to the entire world. In the process of sharing the story of Jesus gift to us, Paul has suffered a great deal. He in fact is writing this letter from prison. But he is still able to declare that there is great joy in his heart, despite the pain, for joy is not dependent upon having an easy life. Joy is not the absence of hardship but continues because we know that living in the presence of God in His heaven lies ahead because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The verse that leaps off of the page in this passage for me today is 22. Here we are described in amazing terms: holy, unblemished, and blameless. We can all look upon our lives and declare with honesty that we are anything but holy, unblemished, and blameless. And yet that is exactly how God see us because of Jesus blood. That revealed mystery comes into sharp focus for each one of us personally.

Christian recording artist Natalie Grant released a song last year that tells our redemption story in simple yet profound terms. We are declared “clean”. Give it a listen. I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to hear it more than once. Let the truth of your status before the Lord as holy, unblemished, and blameless fill you with joy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ol1V-sj1gc

Clean
I see shattered You see whole
I see broken but You see beautiful
And You’re helping me to believe
You’re restoring me piece by piece

There’s nothing too dirty
That You can’t make worthy
You wash me in mercy
I am clean
There’s nothing too dirty
That You can’t make worthy
You wash me in mercy
I am clean

What was dead now lives again
My heart's beating beating inside my chest
I’m coming alive with joy and destiny
‘Cause You’re restoring me piece by piece

Washed in the blood of Your sacrifice
Your blood flowed red and made me white
My dirty rags are purified
I’m clean
Ending
I am clean
I’m clean
You make - You wash me
Clean
Natalie Grant / © 2015 SeeSeeBubba Songs (Admin. by Music Services, Inc.) / CCLI License # 551204

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