Gospel of John [Joh 16:1]. The Mystery of the Church part 4. NT documentation of the word

Title: Gospel of John [Joh 16:1]. The Mystery of the Church part 4. NT documentation of the word "mystery."

Announcements/opening prayer: 

NT documentation of the word mystery:  

Col 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ's afflictions.

Col 1:25 Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship [oversight or management] from God bestowed on me for your benefit, that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God [preach all of it - full realm of doctrine],

Col 1:26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints,

Col 1:27 to whom God willed [desired] 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.

Jew and Gentile in the Church would be indwelt by Christ in order to give them tremendous confidence in current and future deliverances.

His deliverance in time is associated with your partnership with Him. Will you abide in the vine and so bear much fruit; the fruit of deliverance in the soul from all circumstances? The believer who has recognized this makes it a confidence in deliverance. His deliverance from death is associated with your faith in Him at salvation and so as a believer, it is a confidence of deliverance. Therefore, He is going to ultimately deliver you from all circumstances, the question is, will you have confident and joyful expectation of it or instability, anxiety, fear, and lack of joy over it.

Col 1:28 And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all [every] wisdom, that we may present every man complete [mature] in Christ.

"Every" is three times repeated for the sake of emphasizing the universality of the gospel. The false doctrines of the Judiazers and the Gnostics excluded many.

This great truth of the universality of the gospel, for which Paul gave his life, was now again endangered by the doctrine of an intellectual exclusiveness taught by the Gnosticizers at Colossae, as before it had been endangered by the doctrine of a ceremonial exclusiveness taught by the Judaizers in Galatia.

The Law was exclusive. The high priest had more access to the temple than the priests and those more than the Jews who were not priests and those more than all Gentiles. All were offered salvation but not all had access to the altar. The mystery is now revealed wherein all, every man, has full access to the Holy of Holies, which now is at the right hand of God. Our tabernacle is not one made with hands.

The Gnostics who had invaded the churches in Colossae taught that many could have blind faith but only few could have wisdom. Here Paul makes clear that every man can know every wisdom to some extent since no man will arrive at the full depth of knowledge.

Col 1:29 And for this purpose also I labor [labor to the point of exhaustion], striving [agonizomai] according to His power, which mightily works within me.

The tremendous mystery now revealed caused Paul to 1) labor the point of exhaustion, 2) strive like a professional athlete [agonizomai], 3) and only with God's working [energeia] which powerfully [dunamis] works [energeo] from within.

And to what end was this work to accomplish? People can work very hard but to what end do they work? Did Paul labor so exhaustively for his own benefit? Did he do so for wealth, fame, or personal blessing, or did he labor for others? He stated that his imprisonment was for their glory. He worked for others. He worked so that the accurate doctrine would be clearly communicated and as far reaching as possible in honor of God and His word. This was for others. For some believers, their motivation is always themselves in the end. They only labor for their own benefit, but that has never been a mystery. Eyes on self has been evident since the fall of man. However, the ability to strive for others under the true motivation of agape love, Joh 13:34, is brand new to the Church and so a part of the mystery.