Ezra 3:1-4:23 / 1 Corinthians 2:6-3:4 / Psalm 28 / Proverbs 20:24-25
I love a good mystery! As a matter of fact, when I was young, I used to read two book series: One Minute Mysteries and Two Minute Mysteries. I adored these books! They made my brain work so hard and just like a lot of the Sherlock Holmes series, the clues always led to solving what had occurred. I still enjoy a good mystery movie, or any movie that “twists” your brain.
So, any time I’ve read in the Bible that God has mysteries, I’ve been fascinated to solve the clues and gain the revelation. Of course, because we have God’s Spirit, we can understand the mysteries spoken of in scripture.
1 Corinthians 2: 6-7 NLT statesYet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God —his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began.
God’s mystery is wisdom – his plan – and He does not want it hidden from those of us who are His. The word “mystery” in Greek is “mysterion” (moos-tay-ree-on) and means generally mysteries, religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals, of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly.
In Christ Jesus, we have access to Truth that those who are not in Christ do not have. Which is as it should be! For the enemy to know all the mysteries would mean that he could more easily gain an upper hand on us, and we need all the help we can get against his schemes! We need a few tricks up our sleeves and Jesus knew that.
Jesus was aware of the enemy’s tricks, and He was determined not only to reconcile us to God but also to gain an advantage for us again against the devil. Before we are in Christ, we are “devil fodder” – open to any and every attack and use of the enemy. But once we are in Christ, the mystery is that we are safe and hidden in Him, able to benefit from every resource He has.
We have become His heirs and everything He has is ours. This is another truth previously hidden from our enemy. I believe that’s part of why satan hates us, because we have been given an inheritance as daughters and sons and there is nothing he can do to take that from us!
The ultimate trickery was Jesus’s willing death on the cross. Jesus knew, though the devil did not, that His death would gain our freedom from sin. Jesus knew that when He went into hell, he would take back the authority we had given to satan when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden by disobeying God. Another mystery is that we have the authority of Jesus Christ and we have been given permission to operate fully in that authority as daughters and sons.
This means we can laugh “all the way to the bank”! We have already won the war through Christ Jesus. The devil wins absolutely nothing in the lives of those who are in Christ. That’s why it’s important for us to know who we are and what we’ve been given. Our enemy will only be able to fool us when we are unaware of our rights. Once we know who we are and are fully aware of what that means, he no longer has ANY hold on us!
The Bible is not a one- or two-minute mystery type read, however, I encourage you to read some every day so you will know your rights through Jesus Christ. Too many believers are walking around being robbed by the devil because they do not know what they have been given. I say, “No more!” Know your rights, operate in them, and help others do the same.
