When God reveals a secret, it ceases to be a secret: it becomes known, it belongs to His people, and He expects it to be believed.
God has the sovereign right to keep matters hidden until He chooses to disclose them. The moment He reveals a secret, it is no longer hidden — it is given to those to whom He reveals it, and He expects faith in it. This is the pattern Les Feldick draws out of Deuteronomy 29:29 and the Pauline revelation of the mystery.
Deuteronomy 29:29 — This is the foundational verse for the question: secret things belong to God, but once revealed they belong to us and to our children forever.
Ephesians 3:3-5 — Paul describes the mystery that was kept secret in earlier ages and is now revealed — Scripture's clearest example of what happens when God discloses a secret.
Deuteronomy 29:29 makes the foundational distinction: 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.' What God has not revealed remains His own secret; what He has revealed is given to His people and to their children to know and to obey. In Ephesians 3, Paul speaks of a secret God had now disclosed: 'How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery... Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel.' Here Scripture records a truth previously hidden in earlier ages that God then revealed. Genesis 21:33 records Abraham calling on the name of 'the LORD, the everlasting God.'
Les teaches that God, as sovereign, has the right and the ability to keep things secret until He chooses to reveal them ([Clip 0], [Clip 1], [Clip 2], [Clip 4], [Clip 5], [Clip 6]). From Genesis 21:33 he draws out the Hebrew name 'the everlasting God,' which pictures God as eternal yet also the God of time — able to hide matters within time and reveal them when He is ready ([Clip 0]). The moment God reveals a secret, it is no longer a secret; it then belongs to us and to our children, meaning it is given to those to whom He revealed it ([Clip 1], [Clip 2], [Clip 3], [Clip 6]). Les also stresses the response God expects: when God reveals a secret, He expects mankind to believe it. 'You don't believe something until God says it' — which is why Adam, Eve, and Abraham were not expected to believe the Gospel of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, because God had not yet revealed it ([Clip 5], [Clip 6]). The same principle explains why Peter and John in Acts 3 had not yet grasped the cross ([Clip 4]), and why the Pauline doctrine of the mystery remained hidden until God chose to release it ([Clip 3]). Finally, Les connects all of this to Paul's 'mystery': a secret God kept through earlier ages and has now unveiled — that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the Gospel ([Clip 3], [Clip 7]).
Deuteronomy 29:29 says that the revealed things 'belong unto us and to our children for ever.' Les applies this beyond Israel: the same principle holds today, so when God reveals something in His sovereign grace, it is given to those to whom it is shown — and they are to do it. A secret that God has revealed is no longer God's secret alone; it becomes the possession of His people.
Les teaches that God is sovereign and has the prerogative to keep things secret. He does not tell us everything at once or everything we would like to know, but He tells us what we need to know in His own time. Because God is the eternal God and also the God of time, He can hide matters within time and reveal them when He is ready. Les maintains that Scripture can only be understood through this concept of progressive revelation — God does not reveal everything all at once.
In Ephesians 3, Paul explains that by revelation God made known to him the mystery — a secret that in other ages, generations, administrations, or dispensations was not made known to the sons of men, but is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets. The content of that revealed secret is that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the Gospel. Les connects this directly to Deuteronomy 29:29: these things were not made known in earlier times because God had been keeping the secret.
No, according to Les. Adam and Eve and Abraham were not expected to understand the Gospel of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, because God had not yet revealed it — it was kept secret in the mind of God. Even in Acts 3, Peter and John understood only that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God who had proved it with miracles, but they had not yet understood the death, burial, and resurrection. God reveals at the right time, and He does not expect belief in something He has not yet said.
The revealed secret is to be believed. Les is clear that God keeps things secret until a particular point in time, but when He reveals them, He expects mankind to believe it. A revealed secret is no longer hidden — it belongs to us and to our children, and the response God looks for is faith that acts on what He has made known.
God's Name and Progressive Revelation
Les shows from Genesis 21:33 that God is the everlasting God — eternal, yet the God of time — who can hide things in time and reveal them when He is ready. This is the basis for progressive revelation.
Revelation and Secret Go Together
Les uses Deuteronomy 29:29 to show that God has the prerogative to keep things secret and reveals them at the right time; the revealed things belong to us and to our children.
A Revealed Secret Is No Longer a Secret
Les answers the question directly: when you reveal a secret, it is no more a secret — it becomes known, and the revealed matters belong to us and to our children.
The Revealed Secret Belongs to God's People
Les applies Deuteronomy 29:29 to today: God keeps things secret until His sovereign grace releases them, which is exactly what happened with the Pauline doctrine.
God Reveals Only Periodically
Les explains that God only periodically reveals what earlier generations did not understand — Peter and John in Acts 3 still did not understand the death, burial, and resurrection.
God Expects Belief When He Reveals
Les stresses the immediate consequence of revelation: when God reveals what He has kept secret, He expects mankind to believe it.
You Believe What God Says When He Says It
Les teaches that secret things are what God has not yet spoken, and no one is expected to believe what God has not said — but revealed things belong to us and to our children.
The Mystery Made Known by Revelation
Les shows from Ephesians 3 that the secret/mystery of Christ was not made known in earlier ages but is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets.
Deuteronomy 29:29: The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
This is the key verse for the entire teaching — it draws the line between God's secrets and what He reveals, and what happens once a secret is revealed.
Genesis 21:33: And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
This is the verse where Les introduces the Hebrew concept of the 'everlasting God' as the One who can hide and reveal things in time.
Ephesians 3:3-5: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
Paul describes a secret God had kept through earlier ages and then revealed — the clearest scriptural example of what happens when God reveals a secret.
Ephesians 3:6: That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
This is the content of the revealed secret in Paul's teaching — the Gentiles are fellow-heirs in Christ.
When God reveals a secret, it is no longer secret. The revealed matter belongs to those to whom God has shown it, and God expects mankind to believe it.
No. God keeps things secret until He is ready to reveal them, and He reveals them at the right time. Understanding Scripture requires recognizing this progressive unfolding of revelation.
No. God had not yet revealed the Gospel in their day; it was kept secret in the mind of God. As Les puts it, you do not believe something until God says it.
It is a secret that God kept hidden through earlier ages and has now revealed — that the Gentiles are fellow-heirs and partakers of God's promise in Christ by the Gospel. It was made known by revelation to His holy apostles and prophets.
The revealed things belong to us and to our children, and we are to believe and do them. God expects faith in what He has disclosed.
Watch the Teaching: Why the Church Age Is Hidden in the Old Testament