Yes—God keeps certain things secret because He is sovereign and He has the right to reveal them only when He chooses.
The Bible says the secret things belong to God, while the revealed things belong to His people. Les Feldick teaches that God does not tell us everything we would like to know, but He tells us everything we need to know in His own time. When a truth was still secret—such as the full meaning of Christ's death and resurrection—people were not expected to believe it yet.
Deuteronomy 29:29 — This is the foundational verse that directly states the secret things belong to God and the revealed things belong to His people.
Romans 11:25 — This verse reveals a specific secret that was hidden in God's mind until the apostle Paul: Israel's blindness until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
The Bible states in 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 verse distinguishes between truths God has kept hidden and truths He has given to His people. The New Testament refers to certain truths as a mystery or secret that was hidden in God until the time He chose to disclose it. Romans 11:25 says, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in." First Corinthians 2:7 also speaks of "the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory."
Les Feldick teaches that God's sovereignty is the basis for secret things. He points to Deuteronomy 29:29 to show that the secret things belong to God, and that God does not tell us everything we would like to know, but He tells us everything we need to know in His own time. Because these truths were kept secret, Les says Adam and Eve did not understand the Gospel, and Abraham was not expected to believe that Christ would die, be buried, and rise again—even though the Old Testament was full of it by innuendo. Les applies this to Peter's message in Acts 3. Jesus had bypassed the lame man so that Peter and John could precipitate the events of that chapter, and Peter's message did not mention Christ's death, burial, or resurrection. The secret of all God's purposes in the cross had not yet been revealed; God was still dealing with Israel on the basis of covenant promises. Les further explains that the word mystery means secret, and this secret was held in God's mind until the apostle Paul. It included Israel's partial blindness until the fullness of the Gentiles came in, the privileged position of Gentiles in the Body of Christ, and the church age and rapture, which had not even been hinted at in the Old Testament prophecies or Christ's earthly ministry. When God finally reveals a truth, He expects mankind to believe it.
Les points out that Jesus purposely had the lame man bypassed so that Peter and John could precipitate the events of Acts 3. When Peter spoke, he did not say, "in the name of Jesus Christ who has died for your sins and has been raised from the dead"; he did not even mention His death or burial. The reason, Les explains, is that the secret of all God's purposes in the cross had not yet been revealed. At that point God was still dealing with Israel on the basis of covenant promises.
No. Les teaches that Adam and Eve did not understand the Gospel, and neither did Abraham. Although the Old Testament was full of the Gospel "by innuendo," God had not yet revealed it; it was kept secret and held in the mind of God. People are not expected to believe something until God says it, so they were not expected to believe that Christ would die, be buried, and rise from the dead.
Les says the word mystery is another word for secret. The secret had been held in God's mind until the apostle Paul. Romans 11:25 reveals that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be brought in. The Old Testament knew God would someday save Gentiles, but it had no idea this would happen without Israel. The entire church age and the rapture were not even hinted at in prophecy or in Christ's earthly ministry.
Deuteronomy 29:29 says the secret things belong to God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever. Les teaches that God is sovereign and has the prerogative to keep things secret until He is ready to reveal them. This is a basic principle for understanding the Word of God: God does not reveal everything all at once, but reveals it at the right time. When He reveals a truth, He expects it to be believed.
Peter’s Acts 3 Message Omitted the Cross
In Acts 3, Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah but does not mention His death, burial, or resurrection—showing that those saving events had not yet been publicly revealed as the secret of God's purposes.
God’s Sovereignty in Keeping Secrets
Les explains that the secret things belong to God because He is sovereign; He tells us what we need to know in His own time, and neither Adam and Eve nor Abraham were expected to believe details of the Gospel before God revealed them.
God’s Prerogative to Reveal in His Time
God keeps secrets until He reveals them, and when He reveals a truth He expects people to believe it; the death, burial, and resurrection were still hidden as the secret of all God's purposes during the early Acts period.
The Mystery Revealed to Paul
The word mystery means secret, and it was held in God's mind until Paul; Romans 11:25 reveals Israel's partial blindness until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, a truth Old Testament saints had not grasped.
The Church Age and Rapture Were Not Revealed
God kept the whole church age and the rapture completely unrevealed—not even hinted at in the Old Testament prophecies or Christ's earthly ministry—because He had chosen to keep that secret to Himself.
The Mystery Hidden in God Until Paul
The sovereign God kept the mystery hidden in Himself until Paul; it includes Israel's spiritual blindness for almost two thousand years and the Gentiles being brought into a privileged position in the Body of Christ.
God’s Hidden Wisdom and Foreknowledge
God has always hidden truths until His time to reveal them; Paul's revelations were things hidden in God's mind, and God had predetermined Israel's rejection and the crucifixion by His counsel and foreknowledge.
Deuteronomy 29:29 Explained
God has the prerogative to keep things secret until He is ready; the secrets that are revealed belong to us and our children, and this is one of the basic principles for understanding the Word of God.
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 foundational verse Les points to for why God keeps secrets: the hidden things belong to Him, and the revealed things belong to His people.
Romans 11:25: For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Les identifies this as a secret revealed to Paul—Israel's blindness in part until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in.
1 Corinthians 2:7: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
Les references this passage to show that Paul's message was the wisdom of God hidden in a mystery, which God had ordained before the world.
No. According to Les Feldick, Adam and Eve did not understand the Gospel because God had not revealed it yet. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ were kept secret in the mind of God and were not expected to be believed until God later revealed them.
Peter's message in Acts 3 did not mention Christ's death, burial, or resurrection because that secret of God's purposes had not yet been revealed. God was still dealing with Israel on the basis of covenant promises, and the full meaning of the cross was revealed a little later.
No. Les teaches that God is sovereign and has the prerogative to keep things secret until He is ready. He reveals what He chooses, when He chooses, and He expects people to believe what He has revealed.
Les explains that the word mystery means secret, and it refers to truth held in the mind of God and not revealed until the time of the apostle Paul. For example, Israel's partial blindness and the entrance of Gentile believers into the Body of Christ were a secret.
Watch the Teaching: Why Peter Didn't Preach the Gospel in Acts 3