Why Was This Bible Truth Kept Secret for Thousands of Years?

Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Okay, good to see you all again, and for those of you joining us on television, I just can't put into words our appreciation for all your encouragement, your letters, your financial help, and for those of you who are using our materials in Bible classes, home studies, it's just such an encouragement, and we just know the Lord is blessing us, and we just give Him the praise for all of it. Now again, we like to always make it known that our past programs all the way from Genesis up to where we are now in Colossians, and that's about 40 of them, isn't it honey? We've got 40 of these 6-hour tapes and these little booklets, 40 of them, in video or audio or the little book, so if you're interested in any or all of those, you just give us a call and we can send out a list or a catalog that shows the subject matter of each one, but we don't push them, we don't try to force you to buy them, but if you can use them, you call and we'll help you out. Now let's get right back to where we left off in Colossians chapter 1. Verse 26, to fulfill the Word of God, coming out of verse 25, "...even the mystery which has been hid from ages, and from generations." Does it mean what it says? Yes, it means what it says. This whole body of truth that is coming out of Romans through especially the letter of Philemon, is truth that was never ever revealed before to the human race. All the background for it of course, Paul says himself that all of this was built on the prophets and the apostles, but so far as the doctrinal truths that we find in Romans through Philemon, this was hidden from human understanding until it was revealed to this apostle. And so this is why so many times when people write or call with questions concerning especially the Book of Acts, the first thing I'll tell them is that there is no Pauline doctrine as such in the Book of Acts. You've got to go to Romans and then on that direction, because Acts is the in -between book that moves from the Judaic system into the Church Age or into the Age of Grace. But when it comes to doctrine, you have to go by what Paul says, and that it was to him were revealed these things that had been kept secret from ages and generations, but now is made manifest. Now some of you are going to say, Oh no, not again, but Deuteronomy 29.29, and this is for the benefit of new listeners who are probably just catching us in the last few days for the first time. Deuteronomy 29.29. This of course is Moses writing to the nation of Israel, but like I showed you in the closing moment of the last half hour, God has always been the God of the whole human race, not just Israel, not just Gentiles, but each in their own segmented period of time. First He dealt with Israel, and now He's been dealing with the Gentiles, that is primarily. Deuteronomy 29.29. And this just falls right in with what Paul says. The secret things belong unto the Lord our God. Why? He's Sovereign. Now listen, most of you have been parents that I can see out here, and when your kids were little, were there things that you didn't want your kids to know? Well of course there were. You were the parent. You know, I can remember when I was little, my folks, if they didn't want us to know what we were talking about, they'd talk in German. And you'd sit there, and you'd cock your ear, and you thought you'd lost your hearing. Well they were just talking in a different way. Why? They were keeping things secret from us kids. They didn't want us to know. Well God can do the same thing, He's Sovereign. He doesn't have to tell everything, and He didn't. And He kept things secret. But here's the next part. Those things which are revealed, belong to us and to our children forever, that we, now for as far as Israel is concerned, may do the words of the law. Now God is dealing on that same basis with the Gentile world. He has kept all these revelations that come through the Apostle Paul, secret. Jesus never betrayed any of these secrets in His earthly ministry. Jesus never made mention of the Body of Christ, and the saving of Gentiles outside of Judaism. Never. Why? It was kept secret. And He was not about to betray that Sovereign attribute of God, to keep things secret, until He wanted it revealed. And this is the secret, I think, of understanding Scripture, is that God did not reveal everything all at one time. That as He came up through Scripture, even in dealing with the nation of Israel, He didn't tell them everything all at once. It was a progressive revelation. And then you come to the ministry of Christ, and it again is a progressive revelation. But then when we come finally to Acts chapter 9, and the appearance of the Apostle Paul, out comes these revelations of secret things. And He's always referring to them as the mystery. And remember the word mystery in the Greek, now I'm not a Greek scholar, don't ever think that for a minute. I've just picked out a few words here and there that I think are so important. The Greek word mysterion is the word translated usually as mystery, that's easy enough. But it is also at times translated secret. So the two words are synonymous. If it's been a mystery kept in the mind of God, it was kept secret. And this is what Paul is constantly referring to then, as this, what I call that body of truth that he calls the mysteries. Alright, let's come back to I Corinthians chapter 4. Now these are all verses that we've looked at in days gone by, but like I said, for the benefit of new listeners, we're going to hit this at least partly. I Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2. I Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, all got it? He says, "...let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards, or overseers, or managers, of the secrets of God." What secrets? The things that he has kept secret until now it's being revealed. Now verse 2, "...moreover, it is required in stewards, managers, overseers, that a man be found faithful." Now when you go all the way back to Genesis, when Abraham was being promised a son, and none was forthcoming, and he was almost getting frustrated, and he says to the Lord in so many words, I don't have a son. How can a nation of people come from me? All I have is this Eliezer of Damascus, who is the steward of my estate. What did he mean? Eliezer was the manager of Abraham's possessions. It was more than what Abraham could handle himself, so he had this hired manager, steward. Now it stands to reason that if you're going to be faithful to the owner of the estate, and you are now at the second tier of management, if you're going to be all that you should be, you will be faithful. Because the name of the game is to do all that you can to enhance your master's estate. Now Paul is bringing this same idea down to the revelation of the mysteries, this revelation of secrets, that you and I as believers now are put in a place of responsibility as a manager over a business. We are to be faithful in passing these things on to those who have never heard. It's our responsibility. And you better know what you're talking about, because this is what the world is hung up on, confusion and deception. And we have to come with that which is pure truth, the revelation of things that have been kept secret. And the Apostle Paul is the only one who is over and over referring to that very same concept. You're still in I Corinthians aren't you? I Corinthians chapter 15, dropping down to verse 51. Now here again I've made it very plain on the program, as long as I've been on the air, that I am a proponent of a pre-tribulation outcalling of the Church, the Body of Christ, which is the Rapture. And a lot of people are all shook up by it, and they can't understand it. Well it's because they don't understand the mysteries that were revealed to Paul. Granted there is never anything else in Scripture in the Old Testament or the Gospels or Acts or Revelation or any of the others that even alludes to what we call the Rapture. Why? Because it's a Pauline revelation. Now when I say Pauline, I mean Paul in the other extent. It's a Pauline revelation, and here he calls it what it is. Verse 51, and I'll show you a mystery, a secret. Paul says, I'm going to reveal a secret. This is something that's never been revealed before, never. And what is it? That there's coming a day. day. Paul thought of course it was a lot closer than it was. Maybe we think it�s closer than it will be, but I think it�s getting close. There�s coming a day when all of a sudden there�s going to be a great resurrection of the believers who have died, and it�s going to be in a moment, and we shall all be changed. We�re not going to die, but we�re going to be changed. Verse 52, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. Now not one of the angelic trumpets in Revelation, this is a singular trumpet in God�s hands, the trumpet of God. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. That�s a revelation of a secret. It�s never been revealed before. The Lord never talked of resurrection, but the Lord never talked of a group of people who would be alive at the time. So here we have a revelation of a mystery. Now I�m not going to have time for all of them, but come on over with me to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 3, where this whole period of grace was unknown to the whole human race. Jesus never referred to it, Peter couldn�t have referred to it, but Paul is the one that God by grace used to reveal these secrets to the whole human race. And what is it? Ephesians chapter 3, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if you have heard of the dispensation, or the administration, just like Eliezer was the administrator of Abraham�s estate, and it was a viable thing, so also is this administration of the grace of God. Listen, that�s never been held before the human race before. If you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God, which is given to me by revelation, how that by a revealing he made known unto me the mystery, or the secret. And what�s the secret? This whole body of Pauline truth. How that the work of the cross completed everything that the human race needed for salvation. We don�t have to do a thing, God�s done it all. But you don�t find that until you get to Paul, and this is the whole revelation of that which was kept secret. Reading on in chapter 3 of Ephesians, we looked at this a few weeks ago when we were in the now verse 4. Ephesians 3, where by when you read Paul�s epistles, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, a secret, which in other ages, or generations, was not made known. See how plain that language is when you understand what we�re talking about? Don�t forget Deuteronomy 29. The secret things belong to God. He�s Sovereign, and He doesn�t have to reveal it until He�s good and ready. And that was when the Apostle Paul was sent to the Gentiles. And so he says, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, a secret, which in other ages, or generations, was not made known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets. And remember Paul had others that followed in his footsteps. I think Barnabas could be considered one, and maybe Timothy and some of those. But here was the whole concept that was never revealed before, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs. Not just subjects of Christ�s kingship, like Israel will be, but Gentiles are to be brought into that position of joint heirs with Christ. You can�t find that anywhere else in Scripture, except Paul�s epistles. It�s just not in there. But here it is, how the Gentiles will be in the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel. Now let�s come on down to verse 9, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the secret, the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, the same God who created all things by Jesus Christ. Well all the way through Paul�s epistles you have this word popping up, the mystery, that it was revealed only to Paul. Now verse just comes to mind for Peter. 2 Peter 3, and we�re going to start at verse 15. I haven�t used these two verses in a long, long time. But now remember, Peter didn�t have the mysteries revealed to him. Only Paul did. But as Paul began to preach these mysteries, and the Gospel, that was Paul�s Gospel, and the appearing of the Body of Christ, Peter just stood there I think from the outside looking in, and I�ll let you read the verses first, and then I�ll comment. 2 Peter 3, starting at verse 15. Now remember Peter writes these little epistles about the same time that Paul is writing the prison epistles. I think the two men were probably martyred within a year of each other. And so this is at the end of Peter�s ministry, before he�s martyred. And he says, "...and account, or understand, that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation." Of course, that�s the main theme of the whole Bible. Even as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom given unto him, that is by the revelation of the secrets, has written unto you, as also in all his epistles, that is from Romans through Philemon, speaking in them of these things, that is the things that pertain to salvation, in which are some things hard to be understood. That�s Peter writing by inspiration, by which he says, "...they that are unlearned, and unstable, rest, or twist, as they do also the other Scriptures, and it�s going to be to their own destruction." Now do you see what the man is saying? That when Paul reveals these mysteries that had been kept secret, it was such revelation, it was such breaking of new ground, that even good old Peter couldn�t grasp it all. It was beyond him, and I can see why. Because Peter was steeped in Judaism, Peter was steeped in Legalism, Peter was steeped in the Christ of his earthly ministry. And so when the apostle Paul comes along and presents all this to the Gentile world, instead of like I showed you in the last program, who did Peter address in Acts chapter 2 and chapter 3? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our Father. And then all of a sudden have these things promoted amongst the Gentile world. I can see why Peter couldn�t comprehend it, and I don�t believe he had a full understanding of it right up until the time he was martyred. It was just something totally beyond him. And so when Paul speaks of these mysteries, for goodness sakes don�t just shove it off as if to say, well I can�t understand what he�s talking about. He�s merely telling us that he is being used of the same God that called Abraham, the same God that called the twelve disciples up there in Galilee, but the same God is now revealing to this apostle a whole new concept of things that had never been heard of before. One of which is that we are joint heirs with Christ. Another one is that one day the trumpet will sound and we�re going to be gone. Now I know that�s hard for a lot of people to swallow, because it�s not in the rest of the Scriptures, but it�s in Paul, because it is a part of the revelation of the mysteries. And then it�s not hard to comprehend. And so here again, coming back to Colossians if you will, when he speaks of this, verse 26. Colossians 2.26 Even the mystery, the secret, which has been hid from ages, thousands of years, God kept it secret, and from generations. Now you see as soon as you get into Matthew chapter 1, you have the whole nation of Israel broken down into a series of generations. None of them had a concept of all this. And so all the way up through human history, whether it was before Abraham or during Israel�s time in the spotlight, they knew nothing of these things that are now made manifest to the saints. The world doesn�t know what we�re talking about. A good percentage of Christendom doesn�t know what we�re talking about. You know why? Because they avoid Paul like a plague. They won�t come into Paul�s writings if they can possibly avoid it. I had a gentleman tell me again the other day, and he said, �Every Sunday morning for the last three months our sermon has been out of Matthew.� Why? Why? I�ve got nothing against Matthew, it�s the Word of God, but when you spend 100% of your time in Matthew, you�re missing the revelations of the mystery. You�re missing justification by faith alone. You�re missing this whole concept of the Body of Christ. It�s not in Matthew. You�re missing this whole concept of the grace of God. It�s not in Matthew. You�re missing this whole concept of one day the blessed hope, as Paul writes to Titus, the appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. It�s not in Matthew. See how many people are missing it? I�ll never forget years ago I had a doctor come to my class, and he would sit right in front of me, and he would almost sit there like a starved bird, and he would say, �Les, why haven�t we been taught these things before?� He said, �Fifty years I�ve been going to church, and they�ve been cheating me.� Well I�m afraid that�s too often the case. And you know why? Because they will not study the mysteries. And here�s where it�s at for us Gentiles. And I say this kindly, you have to understand the revelation of the mysteries to understand God�s dealing with the Gentile world. Now let�s go to verse 27, to whom the saints, the believers of the church age, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among Gentiles. Now I�m not leaving the Jewish people out of this, but I�m going to say what the Scripture says, that this is directed primarily to the Gentiles. Now I have Jewish believers in my audience, I know I do. We stay with a Jewish Christian couple when we go up to Minnesota, and we can revel in these things. So the Jew isn�t ostracized, but for the most part they can�t accept it, and that�s their problem, not mine. So this is the secret in particular that he�s talking about here, that for the Gentiles it�s Christ in you, the indwelling Christ, in the person of the Holy Spirit of course. Christ in you, the hope of glory. That�s what we�re living for. We�re not living for this world, we all have our ambitions, and I�m as ambitious as anyone. I love my cattle herds, and I love my ranching as much as anybody, but this isn�t the end. Glory is the end, but that�s not saying we can�t enjoy these things in this earthly sojourn. So Christ in you, the hope of glory, whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect or spiritually mature in Christ Jesus, whereunto I also labor, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.