Before we even venture into today’s post allow me to proffer a disclaimer:
The capacity of a single blog post does not permit for the
magnitude of this topic. Here we can barely touch the proverbial tip of the
iceberg.
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| St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church Maracas Valley Trinidad |
Hidden mystery…one of those deep-dive topics that lead to
deeper diving into God’s Word.
Scripture tells us that “[This
mystery] was never disclosed to human beings in past generations as it has now
been revealed to His holy apostles (consecrated messengers) and prophets by the
[Holy] Spirit.” (Ephesians 3:5 AMPC)
Simply put, this hidden mystery, a spiritual truth that was
already present throughout the ages, is something that cannot be directly known
or proven by our human intellect, a truth that has existed everywhere yet only
revealed fully through the wisdom, understanding and knowledge given to us by the
indwelling Spirit.
If this sounds at all familiar perhaps it’s taking us back,
yet again, to Isaiah 11:2, where he prophesied of the Holy Spirit’s sevenfold
or complete empowerment of the coming Messiah.
Apostle Paul in his letter to the saints at Colossae wrote,
“that their hearts may
be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of
full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which
is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” – Colossians 2:2-3 (ESV)
This hidden mystery, God’s mystery, is Christ Jesus, the
Messiah of whom Isaiah prophesied. He is the hiding place. But now that we
know, where do we go from here? How do we gain access to “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”?
Beloved, this calls for a leap of faith to only believe,
since the evidence of the treasures, these spiritual truths, is not visibly
apparent. After all, it is a mystery and mysteries, though present, are usually
hidden.
The answer to the question above, is revealed in one single
word highlighted in the context of Philippians 2:5 and 1 Corinthians 2:16,
which say,
“Let the same mind be in you
that was in Christ Jesus” and “For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct
him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (NRSVUE)
That word is Phroneo.
Phroneo
is the Greek word that Paul used; it speaks of your mental attitude,
your mindset, the state of your mind – your understanding, the way you think
and perceive things, your opinions and about being wise.
Apostle Paul holds the key because he understood the relationship
between the mind and the mystery.
Throughout the Word, a great deal of emphasis is placed on
the mind – the thoughts and the actions taken as a result of these thoughts.
Our thought-life, the invisible actions of our minds, is more important to God
than our visible actions. The inner influences the outer. We are told to guard
our minds in Proverbs 4:23. God looks at our minds while humans focus on what is
outward (see 1 Samuel 16:17 remembering that heart and mind are interchangeable).
In Romans 12:2a (NIV), Paul exhorts us to renew our minds,
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
God wants to give us the gift of insight. He longs for His
children “to reach all the riches of full
assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery”.
God wants us to have full disclosure. Adam possessed some once, Abraham, got a
portion, oh David, he had it too, more than Abraham because he was a man after
God’s own mind but Paul, after his life-altering conversion from mind-stifled
bad-attitude Saul, he got it in full.
Paul’s apprehension of the hidden mystery is beyond compare
and it will be to our great benefit to read all his epistles. However, simply
reading won’t be enough; we must read under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit
Himself, the Spirit of Truth who bears witness about Christ and guides us into
all the truth (John 15:26 & 16:13) and teaches us all things (John 14:26).
It is only the Holy Spirit who is able to reveal to us, the deep things of God
(1 Corinthians 2:10).
On the road to Pentecost, we have dived just a bit below the
surface of the hidden mystery. There is still some way to go. In the meantime,
let us mull over what we have covered so far, as we prepare to meet Spirit in
all His glory when we celebrate the Day of Pentecost in a few days.
Amen †
Shelley Johnson “On the Road to Pentecost: Hidden Mystery” ©
2025 June 5, 2025
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