“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” - Colossians 1:27
In the midst of Paul’s description of Jesus in Colossians 1, he disclosed a mystery, which he called, “The mystery of the ages” – which had been hidden from the beginning. What is this mystery? It’s not something to be solved or analyzed. It’s not a principle, a rule, or a law. It was, and is, the wonder of all wonders…
The mystery of God is this…that the One who is the visible image of the invisible God, the One in whom all the fullness of God dwells, the One who is before time, the Alpha and Omega, the Firstborn of the created universe, who rose from the dead never to die again; the Conqueror of death and sin and the grave; the Creator, Savior, Redeemer, and Forgiver; the One through whom and for whom all things were created; the head of the Church; the One who reconciled all things in heaven and on earth to God; the One who nailed to the bloody cross every rule that would condemn us; the One who holds the title deed to the universe; this amazing, matchless, glorious, limitless, mighty, infinite, vast, triumphant, victorious, radiant, wonderful, beautiful, magnificent Christ has chosen to place all of His fullness where? Inside of you…inside of me – if only we trust Him with our lives.
God’s greatest mystery is Christ in you. As the Father was pleased to dwell in the Son, so Jesus Christ is pleased to dwell in you. The focus of God’s eternal purpose was, is, and always has been Christ in you.
Christ is not only near us He is in us if we have placed our faith in Him. You have to understand what a radical revelation this was in Paul’s time. This is a revelation of God that is completely different from the Old Testament revelation of God. If you look throughout the Old Testament, you will see God promising to be with His people. In Genesis 15 He tells Abraham, “I will be with you.” He says the same thing to Isaac and then to Jacob when He reaffirms His covenant with them. He is with Joseph when he is sold into slavery in Egypt. He promises through the burning bush to be with Moses as he goes to Egypt to free the Israelites. When Moses passes the baton to Joshua to lead God’s people into the Promised Land God promises to be with him. He is with Gideon as he fights the Midianites and with David as he fights Goliath the Philistine. All throughout the Old Testament we see God dwelling with His people.
And then, Jesus is born…and His name is Immanuel – God with us. But not only with us, but also in us through the Holy Spirit that will be sent after Christ has completed His redemptive work. The mystery finally revealed. The curse finally broken. The lost finally redeemed.
Father, When I ponder the mystery that You live in me, I cannot even wrap my mind around such a truth! It must be accepted in faith, not understood by reason…and I do believe. Thank You for choosing to dwell in this broken vessel. And thank You for making me into something worthy of Your Name.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Topics: Truth
