Mystery

Christian Living Series 3 of 9

September 27, 1987

Ephesians 3:4,10

Do you enjoy mystery? What is it about mystery that intrigues and perplexes? Conundrum, enigma, puzzle, riddle, secret . . . all these are elements of the phenomenon we call "mystery." [The BUTLER did it!]

But when "mystery" is applied to everyday life— to our paycheck, or to our marriage, or to the contents of the dinner on our plate— we are not quite so enamored with "mystery." It is 10 p.m.- and 'we want to know where our children are!

This certainly is true of our standing with God. The Bible makes it plain that we can know God, and can be sure that we are right with Him. It is important that we know we are saved, based on fact and not on myth or hand-me-down folklore. And yet having said that, here in Ephesians Paul speaks of the mystery of faith. The mystery is an open secret. It is the fact that God wants to live with men, both Jew and Gentile. God does not want us to doubt that fact.

But there will always be elements of the faith that go beyond what we can understand. Faith itself will always be mysterious. (So is electricity— but we still use it!) And we must live by FAITH as long as we are in this world of time and sense.

There are always temptations to elevate what we do know and understand, and make it more than it is, so we won't have to deal with 'mystery' any more— won't have to 'walk by faith.' And ...It is the profound sense of holy mystery, the mystery that enables us to know and not know at the same time, which keeps us honest before God and fellow man.

I. WE ARE SAVED BY FAITH AND WE MUST CONTINUE TO LIVE BY FAITH

There is a "funny thing" about salvation, it is a paradox:

Any child can "understand" it— we have all sinned; Jesus died on the cross to save us, and if we confess He will forgive and save us— and if we don't, we will go to hell. But also
there is a profound mystery involved— WHY should God care?

And there are many profound mysteries! IF He cares so much about people, what about those who never heard? What about seemingly unanswered prayer? Why is there suffering?

We are called to total obedience, to total commitment to God in Christ, before we know all the reasons why, but not before we know enough to be assured and satisfied that God is good, and that God is holy, and that God knows us and loves us.

God's will in salvation involves THE CHURCH (and centers in the Cross (v 11)
God's will in salvation HAS UNIVERSAL IMPLICATIONS (which we cannot fully understand). But unless we are careful, even in our desire to be more spiritual, and be better Christians— we can seek to sidestep the radical cost of walking with Jesus by faith!

This has been my day to be narrowly doctrinal! But:

The BESETTING SIN OF THE FUNDAMENTAL MIND-SET IS THAT IT WANTS TO ELIMINATE THE 'MYSTERY' AND "KNOW" ALL THE ANSWERS IN THE BIBLE

Fundamentalism leans just a bit too hard on human understanding of Bible content, and takes almost a 'cause and effect' line on prayer and holy things, even when God's perfect will is veiled.

The BESETTING SIN OF THE CHARISMATIC MIND-SET IS THAT IT WANTS TO ELIMINATE THE 'MYSTERY' AND "FEEL" ALL THE ANSWERS IN EXPERIENCE:

Charismatics seem to weigh heavily on the importance of experience, giving it what seems to be almost equal importance with Scripture.

But there is an elusive, Golden Mean of balance in living of doctrine, experience, and practice. But it is not an easy middle ground.

II. WE CAN BE FAITHFUL WHEN WE CANNOT FULLY UNDERSTAND!

The truth is: it is much easier to analyze other people's mistakes and shortcomings than it is to face the same situation with integrity.

We are called to a radical commitment to the authority of God's Word: The BIBLE is truth! No doubt about it! But the Bible does not save us!
The Bible shows us JESUS! HE saves us! and we are called to: life-changing involvement in experiential truth, while being subject to the Word. To be saved means JOY! No doubt about it! There is reality in being saved. But the JOY does not save us! The JOY results from being near Jesus. JESUS saves us!;
AND SO OUR PRIMARY CONCERN IS: having a LIVING connection with Jesus Christ, knowing Him, walking with Him, and abiding in Him. The Book of Job is an important book; it tells us that we can know God when we cannot understand Him. And it tells us that what we do is important to Him. And it tells us that faithfulness is precious to Him!

Conclusion:

God loves YOU!

Some day you may DO something wonderful for Him! But we need to see that right here! right NOW YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO HIM! And you can give Him something! You can give Him your love! faithfulness! OBEDIENCE!

We preach salvation and prayer and walking with God as though they were means to an end; as, if we will do these things then (1) we will be useful, or (2) we will live happily ever after. But what we need to grasp is the fact that there is ULTIMATE REALITY IN (simply) BEING BEFORE THE LORD!

Don't mistake: It is good and necessary that we witness and win; that we be USED of God;that we DEVELOP and STUDY and GROW and do all that we can understand of God's will, for the best reasons that we can know. . . We are not excused from witnessing and working and serving and growing and doing— all the things that we can understand of God's will. But when the way is hard— and we can't see anything being accomplished, and it seems we are at a dead end, remember ...there is more to this business than we can see! There is holy MYSTERY involved. It is NOT a cop-out to say that we don't have to understand all about our faith to be part of it. But we DO have confidence in the ONE we trust!

He is GOOD! He is GOD! And if we love Jesus, and are wholeheartedly involved in seeking His face... then we don't have to achieve or accomplish to be loved of Him... TODAY we are precious in God's sight! And if we will walk before God today, whatever the circumstance, then we please Him, and we fellowship Him, and somehow we shall fulfil our purpose. We are ALIVE in Him!

#71 (EH) Sweet Will of God