Knowing God (VI)

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Knowing God (VI)

• The Mystery of God

1 Tim 316 By common confession, great is the
mystery of godliness He who was revealed in the
flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by
angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on
in the world, Taken up in glory.
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A Mystery Revealed

• Biblical mystery what was hidden, but is now
  revealed

Rom 1625-26 Now to Him who is able to establish
you according to my gospel and the preaching of
Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the
mystery which has been kept secret for long ages
past, but now is manifested, and by the
Scriptures of the prophets, according to the
commandment of the eternal God, has been made
known to all the nations, leading to obedience of
faith.
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A Mystery Revealed

• Biblical mystery what was hidden, but is now
  revealed

Eph 19 He made known to us the mystery of His
will, according to His kind intention which He
purposed in Him.
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A Mystery Revealed

• Biblical mystery what was hidden, but is now
  revealed

Eph 33-4 that by revelation there was made
known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in
brief. By referring to this, when you read you
can understand my insight into the mystery of
Christ.
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A Mystery Revealed

• Biblical mystery what was hidden, but is now
  revealed

Eph 39 and to bring to light what is the
administration of the mystery which for ages has
been hidden in God who created all things
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A Mystery Revealed

• Biblical mystery what was hidden, but is now
  revealed

Col 125-29 Of this church I was made a minister
according to the stewardship from God bestowed on
me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry
out the preaching of the word of God, that is,
the mystery which has been hidden from the past
ages and generations, but has now been manifested
to His saints, to whom God willed to make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the
hope of glory.
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A Mystery Revealed

• Biblical mystery what was hidden, but is now
  revealed
• Knowledge accessible only by divine revelation
  1 Cor 26-13
• But not all mystery is removed

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Things Unrevealed Remain a Mystery
Deut 2929 The secret things belong to the LORD
our God, but the things revealed belong to us and
to our sons forever, that we may observe all the
words of this law.
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Things Unrevealed Remain a Mystery
1 Cor 211 For who among men knows the thoughts
of a man except the spirit of the man which is in
him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows
except the Spirit of God.
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Things Unrevealed Remain a Mystery

• E.g., Regarding the reason for particular
  suffering Job
• Though have patterns and principles
• E.g., God punishes nations for their sin, but he
  relents when they repent Jer 187-8
• E.g., Reap what we sow Gal 67
• But general principles do not a rule make (Ps 37
  73).

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Some Mystery Even In What Is Revealed

• Truth is knowable -- Dt 2929 Jn 831-32
• Reason-able Isa 118

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Some Mystery Even In What Is Revealed

• Truth is knowable
• But, elevating reason too highly, results in
  three mistakes
• 1. Failure to rely on the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor 214-15 But a natural man does not accept
the things of the Spirit of God, for they are
foolishness to him and he cannot understand
them, because they are spiritually appraised. But
he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he
himself is appraised by no one.
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Some Mystery Even In What Is Revealed

• Truth is knowable
• But, elevating reason too highly, results in
  three mistakes
• 1. Failure to rely on the Holy Spirit.
• 2. Exaggerated intolerance and divisiveness.
• Not everyone is of the same intellectual
  capability

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Some Mystery Even In What Is Revealed

• Truth is knowable
• But, elevating reason too highly, results in
  three mistakes
• 1. Failure to rely on the Holy Spirit.
• 2. Exaggerated intolerance and divisiveness.

Psalms 1475 Great is our Lord and abundant in
strength His understanding is infinite.
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Some Mystery Even In What Is Revealed

• Truth is knowable
• But, elevating reason too highly, results in
  three mistakes
• 1. Failure to rely on the Holy Spirit.
• 2. Exaggerated intolerance and divisiveness.
• 3. Removing God from the process.

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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Many Paradoxes
• A paradox is an apparent, but not real,
  contradiction.
• Yet some paradoxes seem do defy our human
  reasoning
• E.g., the incarnation of God
• Jesus, fully man and fully God.
• God cannot be tempted, yet Jesus was tempted.

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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Many Paradoxes
• A paradox is an apparent, but not real,
  contradiction.
• Yet some paradoxes seem do defy our human
  reasoning
• E.g., divine foreknowledge and human free will.

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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Mysterious Spirit

John 38 The wind blows where it wishes and you
hear the sound of it, but do not know where it
comes from and where it is going so is everyone
who is born of the Spirit."
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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Mysterious Spirit
• Cannot detect him, but given as a pledge
  (promise) of our inheritance.

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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Unreasonable Grace

Rom 520 The Law came in so that the
transgression would increase but where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more
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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Strange Love

1 Jn 31 See how great a love the Father has
bestowed on us, that we would be called children
of God and such we are. For this reason the
world does not know us, because it did not know
Him.
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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Strange Love
• Great (manner) (potapos) Lit. from what
  country, race, or tribe? (Thayer)
• E.g., Mt 827 What kind of man is this?
• E.g., Lk 129 What kind of greeting is this?

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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Strange Love
• Surpasses knowledge

Eph 318-19 may be able to comprehend with all
the saints what is the breadth and length and
height and depth, and to know the love of Christ
which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled
up to all the fullness of God.
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Some Mysteries of God

• Gods Many Paradoxes
• Gods Mysterious Spirit
• Gods Unreasonable Grace
• Gods Strange Love

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Great is the mystery of godliness!