Part 2 - The "Revelation of the Mystery"

This Article is part of a multi-part Study Series called Paul's Mystery Gospel.

The Apostle Paul has largely been marginalized as ‘just one of the Apostles’ by most of the church-at-large today. I feel it necessary to clearly establish the Apostle Paul’s credentials and his unique calling as “THE Apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 11:13) with His “gospel of the grace of God” “for ye Gentiles” (cf. Eph 3:1-5).

After being blinded by the Lord from heaven, “the Lord said unto him (Ananias), Go thy way: for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before ‘the Gentiles,’ and kings, and the children of Israel:(Acts 9:15)

“For I (Paul) speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am THE apostle of the Gentiles…” (Rom 11:13)

“Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my (Paul’s) gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the Revelation of the Mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,” (Rom 16:25 )

 “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,  16To REVEAL his Son IN ME, that I might preach him among the heathen (Gk. ethnos, Gentiles)…” (Gal. 1:16)

“… If any man preach any other gospel (i.e. the Law) unto you than that ye have received (from me), let him be accursed. … 11 But I CERTIFY you, brethren, That The Gospel Which Was Preached Of Me is not after man. 12…I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal. 1:9, 11-12)

“But CONTRARIWISE, when they (Peter/James/John, etc.) saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision (Gentiles) was committed unto me (Paul), as the gospel of the circumcision (Israel) was unto Peter;” (Galatians 2:7)

“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 14:37)

“… God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my (Paul’s) gospel.” (Romans 2:16)

Any open hearted believer who studies the Bible properly will have to admit that Paul is God’s man to deliver ‘the gospel of the grace of God’ to “the church, which is His body”; just as much as Moses was God-sent to the Nation Israel to deliver “the Law.” Paul says he laid the foundation of “the gospel of the grace of God,” which is the “Mystery” of Christ IN US as the deposited “grace of God… with thy spirit” (2Tim 4:22)

According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I (Paul) have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth...” (1Cor. 3:10)

Let’s now examine Paul’s "Revelation of ‘The Mystery" that changed his life as it will also change our Christian life. Every believer began with ‘objective faith,’ which was for our initial believing in Jesus, trusting in His cross-work for us, to save us. But then later comes recognition of the need for a subjective, individual, personal faith that develops and works in our lives to appropriate Christ ‘Life’ (Gk., Zoë, His spirit life) that enables us to overcome and rest in the midst of life’s awful situations and circumstances.

For many years after being saved in 1968 I had trusted the Lord, objectively, for my eternal salvation and I even preached it boldly as a Jesus jammer and Bible belter. Yet, admittedly, I had great difficulty bringing Christ into my daily living such that I would Trust Him in All Things. I had ignorantly thought everything still depended on me, my wits, wisdom, and abilities. I had not let go to trust Him until He did a later work in my life. My soul needed revelation light that would bring me to see Him as my all-sufficiency. It’s through enduring life’s crisis where we encounter circumstances and situations that are beyond our control and ability to fix them. It could be financial, health or relational issues that Lord uses “for the good.” Such awful situations are blessings of God that bring us to a personal Revelation knowledge of the truth of as THE Overcoming Life WITHIN US (cf. Gal 2:20).

So here I’m addressing the indispensable, personal, life-changing, element of seeing “The Revelation of the Mystery,” which is CHRIST ALIVE WITHIN US as our new life! Paul wrote of "the Mystery" twelve times. Paul himself had had a personal "Revelation of The Mystery" through the "abundance of revelations" (2Cor 2:1, 7) that he received directly from the ascended Lord from heaven.

Ephesians 3:3 ...by REVELATION he (Christ) made known unto me (Paul) THE MYSTERY...

The ‘Revelation of the Mystery’ that Paul received from Christ was of the fact that Christ Lived IN Paul, just as the Spirit of Christ” dwells also WITHIN EVERY believer’s human spirit.

Gal 1:15-16 But WHEN IT PLEASED GOD, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16 To REVEAL HIS SON IN ME, (so) that I might preach him among the heathen (Gk. ethnos, Gentiles)

Though I had known I had ‘received the Lord’ in 1968 and that He somehow was with me, I did not at that time know of Paul’s Mystery gospel. I did not yet have the powerful "Revelation of the Mystery" of Christ in me as my new life until about 1975 and later by few divine encounters.

1) I was reading a Watchman Nee book that spoke of Christ’s very own life in the believer as being a soaring life that soared above life’s situations and circumstances. He said the Christian life is a matter of “His Life” and His capacity versus that of a man. He cited the ‘bird life” that, unlike a man, was able to spontaneously soar above and overcome gravity, the pull of the world…simply due to the nature of its “bird-life.” The truth is that we have become partakers of the powerful Christ-life…as our soaring life.  In reading this, the words were Spirit anointed to me and I had a degree of the REVELATION of His life in me.

2) But one evening in 1993 I was visiting a home meeting in Southington, Ct. when I heard a man share the most explosive Revelation for me, speaking of that which I had never heard. He spelled the Greek word for “Seed,” being “S P E R M A’ and linked it to two verses; 1 Peter 1:23 (KJV) Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible (seed), by the word of God (Christ), which liveth and abideth for ever; and then he explained Galatians 3:16, which speaks of “thy (Abraham’s) Seed, which is Christ,” Abraham’s lineal ‘Seed’ is Christ, the Holy Spirit conceived “Seed” of God the Father.

With that “Revelation,” my spirit exploded with the full realization that Christ Himself Lived IN ME as My Life, and that He bore the very nature of the Divine Godhead Into Me by the Spirit-DNA of God. This was the culminating "Revelation of ‘The Mystery" for me. My life was forever changed. My view of life was forever altered to be God’s view toward me.

Thus we see that "The Revelation of ‘The Mystery" may come at once, or more likely, somewhat progressively. The Lord will speak into our heart at ‘the time of life.’ Sarah ultimately conceived “at the time of Life.

The Lord may use men’s speaking, He may use His written word, and He may use our trials to push us to Him… but always this “Revelation of The Mystery” of the indwelling Christ comes to us only by the work of the Holy Spirit who Jesus said “will not speak of Himself but only of me.” Now, as I endure life’s trials, I find that He is ever in me, sustaining me with an eternal expectation.

Then you may likely have another revelation… that God the Father is Your REAL FATHER!

Luke 10:22 (KJV) (Jesus said) All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and He To Whom The Son Will Reveal Him.

It’s only after you have the revelation of Christ In you as your life that you can come to see, by ‘Revelation,’ that Christ is the Seed is of… God YOUR FATHER.

The core of "THE Mystery" that Paul received and preached is clearly seen in these verses.

Gal 2:20 I am (my old self is) crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ Liveth IN ME...

Col 1:25-27 I (Paul) am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil (complete) the word of God; 26…THE MYSTERY which hath been HID from ages and from generations, ‘BUT NOW’ is made manifest (revealed) to his saints: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of THIS MYSTERY among the GENTILES; which is CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory:

The “Revelation” of Christ IN the believer is the normal necessary supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. Paul prayed forREVELATION” for the Ephesians (below). It is the REVELATION of Him in us, the key to experiencing leaps of personal faith as major stepping stones in being ‘established’ in the Lord. What we see by REVELATION becomes ours, being permanently imprinted in our soul's mind! You can never commit to what I see, it must be your ‘seeing,’ personally.

Eph. 1:16-18  (I Paul) Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may Give Unto You The SPIRIT OF WISDOM and REVELATION In The Knowledge (Gk. epignosis, full knowledge) OF HIM (Christ): 18The Eyes of Your Understanding being Enlightened; that ye may KNOW (Gk. eido, innate knowing by the Spirit) what is the hope of his calling, and what the Riches of the Glory of His Inheritance (that is) IN the saints (in the believers),

Paul points us to the resurrected Christ “in us,” not to “Jesus of Nazareth” (cf. 2Cor 5:16) or what He did and said in His earthly ministry to Israel. The only Christ we can really know’ intimately is the Christ who indwells us. Therefore we each need the "Revelation of The Mystery."

Note in the verses above that the purpose for the REVELATION that Paul prayed for the Ephesians wasn’t so the Ephesians would GET power, peace, wisdom, righteousness… as if these are separate from Christ. Rather, Paul prayed that believers would have the Revelatory Knowledge of Christ Himself Living IN them because Christ’s LIFE IS Our Inheritance of peace, wisdom, etc.

Paul prayed that the Romans would have revelation to see "Christ according to The Revelation of The Mystery"; NOT of ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ but rather of the Resurrected Lord Indwelling Them (cf. Rom 8:9-10)

Romans 16:25 Now to him that is of Power To Stablish You according to my (Paul's) gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, According To The Revelation Of The Mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

The only way we become ‘established’“rooted and grounded” in the love of Christ is… “by faith” – a substantial faith that yields a “confident expectation” of the Lord as our only life-source.

Ephesians 3:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.

The ‘faith’ we need comes from ‘seeing’ the reality of ‘Christ In Us’  as our ALL-sufficient life-supply, to lead, empower, sustain, guide and even restrain our unrenewed souls, where and when necessary. These elements are part of “the riches of the glory of the inheritance” we enjoy by faith in our ‘union with Christ.’

Paul, as “THE Apostle to the Gentiles," (Rom 11:13) preached the "unsearchable (limitless) riches of Christ," referring to what he had come to see by REVELATIONof the limitlessness of Christ WITHIN HIM.

Ephes. 3:8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;"

Paul went onto the next verse to speak of "the Fellowship of The Mystery."

Ephes. 3:9 And to Make All Men See what is the FELLOWSHIP (communion) of the MYSTERY, which From The Beginning Of The World HATH BEEN HID In God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:

Paul tells us "The Mystery" or secret plan of God is "CHRIST IN YOU the Hope (Gk. elpis, confident expectation) of Glory" (Col 1:27). It’s by Christ indwelling us that we now have an intimate union or fellowship with Christ IN US in all our situations of life, day by day, moment by moment. He is ever-present to lead and empower us in righteous living; perhaps in the background much of the time, but we should always be alert to an inner sense of His life within us to guide, direct us in all things.

"Fellowship," in the phrase "the Fellowship of the Mystery" is the Greek "koinonia," which may also be translated "communion." So Paul saw the "fellowship of the Mystery" of Christ IN the believers, which he preached "among the Gentiles." He preached the "unsearchable riches of Christ" IN the believer. Every believer possesses "the unsearchable riches of Christ" within them by His "Spirit of life" in a permanent union with their spirit such that they are now "… ONE SPIRIT" (1Cor 6:17) with Him.

Paul's message of "the Mystery” was “Christ IN YOU ... 28 Whom We Preach…" (Col 1:27b-28a). Believers can enjoy the riches of their union with "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" (Rom 8:2a) IN their human spirit (cf., John 3:6), where they are literally and eternally "one spirit" with Him now as their very life.

The word "unsearchable," in Greek is "anexichniastos," which could be better translated "untraceable." The limitless riches of the resurrected Christ had never been revealed and traced out before Paul received knowledge of them directly from the ascended Lord Jesus..."by Revelation." Some might ask, why hadn't these truths of “the Mystery” been traced out before Paul, perhaps by Peter, James, or John? It’s because the truths of “the Mystery” were not known until they were FIRST REVEALED by the ascended Lord Jesus Christ to "Paul, the Apostle to the GENTILES." It was given to Paul to administer knowledge of the "Revelation of The Mystery" of God's secret gospel and introduce us to ‘a new way of living.

Ephes. 3:2-3 If ye have heard of the dispensation (household administration) of the grace of God which is given me (Paul) to youward (for the members of the body of Christ): 3How that BY REVELATION HE MADE KNOWN UNTO ME (Paul) THE MYSTERY; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Paul was to administer or dispense these truths to the members of the new found church called "the body of Christ." Paul dared to call this message of the pure grace of God for the Gentiles "my gospel" because Christ gave it to Paul first, for him to specifically preach it to the Gentiles. The word "Mystery," is from the Greek "musterion," actually meaning "a secret" - in this case it was a "secret" that was held by God "from BEFORE the foundation of the world" (Eph 1:4). Paul says his "Mystery" gospel for the Gentiles had been Kept Secret SINCE the World Began" (below). It was not known to the Patriachs, prophets of the OT, nor was it known by “the twelve” Apostles sent to Israel, except as they learned from Paul (cf. 2Peter 3:15-16).

Rom. 16:25  to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY, which Was Kept Secret Since The World Began,

Before this “Revelation of the Mystery” the Gentiles had been considered ‘dogs’ (Matt 15:26) and "strangers from the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12). ‘But now,’ the ‘Mystery’ gospel was revealed to Paul… that "the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" would come to dwell in WITH and IN the human spirits of believing Gentiles. Gentiles had be anathema to Israel.

God had long promised to dwell in the believers of Israel when they ultimately receive their Messiah (cf., Ezekiel 37:14). But Israel fell and is currently set aside (see Rom. 11:10-11, 25). Yet, He will come to dwell in the believers of Israel at His 2nd coming to earth, to set up the Millennial kingdom reign “on earth” when Israel looks "upon Him who they have pierced" (Zech. 12:10) and is “converted in a day” (cf. Isa 66:5-8):

Jesus of Nazareth obviously knew "the Mystery" but didn't reveal "the Mystery" concerning His Spirit ultimately coming to indwell of the Gentile believers. Gentiles who had heretofore been "without God, and without hope in the world" (Eph 2:12), now had "the hope of (eternal) glory." With that they gained Christ's eternal life, which is the glorious expression of the eternal Godhead... flowing from their spirits.

Col. 1:26-27 Even THE Mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is Made Manifest to his saints: 27To whom God would make known what is the riches of The Glory of This Mystery among The Gentiles; which is Christ In You, the hope of glory:

Every believer needs to have "Revelation of The Mystery" of Christ dwelling within them. By this Revelation they become an intimate ‘KNOWERS’ by Christ Alive within them. Note that Paul never once refers to what Jesus of Nazareth said and did, except His death, burial, and resurrection for all men.  Upon the Revelation of Paul “Mystery” gospel a believer's life will be revolutionized.

Their Bible will be seen anew, and they will come to a more secure, intimate, relationship with the Lord. They NOW enjoy union with "The SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS" (Rom 8:2a), knowing Him, and His Nature within them as their all-sufficient life-supply to guide and empower them for forevermore!