01.04. The Mysteries Of God

The Mysteries Of God So here we have the depths of God’s wisdom, the deepest thoughts of His heart, which could be made known only through revelation. While already existing before the ages, these deep things were hidden in God’s heart - even in Old Testament times. They were the great secrets of God’s heart concerning His own children, the special objects of His love. Originating before the foundation of the world, they are still hidden from this world and its rulers. God has especially prepared them for His children, and He has kept them hidden in His heart until He could reveal them in His own time.

We know that Paul’s ministry in particular related to these secrets of God’s wisdom, which God has revealed to His children, and not to the world. Altogether, the New Testament mentions a mystery or mysteries twenty-seven times: three times in the Gospels, four times in the book of Revelation and no less than twenty times in Paul’s letters. It was particularly the mystery of Christ and the Church (that is, Christ in His special relationship with His people, His union with the Church) that had been confided to Paul. This mystery is extensively discussed by him in the letters to the Ephesians and the Colossians.

There are mysteries in connection with God Himself, such as "the mystery of God", and "the mystery of His will". Others relate to Christ’s Person, His incarnation and the results of His finished work, like "the mystery of godliness". There are also mysteries which deal with the Gospel, and with the Kingdom. Several mysteries have to do with man’s responsibility and his failure to keep that which had been entrusted to him, such as "the mystery of lawlessness", and the mysteries connected with Babylon the great. For more details see the Appendix.

Here in 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 the apostle speaks in general terms about "the wisdom of God in a mystery" (1 Corinthians 2:7). The subject of this passage is the wisdom of God, which was marked by the communication of mysteries. In 1 Corinthians 4:1 Paul calls himself a steward of the mysteries of God. He was entrusted with the stewardship of these treasures of God’s wisdom. His task, as well as that of the other apostles, was to handle with care the divine riches of wisdom and knowledge that had been confided to them. In Luke 12:42 the Lord speaks about the responsibility of the faithful and wise steward. Such a steward is not only responsible for his master’s possessions; he also has to take care of the other servants. They receive a certain portion of their lord’s goods. They eat from his table. The same principle holds good for the house of God. God has established a dwelling place on earth, in which He dwells by His Spirit. For the Church is the temple of the living God. He has also appointed stewards to handle the spiritual goods of His house. These stewards bear a special responsibility for the well-being of the other members of the household, "those who are of the household of faith", "those who are members of the household of God" (Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:19). This ensures that the members of God’s family have their share in the spiritual goods of His house. For they are not only God’s servants, but also His beloved children. They are entitled to the possessions of God’s house, since these are the legitimate portion of the saints. The task of the stewards is to take care of their spiritual well-being, to feed them with the goods of God’s house and to inform them of the riches that God has reserved for His own.