Col 1: 25 Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God, 26 The mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints; 27 To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory,
It is important that in verse 26 Paul does not say that the mystery has been manifested to the apostles; he says that it has been manifested to the saints. Due to the influence of religious tradition, many believe that such things as God's economy cannot be understood by the so-called laymen. How we thank the Lord that the mystery has been manifested to the saints, to all those who believe in Christ! Even the youngest ones among us have both the position to see this mystery and the privilege of seeing it. We have the privilege of seeing something that was not revealed to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, or to the prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah. Praise the Lord that we can know the completion of the word of 115 God! We can know Christ as the mystery of God's economy and the Body as Christ's fullness. Actually, verses 24 through 29 should be regarded as a single sentence. In verse 27, the continuation of verse 26, Paul says, "To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." The word "whom" at the beginning of this verse refers to the saints mentioned in the preceding verse. To us God has willed to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery. This mystery, which is Christ in us as the hope of glory, is made known among the nations. The word "which" in verse 27 refers to the mystery. This mystery full of glory among the nations is Christ in us. Christ in us is mysterious and glorious as well. Because Paul was dealing with matters deep and profound, his writing was complex, and his sentences were long. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 114-115. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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