The Mystery of Godliness
“Great is the mystery of godliness;
God was manifest in the flesh…”
1 Timothy 3:16
The carnal mind cannot comprehend the Mystery of God. The things of God are spiritual in nature and as such can only be known by those who walk and live in His Spirit.
“But the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God…”
1 Corinthians 2:14
Why?
“…for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned”
1 Corinthians 2:14
Many browse the scriptures, even expound on the great doctrines associated with God, but few touch the divine mystery hidden within them. Within His Word there is a call, a voice, and a presence that compels us to seek out its wonder.
From the dawn of time religion has readily accepted the notion of a god as man innately attempts to explain his own existence. Even the atheist will endeavor to offer some seemingly reasonable clarification of man’s existence. That very need to explain is proof of the Mystery.
The natural man has no desire to enter the mystery, it is content with the rationale.
“For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning Him”
Acts 13:27
Though they read the scriptures, and listened to them being expounded by others, they KNEW HIM NOT! Familiarity with the scriptures will not avail us of much concerning the Mystery.
“Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life”
John 5:39-40
Christ Himself is the Mystery. Only within Him, within His Being and His Nature, will we discover the wonder of a Life beyond all comprehension. Because they “knew Him not” they were unable to hear the voices of the prophets who foretold His coming through His Spirit. How sad to discount the wonders and revelations of Christ throughout the sacred pages of the Old Testament. Jesus testified of the Old Testament scriptures that they “witnessed of ME”. Every page, every word of the Old, bears the testimony of HIM. In our unfamiliarity with Him we do not hear the Voice, we do not feel the drawing or the pressing of His Spirit within to “Come unto Him and learn of Him”. Knowledge about Him is often enough to keep many from the joy of “knowing Him” personally and experientially.
His purpose in coming was to bring us into LIFE abundant; a Life of growing and developing of the Mystery of Christ in YOU. Within this relationship is the eternal call to come and see the unrelenting desire of God for us; to “taste and see”. There is no end to this invitation.
John the Apostle, though intimately familiar with Christ, declared he was in the Spirit on the Isle of Patmos and when he heard the voice behind him and turned to see Him in His glory, he fell as “one dead” at the fuller revelation of Him.
“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,
and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet”
Revelation 1:10
Because John KNEW HIM, he heard the voice. Jesus declares “MY SHEEP hear my voice”! It is via our relationship with Him that our lives become ones of following Him and learning of Him. There is nothing static or uneventful in our life in Him. He is ever calling us unto Himself. In hearing we turn from our ways to walk in His. After His death on the cross Jesus appeared to Mary in a way she did not recognize but when He spoke her name she knew instantly it was Him. There is something in His Voice that causes us to see Him in a deeper and more profound way. Mary would have missed Him had she not known the Voice that called out to her. May we grow increasingly sensitive to the hearing of Him!
“And I turned to see the voice
which spake with me…”
Revelation 1:12
In our hearing and in our turning we SEE the voice and are impacted by a fresh beholding of Him that fills our hearts with a glory that no man can aptly describe. If we fail to hear His voice, if we fail to respond to His voice, we will walk in the monotonous tread of a humdrum religion; satisfied with the words of an awesome covenant but never touching Him who is the heart of it.
The Mystery of Godliness to be continued…
PODCAST – The Mystery of Faith
Brian Troxel
Amen!
It is my hope that the church will awaken to the presence of Christ in the scriptures.
My very first experience was in my home alone with leftovers for lunch. I was listening to a song when I began to sense his presence. It came over me so intensely that I began to weep with grateful acceptance that he had accepted me. He didn’t speak to me, but I knew that he told me I was his. I had spent all of my youth in the church without ever knowing him.
I think like Job said, “before, I had only heard of you, but now my eyes sees you”
My prayer is that he speaks to my children the same way he did with me.
Each of us needs a burning bush experience, this was my beginning of desiring to see him in scripture.
I love hearing of the wonder of His Call to His own! There is something unique, powerful, and most of all individual in it. I pray for that for my own children… they each know Him but that experiential call that captures the heart is still needed. Let our hearts continue to cry “more of Him…and less of me”.
Grateful to have met you… (even though it is online only… so far)
Blessings
BT
We must always be positioned (ready, willing, able, discerning) and listening to hear God’s voice. It’s so easy to wander away and whispers from God go away first, inside voice next…Hope you had a great Christmas Brian and are ready to step into the new year
“We must always be positioned (ready, willing, able, discerning) and listening to hear God’s voice” Yes amen… the secret to life. Yes, we had a great time will my whole family visiting us.
I think this new year is going to be filled with many changes… we will need to be encouraging each other to stay strong in the midst of things.
Blessings to you and your family.
BT
Great post, Brian. The veil is over the eyes of the carnal person, and can only be lifted by the Spirit in response to faith. It was so for me until I took the step of faith to pray for the crucifixion of my self living. That prayer of faith proved to be a turning point for me, as it has been followed by a steady increase in the divine revelation that comes by the Holy Spirit within.
You have illuminated a profound and critically necessary truth here, my friend. Thank you!
Hello Tim, I so appreciate your comments and stopping by. Those are big steps forward in our walk with Him. Not a popular step in our day, but life-changing never-the-less. This coming year could hold new challenges for us all. May He become more real to us…
Blessings to you and your family.
BT
This was so beautifully written. It makes the heart long for the saviour even more!You have written the following “Knowledge about Him is often enough to keep many from the joy of “knowing Him” personally and experientially.”
How many superficially know our Lord by merely saying they are a christian without a personal relationship which He desires with us.
The worlds itching ear message pales in comparison of what comfort we have IN HIM and not about Him.
Many Blessings.
Julia
Hello Julia – Thank you for the kind words of encouragement (as always). May He lead us to deeper places of abiding in Him in this coming year.
Be Blessed
BT