Colossians 1.26-Paul's Message was a Mystery Concealed from Past Ages and Generations But Now Has Been Revealed for the Saints
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday July 26, 2015
Colossians: Colossians 1:26-Paul’s Message was a Mystery Concealed from Past Ages and Generations But Now Has Been Revealed to the Saints
Lesson # 34
Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. 25 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, 26 that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints. (NASB95)
“The mystery” is the noun mustērion (μυστήριον), which means “mystery” which speaks of a truth which was not known to Old Testament saints but has now been revealed by the Father through the Spirit during the church age to the apostles who communicated it to the church.
This mystery is identified in Colossians 1:27 as Jesus Christ permanently indwelling each and every church age believer who is a Gentile and not just Jewish church age believers exclusively.
“Which has been hidden” is the verb apokruptō (ἀποκρύπτω), which means “to keep secret, to hide, to conceal” since it pertains to causing something to remain unknown with the implication of concealment and inaccessibility.
This verb is used in relation to the noun mustērion indicating that this mystery of Jesus Christ permanently indwelling both Jewish and Gentile church age believers was kept secret or hidden from the human race.
“From the past ages and generations” is composed of the following: (1) preposition apo (ἀπό), “from” (2) noun aiōn (αἰών), “the ages” (3) conjunction kai (καί), “and” (6) preposition apo (ἀπό), “from” (4) noun genea (γενεά), “generations.”
The noun aiōn is in the plural and means “the ages” and speaks of an exceedingly long or indefinite period of time from an assumed beginning up to the present.
Here it refers to the period of time beginning with the creation of the time, matter, space continuum and continuing throughout human history up to the church age.
This noun aiōn is also object of the preposition apo which means “from” since it functions as a marker of separation.
This would indicate that human beings who lived during the ages prior to the beginning of the church age were kept from knowing the mystery of Jesus Christ permanently indwelling both Jewish and Gentile church age believers.
The conjunction kai is epexegetical meaning it is introducing the prepositional phrase ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν, “from the generations” which defines for the reader specifically the previous prepositional phrase ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων, “from the ages.”
The noun genea is also in the plural and means “the generations” referring to generations of human beings extending from Adam up to the church age.
This noun genea is also the preposition apo which means “from” since it functions as a marker of separation.
This would indicate that human beings who lived during the ages prior to the beginning of the church age were kept from knowing the mystery of Jesus Christ permanently indwelling both Jewish and Gentile church age believers.
“But has now been manifested to His saints” stands in contrast with the previous statement in which Paul asserts that God the Father gave him the task of communicating the mystery which has been concealed from past ages, specifically from past generations.
Therefore, the contrast is between this mystery being concealed by the Father with that of it being revealed to the church.
“Now” is the adverb of time nun (νῦν), which refers to a particular period of time which began on the day of Pentecost in June of 33 A.D. and is recorded in Acts 2 and ends with the rapture which is the resurrection of the church.
“Has been manifested” is the phaneroō (φανερόω), which means “to be revealed” since it pertains to causing something to be fully known by revealing clearly and in some detail.
Therefore the word refers to the Father “revealing” this mystery to the church by the Holy Spirit working through the apostles like Paul.
“To His saints” is composed of the following: (1) adjective hagios (ἅγιος), “to saints” (5) intensive personal pronoun autos (αὐτός), “His.”
The adjective hagios describes church age believers from the perspective that they have been set apart through the baptism of the Spirit at the moment of justification in order to order serve God exclusively.
The article is also employed with the genitive third person masculine singular form of the intensive personal pronoun autos to denote possession.
This intensive personal pronoun is a reference to the Father since this is the word’s antecedent.
Therefore, the article with autos indicates that these saints belong to the Father.
The adjective hagios functions as a dative of advantage which indicates that the revelation of this mystery is for the benefit of the church age believer.
Colossians 1:24 I am presently rejoicing because of my sufferings on behalf of each and every one of you. In fact, I am supplementing that which remains of the one and only Christ’s intense sufferings by means of my physical body on behalf of His body which is, as an eternal spiritual truth, the church. 25 Of which I myself became a servant because of the stewardship which is from God (the Father) which was given to me on behalf of each and every one of you in order to fulfill the task of communicating the message originating from God (the Father). 26 Specifically, the mystery which has been concealed from past ages, in other words from past generations but now has been revealed to His saints. (My translation)
As we noted in our study of Colossians 1:25, Paul asserts that he was given a stewardship by the Father to communicate the message originating from God.
Now, here in Colossians 1:26 Paul is clarifying and defining specifically what he means by this statement.
So in Colossians 1:26-27, Paul is asserting with these faithful Christians in Colossae that the Father assigned him the task of communicating the mystery of Jesus Christ permanently indwelling each and every Jewish and Gentile church age believer and this mystery was not known prior to the church age.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ is therefore totally unique to the church age since it has never taken place prior to the church age.
It serves as a sign that the Christian is a child of God.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ serves as assurance for the Christian that he or she is eternally secure.
It also serves as encouragement to the Christian when he or she endures underserved suffering.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ serves also as motivation for the Christian to grow to spiritual maturity.
It is the basis for the Christian to give number one priority to his relationship with God rather giving it to people.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ serves as a reminder to the Christian that they have divine omnipotence available to them to grow to maturity and to endure undeserved suffering.
It is also a guarantee that the Christian possesses eternal life and will live with God forever.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ serves as a guarantee that the Christian will receive a resurrection body.
The main purpose for the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is to provide a temple for the indwelling of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ was the “Shekinah” glory in the Old Testament.
The meaning of the word “Shekinah,” “the One Who dwells” emphasizes that God seeks to live with man and not vice versa (cf. Ex. 25:8-9).
The body of the church age believer is now a temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16).
The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit and Christ provides a base of operations for the use of divine omnipotence.
The Christian executes the Father’s plan for the church age believer by appropriating by faith the divine omnipotence made available through the indwelling of Christ and the Spirit.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ is a reminder and a guarantee that the Christian is eternally united to the Trinity and members of the royal family of God, a child of God.
The indwelling of Jesus Christ signifies the close intimate union that the Christian has with Jesus Christ and in addition that He is working in the Christian’s life.
The first time that the Lord Jesus Christ taught His disciples that they would be indwelt by Him was in His Upper Room Discourse recorded in John 14:20 and 17:23 and 26.
Paul mentions the indwelling of Christ in 2 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 2:20 and now in Colossians 1:26-27.