The Mysteries of The Kingdom of God Part 2 by Don Murphy

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The Mysteries of The Kingdom of God
Part 2 by Don Murphy

Jesus preached the good news of the kingdom of God and instructed his disciples to do the same. He said to his disciples, “To you is granted to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” (Mt 13:11) The prophets of old spoke of the kingdom of God but did not fully understand it, for it was for our sake and not theirs. Even the angels longed to catch a glimpse of these things (I Peter 1:10-12).

What is a mystery?

     Mysteries are things that are not clear or perhaps not logical, things that many, if not most, people do not understand. A mystery is something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained.
     A mystery is a profound secret; something wholly unknown, or something kept cautiously concealed, and therefore exciting curiosity or wonder; something which has not been or can not be explained; hence, specifically, that which is beyond human comprehension.
     Paul wrote: “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery.” (1 Cor 2:7)
     If God should please to reveal unto us this great mystery of the Trinity, or some other mysteries in our holy religion, we should not be able to understand them, unless he would bestow on us some new faculties of the mind. --Swift.

Did Jesus explain the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to everyone?

     No, He did not explain the mysteries to everyone. The disciples asked Jesus, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
     Jesus replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you [His disciples], but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
     “This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'
     “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” (Mt 13:10-17)

What are some of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God?

     1. Jesus said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.” (John 6:53-56) Do you understand this mystery?
     2. Jesus said, “A person must be born again in order to SEE the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) How is this mystery to be understood?
     3. Jesus said, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16) This doesn’t seem like a mystery until you think about the different ways this statement of the Lord is understood and acted upon.
    4. Jesus said, “These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” (Mark 16:17-18) Is this a mystery?
     5. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive. (John 7:37-39) What does Jesus mean by streams of living water?
     6. Jesus said, “If you live in obedience to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32) How can that be?
     7. Jesus prayed, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me.” (John 17:22-23) Do you understand this mystery?

The Greatest Mystery

     The greatest mystery is God’s love for me. He made this earth for me. He made the sun, moon and stars for my benefit. My heavenly Father made the day and the night, the mountains and the ocean for my enjoyment. He made all these things for me! What a mystery! How can I return such great love?
     I have to choose between loving God and loving myself, I can not love both. My heavenly Father wants all my love and He deserves all of my love.
     But then there is the world that is so alluring, so desirable to my carnal nature. There is Satan and his evil spirits that with great power try to allure me to his kingdom, to weaken my love for God. They try to fill my mind with lies, with desires for worldly things, with darkness in my soul.
     When I take my eyes off of my loving heavenly Father and look at the delights of the world, I am like Peter when he was walking on the water to Jesus. When he took his eyes off of Jesus, he started to sink, he had to call out to the Lord to save him. (Mt 14:30)
     The devil is very powerful; he could take Jesus to the top of the mountain and to the top of the temple. (Mt 4:8) But he is a liar and a murderer. (John 8:44) He will surely cause me to live forever in the lake of fire if I go his way. (Rev 20:14)
     It is not just the devil who is my terrible enemy in this life; it is also his servants, his people who hate me. Jesus said, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:19)
     The apostle John warns us, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)

Amen.

Psalm 133: "For there [in brotherly community] the Lord has commanded the blessing, life for evermore."

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Last updated 02/24/2009