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“The Mystery of His Will”Ephesians 1:9

 

The word “mystery” is found 22 times in the New Testament. It always has reference to the unveiling of God’s redemptive purpose in Christ. Redemption by Christ is lavished upon us by all the wisdom and prudence of our God (Ephesians 1:8) in the revelation of his grace, making known to us “the mystery of his will,” making known to us the far reaching effects of his redemptive purposes in Christ. And this revelation or unveiling of his redemptive purpose is entirely according to his sovereign will (Ephesians 1:5, 7, 9, 11).

The fact that our God and Savior has made known to us the mystery of his will assures us that he has made us his friends, just as he did Abraham of old (John 15:14-16).

When God the Holy Ghost gives sinners faith in Christ, making known the mystery of his will, he reveals the eternal secrets of God’s heart to his children. And the revelation of the mystery of his will is the God-given assurance of our election and redemption in Christ (Hebrews 11:1-2). He has revealed these secret things to us, “that we may do all the words of his law” (Deuteronomy 29:29), that we may walk in the Spirit, that we may live by faith, and grow in the grace and knowledge of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior.

The mystery of his will” is something that has been and is being revealed to us. It is something that God the Holy Ghost has made known by the revelation of Christ in us, something that is spiritually discerned and understood by the gift of his grace (Ephesians 1:9).

The mystery revealed is something that at one time was secret, or hidden, but now is revealed in Christ. The word “mystery” refers to God’s secret purpose, once hidden, but now revealed. It is something that we did not know and could not know until it was revealed to us and in us, but something that is now known and understood by all who are born of God and taught of him.

The gospel of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13) is the unveiling of a divine secret. It is like the reading of a will (Hebrews 9:14-28). The secret of God, “the mystery of his will,” is something into which we must be initiated. It is something, which being undiscoverable by us, can be known only as it is revealed. When Christ is revealed in us, when God gives us faith in his dear Son, then (and not until then) we know our election in eternal love, our redemption by Christ’s precious blood, and our heavenly calling.

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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