Let Me Tell You A Secret
He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him Ephesians 1:9
Made Known – Celebrate the secret revealed! God has been born a man! On this day, Christendom honors the unveiling of the greatest mystery imaginable – how God brought about redemption for a world fallen from grace. His genius has no greater example than the birth of Jesus, planned for millennia, orchestrated in spite of every possible hindrance, brought to completion at precisely the right moment (kairos), designed to accomplish what no man ever could do. You are privileged to know the answer to humanity’s greatest riddle, creation’s greatest desire and your personal inescapable mystery.
Praise Him all creatures here below! God has accomplished the seemingly impossible. He conquered every enemy and lifted every nephesh from the prison house of death. In one fell swoop, God restored all that was lost. No wonder He is the King of glory.
Paul leaves no doubt in our minds. He uses the Greek verb ginosko. Here it is gnorisas; an aorist, active participle. That means it is a completed action in the past (aorist tense), accomplished by direct agency (active). God did it all Himself. It is over and done with. Nothing needs to be added.
I am sure you will agree. Today we celebrate the beginning of the life of Jesus. He was born, lived obediently, died and rose again. It is finished. But did you notice the implication. Paul intends us to realize that God fully expects us to understand the mystery of His will. God’s intentions for the redemption of creation and for your part in that redemption, are no longer a mystery. Jesus Himself told us that He has revealed everything that the Father told Him to unveil. Not only is God’s cosmic plan displayed for all to see, all that you need to know to participate in His will is also deliberately disclosed. That is the real Christmas present. You have been given access to the mind of God.
The gospel story is your guarantee that God reveals His plans. And if He reveals the plan for the redemption of all creation, how much simpler to reveal to you precisely your part? So why did you draw the conclusion that God withholds secrets? When did you decide that when it comes to your life, God lets the riddle remain? What kind of God would let you in on the greatest mystery of all time, and be petty enough to not tell you your part? Not the God Paul proclaims.
The answers are out. Are you looking?
