Did Christ in
his earthly ministry have an understanding of the mystery and was he referring
to the body of Christ we he said that he was going away to prepare a place (for
you)? Is that what he is doing right
now?
John 14:2-3
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not
so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I
will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may
be also.
In
context, that statement was to the little flock. “Preparing a place” for them is is exactly
what the Lord Jesus was doing after he ascended and before he appeared to Saul
of Tarsus on the road to Damascus.
It
is God the Father who instituted the dispensation of God’s grace. I’m convinced that during his earthly
ministry, the Lord Jesus obtained all his information from the old testament scriptures,
so he didn’t learn about what we call the mystery until he returned to the
Father. God sent him back to give and
teach it to the Apostle Paul. I don’t
think, like some do, that Christ spent his whole earthly ministry knowing the mystery because he operated as the Son of Man.
He was Jesus of Nazareth – the prophetic Messiah. He learned the mystery after he ascended. It is
God the Father’s will.
Colossians 1:26-28
Even the mystery which
hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his
saints: To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and
teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in
Christ Jesus:
Paul makes it clear – it was hid in
God (the Father):
Ephesians 3:9
And to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world
hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
So Christ definitely didn’t know
about the mystery during his earthly ministry.
He operated on his knowledge of the old testament scriptures as the Son
of Man.
Matthew 24:36
But of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Mark 13:32
But of that day and that
hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither
the Son, but the Father.
Hopefully this helps!
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Do you have a question
for Pastor Ron?
Something I heard another grace preacher say yesterday really made the light bulb go off on "the faith of Christ." I've heard it taught before but forgot the exact reasoning. When I heard him talking it all came back to me. The emphasis is on the faith OF Christ because he had to walk by faith because being the Son of Man, he had laid aside his omniscience. He only knew what the Father told him and what the OT said. He really did have to have some faith. He didn't know the future at that point in time. Awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteBy changing that phrase to 'faith IN Christ' [which is what ALL the Alexandrian texts, aka all modern versions say (the KJV is from the Antiochan text] you lose that understanding completely - not to mention focusing on self rather than on the Lord.