Wednesday: Mystery of God Revealed

Daily Lesson for Wednesday 25th of February 2026

Read Colossians 1:26-27. Paul twice talks about “the mystery.” What mystery?

In another place, Paul refers to “the mystery of God,” which is God’s eternal purpose “ordained before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7, NKJV) and revealed through the plan of salvation. Peter speaks of this truth as something that the prophets anticipated and that “angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:10-12). It was devised “before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20) and “kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25). However, through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, this mystery has been unveiled (2 Corinthians 3:14).

How do the following references to the mystery of God illuminate various aspects of the plan of salvation?

Ephesians 1:7-10
Ephesians 3:3-6

Ultimately, “all things” in heaven and on earth will be brought together into complete oneness in Christ. This was the focus of Christ’s prayer in John 17:1-26. Exactly how this would come about was a mystery that has now been revealed through the gospel.

A man struggles as he pushes the world over a cross bridge

Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com

Why God would love us so much that He would give Jesus, heaven’s priceless treasure, for our salvation, will be our study throughout eternity. But we know this: Christ “died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15, NKJV). As a result, all who believe in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, share equally in the promises of God through the gospel and have been brought together into one body, the church.

“Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27) refers to Christ’s dwelling in the heart by faith (Ephesians 3:17; compare Galatians 2:20). This spiritual union with Christ enables believers even now to “sit together in heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6) and taste “the powers of the world to come” (Hebrews 6:5). Through Christ’s presence in our lives, He is already beginning to unite us with heaven. It is the gospel working in the hearts of believers that “has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Colossians 1:12, NKJV).

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We use the word “mystery” to describe things we do not understand.

Agur wrote about mysteries in Proverbs

“There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman. Prov 30:18, 19 NIV

Nowadays, some of us who paid attention in our science class at school have a passing understanding of aero/fluid dynamics, and frictional coefficients to at least qualitatively explain the first three. Some of us know some of the chemistry of the fourth one but we choose to ignore that and enjoy the mystery. Even when we can explain them, there is still a sense of marvel and awe at the combination of physical laws that make these things happen.

I have been watching the SailGP yacht races. These yachts zip across the water at 80km per hour, sailing close to the wind. It is like watching a plane fly with its wingtip in the water. If you know about aerodynamics you know how it is done, but that does not diminish your appreciation of spectacle.

Paul, in today’s lesson writes:

This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. Col 1:26, 27 MSG

The mystery is revealed. The aerodynamics of the gospel is available to everyone and not just a select few who have “the knowledge”.

This passage is significant because at the time of writing the first stirrings of Gnosticism were being felt in the church. The idea that salvation was achieved by special mystical knowledge that awakens us to the divine allowing the spiritual to escape the physical.

For us Seventh-day Adventists, it is perhaps a warning that sometimes we dress up salvation as a special “Adventist knowledge” often without realising it and end up preaching that we have “the special knowledge” of salvation. It is a little bit like saying you cannot enjoy the SailGP yacht races because you do not understand the aerodynamics!

Let’s be clear, we do not have the franchise on salvation. The mystery is that it is available to all who believe through Jesus, regardless of their background.

Reply ↓

Comments

Wednesday: Mystery of God Revealed — 7 Comments

Maurice Ashton on February 24, 2026 at 3:13 pm said:

We use the word “mystery” to describe things we do not understand.

Agur wrote about mysteries in Proverbs

“There are three things that are too amazing for me,
four that I do not understand:
19 the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
and the way of a man with a young woman. Prov 30:18, 19 NIV

Nowadays, some of us who paid attention in our science class at school have a passing understanding of aero/fluid dynamics, and frictional coefficients to at least qualitatively explain the first three. Some of us know some of the chemistry of the fourth one but we choose to ignore that and enjoy the mystery. Even when we can explain them, there is still a sense of marvel and awe at the combination of physical laws that make these things happen.

I have been watching the SailGP yacht races. These yachts zip across the water at 80km per hour, sailing close to the wind. It is like watching a plane fly with its wingtip in the water. If you know about aerodynamics you know how it is done, but that does not diminish your appreciation of spectacle.

Paul, in today’s lesson writes:

This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message. Col 1:26, 27 MSG

The mystery is revealed. The aerodynamics of the gospel is available to everyone and not just a select few who have “the knowledge”.

This passage is significant because at the time of writing the first stirrings of Gnosticism were being felt in the church. The idea that salvation was achieved by special mystical knowledge that awakens us to the divine allowing the spiritual to escape the physical.

For us Seventh-day Adventists, it is perhaps a warning that sometimes we dress up salvation as a special “Adventist knowledge” often without realising it and end up preaching that we have “the special knowledge” of salvation. It is a little bit like saying you cannot enjoy the SailGP yacht races because you do not understand the aerodynamics!

Let’s be clear, we do not have the franchise on salvation. The mystery is that it is available to all who believe through Jesus, regardless of their background.

Reply ↓
- Obeng-Akrofi Priscilla on February 25, 2026 at 7:38 am said:
  
  The mystery is His connection to us and our connection back to Him even when sin sought to disconnect us. By His power,He was able to reinstate that connection that was intended from the begining.
  
  Reply ↓
- JESUS QUINSAY on February 27, 2026 at 4:41 pm said:
  
  If the Mystery of God was just revealed during Jesus’ time on earth, what would happen then to the people who lived before incarnation? Paul said the secret was hidden, so what kind of gospel was there before Jesus’ birth?
  
  Reply ↓
  - Maurice Ashton on February 27, 2026 at 6:12 pm said:
    That is a good question, Jesus Quinsay, and I don’t have a definitive answer for it. However, here are a couple of observations to think about:
    
    Paul is writing to Gentile converts and wanted to reassure them that they were walking in better light than they had previously been in.
    
    Paul uses much the same language when writing to the Jews, reassuring them that their history made sense in the light of the cross.
    
    I believe that God shines a light into even the darkest of civilisations, but maybe using language and metaphors we are not familiar with. A study of comparative ancient religions shows a lot of commonality and not all of it was bad. I think God left the door open so that light could shine out.
    Reply ↓
Motanya Dan on February 24, 2026 at 7:03 pm said:

Many people go through life saddened because they do not know the mystery of their existence. They are uncertain of where they have come from or where they are going. Even in the church, there are believers seeking to understand their purpose, some assuming that career success, family life, or social status will bring lasting fulfillment. While these things are not inherently wrong, they can become illusions that ultimately leave emptiness when Christ is absent. As Scripture reminds us, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts…” (Book of Ecclesiastes 3:11). There is a longing within every heart that cannot be satisfied by temporary pursuits but only by the eternal God.

The greatest privilege we have as Christians is that we do not need to invent or unravel a hidden mystery; we proclaim a revealed one. The climax of the story is this: though we were sinners, we are saved by God through Christ Jesus. We do not have to second guess how God accomplished our salvation—we celebrate the finished work of Christ. As it is written, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The mystery has been revealed through Christ, and our joy is to proclaim and rejoice in His completed and worthy accomplishment.

Reply ↓
- Fredrick Ogolla on February 25, 2026 at 12:44 am said:
  
  The Mystery of God is revealed through Jesus who was sinless dying for sinners. Jesus leaving all the splendors of heaven to come, suffer and be hanged on the cross for the salvation of mankind. This is a mystery that is only revealed in Christ.
  
  Reply ↓
JC Zielak on February 27, 2026 at 6:07 am said:

The solution for all matters and conflicts has a name. LOVE has a name. LIFE has a name. JOY has a name. SATISFACTION has a name. ABUNDANCE has a name!

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