“I have become its servant by the
commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness, the
mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now
disclosed to the saints.”
Colossians
1:25-26
“I know something you
don’t know!”
A frequent comment
proclaimed on the playing fields of my youth.
I had an aversion to this remark and still do. It screams exclusivity to
me. Exclusivity, one of the things that
ignite the smoldering embers of injustice in my heart. I abhor it when people are left out of “the
know”, especially when the people is me.
I am not exactly
sure when this all started. Being the
youngest in a long line of academically accomplished siblings might have
something to do with it. I was somewhat less
achieved in that area. I tended more
towards the artsy way of thinking. Drove
people crazy. Wish I had a nickel every
time someone remarked “I like that for you”.
Meaning that particular item or perspective is ridiculous but it fits
your very weird way of looking at things.
Being at the
lesser end of academia and also the youngest of the lot, I never seemed to know
what was going on. I always felt as if
everyone was always two steps ahead of me.
But practically, they should have been just because of their age and
life experience. Yet still, I hated that
feeling. I hated not knowing
something. Perhaps that is why I slipped
into the abstract areas of life. Things
seemed to make sense to me there.
The worse part for
me was when someone knew something and wouldn’t explain it to me. I can’t recall my siblings doing this kind of
thing but more often than I care to remember the “I know something you don’t
know” was bellowed across the playground at me.
I hated that feeling. It left me
feeling inadequate and humiliated and left out.
I wanted to be in the know. I
haven’t changed much.
Why this walk down
memory lane? Because I have a pet peeve
that I might have to ramble about today.
I need to get it off my chest. I
feel safe within the confines of Colossians to do this. It isn’t just a random ramble. I discovered Paul had the same pet
peeve. Told you I loved Paul. Sometimes I feel like we are cut from the
same cloth.
In our verse
today, did you notice Paul was writing about a “mystery”? To me, a mystery falls into the “I know
something you don’t know” category that I loathe. To understand what Paul is intimating here,
let me remind you of our background research.
Do you recall that there were a group of false teachers whose agenda was
to lead the Colossians astray? The
Colossian heresy was boasting of a fullness
of knowledge possible only through their
mystical experience. Kind of like
“they knew something everyone else didn’t know.” Can you sense my blood boiling?
I have become its servant by the commission
God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness, the mystery
that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the
saints.”
Paul was blowing
the lid off of that lie by reminding the Colossians that the fullness of this mystery is found in Christ. Paul was using a play on words. While the heretics were saying that they had
a fullness of knowledge that came from some mystical experience outside of Christ, Paul was saying that
the mystery of that fullness is
Christ. Yeah Paul! Preach it!
The thing that
causes my blood to boil, and it is rather subtle unless you delve into the
research, is that these heretics were declaring that this mystery or secret
knowledge was only for a few.
Grrrr. How do I know this? By definition. Mystery according to the heretics was
believed to mean “a secret teaching known only to an exclusive group and unknown
to the masses.”
However, a
Biblical definition of mystery would read as “something once concealed but now
revealed”. Do you recall that Paul was
commissioned by God to become a servant of the Gospel? Well that meant revelation for everyone. The Gospel and the fullness of Christ is for
everyone who asks for it. It isn’t only
for a select few.
Now my pet
peeve. {Commence Rant} I have a very low
tolerance for people who declare that God has shown them something yet no one
else. As if, they have some secret
knowledge that God would only entrust to them.
I don’t believe that this is the heart of God. If it is meant for everyone, everyone will
know and understand it. Not just a few. Does God speak to us intimately about our own
personal lives and purposes and not tell anyone else? Yes, absolutely yes! But if there is some weird interpretation and
convoluted understanding that is impossible to track through the pages of
scripture, I always pause and step back.
I firmly believe that revelation is for everyone and not just a
few.
How do I balance
this as a teacher? It is paramount that
I work this understanding through the gifts and commission God has given me. I
never want to be one who portrays herself as having a higher understanding than
she should. Firstly, if God speaks a
lesson to me, I make sure I find someone smarter than myself (not that hard to
do) mostly through commentaries (trustworthy commentaries) that has had this
same thought. I just intuitively know
that God wouldn’t just speak it to me.
He would have said it to someone other than myself.
Secondly, if
someone doesn’t’ understand what I taught, it haunts me. I believe that understanding what is revealed
to us should be for any believer in Christ who seeks that understanding. If there is someone who doesn’t comprehend
the teaching let it be because of a failure in my skills than in false
revelation. There should never be a
mystery about things revealed in the pages of scripture. I believe my role is to help students
understand what they already know through the Holy Spirit that dwells within
them. My job is to teach and His is to
bring revelation. When those two collide,
nothing makes me happier. Love it. It is what keeps me teaching and writing.
Exclusivity. If you have ever felt left out or not in the
“know”, hear me loud and clear, Christ is for everyone. His word is for everyone and not just a
select few. Mystery solved. Amen? {End Rant}
The nature of Christ’s existence is mysterious,
I admit; but this mystery meets the wants of man. Reject it and the world is an inexplicable
riddle; believe it, and the history of our race is satisfactorily explained.
Napoleon
Bonaparte
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