Mistery of Christ: the Church

The church is the mystery of Christ because Christ is known by the church.

Stephen Kaung

Readings: 1 Cor 4:1, Eph 3:1-12, Col 1:24-29, 1 Cor 2:6-16.

We are stewards of the mysteries of God; we are not owners, we are managers. God has entrusted his secret to us and we are to manage that secret faithfully and wisely. I think this is the greatest privilege and responsibility that we have as the people of God. Just think for a moment, God has revealed his secret to us; something that has been hidden in God for ages and for generations, something that he has been working towards all this time and yet he has never made known that secret to man. But now, by his Spirit, he has revealed that secret to us; for the least of all the things, as Paul said, for less than the least of all things, which is what we are. Yet God has revealed his mystery; his secret, that which was in his mind and heart for centuries to us. And having received that secret, we have become stewards.

We are not only to keep that secret, but we are manage that secret in all faithfulness and wisdom. Brothers and sisters, for me this is one of the greatest things that has happened to us; the mysteries of God. And of course that mystery is so tremendous that Paul has to use the plural: the mysteries of God. It is not that there are many mysteries: there is only one. God has only one secret, but that secret is so tremendous that it covers such a tremendous ground. There are so many facets to it, and that is why it is called the mysteries of God.

Now the mystery of God is Christ. God has only one secret, and his secret is his Son. If we know Christ, we know God, but if we do not know Christ, God remains a mystery to us. The mystery of God's will is in his Son. He wants his Son to be the head of all things, and all things will be gathered together in Him. Now that is God's mystery. Yet now we want to go on with the mystery that we find in God's Word. The mystery of God is Christ, and the mystery of Christ is the church. You find that in these passages that we have read, be it in Ephesians, Colossians or 1 Corinthians. You find that Paul mentions a mystery, and this mystery is called the mystery of Christ. What is that mystery? After reading these passages, you know that it is the church.

When Christ was on earth, he was really a mystery to them; he lived among them and moved among them and yet he was a great puzzle to them; they just couldn't figure him out. In the four gospels you will find time and again that people would say "we know his parents, we know his brothers and sisters, we know him, we know he is a carpenter and lives among us. But where does his wisdom come from? He has never gone to school, how can he teach like that. We know that he is one of us, yet how can he say that he is from heaven?" And at other times, you find the Scribes and the Pharisees said, "We do not know where he comes from. We know Moses, but we do not know him." Sometimes people tried to lay hands on him, and yet somehow they couldn't do that. And even those officers that were sent to take him, came back and said "No man has ever talked like him. We couldn't lay our hands on him."

The life of our Lord Jesus was a mystery to the people. In the very beginning, you find the council who seem to be favorable in a sense to Jesus, because they thought he might be the Messiah, who would fulfill all their aspirations. So they watched him very carefully, and found him too different to their idea of the Messiah; he just didn't fit in with their concept. They thought that when the Messiah would come, he would revive the nation of Israel, and he would help them to throw off the yoke of the Roman Empire and make them the first of the nations. Yet he didn't do that. Finally they rejected him. In the very beginning you find the Jewish people flocked to him; wherever he went he gathered great multitudes; they followed him. Why? Because they wanted him to be their king, because he could feed them with five loaves and two fishes. But gradually they discovered that his words were too hard. They just couldn't take it, and they left him, but not only this, they finally rejected him, and said "crucify him, crucify him, we will have nothing to do with him." He was a mystery; an unknown to the people of his time.

Even to his disciples, those who were supposed to know him, he was still a mystery to them too. Time and again you find that they totally misunderstood him. They just couldn't understand him; even to the very end. After he was resurrected, he walked with two disciples on the way to Emmaus. The Lord went with them and asked them what they were talking about, and they said, "You must be a stranger in Jerusalem, don't you know what is the news that everyone is talking about?" And Jesus asked, "What is it?" And they said, "There is a man, Jesus, in whom we have hoped, the hope of Israel, but something happened; he was crucified and died, and our hope was smashed to pieces. But then some woman said he was risen from the dead, and we just don't know what it is all about." Now these were disciples of our Lord Jesus and even to these, he was a mystery to them. They just couldn't figure him out; they just couldn't understand.

Brothers and sisters, Christ is a mystery. He will remain a mystery if we do not see the church. It may sound strange to your ears now. But let me illustrate. In Matthew 16, the Lord said, "Who does man say I am?" And all these people have different things to say, some said he is Elijah, Jeremiah, or John the Baptist come back to life, or one of the prophets. In other words, they saw what he did, and heard what he spoke, watched his manner, his compassion, and came to the conclusion saying he must be this person or that. So among the people, there were all kinds of judgments. But then Jesus asked "Who do you say I am? You who are my disciples. Those who are supposed to know me." You remember Peter through the revelation of the Father said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Peter knew Christ, so immediately after confessing this, Jesus said, "Blessed are you son of Jonah, because it was not something revealed to you by man, but by my Heavenly Father, and now I am going to reveal something more to you. You are Peter, and I will build my church upon this rock and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."

When the Father revealed the Son to Peter, the Son immediately revealed the church to him. Why? Because the Son is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of the Christ. When you know the Son, you know the Father, but unless you know the church, you do not know the Son in His fullness. You may know Christ in certain ways, but if you want to know the full meaning of Christ, you have to know the church. "I will build my church upon this rock and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Another instance: here was a man by the name of Saul. He was brought up in Judaism and in a sense, he was the representative and typical man in Judaism; the best specimen of Judaism: he loved God, he knew the prophets, and the law, so far as the righteousness according to the law was concerned, he was perfect, but he just could not understand Christ. He thought Christ was an imposter, so he persecuted the Christians. And by doing that he thought he was serving God with all sincerity and honesty. But on the way to Damascus, the Lord appeared to him, the Lord met him. The first question Saul asked was, "Lord, who are you? I don't know you, who are you?" The Lord said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" I am Jesus who thou persecutes."

Brothers and sisters, how did Saul come to know Christ? He came to know Christ by His church. He was persecuting the believers, the members of the body, and the Head complained from heaven and said, "why did you touch me?" In other words, he knew the Lord through the church. He immediately saw that touching the believers, he touched the Head because the Head and the body are one. And from that time on, you find he received further revelation concerning the mystery of the Christ, and he became one who really knew the mystery of Christ which is the church.

Why is it that the mystery of the Christ is the church? First, Christ will remain a mystery to us if we do not see the reason why he came to this world. Why did the Son of God come to this world? Why did he die on the cross? Why did he accomplish the work of redemption? If we do not see the church, we will never be able to fully see the meaning of Christ.

Sometimes we know Christ in a personal way, and thank God for that - we should. Now we can say, He is the Christ, because he is my savior, he died on the cross for my sin, and that is correct; thank God for that. And sometimes we say now Christ came that we might have life, and life more abundantly, and that is also correct, thank God for that. Sometimes we think of God as our Shepherd, and how he guides our ways, how he protects us and takes care of us, and thank God that that is true. Sometimes we think of Christ as our friend; a friend in need. He is indeed our friend who knows us and thank God for that; we come to know Christ in his many and various aspects. But brothers and sisters, if you want to know the full meaning of Christ, you have to see something bigger; something bigger than personal or individual. There is a place for the personal and individual, but you have to have your vision enlarged and to see something far bigger.

In other words, Christ has come; He includes you and me, but you are not the whole meaning, and I am not the whole purpose. That is very true, so far as our experience goes. Sometimes we say, it is as if Christ just loves me and died on the cross for me, and anyone who has experienced the love of Christ will say it in this way. And thank God, this is very true, in one sense you are very precious to him, as if you were the only one, and he treats you like that but in another sense, you are not that important. He has something far bigger in view. Why did Christ come to this world? What is the meaning of the cross? Why did he give himself up in this way? You find that the Bible says, "Christ loved the church and gave himself for it."

The whole book of the Gospel of John has a view point; the one who came to the earth is a bridegroom. He is looking for His bride. That is the reason why you'll find it speak of the marriage in Cana. Christ came to this world as a Bridegroom: he was seeking his bride. But the thing is that the bride was not there: he had to form that bride. He had to make that bride and gather that bride so that he might have her for himself. He came to seek and to find the lost for what purpose? That he may gather unto himself a people who would become his bride. And that is the whole outlook in the gospel of John.

Brothers and sisters, Christ is for the church and this is the meaning of Christ. He is for the church, not just for you and for me, but for the church. You and I are included to become part of that church, that bride, that body, that kingdom. Whatever way you may put it; Peter would say Christ is the king who comes to build his kingdom, but Paul would say Christ is the Head who is finding his body and building his body, and John would say Christ is the bridegroom seeking his bride. But whatever way you put it, you find that it is the corporate that is always in view, not just individuals. He is not just saving you and me as individuals, he is saving you and me to make up a body, a kingdom and the bride. And thank God that we are included. Unless we see Christ in this way, you cannot explain Christ.

Secondly, you'll find Christ is not only for the church, but also in the church. Very often when we read 1 Corinthians 2, there is one verse that has been used very much, saying we know nothing but Christ Jesus and Him crucified. And sometimes we boast of it, and say, "I only know Christ crucified, that's all I know." But brothers and sisters, if you read the context, you'd know this is not really what Paul means. He says, when he came into their midst, that is the church in Corinth, knowing the situation, he says he was determined to know nothing among them except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Not that he knew nothing more, but judging their situation, he was determined to know nothing but Christ crucified. Why? Because that is what they needed.

They were living in the flesh, and boasted of their own wisdom and what they needed was the cross of our Lord Jesus. They needed to see Christ crucified. Immediately after mentioning that, he says, "But among the perfect, we also speak of wisdom." The Corinthian people spoke of wisdom and sought after wisdom, but worldly wisdom. That made them very big headed, and they thought that made them somebody, but Paul said "No, I know nothing among you but Christ Jesus and Him crucified. You have to see Christ on the cross and be reduced to zero." Then he said, "After you know him crucified and after the foundation truth has been revealed, then you can build on the foundation. And to build up on truth is based on this mystery." God's mystery and God's wisdom in a mystery.

Sometimes you hear people boast by saying, "I know nothing except Christ and him crucified." And they really don't know anything more. That's not Paul's attitude. On the one hand, when you come to the foundation truth, there is nothing but Christ crucified. We should preach nothing but Christ crucified, but among the perfect, - now who are the perfect? In the bible, perfect does not mean flawless, no, it means to the babes we know nothing but Christ crucified, because that brings them into birth, it gives them life. But when the babes grow, they are more matured, and then they need to build up truth upon that foundation, which is God's wisdom contained in a mystery.

So the perfect here means the matured; those who are growing in the grace of God, who have left their babyhood, who are going on with the Lord on the basis and foundation of Christ crucified and the cross. There you begin to see God's purpose of Christ coming to this world, and God's purpose in Christ being crucified on the cross. The meaning of Christ and the cross revealed and that is God's wisdom in a mystery.

Why is it called a mystery? Because it is something hidden. There is a time for this revelation. To the Corinthians, Paul was not able to reveal that mystery to them. Paul wanted to share God's wisdom in a mystery to them because that mystery had already been revealed to Paul, and he wanted to fellowship with them on this point, but he couldn't. Why? because they were still babes. They needed the cross working deeper in their lives before they would be able to appreciate God's wisdom, and before they could see God's purpose for the cross of Christ.

So Paul said, "Among the perfect, we talk about God's wisdom in a mystery" and he tried to describe that wisdom in a mystery. He said it was something no ear had heard, eyes had never seen, nor entered human minds. It was something completely hidden concerning our glory. It has to be revealed by the Spirit of God because they are the thoughts of God and who knows the depths of God except the Spirit of God? It has to be revealed and it has to be interpreted and explained with spiritual words: it is the mind of Christ. Now after he has given so much description, he did not come out and say what it is. Why? Because they were not ready for it. They were not ready to know God's wisdom in a mystery. They were not ready to receive the mystery of Christ. This had to wait until he wrote the letter to the Ephesians.

Now if you compare the letter to the Ephesians 3 with 1 Corinthians chapter 2, the descriptions of that mystery are very similar. A mystery; hidden, revealed, our glory: all these things are in parallel in these two passages. It is through the church that the wisdom of God is to be made known, even to principalities and authorities, that is, to the angels.

So brothers and sisters, here you will find the mystery of Christ is the church. But you do not see the church unless you first allow the cross to work in your life. If you preach the cross of Jesus Christ and really allow it to work in you, then you will be delivered from individualism and the self-centered life of the flesh, and then you will be brought into God's purpose and you will see you are a member of the body of Christ and how you are related to Christ and to one another. But if you preach the church; that you are a member, belonging to one another, and the cross has not yet begun to work in your life, you will discover that it will begin to work. Why? Because without the cross as a foundation, you cannot have the superstructure of the church. The cross has to work in your lives in order to make the church a reality to you.

The church is not just something to appreciate or admire, it is a reality: it is the mystery of Christ. In other words, Christ is in the church. What is the church? The church is Christ in his corporate expression. Christ has put himself in the church, and so the church is Christ in His corporate expression. Therefore anything that is not of Christ in us has to be dealt with by the cross. That's why when you preach the church you get the cross. And by this way you will really enter into the real meaning of the church.

Thirdly, the church is the mystery of Christ because Christ is known by the church. How are you going to know Christ? If you try to know Christ individually, you will find there is a great limitation there. Why? Because our capacity is limited. By the grace of God, you may know Christ to a certain degree, but that is all. That's all you can know. Some may know Christ as their savior, others as their healer, others as their counselor or comforter. So in our personal experience we can know Christ to a certain degree, but it takes the whole church to make Christ known. Therefore you will find in Ephesians chapter 3, "with all the saints " we apprehend the width, the length, breadth and depth of the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.

Christ is known by the church. That is why we need to fellowship with one another. We need to share with one another the Christ that we know and by sharing with one another the Christ that we know, we are able to apprehend and be filled with the fullness of God. That's the reason why we need one another. Brothers and sisters, how we thank God for all the brothers and sisters, because it is through all the brothers and sisters that we come to know Christ. Christ is known by the church, not only among ourselves, that is among God's people.

Christ is made known to the world through the church. You remember that the Lord said 'if you love one another then the world will know that God has sent Him'. Our personal testimony, witnessing to the world is important but you find that there is a greater power in our testimony to this world, and that is seen in the church. In the early days of Christianity, you find that people pointed to these believers and said 'see how they love one another'. Because of that, many came to the Lord. This doesn't mean that we should shun our personal witnessing or responsibility, not at all - we should, each individual witness for the Lord, that is true. But brothers and sisters, when there is a body on the earth; when there is a candlestick of gold on earth, when there is this church on earth, you will find that the light will shine far and wide. The testimony will be strong and effective.

The reason today why our testimony is so weak, is because God's people are so divided. There is not that one candlestick, there is not that love for another, that is to say that brotherly love which is that we love one another for one reason: the fact that we are brothers. There is no other reason for that love, and if we can love one another because we are brothers, then this is the love of God. Then the world will immediately see that God has sent Christ to this world. So you see Christ is made known by the church, not just one or two individuals.

Christ is also made known by the church to the principalities and authorities. You know that the testimony of the church reaches far beyond just this material, physical world. Our testimony touches even the spiritual world, even the principalities and authorities come to learn the wisdom of God through the church, and of course this can be explained in two different ways: when you think of these angels, principalities and powers as good angels, shall we say, as angels that are serving God - there you'll find that Peter said 'even the angels are very anxious to learn to see what God is doing'. Here God has raised up men, who were made a little lower than the angels and through these men who are a little lower than angels, God is going to accomplish His purpose. The angels rejoice in seeing what God is doing today, in the church. The angels begin to see the wisdom of God, and they sing praises to God because of the church.

And of course, the principalities and authorities of the powers of darkness, and the spirit of wickedness, are destroyed by Christ and His church. Satan was defeated by Christ in person on the cross, and now the whole power of darkness is to be destroyed by the church. It is through the church that the enemy of God is to be brought to his end.

Brothers and sisters, this is the way that you will find the church even teaching the angels the wisdom of God, and not only teach the angels but Paul says don't you know that you will even judge the angels? We will judge the angels because we are made heirs and co-heirs with Christ. God has not given the habitable world to the angels, but he has given it to the seed of Abraham.

So brothers and sisters, you will find in these three aspects, you can see how the mystery of Christ is the church. Christ is for the church, Christ is in the church and Christ is made known by the church. Through the church the mystery of Christ is made known. No one knows the Father, but he who knows the Son knows the Father. No one really knows Christ, but when you know the church, you know Christ.

Copyright © AGUAS VIVAS | CHILE 2004