Thank God for Women, But … (Part 13)

Click on following links for earlier articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11 and Part 12.

The Apostle Paul uses the Greek word mysterion twenty-one different times in six of his letters. It is translated into the English word mystery.

But unlike a Sherlock Holmes mystery, which can be figured out from the clues given in the story, this is not what Paul was referring to when he used the word.

The mysteries which Paul talks about in his letters are profound, hidden truths that are beyond man’s ability to discover via his intellect and reasoning, but instead must be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.

One of the mysteries, Frank Viola wrote about in his book, From Eternity to Here:

What was so revolutionary? What exactly did I see?

I had discovered the driving passion of God. And that passion gave birth to a divinely crafted purpose – a timeless purpose that had little to do with my individualistic efforts at being a good Christian or “going to heaven.”

I gradually discovered that the ageless purpose of God stretches from eternity to here, then from here to eternity. It is a purpose so brilliant that the mere glimpse of it can cause the human spirit to be blinded by incomparable glory. A sighting of that purpose has the power to deliver us from all the things that do not matter; things that do not give life; things that divide and fracture the body of Christ into pieces. (From Eternity to Here, Frank Viola, published by David Cook, 2009, page 13)

If you haven’t read From Eternity to Here, I suggest that you read it. It is an awesome revelation, written in a prose style which captured my attention and heart from beginning to end.

But remember this: the scribes, Pharisees and Old Testament theologians during Jesus’ time were not chopped liver. They knew the Old Testament inside and out and they also witnessed the clues that Jesus gave them during His earthly ministry. And yet, none of them understood the profound mystery which was later revealed to the Apostle Paul.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32-33)

Today, we take for granted that the body of Christ and the church is a “she,” the Bride of Christ. But we fail to grasp how mind boggling this revelation was to the religious thinkers in 61 AD, the year Paul wrote his letter to the church in Ephesus, which is now the New Testament book of Ephesians.

And actually, the revelation is still mind boggling for today’s religious thinkers.

(Continued in Part 14)