JESUS CHRIST: THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY

JESUS CHRIST:

THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY

Romans 16:

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Paul the apostle of the Gentiles (Romans 11:13) received apostleship and grace from the Lord Jesus Christ. His work is to preach Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.

There was Jesus Christ according to prophecy, but this one is different. When the name JESUS was first revealed in the New Testament, according to Matthew 1: 21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins”, it was a prophecy fulfilled.

Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Joel prophesied that “whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance….”

Paul declared it in Romans 11:26 “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:”   

Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

It was a prophecy fulfilled. The Deliverer a.k.a. Saviour shall come from Zion/Sion and save his people. Jesus is that Saviour who saved his people from their sins.

And Joel’s prophecy was fulfilled in the New Testament times when “all who called the name of the Lord were saved”.

What is the mystery then?   The mystery is revealed.

Romans 16:

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

The mystery was kept secret since the world began. But the next verse says that “NOW IS MADE MANIFEST”, and “BY THE SCRIPTURES OF THE PROPHETS”.

How was it revealed, that secret or that thing kept secret?  God’s revelation in the prophetic scriptures. The mystery was in the prophets or the prophetic scriptures. But it was veiled or kept secret. The people were reading the prophetic scriptures but they didn’t see the one hidden there. But now through revelation of Jesus, that secret was revealed finally.

Paul said “THE MYSTERY….. BUT  NOW IS MADE MANIFEST”. Let us compare this verse with another verse.

This verse is from 1 Timothy 2:16 from the Authorized King James Version only. It cannot be found in other versions.

 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:

GOD WAS MANIFEST IN THE FLESH,

justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

What was manifest? It was GOD himself!  God was the One kept secret since the world began. Didn’t the Old testament saints know God? Yes, they knew him but not according to the New Testament Revelation.

God was manifest in the flesh. The God who was (and is) a Spirit (John 4:24) and the God who was “The Word” (John 1:1-3) who made all things, was MADE FLESH (John 1:14). He was born of a woman, made under the law (Gal. 4:4) as the Only begotten Son of the Father (John 1:18).

God was manifest in the flesh. And when he was manifest in the flesh, he was revealed to men. His glory was seen by men. God’s tabernacle came to men and God dwelt with men (Rev. 21:3).

When he was manifest in the flesh, the prophecy was fulfilled:

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Matthew 1:

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Immanuel/Emmanuel means “God with us”.

Before this verse comes this one:

21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

The angel said: Joseph should call the name of the baby as JESUS which means “Saviour” who shall save his people from their sins. And this is the fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy. That God will be with men. And it was fulfilled. JESUS is GOD WITH US.

The GOD who was kept secret as a mystery that they didn’t know fully, which now is MANIFEST is JESUS CHRIST.

These three scripture passages teach about the GOD MANIFEST.

1 John 4:2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

1 John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

2 John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

The TRUTH is: JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH. Who? Jesus Christ. yes, it was Jesus Christ who was come in the flesh. It means even before he was born (as a man) Jesus Christ was already existing. There was already a ONE named “JESUS CHRIST”. Yes, but he was “kept secret”.  Even when he became flesh, died and rose again, he was not yet known by people, only by several few to whom the revelation was given. If they knew that the man they were rejecting was the “GOD” or the “LORD” himself, they would not treat him that way. When was this secret revealed? After his resurrection. And it was called a “progressive revelation”. Little by little, it was revealed until it became “FULL REVELATION” through the ministry of Paul the apostle who said that THE MYSTERY is “CHRIST IN YOU” the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

GOD was manifest in the flesh. Who is that God? The God who created the heaven and the earth (Gen. 1:1). Who would expect that God would come in the flesh?  This God is JESUS CHRIST. Jesus Christ as the texts say “is come in the flesh”.

So it means before Jesus Christ was come in the flesh or manifest in the flesh, he was existing. As an angel? As God’s mind? As a special creature? As the Son of God? A BIG BIG NO! he existed as THE LORD GOD himself, but was not known by his name JESUS.

He was already named JESUS CHRIST but it was yet a secret. NO one knew about it, even Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David or even the wisest king ever, King Solomon. That mystery was kept secret since the world began.

He was JESUS CHRIST. He is JESUS CHRIST. He will always be JESUS CHRIST.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

The teaching that Jesus Christ began existing only when he was born is a lie. The teaching that the name Jesus became God’s name only when Jesus was born is also a lie. The truth is: Jesus was existing even before the incarnation. And also, the name of JESUS was already there even before the incarnation BUT IT WAS KEPT SECRET. That’s why in the Old Testament Scriptures we will never ever read “JESUS”. We can read Joshua, Jehoshua, Jeshua, etc. but not JESUS.

The name of JESUS is different. It is the name that is above every name (Phil. 2:10-11). We can read fragments or parts of the name but not the name itself.

Habakkuk 3:18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

In this verse, the name JESUS is not mentioned, but the part of the meaning of the name is there, the word “salvation”. The word salvation is just part of the name and not the name itself.  Even quoting the Latin Vulgate that says “Iesu Meo” (my salvation) doesn’t prove that there was already the name of JESUS revealed in the Old Testament.  We can not trust the Roman Catholic Latin Vulgate. We have God’s Word today inspired and preserved for us in the Authorized King James Bible.

There was already Jesus in the Old Testament and his name was already Jesus in the Old Testament but God’s people didn’t know it. why? Because it was a secret!

Jesus was the LORD God and he is the Lord God. In the New Testament, the word used for the name “The LORD” and “Jehovah” is the name “The Lord”. It was not capitalized as it was in the Old Testament. 

Compare Zechariah and Romans.

Zechariah: “whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered:”

Romans:  “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

What is the difference? In Zechariah it was the name of the “LORD”. In Romans it is the name of the “Lord”.

The name is no more ALL CAPS. And who is that “Lord”? Romans 10:9 says it is “The Lord Jesus”. And further revelation in Philippians 2:11 says that “Jesus Christ is The Lord”. Who is the Lord? It is Jesus Christ himself. Therefore the Lord of the Old Testament is the Lord of the New Testament, and his name is JESUS, the name that is above every name. And all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved, for there is no other name that can save but the name of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus Christ is the name above every name. No other name is higher than that name. Even the names God gave in the Old Testament such as: God Almighty, Jehovah, LORD, LORD of hosts, etc.? YES! Only the name of the Lord JESUS is the name that is above every name and by his name alone can we be saved.

The NAME of the Lord JESUS is God’s name but it was not revealed in the Old Testament. It was kept secret since the world began. It was hid from the sons of men. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and for ever.

The mystery that was hidden “BUT NOW IS MADE MANIFEST TO HIS SAINTS” is “CHRIST IN YOU” (Colossians 1:26,27).  It is GOD manifest in the flesh. Jesus come in the flesh.

According to prophecy, God will be with men and will save his people. It was a prophecy fulfilled through “JESUS” who will save his people from their sins.  It was a mystery “in the scriptures of the prophets” but now is manifest, and being preached according to the revelation of the mystery. It is now “REVELATION” and no more mystery, and prophecy.

Prophecy fulfilled. God saved his people “Israel” through the name of Jesus. That’s a mystery revealed and prophecy fulfilled.

The salvation of his people was a prophecy fulfilled. “And so all Israel shall be saved”.

But the salvation of the people who are not in prophecy is but “a mystery” and not in prophecy. That is another topic to be discussed next time.

                                                                                           

To the Lord Jesus be all the glory!

Pleroma Revelation Bible Ministry