THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #3- PAUL’S GOSPEL, REVEALING THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST

This is Part 3 in a series on THE SONSHIP MESSAGE that is hidden in the Holy Bible.

Paul Chosen By God to Reveal The Mystery of Christ

If you want to know the secrets of God and the inheritance He has for believers, you must pay particular attention to the writings of the apostle Paul. God chose Paul to be the first person to reveal the secret of ‘THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST’ Ep3:4 which was heretofore unknown since Adam was created. Paul was the first to share this special revelation with Christian believers. Paul wrote ‘TO WHOM GOD WOULD MAKE KNOWN WHAT IS THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY’ Co1:27. This mystery is revealed in the 14 epistles written by Paul, from Romans through Hebrews in the New Testament. Paul referred to this mystery over a dozen times as ‘MY GOSPEL OR OUR GOSPEL’.

Paul’s Gospel- the Hidden Mystery of Christ

God gave Paul the revelation of His hidden purpose in Christ Jesus, previously unknown to the world. Paul said ‘Now to (God) 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’Ro16:25. Paul wrote ‘According to THE ETERNAL PURPOSE WHICH (GOD) PURPOSED IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD’ Ep3:11. Paul was the only writer who spoke of the ‘MYSTERY OF CHRIST’ Co4:3, ‘WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY’ Co1:27.

Paul said that this mystery ‘was kept secret since the world began’ Ro16:25. He described it as ‘the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world UNTO OUR GLORY’ 1Co2:7. God has ‘..made known unto us THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself’ Ep1:9.. ‘How that by revelation he made known unto me  THE MYSTERY’ Ep3:3; ‘Whereby.. ye may understand my knowledge in THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST’ Ep3:4. Paul was told to ‘.. preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God..’ Ep3:8,9.

Paul continued ‘This is A GREAT MYSTERY: but I speak concerning Christ and the church’ Ep5:32. Paul requested prayer that ‘..I may open my mouth boldly, to make known THE MYSTERY OF THE GOSPEL’ Ep6:19. Paul said that ‘the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but NOW is made manifest to his saints’ Co1:26, ‘To whom God would make known what is the riches of THE GLORY OF THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES; which is CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY’ Co1:27. Then Paul said ‘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’ 1Ti3:16. This is Paul’s Gospel- THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST, a hidden message within the Bible!

WHY IS CHRIST A MYSTERY?

What is the revelation of this great mystery that Paul said was kept secret since the world began but now revealed unto us? What is God’s eternal purpose that He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord that pertains to us? Jesus said ‘Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me’ Jn5:39. When we search the scriptures with the help of the Holy Spirit, we may be able to unveil the answer to this hidden MYSTERY OF CHRIST- the hope of His calling, and of our forthcoming inheritance Ep1:18. This MYSTERY RELATES to God wanting more sons and daughters like Jesus Christ!

He2:10 states ‘For it became God.. in BRINGING MANY SONS UNTO GLORY, to make the captain of their salvation (Jesus) perfect through sufferings’. Ro8:14 tells us ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are THE SONS OF GOD’. Paul exclaimed ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out’ Ro11:33! 

Paul wrote ‘(I) Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.. that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what THE RICHES OF THE GLORY OF HIS INHERITANCE IN THE SAINTS..’ Ep1:16-18. 

This MYSTERY OF CHRIST is for us to come into perfection ‘..unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ’ Ep4:13; to receive the Glory and inheritance that God wants to give us. Paul revealed this MYSTERY OF CHRIST  by his own life, ministry, and teachings!

Paul’s Transformation- From a Sinful Saul to the Apostle Paul; From a Sinner to a Saint

God’s mighty transformation of Saul to Paul speaks of Paul’s own perfection in Jesus Christ, and for us one day, if we know, desire, and pursue what God wants to do in us! A good part of the book of Acts speaks of the transformation of Saul of Tarsus from a sinner taken captive by Satan to a saint of God. Saul was indeed a very strange person.

Saul was filled with hate and spite. He was the ringleader who raised havoc with the new Christians, and imprisoned many for their belief Ac8:1-3. Saul of Tarsus was an unwittingly deceived religious zealot. His background was solid, being born a Roman citizen, an Israelite, and a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul also had all the credentials for a high future promotion in the Jewish religion. He was a pupil of the great teacher Gamaliel, a Pharisee doctor of law in Jerusalem Ac5:34. Saul was ‘taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God..’ Ac22:3.

Saul was ‘an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee, blameless as touching the righteousness which is in the law’ Php3:5,6. Saul was a religious fanatic and also an insider to the high priest Caiaphas Ac4:6,9:1. He was also a contemporary of Christ knowing of Jesus’ ministry- his teachings, miracles, crucifixion, death and resurrection from the dead, for it was then the biggest story around Palestine.

But Saul was also a blasphemer and persecutor 1Ti1:13, a murderer consenting to the death of Stephen Ac8:1, full of religious pride, jealous of and hater of the followers of Jesus! Saul was an unwitting agent of Satan, ‘the god of this world’ 2Co4:4, who literally blinded him. He thought he was doing God a favor by trying to stop the growth of Christianity. Saul, was the chief persecutor of those in the ‘Christian way’ in Jerusalem and Damascus. With written approval from the high priest Caiaphas Ac9:1, Saul was breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of Jesus. He had the fervor of one mightily used by Satan, as one demon-possessed, though he thought he was doing right.

But Saul then Paul, met the Master Jesus, while he and his cohorts were going down from Jerusalem to Damascus some 150 miles distance to their synagogues to bind up the believers in Christ, to send them back to Jerusalem for trial. In one great sudden instance, a great light shone from heaven. Saul was ‘SLAIN IN THE SPIRIT’, fell from his ass, heard the voice of Jesus, delivered of religious demons, and lost his sight Ac9:3-6. He was led by hand to Damascus to the house of Judas on a street called Straight. There while blind, he prayed and fasted for 3 days v8,9.

Paul, a Chosen Vessel- From a Sinner to a Saint

Jesus then appeared to a certain disciple Ananias in a vision and told him that Saul was a ‘chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.. and the great things he must suffer for my name’s sake’ Ac9:15,16. Ananias objected but then obeyed and went to pray for Saul. He immediately received his sight, and was filled with the Holy Ghost Ac9:17,18. Straightaway, Saul went to the synagogues and boldly preached that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God Ac9:20. The Jews in Damascus were amazed, confounded, and angry. After many days, they sought to kill him, but Saul escaped 2Co11:32,33. Saul later went up to Jerusalem and attempted to join with the other disciples of Jesus Christ but was not accepted for they feared him. But Barnabas who had witnessed Saul speaking in Damascus, spoke on his behalf Ac9:27. God subsequently changed Saul’s name to Paul, Ac13:9 and made him an apostle of the Gentiles Ro11:13.

THE MINISTRY OF THE APOSTLE PAUl 

The apostle Paul was a very special and unusual disciple who almost single-handedly took the gospel of Jesus Christ to the then known world Ac17:6. He was forbidden to preach the word in Asia by the Holy Ghost Ac16:6, but made three long missionary journeys over a period of about thirty years into Asia Minor and Europe, and perhaps as far west as Spain Ro15:28. Paul was an apostle ‘as of one born out of due time’ 1Co15:8. He was not mainstreamed into ministry as many were during the formation of the early Church, and was not like the original 12 apostles who walked with the Master for 3 years, not attending ‘Jesus University’. 

After his dramatic deliverance and conversion, Paul was not taught  by man, but supernaturally by revelation of Jesus Christ in the Arabian desert Ga1:11,12,17. This happened several years after Jesus had ascended into heaven Ac1:9. As Jesus had prophesied, Paul suffered greatly to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world Ac9:16. Like many of God’s prophets, Paul was feared, hated, envied, often not trusted, and even killed. To many believers in the early Church, and even today, Paul was indeed very strange, and even the apostle Peter said about his teachings, ‘some things hard to be understood’ 2Pe3:16.

PAUL’S STRANGE AND OUTRAGEOUS REMARKS

In his epistles, Paul made many remarkably strange and seemingly outrageous remarks. Paul said ‘BE YE FOLLOWERS OF ME, EVEN AS I ALSO AM OF JESUS CHRIST’ 1Co11:1. Paul said if ‘..we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed‘ Ga1:8. Paul wrote ‘..I should Glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto ME, and I unto the world’ Ga 6:14, and ‘I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in ME: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved ME, and gave himself for ME.’ Ga2:20.

Paul said ‘From henceforth let no man trouble ME: for I bear in MY BODY the marks of the Lord Jesus’ Ga6:17. He said ‘God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to MY GOSPEL’ Ro2:16. Paul said ‘That I may know Jesus, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.. I PRESS TOWARD THE MARK FOR THE PRIZE OF THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS’ Php3:10-14.  Paul said ‘..it pleased God.. To reveal his Son IN ME, that I might preach him among the heathen‘ Ga1:15,16. No other apostle ever made such strange remarks as these. In Paul’s Gospel contains the hidden message of the MYSTERY OF CHRIST- SONSHIP!

PAUL- A PATTERN SON OF GOD AFTER JESUS CHRIST

God specifically chose Paul to be an example for us to follow to be like Christ. Paul was specially chosen by God to reveal his Son in him (SONSHIP) Ga1:16. He said ‘..that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for A PATTERN to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting’ 1Ti1:16. Paul became A ‘PATTERN’ to them that should hereafter believe on Jesus Christ. Paul was a PATTERN SON OF GOD AFTER JESUS CHRIST. He was given special revelations by Jesus Christ, heretofore not known to any man. Paul was God’s example for us to follow!

In Paul’s Gospel are hid many revelations and deep truths regarding God’s plan and purpose for man. Paul was given to know the secrets of  ‘THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST’ hidden since the world began Ro16:25. He was a chosen vessel to make known to us ‘.. the riches of the Glory of God’s inheritance in the saints’ Ep1:18. This inheritance is not only about everlasting life Jn3:16, but something much greater. It is about our GLORY and INHERITANCE that God desires to give to all those who will be the overcomers in Christ– the sons and daughters of God Ro8:17-19, Heb2:10, 1Jn3:1-3, Jn17:22, Re3:21,21:7.

Paul’s Gospel: THE SONSHIP MESSAGE– Bringing Many Sons and Daughter Unto Glory

Finally, this is why God wants more sons and daughters like Jesus Christ. Because ‘God is Love’ 1Jn4:8,  AS A LOVING FATHER, GOD IS CONSTRAINED TO GIVE US EVERYTHING THAT HE HAS- HIS GLORY, HONOR, POWER, RICHES, AND EVEN ETERNITY. This is not much different from we as parents who want to bless our children by giving them many things, and an inheritance one day when we pass on. But because God is also Holy and Just, it requires Him to give only to those that are deemed worthy and holy Ep1:4,5. Thus, through the process of life, God will judge us by His Word, the Holy Bible. Jesus said ‘..the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day’ Jn12:48.

All serious believers should pay special attention to PAUL’S GOSPEL, as it contains the keys to THE SONSHIP MESSAGE– OUR PERFECTION IN JESUS CHRIST. It is very important to study and to know how God will bring us unto perfection Heb6:1, ‘THIS MYSTERY AMONG THE GENTILES; WHICH IS CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY’ Co1:27. It is also very important to know of this great INHERITANCE  that God has for us, which is about God’s ‘ETERNAL PURPOSE WHICH HE PURPOSED IN CHRIST JESUS..’ Ep3:11. God desires to ‘BRING MANY SONS UNTO GLORY’ Heb2:10; ‘THAT JESUS WOULD BE THE FIRST BORN OF MANY BRETHREN’ Ro8:29; that Paul would be A SON OF GOD and many more would come after him. Paul said ‘I PRESS TOWARD THE MARK FOR THE PRIZE OF THE HIGH CALLING OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS’ Php3:14.

Years later the apostle John wrote of this same revelation by Paul regarding SONSHIP. John wrote ‘Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called THE SONS OF GOD..  Beloved, NOW are we THE SONS OF GOD, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, WHEN (JESUS) SHALL APPEAR, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM; FOR WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS. And everyone that has this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure’1Jn3:1-3. 

Paul wrote that the SONS OF GOD will be manifested in great glory and with great power Ro8:19. They will be perfected ‘..UNTO A PERFECT MAN, UNTO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST’ Ep4:13. Jesus said ‘HE THAT OVERCOMETH SHALL INHERIT ALL THINGS; AND I WILL BE HIS GOD, AND HE SHALL BE MY SON’ Re21:7. This is THE SONSHIP MESSAGE, THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST revealed in Paul’s Gospel.

 Amazingly, Paul wrote ‘And to know THE LOVE OF CHRIST, which passeth knowledge, that YE MIGHT BE FILLED WITH ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD’ Ep3:19. This is the hidden MYSTERY OF CHRIST in the Holy Bible– TO BE GOD-LIKE ONE DAY!!! Praise God!!!

In conclusion, this is the revelation of the MYSTERY OF CHRIST which the apostle Paul 2000 years ago wanted to impart to us: God wants to have His FULNESS in us one day, to be like Him just as JESUS CHRIST is for ever and ever: ‘..UNTO A PERFECT MAN, UNTO THE MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULNESS OF CHRIST‘ Ep4:13. Amen! 

Please also see 

• THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #1- Life is About God and Not About Us
• THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #2- What Really Happened in the Garden of Eden
• THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #3- PAUL’S GOSPEL
• THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #4- From Here to Eternity
• THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #5- God’s Eternal Purpose in Christ Jesus
• THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #6- A Postscript To God’s Coming Glory Upon Us
• THE SONSHIP MESSAGE #7- OUR COMING GREAT INHERITANCE