03 Colossians: The Mystery of Christ - The Mystery

Date: May 18, 2025 Lord’s Day: 20 Series: Colossians the Mystery of Christ Title: The Mystery of God’s Love Text: Colossians 1:12-14   Introduction:  Pick and Roll celebration at Chesapeake High. Point:  There are things we desire to remain hidden, things we do not want others to see, especially when it is the entire town on television.   The tittle of this series is Colossians, the Mystery of Christ. If you have read this small book (which was your homework), you will have noticed that this word appears on repeat.   The love of our Lord was made manifest in Jesus.  Paul wrote of this mystery of God’s love in 1 Corinthians as well.  This mystery was so hidden that even our enemy, the devil himself, did not understand or see.    “Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Corinthians 2:6-8   I want you to see how much God loves you.  I want you to be encouraged and moved.  We see this love in how much He has loved the Son.  This is the mystery that is unfolding in Colossians.  The hidden, mystery of Christ and we will begin to unfold this today.    Pray   Today’s focus is on 1:13-14, He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  The phrase specifically of focus is the kingdom of his beloved son.   Who is this son?  What is this love of God towards the son?  We read popular passages like John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.” What does this mean?  What is the significance of the Son? Little bit later in John 3:35, “The Father loves the son and has given all things into his hand.”   Genesis 12 What we will find through Scripture is God’s unfolding hand and a mystery revealed.  Today we begin in Genesis 12 with the call of Abraham (at the time Abram).  His name means exalted father. When it was changed it meant, Father of a great multitude.  He had no children.    We see the Abraham calling 12:1-9.  Abraham was living in the land of Ur.  We learn from Joshua he knew nothing of God in fact he was an idol worshipper.  He leaves Ur and just goes.  No GPS, trip tick, just pack up and go.   God makes three promises to Abraham: I will give you a name, I will give you a land and all the people of the earth will be blessed through you.  These were the promises of Abraham.   These are the well-known parts to most believers.  The famine is most often forgotten.  There was a severe famine and Abraham and Sarah went to Egypt to escape and when they got there a sense of fear overcame Abraham.   Explain Text: 10 Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11 When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12 and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13 Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14 When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15 And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16 And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17 But the Lord afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18 So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20 And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.   By the end of Genesis, the story of Abraham had unfolded enough that we see he and Sarah had grown to 70.  There was again a famine, and they all met Jospeh in Egypt. Joseph had been used in a mighty way by God in the land of Egypt and held great power.  Everyone got to eat, and the family was saved.   However, through a long stretch of time we read in Exodus 2 that things turned bad in Egypt:   “23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.” Ex 2:23-25   God calls this man named Moses to deliver the people out of Egypt.  Moses was strong on refusal.  He offered God so many excuses, but God was persistent.  Moses makes some great points (at least in my book).    Chapter 4 “Who is going to listen to me?”  That is a good point.  Consider Moses, unknown, just going to show up?  How do you get an appointment with the most important person in the land being unknown?  Could you do this?  Could you get an appointment with President Trump?  Gov. Dewine?  Mayor Rob Rue?   But Moses goes.  When he goes, he has a message from God to the king of Egypt:   22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son, 23 and I say to you, “Let my son go that he may serve me.” If you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son.’” Exodus 4:22-23   Ultimately when the people of Israel leave Egypt, they go through the Red Sea escaping the elite Egyptian army.  Yet these are a rebellious bunch.  They can’t get out of their own way in rebellion.    This rebellion leads to a 40-year testing.  For 40 years they wander in the desert, do you trust God?  Over and again, they proved that they did not trust God.   The rebellion did not end there.  It continued as they turned to every vile godless thing.    The prophet Hosea was given a task.  It was an alarming task.  The task revealed God’s message to the people of Israel.   Hosea was instructed to go marry a whore.  The message, you have been this unfaithful to me.  Hosea not only had to marry and have children with this woman, at one point, he had to buy her out of slavery.    But there is this little message in Hosea 11:1, “When Israel was a child, I loved him,     and out of Egypt I called my son.”   Hidden in all of this (and more for I just touched brief highlights) God had a son.  God incarnate.  God coming in the flesh.  God was not simply leading Abraham out of Egypt.  God was not just leading the family of Abraham out of Egypt.  This family that had grown to potentially millions.   God was calling His son.  We see this in Matthew.  This book opens with the rich genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham.  We get to the birth of Jesus and no sooner does this happen we find Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to Egypt to avoid being killed.   Herod was looking to destroy the child Jesus.  Joseph was instructed by an angel to flee there and then we find this quotation from Hosea 11.   “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ’Out of Egypt I called my son.’” Do you see the life of Christ as Israel?  He had to flee to Egypt (like Abraham and like Joseph) He left Egypt to go through the sea (like Israel in baptism) 1 Corinthians 10:2 He went through a period of testing in the wilderness (like the Israelites) He faces the temptations of Adam and Eve (lust of the eyes, flesh, pride)   This is God’s son.  The mystery revealed.  This mystery was not devised by our Lord at the last minute.  He knew before the foundation of the world.    18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you” 1 Peter 1:18-20   We celebrate great things.  Oh that great day that as long as I have a memory will not forget beating Chesapeake High School.  The place erupted and I can remember lying in my bed hours later.  The room was dark and my ears were still ringing from the victory.    We celebrate great acts of sports.  We celebrate great acts in stage and screen.  We celebrate great guitar and instrument playing.  (Daniel Boscoe France and Rick Boals).    C.S. Lewis once wrote in his commentary on Psalms that he was uncomfortable at times with God demanding we praise him.  In C.S. Lewis’ words it was problematic.  God seeking praise is like one seeking validation.  It is like an author feigning for attention.    Then he realized, it was not this at all.  Just as we recognize greatness through the moments in our lives, the wins, the solos, the feats of greatness, we appreciate them.  We applaud them.  We are moved by them.   When we look at this great work of God, this mystery hidden before the ages, we bow at the feet of our Lord in honor, praise and glory.  It is a matter of recognition.   In the words of Paul, if the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.  Yet it is only through this that we are saved.    Jesus lived perfectly.  He was able to do what we could not.  Jesus is God’s true Israel.  He is the Israel of God.