In what sense is your life a mystery?

2 Thessalonians 2:7

New King James Version

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

For some of us our lives seem like a mystery. You may ask where is my life headed, what is my purpose, and how can I even make any sense of my upside down life. For others you may not consider your life a mystery because that may imply something uncertain, unsuccessful, or even eerie, but before the end of this message you might consider the question from a different angle. The Greek word for mystery, musterion, is only found in the New Testament, and not in the Old Testament. It is used 27 times and in Paul’s letters 21 times itself. Jesus uses the word to describe His Kingdom, and John uses it to describe events in the book of Revelation. In what sense is it used, and what does it mean for your life if you are a believer?

Mystery in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 describes the mystery of sin, iniquity, and the great rebellion. The nation of Israel, for example, had been plagued with iniquity.

Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. (Isaiah 1:4-NKJV)

Lawlessness is the word often describing iniquity in the New Testament. The King James version actually uses the phrase the mystery of iniquity. Isaiah paints a picture of God’s people in radical rebellion against Him. For this Isaiah continues His prophecy of judgment against God’s own people, His own inheritance, among the nations. The rebellion emerged because of their iniquity.

How did iniquity even originate? The plot of the mystery thickens. We can, of course, look back at the story of the garden of Eden, but the prophets, Isaiah himself further reveals this mystery. Isaiah describes the original rebellion.

12“How you are fallen from heaven,

O [d] Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

13For you have said in your heart:

‘I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north;

14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.’

15Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,

To the [e] lowest depths of the Pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15- NKJV)

The prophet Ezekiel uncovers more of the mystery behind the very rebellion.

13You were in Eden, the garden of God;

Every precious stone was your covering:

The sardius, topaz, and diamond,

Beryl, onyx, and jasper,

Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.

The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes

Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

14“You were the anointed cherub who covers;

I established you;

You were on the holy mountain of God;

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

15You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,

Till iniquity was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:13-15-NKJV)

The iniquity originated with Satan himself resulting in actions of rebellion that perverted the very creation which God called good. These acts of rebellion were unrighteous deeds. Any who follow Satan in these acts the New Testament considers as his children (1 John 3:4,10).

Paul uses the word mystery, however, in a different way than we think of today. We use it in a sense to describe something unknowable, even eerie, but Paul uses it in the exact opposite way. Mystery is the truth revealed. The mystery of lawlessness or iniquity was always there revealed in God’s Word in the Old Testament. When Jesus came, however, the mystery was uncovered for all believers to understand and to take note of for their lives.

Proverbs 25: 2 says, "it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter. In the New Testament God is revealing the mysteries of his will to all who believe.

Paul describes the mystery of lawlessness that began in timeless eternity with Satan to describe the way God is unfolding His plan of action for the last days and the return of his Son. Until then the restrainer, who I believe is the Holy Spirit working through His church, is holding back the full prophetic fulfillment of lawlessness and the coming of antichrist until God’s providential timing, but you can be assured He will be right on time.

Until that time what happens? There is the revealing of the mystery of God's Son, Jesus Christ. Paul describes this mystery as well.

26the [h] mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: [i] which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:26,27-NKJV).

The mystery of Colossians 1:26,27 is Christ, God’s Son revealed to the nations, but Paul does not stop there. He calls himself not only the interpreter of the prophets of old but through his ministry he himself is fulfilling the promise through his own ministry of proclamation and teaching. Paul teaches that Christ is not only revealed to the nations, but that Christ dwells in you. That is, He has a people now among the nations who are not exclusively Jewish. They are freed from the mystery and misery of iniquity, lawlessness, and rebellion.

Now and instead, God is unfolding the mystery of His plan of the ages for the world. We are not at the mercy of any individual like a king, a god, or any power. We may personally know and serve the one true God of the universe. Is there more?

Yes, He is unfolding His plan for your life. Paul describes how this promise of “Christ in you” affects your personal life.

“Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” (Colossians 1:28-NKJV)

Paul teaches in verse 28 that the great promise in Colossians “of Christ in you, the hope of glory,” is more than just a universal promise, but a promise applied to every individual believer. He says that “we may present every man perfect in Jesus Christ.” That word perfect is talking about Christ unfolding the mystery of God’s will in your very life. He is not talking about some unrealistic perfectionism. He is describing how God has chosen you, a believer, to unfold and reveal the mystery of His will in your life and that is Christ in you the hope of glory. This mystery is not about what is hidden, but about how God is unfolding the mystery of His will for your life.

Yes, I believe there is a mystery to our lives, but His purpose is to reveal that mystery. Like the artist who is creating a beautiful masterpiece on a canvas He is revealing His own glory through your life. He is unfolding the mystery of your very own life even when things do not seem to make sense, or when it is difficult to understand why we may go through tragedies or loss, or wonder how we will carry on. Now how might you answer the question? In what sense is my life a mystery? He is revealing His masterpiece work of creation in you. Are you willing to let Him unfold His workmanship in your life?