The Mystery of the Church
This mystery is indeed just that. At one point it is seemingly likened to an organization, with Christ at the head, then again, like the human body, having arms, legs, feet, eyes, ears, a tongue, etc. It is called “the Bride of Christ” and is honored at a “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19). How else could it be described but as a mystery? The first mention of “church” was when Jesus announced its coming formation in reference to His identity, as voiced by Peter in Matthew 16:13-19: “When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.“

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and what- ever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

As we can see in the passage, His identity is revealed by God, and contrary to some, His church is not built on a human foundation, such as Peter, but on that eternal foundation, the Rock who is Christ, the Son of God. Paul writes in I Corinthians 3:11, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” And that foundation was laid there before Peter and the disciples by Jesus, Himself! And Christians are not to build their life character on the foundation of Peter, but that of Christ!

In that Matthew passage we see also that Christ was passing on some organizational authority to Peter and the disciples, and the very next mention of the church by Jesus is in Matthew 18:15-20, where He directs them how to settle differences among the believers. He really entrusts the body of believers to make binding agreements and promises to be in the midst of them, even if only two or three are together in agreement. These principles are later expanded and taught in more detail in the various letters to the churches from Paul, Peter, James, John and Jude. This deals with the physical and organizational functioning of the believers.

The mystery of the church is in its purpose and energizing motivation arising out of its foundation. Remember that Jesus said in Matthew 16, “On this Rock (of His identity as the Son of God) I will build My Church and the gates of hell (Hades) will not prevail against it”. He introduces here, then, the idea of a spiritual mission and a spiritual warfare. Its opposing counterpart in this warfare is soon identified as Satan , who owns and energizes the kingdoms of this world, later identified as the beast of Revelation 13.

Jesus had told the disciples that He would be leaving them, but He would send another Comforter to them, who was with them then, but would be in them, at that future time (John 14:16-17). And at Pentecost, at the time of that Feast, the believers were praying in one accord in an upper room when the Holy Spirit came into their lives, and there Jesus energized his church (Acts 2).

There is no mention of “church” there, but when Peter came vibrant with great energy and boldness, preaching openly that day, here is the way Luke reported it in Acts 2:41-47, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

In that first church we can see some of the ideal qualities of the Church Jesus intended to build on the foundation of His eternal deity, a unity and togetherness that enabled them to confront the world with a boldness that would be described as having “turned the world upsidedown” just a short time later. Perhaps the intent of Jesus’ prayer in John 17 had to do with that kind of internal fabric of His Church as He agonized earnestly for the oneness of the believers with the Father and Himself, just as those two were one: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me” (John 17:20-23).

The obvious connection of His prayer with the purpose He revealed to them just before His ascension back to heaven, later (Acts 1:8), brings into focus that this mysterious entity He called His Church is meant to be an extension of the eternal godhead into this physical world to introduce salvation to lost mankind. That line of thought seems to be confirmed in Colossians 2:9-10, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”

Earlier in that prayer He had said, “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world” (verse 18). This mysterious Church is more than stained glass windows and plush pews, or brush arbors and hardwood benches, and not even pomp and ceremony. It is more akin to that mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” that was discussed in Part 1 of this article, wherein the temple with God’s presence is abiding continually in the life of the individual believer in Christ. And that, beloved, is still a great mystery!

The Mystery of the Rapture
Much has been written of the fact that the English word, rapture, is not so named in the Bible. That fact seems to be thrown out as a justifying reason to proclaim that there is no such thing as the “Rapture”. Varied linguistics aside, the descriptive words in our English translations on this topic are enough to demand our attention to this mysterious and dramatic transformation of mortal man to an immortal being, instantaneously.

Somewhat surprisingly, Jesus revealed its core principles when He told Martha at the raising of Lazarus, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). (The dead are raised to meet the living in the air and be with the Lord forever.) Just as Paul later explained the matter to the Thessalonians in chapter 4, verses 16-17, of his first letter to them—the believers in Christ who have died are raised first, then believers who are alive are transformed into immortals, and all are to meet Jesus in the air, to be forever with Him!

However, the more intriguing and dramatic description of the Rapture is that which Paul laid out for the Corinthians, who seemingly were a kind of people who thrived on the dramatic and exceptional. He declares, “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY’” (I Corinthians 15:51-54). In the twinkling of an eye—that’s a nano-second of time, in modern scientific terminology, perhaps more quickly than “sudden”.

That incident cannot be explained or even fathomed by the human mind…well, maybe not so quickly dismissed. Remember some of the space fantasies, like “E.T.” and the familiar quote from another science fiction thriller, “beam me up, Scotty”, but only in Hollywood creations. My thoughts return to the raising of Lazarus in John 11. He had been in the tomb four days, fully wrapped in grave clothes, as was the custom. Jesus commanded, “Lazarus, come forth!” The man was dead, bound and unable to walk, but he came forth! And Jesus then said, “Loose him, and let him go.” How astounding that must have been to those standing by! And how astounding it will be when that last trump is sounded and the millions of believers in Christ around the globe suddenly disappear, leaving their clothing and personal possessions that are on their bodies lying there, much like the grave clothes in the tomb where Jesus was laid, and which the two disciples noted with great wonder that morning. Those physical trappings will not be translated in the Rapture. No, we really can’t take those things with us!

When will this “mystery” take place? Most everywhere you look in the Bible, you end up at “no man knows the day or the hour, but only the Father, not even the angels” and that it will come like a thief in the night, surprisingly sudden. In Luke 21:28, Jesus says, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” I submit that “these things” described in the context of this verse began to happen, and have been increasing in intensity, when Israel became a recognized state again on May 14, 1948. The budding of the fig tree discussed in that context identifies that incident, and there, we are told that the generation seeing that happen will not pass away until all these things come to pass. If eighty years, according to Psalm 90:10, are the outside time frame of a generation, then sometime by the year 2028 the seven- year tribulation will have occurred and Jesus will be on hand to rule the earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem for a thousand years. This mystery of the Rapture will have been experienced by the believers in Jesus prior to that final seven years, however.

One other mystery I mentioned would be discussed in connection with this mystery of the Rapture is the “mystery of lawlessness”, which Paul writes of in II Thessalonians 2. He writes of the declining influence of Christianity in the world, the “falling away”, he calls it. We refer to it as the “apostasy”, and he projects that as that influence recedes–and it must before that end-time man of sin can appear, then lawlessness of mankind increases to fill that vacuum. If there is no resistance, evil moves in to take over and reign in defiance of God. Perhaps that is the mystery, that evilness rushes in where God is rejected, and in the context of that II Thessalonians 2 passage, and the “restrainer” is ultimately removed, that man of sin will have full control. That is the Rapture occurrence and the gigantic vacuum left by that departure of all believers in Christ around the globe will immediately be filled with lawlessness. Unredeemed man is of no resistance to the depth of that kind of evil. Only the fire of God’s judgment will conquer it.

It’s without question that a person should want to participate in the “mystery” of the Rapture, with its promise of everlasting life, rather than to fall victim to that “mystery” of lawlessness, which only leads to destruction and death. And, there is no mystery about Jesus; He is the way, the truth, and the life!

There is no way we can come anywhere near speculating rightly the marvelous experience Paul must have had in those three years in Arabia, alone with the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine how much of an emotional upheaval it must have been for Paul, who described himself in Philippians 3:5-6 as “…circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.“

Jesus was about to teach him all about grace and reveal the mysteries of this new era He had hinted at during His intermittent moments with the close-in disciples, that new era that exploded into reality in that upper room on the day of Pentecost. Astounding changes in the believer’s day-to-day relationship with God that Paul writes of in the New Testament as mysteries. Paul, considered blameless under the law, was to write without wavering, “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain” (Galatians 2:21).

The four major mysteries he writes of effectively removes Christianity from the category of “religion” and firmly establishes it as a personal relationship with the God of the universe. The word “mystery” is used several times in the New Testament as a descriptive term in certain instances, but these four, however, stand apart as doctrinal and historical revelations pronouncing a new manner of God’s relationship with believers. One other instance that is more than just a label, though, is Paul’s mention of the “mystery of lawlessness” in II Thessalonians 2:7, but this is mentioned in connection with the fourth mystery on our list and will be included in that analysis. The four mysteries we will address here are:

1. The mystery of Godliness;
2. The mystery of Christ in you;
3. The mystery of the Church;
4. The mystery of the Rapture.

The Mystery of Godliness
All of the mysteries are supernatural to the max, but on this one hangs all of the others, for it brings the eternal God into the time-frame of mankind. It involves the virgin birth, the identity of Jesus as God in the flesh, and the reality of His resurrection. Look at what Paul writes: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory” (I Timothy 3:16).

No wonder he calls this a great mystery, and so it is. Here is how the angel, Gabriel, explained it to Mary, the mother-to-be: “Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.’” (Luke 1:34-35).

The account Paul gives in Philippians 2:6-11 tells us how that looked from heaven’s perspective: “Who [Christ Jesus], being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Here is a man born not with the sin of Adam but conceived from above, who lived a sinless life, so testified by Peter the Apostle (I Peter 2:22).

And so, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14).

The Mystery of Christ in You
Something happened at that Feast of Pentecost, recorded in Acts 2, that was revolutionary and which marked a totally new era in the believer’s relationship with God. Joel wrote of it in his prophecy, as Peter referenced in his sermon on that day (Acts 2:14-21), but Jesus perhaps defined it more simply when He told His disciples, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16-17). Jesus also pointed toward this mystery in His demand of Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (John 3:3).

The drama actually began earlier than Pentecost, for at the moment Jesus died on the cross a remarkable incident happened in Jerusalem that only Matthew reports. In the temple the heavy curtain, the veil, that separated the holy of holies from the rest of the temple was torn from top to bottom, exposing that area to the open world! (Matthew 27:51).

Why? Jesus, the High Priest from God, had entered the holy of holies with His own blood and the foreshadow of that physical temple was no longer necessary—the reality had come! (God had told Moses the foreshadowing pattern: the high priest was to enter the holy of holies, once a year, not without blood, for his own sins and the sins of the people, as reported in Hebrews 9:7, “But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance.”

But that is not the end of the story. Paul writes of another fascinating and wonderful truth that is part of this scenario– born again believers are now the temple of God on earth—His residency in this world: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16).

To realize the full significance of this, let’s review some interesting facts about the nature of God, His righteousness and His holiness. Remember the warning God gave Moses when He called him up on the mountain and delivered to him the law? God told Moses, “You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live….’” (Exodus 19:12-13).

The holiness and righteousness of God will not tolerate the intimate presence of sinful mankind, nor will He permit that man, unsanctified, to inject himself into God’s holiness or His plans. The response is not a calculated matter; it is automatic and without restriction, as it was with Uzza, who reached out to steady the ark of the covenant on the cart, and he dropped dead immediately (I Chronicles 13:9-10)!

This insight gives new meaning to “the fear of God”! Yet, contrast this with what has happened with the coming of Christ, the eternal High Priest. A beautiful picture is revealed, surprisingly, in the 3rd chapter of Daniel. Enemies of the Hebrew captives held as servants in the Babylonian capital conspired to have them, the three Hebrew young men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—burned alive in a fiery furnace when they refused to bow down and worship the image of the king, Nebuchadnezzar.

The furnace was heated seven times hotter than it normally was, and the three were thrown, bound, inside it. The heat was so severe that the soldiers who put the men into the fire were killed by the intense heat. When the king looked into the furnace, he exclaimed, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

“True, O king,” his counselors replied.

“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:24-25).

Now, lay this picture alongside one of a believer, who now is the Temple of God, the holy of holies, in whom dwells the Spirit of Christ. Where He is, there is the fiery, flaming righteousness and holiness of God, yet made perfectly safe and serene for the believer because that “fourth person” is there, the Son of God!

He is the fourth person, but who are the other three with Him in this temple of God which is the believer? In I Thessalonians 5:23 Paul writes, “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Would it be too much of a stretch to name those three—spirit, soul and body—as the others of the quartet represented in the modern-day temple of the living God? Certainly those are the makeup of the human being whom Christ redeemed. The body is identified therein already; the soul came into being when God created man from the dust of the earth (the body) and “breathed into him the breath of life and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). But that soul died in Adam when he ate of the forbidden fruit, thus requiring redemption. And in I Corinthians 6:17 Paul makes another astounding declaration: “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

Further indication that these three features of the makeup of man are the very target of God’s spiritual transformation of man is found in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” And so it is well named “the mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Colossians 1:26-27). “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19-20).

(Part 2 will continue with the “mystery of the church, the body of Christ” (Ephesians 5:32) and the “mystery of the Rapture of the believers in Christ” (I Corinthians 15:51).