Ephesians 3:2-5 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: (NKJV)
Imagine you are staying the night at someone’s house for the first time. You wake up in the middle of the night and need to find the bathroom. As you lay on the sofa bed in the middle of the living room, you realize in the pitch black darkness that you have no idea where the light switch, hallway or furniture is in this unfamiliar house.
It’s a mystery. And you’re about to journey into the dark mysteries of bruised shins and stubbed toes. Use your imagination to put yourself in that situation. What instant relief would be yours if a little switch somewhere could just be flipped into the “up” position and turn a light on. All of a sudden the dark mysteries that engulf you would instantly vanish. And as long as the light stays on, the darkness has no power. You can see now.
The Bible contains both dark mysteries,
and divine mysteries of light.
The Book of Ecclesiastes warns us of some of the dark mysteries of life. We stumble around oblivious to them until we bang our shin or stub our toe; then slowly and painfully we learn the hard way that life is full of danger and uncertainty when we live in the dark. Some dark mysteries in Ecclesiastes:
- Chapter 1 – Life is monotonous, futile and never changes
- Chapter 2 – Pleasure won’t bring happiness and we all end up alike whether we are the fool or the wise
- Chapter 3 – Life is a big, fat ZERO because for every good thing, there is something bad to nullify it; injustice happens to all without partiality
And on and on. Ecclesiastes covers every aspect of life and the attempt to find happiness. The conclusion is always the same: it’s a waste of time. The person who was never born is better off:
Ecclesiastes 4:3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun. (NKJV)
So why bother? God to the rescue! Scripture reveals many DIVINE mysteries that light up the darkness and sustain us through what would otherwise be a completely hopeless existence. Three of those are found in Ephesians.
These divine mysteries allow us to rejoice no matter what our circumstances are. They allow us to enjoy life even when the reality is that life in this sin-corrupted world is futile and meaningless (without God). Each of these divine mysteries touch a major portion of our common existence:
- The divine mystery of marriage (Eph 5.22-23) – a Godly marriage is a picture of our relationship with Christ. It serves as daily reminder and encouragment of what Christ has in store for us. (Some marriages reflect it better than others!)
- The divine mystery of the Church (Eph 2.11-3.21) – the church is the perfect picture of unity and submission of all things under the headship of Christ. All things will be gathered under Him in order to exalt Him and glorify Him for all eternity.
- The divine mystery of Christ (Eph 1.1-2.10) – Christ is everything. The glorification of Jesus is the foundation of all things. To bring Christ glory is the sole motivation of our existence.
Most people live in the discouragement of the dark mysteries of Ecclesiastes because they have not been illumined with regard to these truths in Ephesians. When life seems to have no purpose or meaning, a quick review of these three divine mysteries will give us cause to re-evaluation the discouragement.
Father in Heaven, reveal to us the divine mysteries of marriage, church and Jesus Christ and let it dispel the darkness that so often threatens to discourage us. Let us walk in the light of Your Son. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Contemplation: Are you easily discouraged and defeated? Do understand these divine mysteries? What is keeping God from shining the light of truth in your life?
Application: God illumines our hearts when we truly seek Him. If you’re life is characterized by fumbling around in the darkness of discouragement and futility, perhaps you haven’t found the Light Switch yet. Maybe the Light has grown dim or is so far away that there is little light reaching where you are at.
- What is the most obvious Bible truth you have learned today?
- What change in your life needs to be made concerning this truth?
- What specific thing will you do today to begin that change?