Tuesday

Related Verses
Eph. 1:9
9 Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself,

Eph. 3:4-5
4 By which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ,
5 Which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit,

Eph. 5:32
32 This mystery is great, but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.

1 Tim. 3:16
16 And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

Col. 1:16-18
16 Because in Him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or lordships or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and unto Him.
17 And He is before all things, and all things cohere in Him;
18 And He is the Head of the Body, the church; He is the beginning, the Firstborn from the dead, that He Himself might have the first place in all things;

Related Reading
The true meaning of the universe is a story of God and His relationship with man, and this story, this relationship, is a mystery that has two sections. 

The mystery of God is manifested in Christ, so Christ is the mystery of God [Col. 2:2]…God’s entire story is in Christ. Apart from Christ, man cannot find the story of God. Verse 9 says, “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” All matters concerning God—all His stories, all the mysteries that man cannot understand—are in Christ. Christ is the mystery of God. 

The mystery of Christ is the church [Eph. 3:4-6]. Christ Himself is a mystery, but all the matters concerning Christ, all the stories of Christ, and all the contents of the mystery have been placed in the church; therefore, the church is the mystery of Christ. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church,” pp. 243-244) 

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We need to make a distinction between these two: the mystery of God is Christ, and the mystery of Christ is the church. Although these two are one, there are particular details concerning each. Colossians speaks of the Head, Christ, and Ephesians speaks of the Body, the church…The head and the body must be put together before we have a complete person; this is a great mystery. 

Christ, the Head, is the mystery of God, and all the stories of God are in Christ as the Head and related to Christ. On the other hand, the church, the Body, is the mystery of Christ, and all the stories of Christ are in the church as His Body. 

When we speak of the mystery of God, we are emphasizing the stories of God that are manifested in Christ, and when we speak of the mystery of Christ, we are emphasizing the stories of Christ that are manifested in the church. Christ plus the church is a great mystery. First Timothy 3:16 says, “Great is the mystery of godliness: / He who was manifested in the flesh.” This verse speaks forth a story of God and man, man and God. If we would know the mystery, story, and matters of God and man, man and God, then we must know Christ and the church. Christ is a mystery, and the church is a mystery. Christ is a part of the mystery, the first step of the mystery; the church is another part of the mystery, the second step of the mystery…All the stories of God are in Christ, and all the stories of Christ are in the church. Therefore, if we want to know God, we must know Christ, and if we want to know Christ, we must know the church. 

When people today see Christ, they understand God; when they see the church, they understand Christ. Christ is the expression of God, and the church is the expression of Christ; these two are two parts of one mystery. All the good, important things in the Bible depend upon this mystery…If we know this mystery, we can understand the Bible. 

This mystery is such a great matter that we must not only see it for ourselves, but we must also bring others into seeing it. In our living, we do not need to exhort people to have patience; when they see the mystery, they will have patience. Neither do we need to exhort people to love one another; when they see this mystery, they will have love within them. Many who work for God pursue power and abundant life without realizing that as long as they touch this mystery, there is power and abundant life. This mystery is everything. (CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church,” pp. 244, 250) 

Further Reading: CWWL, 1956, vol. 2, “Three Aspects of the Church, Book 2: The Course of the Church,” ch. 1