Bible Study Notes for Lord’s Day,
December19,2010
Luke 8:10
“The Mysteries of the Kingdom” Part 4
“The Indwelling”

Introduction  We have studied the interaction between God and mankind.  We are created in His image, but He is deity and we are human, He is infinite and we are finite, He is supernatural and we are natural.  So many things about Him and His ways are a mystery to us, which we cannot understand unless they are revealed and we are enabled to “get it.”  The most profound mysteries are those surrounding the interactions between God and us, and we ponder them at Christmas time.

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”

2 Corinthians2
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,
8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
13 These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15 But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.
16 For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

Luke2
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 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.

John1
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Colossians1
26 the 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: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1. The Mystery of the Incarnation

John1
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Incarnation means to put human flesh around pure divine Spirit.  For pure deity to enter this world in humanity and become part of it, to participate in it in every way, in order to make it holy, godly, good once again.

The Second Person of the Trinity, the Word became the God/man, body, soul and Spirit.  His interjection into humanity and the Earth began in a small way, but will have become comprehensive in it’s fulfillment.  Every atom in the universe will have been affected by the Incarnation.

2. The Mystery of the Indwelling 

Colossians1
26 the 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: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

The Spirit of God was at the core of one Man, Jesus, and deity had come into humanity, creating the most amazing one person ever known.  But God was not done intimately interacting with humanity.  The promise of the Father is that He sent His Spirit to indwell, to become incarnate in all of us.  Not in the same way as Jesus, in which two natures are merged into one person, but for deity to enter into humanity, into our flesh, into our earthly lives - body, soul and spirit, to make a divine difference in us.

John14
11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
12  “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
15  “If you love Me, keep My commandments.
16 “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--
17 “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.
18  “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John20
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Colossians1
26 the 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: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 

John17
20  “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21 “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.
22 “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 “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.

Christ in us, the hope of glory, even in our humanity, in this world, on this earth.

The Christians of the first century understood this mystery:  The Odes of Antioch.

Ode1
“He is on my head like a crown, I shall never be without Him.”   - glory

Ode6
1. As the wind glides through the harp and the strings speak,
2. So the Spirit of the Lord speaks through my members, and I speak through His love.

This is the glory when Christ is in us, indwelling the divine within the human.

3. The Incarnational Manifestations of Christmas

Every aspect of Christmas is an outgrowth of Christ being incarnate in us.  Love, joy peace are manifested because Christ is in us, the hope of glory (heavy, amazing, awesome, staggering).

a. Saint Nicholas - kind, compassionate, secret giver, many miracles - glory

b. Worship, singing Christmas carols, special programs - glory

c. Togetherness as congregations, families and friends - glory

d. Gift giving - God gave His Son, Wisemen gave gifts, Jesus gave His life, God gives salvation, xaris, Christian charities, Christmas gifts - glory

e. Celebration and joy - good food and drink - glory

f. Peace - Christian armies laid down their weapons, people try to get along

g. Decorations - glorious

h. Christmas tree - evergreen, tree of life, a reminder of the good earth, new earth.  That will be glorious.

This is the glory of Christmas.  It’s all about love, joy and peace - in the Spirit of Jesus, because Christ is in us, the hope of glory.  The glory of Christmas is a showcase of the Christian life, and foretells the glory of eternal life.

Conclusion  Luke8:10

10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.”

Colossians1
26 the 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: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (awesomeness)

Application to My Life