Word Count: 2806

Contact Joseph LaValley

The Mystery God Revealed To Paul Will Change Your Life

by Joseph LaValley  
2/02/2016 / Christian Living

When we look at the problems mankind faces today there are many. Some are facing the worse economic times of their lives. Others have concerns about their health. In spite of all the medical advances today, there is still much suffering and sickness. There is heart disease, cancer and AIDs to name just a few and all are still with us today. The amount of people taking medication for mental disorders has skyrocketed. Crime, drug addiction, broken families, poverty, man's inhumanity to man all these things have multiplied, problem upon problem. And of course the problems closest to home-yours!

If there was a self-help book that hit the best seller list with a plan of action that was changing lives in all of the above and more - wouldn't you want to know the secrets revealed therein? Of course you would! We all want results not mere theory.

Good news! The apostle Paul had a mystery revealed to him by God that has changed lives throughout history. It has brought victories in some of the worse situations and continues to do so today.

Romans 8:35-36 KJV- Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution or famine or nakeness or peril, or sword?
As it is written, "For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."

Listed above are some of life's worst case conditions: These things still go on today. I dare say that some of those reading this article may be experiencing one or more of these things now. Surely then, verse thirty-six is not going to be a heart warmer for you.

So why did Paul place that quote from the Old Testament following this terrible list? Romans 8:36 is quoted from Psalms 44:22, where the Psalmist is describing the curse that had come upon Israel due to their having turned away from God. God's answer to those Old Testament believers was the Old Covenant He had made available to them so as to bless their lives but as I said they turned to their own ways. A curse is a spiritual condition that brings forth manifested consequences. Paul was drawing a contrast of the Old Testament covenant with the New Testament covenant.

Romans 8:37 KJV- Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

Out with the old; hooray for the New! The blood of The Lamb, the only begotten Son of God, covers it all. The horrible things mentioned above were obviously a curse not a blessing. When such things happen to Christians, whether due to personal sin, the sins of a nation, or an attack of the adversary; the answer is still the same. Jesus Christ became a curse for us when He died on the cross.

Galatians 3:13 KJV- Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.

If Jesus is your savior, then the legal consequences of sin were put on your savior. As far as I understand the American judicial system once you've been tried for a crime and found innocent, you can't be tried again for the same crime. You are free of the legal consequences. This is you in the court of heaven. Jesus Christ is your savior; He took your place for your crimes and hence you are not only free to go but you are also free of the consequences.

Jesus not only died for our sins but He was raised from the dead and seated at God's own right hand to empower our living. He energizes all spiritual blessings to the born again believer. Good News, all spiritual blessing is the root of all physical blessings. Christ has committed Himself to bring into manifestation these blessings as we believe. These are the truths of the mystery as revealed to Paul. This is the answer to your problems in no uncertain terms.

Ephesians 1:19-21 KJV- And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power,
Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in heavenly places,
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

Let's take a look at how the curse and God's answer to it have unfolded over mankind's history. The Bible, which I believe to be God's revealed will; past, present and future tells us that all problems are rooted in the spiritual realm. When God first created the heavens and the earth, none of these problems existed. God's heart and intent for humanity was paradise.

Genesis 1:31a- KJV- And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good
Genesis 1:28a- KJV- And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion

Sometime after this wonderful act of creation, Lucifer, the angel of light, (another freewill agent) rebelled against God. He showed up in paradise and deceitfully convinced Adam and Eve that God was holding out on them. (Go figure!) Of their own free volition, they chose to turn from light to darkness and ushered in all of mankind's ills. In doing so they brought forth a curse.

A curse is not God throwing down a heap of nasty to get back at His people. This curse is a spiritually dark consequential condition brought upon all of God's creation by the disobedient act of choosing darkness over light. It falls under sowing and reaping, not a knee jerk reaction from a hacked off Creator.

God had warned them what they would reap if they decided to sow that certain seed. But they simply didn't believe Him. All of God's creation was effected by their action. All things became toilsome as well as troublesome; from tilling the soil to bearing children. There was now set in motion, over all of creation, aging, decay and death for all living things. God's man and woman, who had originally been given dominion, were now spiritually dead.

This is the spiritual condition that all of mankind is born into today. This all-encompassing tragedy started in the spiritual realm with Adam's fall. God's all-encompassing deliverance has likewise been wrought in the spiritual realm.

To meet the demands of justice (God can only be just), God has sent forth His only begotten Son to freely give His life for all the sins of humanity. The first Adam was created sinless but chose to sin. The second Adam, (Jesus Christ) was also created sinless, but chose to obey. He became sin for us on the cross. God tells us in His Word that the payment due for sin is death. Jesus Christ made that payment for all. All those willing to confess Him as Lord receive their debt paid in full.

From the time of Adam and Eve's fall there has been a God given promise of the one who would come and destroy the rule and dominion of Satan.

Genesis 3:15 KJV- And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt his heel.

This is a recorded prophetic word that God spoke to the devil immediately after the fall of man. A woman doesn't have a seed. A sperm cell is the seed. God was foretelling that someday He would create a sinless seed in a woman who would bring forth the man who would be the messiah. The first portion of this prophesy speaks of Jesus Christs first coming when He gave His life on the cross. It then states that the devil would bruise his heal. The seed of the woman bruising the head of the serpent, speaks of a future time at Christ second coming when the serpent (the devil) will be destroyed.

All the Old Testament believers looked forward to this prophecy being fulfilled. There were a number of things prophesied by Old Testament prophets regarding Christ first and second coming. Most of Jesus' disciples didn't fully understand nor were they able to fit these prophesies together.

Look at the twelve apostles' response to Jesus' death on the cross; they were confused and hurt; they thought it was all over. However, Jesus Christ appeared to them assuring them of the reality of His resurrection. He then instructed them to wait in Jerusalem for the promise of the Father that He had told them about. Once again they were confused. They knew about the prophecies that foretold of Christ restoring the kingdom to Israel and that's what they were looking for.

Acts 1:4-6 KJV- And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
When they therefore were come together, they asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

Here Jesus Christ instructed them to wait for the Promise of the Father. This promise was the first time the spirit of God would abide in people. This was not God's spirit with them for a season as in former times but an abiding in, and forever. (John 14:16-17). Why in in their minds was this wonderful promise overshadowed by their question? Because it was a mystery that had been hidden by God. In other words, there had been no prophesies in the Bible regarding it. The Old Testament prophets couldn't know what God hadn't yet revealed.

This "promise of the Father" was given and manifested in Acts 2. Fire sat above the heads of the twelve apostles as they spoke in tongues. Speaking in tongues was a sign of the new birth. God's gift was now abiding within the believer forever.

By the way, God's word does not tell us that if you don't speak in tongues, you're not saved. Salvation is received when you confess the resurrected Jesus Christ as your Lord (Romans 10:9-10 KJV). Remember speaking in tongues is an outward manifestation of the inner reality of the new birth. That's why it's called a sign not a requirement.

We cannot find speaking in tongues in the Old Testament nor in the four gospels because it was a sign of a new covenant based upon the finished work of Christ. Sometime later God worked with Peter to get him to go and minister the word of God to a group of Gentiles so that they too could receive God's gift and speak in tongues. This was a shocking revelation to Peter, but he heard the sign with his own ears.

Acts 10:45-46 KJV- And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God

Later on God unveiled the mystery by revelation to the Apostle Paul. This revelation fully spelled out what had been given to the twelve apostles on the day of Pentecost as well as to all others thereafter who confessed Jesus as their living Lord.

Colossians 1:25-27 KJV- Wherefore I am a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God;
Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints,
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

With the coming of the greater the lesser is done away with. This revealed truth tops all the covenants that went before it. The resurrected Christ now lives and works within each and every believer. We are enabled to become more and more like the resurrected Christ in heart and deed. Do you think for a moment that Christ would be stymied or frightened by your problem? Do you think for one moment that he would doubt His ability to bring about your deliverance? Rejoice! He is living within you.

2 Corinthians 3:3-6 KJV- Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God
Who hath made us ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth but the spirit giveth life.

Every born again believer is part of this new creation, the Body of Christ. By that life giving new birth spirit within each of us, Christ fills us to become more like Him and be changed from glory to glory. From deliverance to deliverance!

Ephesians 1:22-23 KJV- And hath put all things under his feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church,
Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.

We are filled through Christ who is the head of this new creation. We are a new creation in Christ now, not "in the sweet by and by" or someday. Blessings are a spiritual condition brought about by Christ Jesus completed work. We didn't bring any earning power to a so called "negotiating table", hence the need for a savior. Our job is not to earn God's blessing but to respond to the blessings in Christ Jesus. They are yours now.

Ephesians 1:2 KJV- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Notice these blessings have, past tense, been given. A major key to understanding what these blessings are, can be gathered from the redemptive names of Jehovah made known in the Old Testament, per example; "the Lord shall provide", "the Lord our healer." In Psalm 23, David refers to a number of the redemptive attributes of the Lord my shepherd. That was under an Old Testament Covenant, a mere shadow of the greater to come. We have all these promises, and then some, based upon the blood of Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:19-20). Our completeness has been given in Christ. That's the meaning of salvation; wholeness as the mystery that God revealed to Paul.

Colossians 2:10 KJV- And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.

We cannot read about a believer's "completeness in Christ" in the Old Testament. The Law of Moses was only a shadow of the greater to come (Hebrews 10:1). We will not find it mentioned in the four Gospels. Why? Because Jesus Christ had to obey God, even unto the death of the cross, to make available our completeness.

As I've mentioned before, God kept this secret until He revealed this truth to Paul, the apostle. Search out those scriptures given to Paul; Especially the books of Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians Philippians, Colossians and I and II Thessalonians. You'll find that God has already moved through Christ Jesus. He's now waiting on us, you and me, to respond in love and faith so that He can energize in the physical world what He's already released in the spiritual realm.

Let us not be like that first generation of Israelites that God redeemed from Egypt. They tempted God by limiting the Holy One of Israel (Psalm 78:41). Instead, let's have the heart of Joshua and Caleb. They responded by holding onto God's promises and then setting the soles of their feet upon the promise land God had given. We now need to learn about the walk of faith and set the soles of our feet upon our Christ given ground.

Colossians 2:6 KJV- As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk ye in Him.

Now is the time for us to rise up in all the blessings and fullness of what the Lord had made available, Christ in you the hope of Glory! Whether we start with baby steps or giant steps, I believe the Lord is saying, "Stretch forth thine legs," and come walk with the Father!

My name is Joseph. I became serious about walking with the Lord back in 1972. My wife and I have been married since 1975, and have two grown daughters. We presently live in Texas. Our e-book -"Come Walk With The Father" is available at amazon.com.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Joseph LaValley

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer