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Everyone enjoys a good mystery. There are clues to follow, questions to answer and eventually a truth waiting to be revealed. Paul uses that language in Colossians 1 when he speaks of “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints”. And then he tells us what that mystery is: “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is not simply an interesting theological idea. It is the unveiling of something God had been working towards throughout the story of Scripture – a hope now revealed in Jesus Christ and made personal to those who belong to Him.
Ephesians 2 helps us appreciate just how remarkable this is. Paul tells Gentile believers to remember that they were once “without Christ”, strangers from the covenants of promise, “having no hope and without God in the world”. Then come two wonderful words: “But now.” In Christ Jesus, those who were once far off have been brought near. Scripture itself becomes something like a trail of clues leading us towards this revelation. Jesus explained on the road to Emmaus how Moses and the prophets pointed towards Him. John tells us that those who have the Son have life. Paul tells believers not to sorrow as those who have no hope. What had once been hidden is now being made clear in Christ.
And the mystery becomes wonderfully personal. Paul does not say merely that Christ is near us, around us or beside us. His emphasis is Christ in you. Through the Holy Spirit, God dwells within His people. Our hope therefore does not rest upon our circumstances, our achievements or our ability to control what lies ahead. It rests upon what God has done in Christ. That hope is not wishful thinking. It is confidence grounded in the promises of God, the salvation Christ has accomplished and the certainty that the story is not finished. Titus calls us to live in this present age while “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ”.
That changes the way we face an uncertain future. Trials will come. Jesus never promised otherwise. But the believer is not without hope. We can pray, obey, continue in faith and look beyond what is happening horizontally around us to the eternal reality above us. Paul finishes this theme in Colossians by bringing together faith, love and hope – faith in Christ, love for the saints and hope laid up in heaven. Whatever the coming years may hold, the mystery has been revealed. Christ is in us, our hope is in Him, and our future rests securely in the One who has promised to return.
The message follows three simple ideas built around the picture of a mystery:
A good mystery has clues. Throughout Scripture, God progressively revealed His saving purpose, with the Law and the Prophets ultimately pointing towards Christ.
A good mystery is driven by hope. Those once without Christ were described as having no hope, but the gospel brings a certain and lasting hope grounded in Jesus.
A good mystery becomes personal when it is revealed. The great revelation is not merely Christ for us, but “Christ in you” – God dwelling within His people through the Holy Spirit and giving us hope as we await Christ’s return.
Take some time to read Colossians 1 slowly and look for the repeated themes of faith, love, hope and Christ. Then ask yourself what is shaping the way you look at the future. Are you looking primarily at the circumstances around you, or living from the certainty of Christ within you and the hope laid up for you in heaven?
