Lesson Notes: Colossians 1:26-27 (NIV based)

TITLE: The Mystery, With Its Glorious Riches

READ: Colossians 1:26-27, with vv.24-25 for context v.26 What is meant by the word "mystery"? - - "Mystery" is information that God has kept unknown or undisclosed or unrevealed, and undiscoverable by man. - - God "has kept [this information] hidden for ages and generations". - - But "it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets". (Ephesians 3:5) - - And so it "is now disclosed to the saints" and being implemented among them, for example among the Colossian believers by Paul, Timothy, and Epaphras.

What is the "mystery" being disclosed and explained here? - - This mystery is the 'church' - groups of believers or saints gather to learn, live, and promote the Word of God in its fullness. (vv.23,28; cf. Ephesians 3:10) - - The 'church' now includes Gentiles as heirs of God's kingdom, whereas formerly the synagogue was God's institution and essentially was only for Hebrew Jews. (v.27; cf. Ephesians 3:6) - - But right after the resurrection of Christ, God has ordained that "Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in" to God's Kingdom. (Romans 11:25)

------v.27 Besides the 'church', does this 'mystery' contain any other comprising elements? - - The 'mystery' also contains the "mystery of Christ" (Ephesians 3:4), now being disclosed who He is, what He is, and what He did to provide a way for humans to be reconciled to God. (Colossians 1:15-22) - - Furthermore, the 'mystery' contains the "mystery of the gospel" (Ephesians 6:19), now being disclosed within "the Word of God in its fullness" (Colossians 1:25) that God has reconciled believers "by Christ's physical body through death [on the cross] to present them holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation" (Colossians 1:22-23a).

What are some of the results listed here of this 'mystery' being "made known among the Gentiles"? Identify and describe them. - - There are "glorious riches" awaiting those persons who hear the gospel and properly respond in faith. - - One of the "glorious riches" is that upon hearing the gospel and believing in Christ for the payment of one's own sins, each believing person then receives "Christ in you", which is the Holy Spirit living in and residing in that believing person. - - Another of the "glorious riches" is that with the receiving of "Christ in you", each believing person also thereupon receives "the hope of glory", which is the "confidence and expectation" that spring forth from the guarantee of one day being taken up into heaven to live forever with God. (Strong's #1680) - - These "glorious riches" are now available to the Gentiles, who had been excluded previous to this change in God's program.

------If this information about God's activities to reconcile humans to Himself was a mystery in the past, then what was understood in this regard prior to the disclosure of this mystery? - - Essentially, an Anointed One from God would come one day and save or deliver humans.

Does this mean that God intentionally hid this information, and perhaps even disguised it within the Old Testament? - - Yes, definitely.

Why did God exclude the Gentiles in all of the time and centuries before this? - - Hint: see Genesis 12:1-3.

Why do you suppose God disclosed this 'mystery' about the 'church' "to the saints" and not just to everyone? (v.26) - - God's purpose is that when individual persons put their faith in Christ in response to hearing the gospel, they each need to become a member within a group of other believers in order to grow spiritually and to then implement the various aspects of God's program for them. - - Unbelievers do not have like-mindedness with believers in these spiritual matters, therefore in this regard unbelievers essentially have no need to grow spiritually as a believer in a church community with other believers until the unbelievers each actually become a believer themselves. - - The 'church' is an extension of Christ, His body of those persons who properly believe in Him (v.24), and therefore it is an integral part of God's program specifically and especially designed for the healthy functioning of His believers. - - Note, though, that the church can and should be an environment and means through which unbelievers can be brought in to hear the gospel and invited to respond by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. - - But a lesser degree of mystery still remains upon the realities about Christ, the gospel, and the church, requiring that these must be presented and repeatedly explained to unbelieving people before they can gain a minimally sufficient understanding of these doctrinal matters that will move them towards believing. - - Therefore, it is the responsibility of true believers to understand, to guard, and to pass along to the next generation the basic doctrines and tenets of the faith. - - Otherwise, pagans and unbelievers will just mock, trample, and distort the Word of God, the realities about Christ, the gospel, and the purpose of the church, which are holy, sacred, righteous, and precious before God. (Matthew 7:6) What is your regard of the 'church' - its purposes and roles in God's program? Describe.

Is your regard of the 'church' healthy, and aligning with God's purposes and intentions for it?

Or is your regard of the 'church' critical? Or apathetic? Why?

Is the 'church' perfect, or suppose to be perfect? Why?

If you consider who comprises the 'church', which is converted and redeemed "evil" sinners (v.21) in life-long process of being made perfect (v.28), then now what should your expectations of the 'church' realistically be?

------MAIN POINT: What would you say is the main point in these verses?

IMPORTANT SUB-POINTS: What are some other important points God is making here in these verses?

------APPLICATIONS: What applications can you think of for how we should respond to the concepts in these verses?

PERSONALIZED APPLICATIONS: From these verses, what do you think God wants you to learn, or know, or remember, or put into effect in your life? How are you going to do that?

------

------Works Cited: Bible. “The Holy Bible: New International Version.” The Bible Library CD-ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988.

“Strong's Greek Dictionary.” The Bible Library CD-ROM. Oklahoma City, OK: Ellis Enterprises, 1988. ------Copyrights: Scriptures taken from Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Copyright © 2017 Mel W. Coddington, and permission is hereby granted that this document may be used, copied, and distributed non-commercially to non-profit organizations, individuals, churches, ministries, and schools worldwide, provided the copies are distributed at no charge and retain this sources documentation as supplied herein. This document is not for sale, resale, or for use as a gift or premium to be offered in connection with solicitations or contributions. ------File name: Colossians1_26-27-LessonNotes.___ (.htm, .doc, .pdf) Translation used: NIV, quoted or referred to in various places within this document Source: www.BelieverAssist.com Updated: January 30, 2017