The Mysteries of the Kingdom

Again and again, we hear certain men talk about the “mysteries” of the kingdom or of the Gospel (or whatever other term they choose to use). Usually, these men speak of these “mysteries” as things that are still hidden and that require some special revelation by themselves to deliver to the rest of the Church.

Those who have been around long enough and who are unclouded in their observation know that when I say that Misters David Oyedepo and Chris Oyakhilome are two such men, I lie not.

In this article, my objective is to show clearly from the Bible why these men – and others who hold to their position – are wrong (mind you, that’s a lot of people, probably including you the reader; so prepare to repent). Prepare to throw away any extra revelations anyone may have presented to you. If Jesus didn’t teach it, and Peter didn’t teach it, and Paul didn’t teach it, and James didn’t, and John didn’t….. its a lie.

Hang on to your seats and hold on to your hats…..

The mysteries…

1Co 2:1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.
1Co 2:2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1Co 2:3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,
1Co 2:4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
1Co 2:5 that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
1Co 2:6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away.
1Co 2:7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
1Co 2:8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
1Co 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”–
1Co 2:10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

Let’s look at verses 7 and 8 of 1 Corinthians 2 presented above: “But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory“.

Question: Who was doing the imparting of this mystery? (verse 7)
Answer: Paul says, “We”. Who’s we?

If you back up to chapter one, you can follow Paul’s train of thoughts. He had spoken of Peter, Appollos and himself as God’s servants, and consistently used “we” and “us” in reference to this group of people. So, who’s “we” doing the revelation of “this” mystery? Bingo! The apostles and their companions.

Note verse 10: “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit”. You see, these things that had been hidden was revealed to the apostles thousands of years ago. That verse says “has revealed”. In other words, as at the time Paul was writing his epistles to the Corinthians, the mystery had already been revealed.

Question: What was this mystery?
Answer: Paul says “if the rulers of this age had understood this mystery, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory”

Hello? The mystery seems to have been that God was going to manifest in the flesh and deliver man from eternal condemnation. Do we have further Scriptures for this? Sure!

1Ti 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

Are you seeing this? The mystery was the coming of Christ, and the apostles revealed that mystery. They explained it. They taught it in plain words so that it is no longer a mystery.

Here’s another place that Paul writes about the mystery of the Gospel:

Eph 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Eph 1:8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
Eph 1:9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
Eph 1:10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Here again, we see that its a done thing: “making known” or “having made known”. Then we see again that this “mystery” is the Gospel of Christ, and contrary to the “mysteries” that false teachers propagate, this mystery of the Gospel has its focus on eternity – that in the fulness of time all things will be united under Christ.

Let’s stroll down to Ephesians chapter 3 for more insight into this mystery that was revealed.

Eph 3:1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles–
Eph 3:2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
Eph 3:3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
Eph 3:4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,
Eph 3:5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
Eph 3:6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Eph 3:7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
Eph 3:8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Eph 3:9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things,
Eph 3:10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Note: The mystery was revealed to apostle Paul (verse 3) [and it was the same thing the other apostles had
Note: The mystery had been hidden in times past but had now been revealed to God's chosen messengers by the Holy Spirit (verse 5) [are you seeing the thread through 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, 1 Timothy etc?]
Note: This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (verse 6).

Errr, but folks like Chris Oyakhilome and David Oyedepo and others in their circles won’t have so many tapes and CDs and books to sell if this was all they preached; would they?

All those feet-washing services and Shiloh every year stunts wouldn’t be so attractive if the bishop at Otta would stick with this mystery; would they?

No; those men would have nothing to peddle if they stayed true to the mystery as revealed to the apostles. Instead, they had to cook theirs up, and spin them into a finely-woven garment of lies and falsehood.

But we are not done yet. Here’s something from Colossians:

Col 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church,
Col 1:25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known,
Col 1:26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.
Col 1:27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Col 1:28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

Note: Paul was chosen by God to make known or unveil or de-mystify this mystery that had been hidden for ages.
Note: Paul – writing about 2,000 years ago – said that this mystery had now been revealed to the saints. Through whom? Him (and the other apostles).
Note: What is this mystery? Again, Paul said its the Gospel. Salvation has come to the Gentiles! That’s all there was and there is to it. Salvation has come, mature in the Lord, and when He comes back great shall be the glory we shall share!!

This theme runs through the entire New Testament.

Let’s see chapter 2 of Colossians:

Col 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,
Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,
Col 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Col 2:4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.

Paul states here categorically that God’s mystery is Christ. That’s why the devil missed it and nailed Him to the cross. That was the mystery. That through His death and resurrection, the Gentiles would enter into covenant with God; that was the mystery. That man would not be justified by his works; that was the mystery. That in the fulness of times, the Lord Jesus would return; that was the mystery.

But that mystery is clear to the saints now, and Paul said to the Colossians to grow and be firm in it. Not to move away from it. Not to seek after other mysteries. The instruction is to stay with what has been revealed by the apostles.

Incidentally, if we read down the chapter, we see that Paul’s exhortation that the Colossians stand firm in the mystery was within the context of debunking all the legal codes that false teachers of our day keep foisting on their followers:

• Jesus canceled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, set them all aside, and nailed them to the cross. But these men keep their followers chained to these demands: tithe, offerings, seeds, et al.
• we are not to let anyone impose anything on us in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. Yet; we see pastors now preaching that we are not to eat certain types of meat; preaching that we are to observe days of atonements, Shilohs, 7-7-7, 8-8-8, and all that.

How did the Church stray this far? I could go on and on, but we have enough references already.

When the Comforter is come

Some will ask, “Is it not the ministry of the Holy Spirit to reveal all truth to us?” I answer by presenting you the passage:

Joh 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Joh 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Joh 16:14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Joh 16:15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Joh 16:16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.”

Here, we see that Jesus was speaking to a specific group of people here: the apostles as a body. At the time of saying the above, He made it clear that they (the apostles) could not understand the rest of the things He had to say. You see; they were not regenerated yet, and so could not comprehend it all.

Then the Lord assured them (not you and I, or David, Paula, Chris, Matt, Enoch or anyone else today) that the Holy Spirit would reveal those other things to them. This was exactly what happened, and they in turn passed those revealed truths down the line. We have those truths in black and white today as the New Testament section of the Bible.

To be sure that He was speaking to a specific set of people, we see that Jesus said, “You see Me now, but soon you won’t see Me”. Well, there it is. He was speaking to the apostles.

Yes; the holy Spirit helps us understand truth today, but not by direct revelation. Rather, it is as we are taught what those men of old have passed down to us that the Spirit of Christ enlightens our hearts.

Our Reference Point: The teachings of the Apostles

Ephesians 3: 4-5 says that the mystery of Christ was revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. Past tense. It was revealed; not “is till being revealed”, or “will continually be revealed”.

What I have said before, I say again: whatever mystery or revelation of truth was not presented to us by the apostles is invalid, null and void. The apostles themselves issued a clear warning when one of them wrote:

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (Rom 16:17-18)

In the context of that passage, who did the teaching? The apostles. As such, anything, any revelation, any teaching that is different from what the apostles taught is a lie. That man (or woman) serves not God but his belly. From such a man, stay away.

This “stay away” command seems to be the hard nut for so many to obey; yet it is very simple. By staying away, you will certainly end up in the minority. But so what?

Now you understand that these men claiming to have certain “mysteries” that hold the key to your life are only playing a grand game of deception in which they themselves are as much pawns as the people they are deceiving.

The question is: Where is your allegiance? – Scriptures or these men?

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