The Mystery Revealed
September 2025 - Bruce Fairbairn, Elder
I like to read mystery novels. It is fun and challenging to follow the plot, piece together the evidence and identify “whodunit.” As a literary genre, mystery novels share many common characteristics. There are usually a plethora of often eccentric suspects and a master detective who collects the clues and, in the last chapter, brings all the suspects together, points at one and says “you did it.” The perpetrator is usually the butler. (Okay, it’s not usually the butler, unless his name is Jeeves!)
The Bible speaks of a different kind of mystery, God’s eternal plan revealed in Jesus Christ. In Ephesians, Paul wrote: “He (God the Father) made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.” And, in Colossians, Paul encourages the heart and unity of early believers “in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Led by the Holy Spirit, the Master Detective Paul points us all to Christ.
In Bible classes, we sometimes characterize the Old Testament as “Christ concealed” and the New Testament as “Christ revealed.” By some counts, there are more than 300 passages, prophecies, and people or events foreshadowing Christ in the Old Testament. We sometimes criticize the learned Pharisees and Jewish scholars who somehow missed all this evidence and failed to recognize that the long-awaited Messiah had indeed arrived in the person of Jesus Christ. Perhaps we are being a little unfair to those folks because we have something they did not—the gift of hindsight provided by the complete Word of God expressed in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Through study, discernment and prayer we can collect the amazing clues, piece together the abundant evidence and marvel at the fulfillment thus far of God’s perfect plan. We can be a little like my grandmother in this regard. She also loved mystery novels but would read the last chapter first to see who did it. Then she’d read the rest of the book, having a grand time spotting the clues!
Later in Ephesians, Paul writes further about God’s mysteries now revealed: “that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus” and “…to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God…now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As His body banded together in the church we call Crestview, we come every month to share communion, thankful for the eternal promises realized through Christ and committed to help bring the Good News to a thirsty world. Mystery revealed, indeed!
Bruce Fairbairn
