Many Christians go about their lives hoping that one day God will make clear what He has purposed for them.
They love him and want to do his will, but they do not know what he has in mind. Until God speaks to them all they can do is wait.
Isaiah, a prophet under the Old Testament, states their condition exactly.
“For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.” – Isa 64:4
And so, Christians are given the outdated advice to “wait on the Lord” to see what he has “prepared for those that love him” (1 Cor 2:9).
But what if God had already revealed his will, and it has simply been ignored?
Wouldn’t it be a tremendous relief to know what God has prepared for His people?
Yes, and it is true, it has already been revealed! God has declared his will for all in the revelation of the mystery to the apostle Paul.
Unfortunately, few Christians are aware of this revelation.
Paul explains that from the beginning of the world men like Isaiah have waited on the Lord: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Then Paul drops an atomic bomb on those sitting with Isaiah waiting on the Lord.
“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit:…” – 1 Cor 2:10
Revealed what? The things God has prepared for those that love him! No more waiting! God has spoken his will.
“[God] having made known unto us the mystery of his will,…” – Eph 1:9
The revelation of God’s will for the church today is called the mystery of Christ.
“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew:” – 1 Cor 2:7-8
This mystery is not something we receive in dreams and visions, but it has been written by Paul in the Bible for us to understand.
“How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as
I wrote afore in few words , Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;” – Eph 3:3-5
There is no more waiting on God, because God has already revealed his will that the manifold wisdom of God might be known by the church (Eph 3:10).
Before the mystery was revealed, Isaiah said, “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?” (Isa 40:13; 1 Cor 2:16).
But now, with an understanding of God’s wisdom according to the mystery, Paul responds:
“But we have the mind of Christ!” – 1 Cor 2:16
It is no longer us who should be waiting on the Lord to reveal his mind.
It is God who is waiting on us to study what God has revealed, and open our mouths boldly to “make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery” (Eph 3:9, 6:19).
Article Index Published: July 26, 2014
Last Modified: April 14, 2018