In the New Testament Christ has a particular title. Christians are familiar with many of the titles of Christ: Lord, Redeemer, Savior, Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man, the seed of woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David. But in Colossians 2:2 we see a very particular title of Christ —the mystery of God. According to the Greek, the last part of this verse reads, "To the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, even Christ." Christ is the mystery of God.
God is altogether a mystery. Nothing in the universe is as mysterious as God. Although God exists, no one has ever seen Him (John 1:18). However, God appeared to Abraham. How could God have appeared to Abraham without Abraham seeing Him? This certainly is not logical. Acts 7:2 says that the God of glory appeared to Abraham. Nevertheless, the Bible says that no one has ever seen God. This is a mystery.
In the Old Testament God appeared at least once in the form of a man. In Genesis 18 Abraham was sitting one day by the door of his tent, and he saw three men coming to him. Genesis 18:2 says, "And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him." One of these three was Jehovah. After greeting them, Abraham had a large meal prepared for them, a meal consisting of cakes, a calf, butter, and milk. Thus, Abraham not only saw God, but served Him a meal. How can we say that Abraham did not see God? Furthermore, according to Genesis 18, Abraham took a walk with Him and talked to Him. Therefore, when the Bible says that no one has ever seen God, it is a mystery.
Colossians 1:15 says that Christ is the image of the invisible God. Anything with an image must be visible. How then can the invisible God have a visible image? Is God visible or invisible? And how could He appear in the form of a man before the incarnation of Christ? Two thousand years before the incarnation, God appeared to Abraham in the form of a man. This is a mystery, and I cannot explain it. According to Colossians 2:2, Christ is the mystery of God. I cannot provide an adequate definition of this mystery. If I could, it would no longer be a mystery.
God is a mystery, and the mystery of God is Christ. In other words, God as a mystery is embodied in the Person of Christ. Therefore, Christ is the embodiment of God as the universal mystery. In all of history there is not another person as mysterious as Christ. He surely is mysterious. Today all nations use Christ's calendar. The calendar of all mankind is the calendar of the mystery of God.
Like Christ, the church also has a number of titles. The church is the gathering of the called ones, the household of God, the Body of Christ, and the one new man. According to Ephesians 3:4, the church also has a particular title—the mystery of Christ. When we consider Ephesians 3:4 in context, we see that the mystery of Christ is the church. Thus, Christ is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of Christ. God is a mystery, Christ is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of Christ. Hence, the church is actually a mystery within a mystery. The church is a mystery in the third stage. The first stage is God Himself as the mystery, the second is Christ as the mystery of God, and the third is the church as the mystery of Christ.