Galatians 1:11-12 says, “For I make known to you, brothers, concerning the gospel announced by me, that it is not according to man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation by Jesus Christ.” The gospel came to Paul, that is, it was received by Paul, through a revelation of Jesus Christ. Here the apostle shows us one thing-the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is not merely a revelation received through Jesus Christ but a revelation concerning and belonging to Jesus Christ Himself.
Verses 15-16 continue: “It pleased God...to reveal His Son in me.” Moreover, Colossians 2:2b-3 says, “The mystery of God, Christ, in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.” Verse 9 says, “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” and 1:26-27 reads, “The mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints; to whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Furthermore, Ephesians 3:3-5 says, “That by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have written previously in brief, by which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in spirit.” All these verses show us that there is something that has never come up in our mind and does not exist in our mind. The Chinese do not have it, and in fact, everyone in the entire world other than those who have been enlightened by God do not have it. What is it that none of these people have? It is the revelation of Christ.
There is something in this universe called the revelation of Christ. The meaning of the word revelation, not to mention the phrase the revelation of Christ, is hard for us to understand. If we ask the saints what revelation means, I believe only a few could give us its meaning. The revelation in the Holy Scriptures is not merely the revelation of the things contained in the Holy Scriptures, but even more it is the revelation of Christ. Moreover, the word revelation itself indicates that this is something that has never occurred to our mind nor come up in our heart.
It is really profitable for us to spend some time to see what a revelation is and to proceed further to see the revelation of Christ. Literally, the word revelation in Greek means the opening of the veil on a stage. We all know that before a show begins, the stage is completely covered with a veil and that people can see only this veil. When the show begins, the veil covering the stage is gradually opened. Revelation is the opening of the veil in order to show us something. In the past something was hidden from us, and there was a veil separating us from that thing. But now the veil is opened to show us the real situation behind the veil. This opening is a revelation.
The Lord Jesus is truly a mystery, and the whole universe is a mystery. Throughout the world people who are somewhat thoughtful know that the universe is a mystery. Philosophers throughout the ages still have not been able to explain to us what the universe really is. Why is there a universe? Why are there so many different kinds of things in it? Why are there human beings? For what purpose do they exist? What is the meaning of human life, and what is the purpose of our living? Not only did the Chinese sages find it difficult to answer these questions, but even the Western philosophers have no answers for them. Neither Confucius nor Socrates knew the answers. Even godly people in the Bible such as Elijah, Jeremiah, David, Moses, and Abraham did not know. They only knew that there is a sovereign One in the universe and that this sovereign One is Jehovah God, the unique and true God who created the heavens, the earth, everything within the heavens and the earth, and mankind. This was all that the prophets, the ancient saints, and the past sages knew.
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