The Refining Part 4
"Mysteries of the Spirit"
Part A
by Ricci Johnson-Wilson
After Jesus arose from the dead, He visited many here on earth. He visited the disciples, He appeared to many of the saints here on Earth, and before He ascended to heaven He told them to “Go and wait for the release of My Spirit.” We know the story of the book of Acts—this is the manifestation of the Spirit of God in the earth. The disciples went to the upper room and waited on the Lord. They sought the face of God and prayed, and prayed, and prayed. They were waiting for the gift that was promised to them by Jesus. They knew it would come, as He had never failed them on a single promise He’d given. At the appointed moment, the Holy Spirit was released, manifested by the speaking of tongues as the Holy Spirit was released in and through them. This sign paved the way for the Gospel to be shared, and the Bible tells us that over 3,000 were added to their number that same day. (Acts 2)
Jesus walked with His disciples and gave them a living example of how to live a Spirit-filled life, how to live a life of perfection, not sinning, loving your brother, loving the sinner. And, He fulfilled the law. In Acts 2, we have the impartation of the Holy Spirit, which gives us all that we need to fulfill our call and to function in the Body of Christ. He is not going to call us to do things and not give us the ability to fulfill them. That is not who He is, and in this hour He expects us to do greater things than we’ve ever seen before. Why? Because it is not going to be done in our own strength or power, it is not for our glory, it is to bring forth a move of God!
We are to be that move of God! If we are not empty vessels, refined and ready to be used by Him, His Spirit cannot flow freely through us. Why? Because if we have not emptied ourselves of who we are, our garbage, our impurities, or if we have not allowed Him to do that work in us as the Spirit flows through us, we are going to grab hold of the credit for ourselves. Then, the enemy is going to jump on that self-credit and fill us up with so much pride that we will quench the move of God that He’s trying to release. When one person quenches the Spirit, it causes a kink in the Body of Christ and this will affect the Body as a whole. We are called to walk in the unity of the Spirit.
Ephesians 3:1-9 says, “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 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; That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.”
The Mysteries of God. The word “mystery” means “anything that is hidden.” Anything that is hidden. It is a secret for which initiation is necessary. What is the initiation? Salvation. If we are going to understand the mysteries of God, we have to know God. We must accept Jesus as our Savior and we have to have the impartation of the Holy Spirit into our lives. Why? Because my friends, the revelation that comes forth through that impartation is beyond man’s grasp. We cannot understand the mysteries of God without the Holy Spirit. In the New Testament, this refers to the counsel of God, once hidden but now revealed in the Gospel.
The mysteries of God involve Christian revelation and impartation of particular truths or details of Christ. The mysteries of God are revelations of Who He is! We don’t get that without His divine intervention. Often as I sit down to read or study the Word, I ask, “Lord, please give me revelation into Your Word.” What does the Word tell us to do? Pray for wisdom, revelation, knowledge, discernment and understanding. (Eph. 1:16-22) Paul prayed this over the Ephesians—should we not pray this over ourselves as well? These are keys that unlock the mysteries of God to us. The more we press in, the more He reveals the mysteries of the kingdom of God.
In the Bible “mystery” is not something considered unknowable, but rather, it is something that can only be made known through revelation. Why? Because God reveals it to us. Why does He do this? Does He do it for us personally? Yes. But why else? Eph. 3:9 answers this question: “To make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God.” Look up the Greek word for “to the intent,” and we find that it means “in order.”
So, this passage could read, “In order that now the principalities, powers, or authority in heavenly places, might be made known to the Church by the manifold wisdom of God.” Wow! What a powerful statement for the Church today! If we could embrace the truth of this passage, we would see that the purpose of Him releasing the mysteries of God into His children who have pressed in, is to release the manifold presence of God—the manifold wisdom of God. He imparts His gifts, His revelation—all that He imparts within each of us is for one purpose: to release an understanding of Who God is (and what He’s done) into the people of the earth. Why? Think about the magnitude of this for a moment. Coming to know Who God is pulls back the veil separating us from Him. We begin to see who Jesus is, what His salvation means, who the Holy Spirit is and what He means in each of our lives. When we allow Him to do this work within us, then He can impart the mysteries of who He is deep within. Those mysteries are then poured out into the Church. In short, it is for the glory of God and for the edification of the Body of Christ.
As the body of Christ, we are called to walk in the truths of Ephesians 4:1-16. Up to this point, Paul has been talking about releasing the hidden things of God—the mysteries of who God is. Paul may be sitting in a Roman prison, but his passion to release this message, thereby imparting truth into the Gentiles, does not wane. In Romans 3:1 he says, “For this cause, I Paul, prisoner of Jesus Christ…” Despite his physical surroundings, Paul never saw himself as a prisoner of man; he saw himself as a prisoner of Jesus Christ and in his imprisonment, a defender of the Gospel. (Phil 1:7) Consider the difference when someone takes his or her circumstances and, rather than feeling victimized by even the most dire circumstances, they embrace them as an opportunity to glorify Christ!
In the fourth chapter of Philippians, Paul says he has learned how to be content in all things. Whether he was hungry or full, bond or free, it did not matter, for all that he did was in the strength which Christ provides. As long as he was serving Jesus Christ to the fullest extent of what He had called him to do, Paul was content, regardless of his external circumstances. He lived His life determined to press into God and expand the Kingdom of God. Paul understood the depth of the mysteries of God that our Lord wanted to deposit within His children. The truth is, overcoming our flesh is a requirement for receiving of the mysteries of God.
To be continued next week…
Blessings & Love,
Ricci Johnson-Wilson
