FACTS OF FAITH By Christian Edwardson
Chapter 20
The Two Mysteries
(193) The Bible speaks
of two mysteries: "the mystery of godliness," and "the mystery
of iniquity." 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:7.
[1Ti 3:16 And without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit,
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received
up into glory.
2Th 2:7 For
the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let,
until he be taken out of the way.]
Seeing
that these two mysteries are fundamental principles of two opposing powers,
each claiming the sole sovereignty over the souls of men, and requiring man's
unconditional surrender and obedience, the study of these two mysteries becomes
both important and interesting.
THE
MYSTERY OF GODLINESS
Ever since the fall, man's nature has been inclined toward
evil; and while he still has the power of choice, he cannot in his own strength
break with sin, change his nature, or live a godly life. The Bible declares:
"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye
also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Jeremiah 13:23. Yea,
"he shall be holden with the cords of his sins." Proverbs 5:22. The
Apostle Paul realized this when in his struggle against the evil of his nature
he cried out: "The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would
not, that I do....O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body
of this death?" Romans 7:19, 24.
There is only one who can deliver man from sin, and He is
abundantly able and always willing to do it. "Thou shalt call His name
JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins," and His gospel is
"the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth."
Matthew 1:21; Romans 1:16. Here is abundant power available to all who will
believe and accept it, so that there is no excuse for continuing in known sin.
And sin brings us no happiness, for it always carries with it a trail of woe.
God's Father-heart of infinite love has been wrung with anguish for the
sufferings of man, and He has settled it that sin with its terrible
consequences shall never be permitted to enter His eternal kingdom; therefore
our only hope of entering heaven is to part company with evil.
(194) But as man cannot
in his own strength rid himself of sin, his only hope is to let Christ take
charge of his life. When Christ dwells in our hearts by His Holy Spirit, He
changes our aspirations, our likes, and our dislikes. Sinful habits, which we
in vain have tried to break, fall off as the leaves of autumn, and we receive
the power of His love to conquer sin and live a happy Christian life. (John
15:5; Romans 8:10-13.) And while Christ would gladly do this work for everyone,
for He wants "all men to be saved," yet He will not use force to
accomplish it, but is patiently standing at the door of every heart asking
permission to come in and supply the needed power to conquer sin. (1 Timothy
2:3, 4; Revelation 3:20.) Sad to say, most people refuse Him admittance.
"But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of
God, even to them that believe on His name." John 1:12.
Here, then, is the secret of victory in Christian life:
"the mystery of godliness," "which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory." 1 Timothy 3:16; Colossians 1:27. Then we are not left alone in our
struggles, for He works in us "mightily" (v. 29), but He always wants
our co-operation: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good
pleasure." Philippians 2;12, 13. By this co-operation of the human and the
divine such marvelous changes are wrought in human lives and such Christlike
character is developed that angels marvel at it, and even worldlings are forced
to recognize in the change from sin to godliness a mysterious power with which
they are unacquainted.
The life of Jesus on earth was a living demonstration of this
mystery. He combined in His own person both the human and the divine natures.
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was
manifest in the flesh." 1 Timothy 3:16.
THE
MYSTERY OF INIQUITY
(195) It is evident
that the "mystery of iniquity" is a counterfeit of the "mystery
of godliness," or in other words, some human substitution for the divine
plan of salvation, in which man would take the place of Christ, and human
efforts would be substituted for the divine presence in the soul. And this is
exactly what the Apostle Paul declared it to be, when he foretold that there
would "come a falling away" of the apostolic church, and that in this
fallen church there would arise "that man of sin,...who opposeth and
exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of
God, showing himself that he is God....For the mystery of iniquity doth already
work." 2 Thess. 2:3-7. Speaking to the church he further says: "Ye are
the temple of God." 1 Cor. 3:16, 17. This prophecy plainly shows that
after the "falling away" of the early church some "man"
would attempt to take Christ's place in the church, which is God's temple, or
dwelling place.
The fulfillment of this prophecy is so clearly seen in the
history of the Papacy that God's people have always recognized it whenever they
have been spiritually awake. Every well-read person knows that the early
Christian church fell away from its apostolic purity and corrupted its
doctrines by adopting heathen customs, baptizing them with Christian names, so
that the church entirely changed its face within four hundred years after the
apostles' death. The "mysteries of Mithras" were substituted for the
"mystery of godliness"; "the sacrifice of the mass" took
the place of the sacrifice made on the cross; righteousness gained by
self-torture and human efforts took the place of Christ's righteousness
received by simple faith in Jesus as a personal Saviour; receiving a
sacramental Christ by eating the wafer took the place of an indwelling Christ
received by faith in God's promises; a multitude of human mediators were
substituted for Christ, the "one mediator between God and man." 1
Timothy 2:5. We shall enter more fully into the details of this in the
following chapters.
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