“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” Ecclesiastes 11:5 NIV
This verse shows us that there are things impossible to understand with our limited minds, such as the path of the wind and the mystery of how a baby grows in the mother’s womb.
Here Solomon, through the Spirit of God, speaks of something far beyond our comprehension and human reasoning. He says, YOU DO NOT KNOW, YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND, the immense power of our Creator. Technology and science have made great discoveries, allowing us to understand the steps of a baby’s formation and development through ultrasound and other mechanisms.
We can feel the breeze, measure the wind speed, and determine the direction it moves, which is knowledge we use for windsurfing, for example. We have evidence that the wind exists, but how does God make it happen?
How does the spirit enter the body? Zechariah speaks of this mystery:
“This is the word of the Lord who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person.” Zechariah 12:1 NIV
I want to talk to you today about God’s hidden work in our lives. We understand that God, with His eternal power and wisdom, created the heavens and the earth, and the entire universe is under His governance and dominion, including us.
See what the psalmist says: “How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!” Psalm 92:5 NIV
The Bible says: “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” John 1:3 NIV
See that Paul affirms to the Romans: “The God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.” Romans 4:17 NIV
We see this infinite power operating in the hands of a God who goes beyond our human reasoning. It is wonderful and inspiring to know this, filling our hearts with faith, certainty, and conviction.
Therefore, within the theme of God’s hidden work, I would like to discuss the following subject:
THE MYSTERY OF SALVATION
Look at what Paul writes to the Philippians: “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 NIV
The work of salvation, though often unseen, is being generated in secret, the formation of our character into the image of the Lord.
Paul is saying, I know God’s hidden work, how God works invisibly within you, what is being generated, this regenerating work of the Holy Spirit!
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” 1 Peter 1:18-20 NIV
Peter speaks of this mystery of salvation that was hidden but has been revealed to us only in these last days.
Again, Paul reveals this to the Ephesians: “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.” Ephesians 1:4 NIV
Therefore, what was hidden, what was known and chosen, God preserved and prepared for the right moment to be generated and presented to us, our SALVATION, through the precious blood of Christ!
Example:
What did God kill to to cover man’s nakedness in the Garden of Eden when he sinned? A Lamb!
What did God provide when Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac? A Lamb!
What did God command Moses to choose to celebrate Passover, the Israelites’ departure from Egypt? A Lamb!
The Lamb, symbolising Jesus, who was hidden before the creation of the world, and whom God later revealed because He loves us.
John the Baptist points to JESUS and says: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'” John 1:29 NIV
Here begins the deepest hidden work of God in our lives, the work inside us, the way God works through the formation of Christ in us, the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.
Before our faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. Galatians 3:23 NIV
For hundreds of years, God hid this mystery, that man would be saved by grace through faith in the Son of God.
By Faith in Christ Jesus, we become children of God!
By Grace, we are saved through Faith!
By Faith, we receive God’s mercy over our lives!
By Faith, we please God!
By Faith, the gifts of God operate in our calling and ministry!
By Faith, we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit! Etc.
One of the books that inspires me greatly is “The New Wine is Better” which speaks of a man who “lived the invisible, believed the incredible, and received the impossible.”
Smith Wigglesworth said that Faith makes God pass over a million people to find you at the end.
What did God want to reveal to us? The riches of His grace, He says, to show in the coming ages, what was hidden and God wanted to reveal.
“To show in the coming ages the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:7-8 NIV
For a long time, God restrained Himself, kept this mystery hidden, but God revealed it to us through His Son Jesus. When I converted, many times reading the Old Testament, I would have a crisis knowing that God commanded so many people, entire nations, to be killed, even those who broke the Law of Moses were stoned to death. Then I thought, why didn’t the Lord give them a chance or forgive them? I thought it was absurd, and sometimes my deceitful mind thought it was unfair until the Lord helped me understand and discern the law and grace.
This mystery was hidden in God, but He is a God of mercy, of love, He is passionate about us, He is jealous for us, He longs and desires that all be saved!!!
Let’s talk about this mystery that was hidden in God’s heart!
HOW GOD WORKS IN THE FORMATION OF OUR SALVATION!!!
We receive a seed in our hearts!! Ephesians 1:13 NIV
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23 NIV
Now this seed needs to germinate, grow, and bear fruit!!
What seed is this? The Word of Christ! And the Word that generates FAITH in our spirit!
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.” Ephesians 1:13 NIV
See what Paul writes to the Ephesians: “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love.” Ephesians 3:17 NIV
God works in our INNER MAN, strengthening us, the power of God operates inside us, in the hidden, where no one is seeing. 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
“My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” Galatians 4:19 NIV
We know the whole process of Christ’s formation in us, it speaks of our character, denying ourselves, repentance, putting off the old self when we are born again. That’s how Christ begins to dwell in our hearts!!!
Christ can only be reflected outwardly (to others) if He is formed inside us.
Is Christ in you? If Christ is not being formed inside us, if we are not reflecting His love, then we only follow a religion! Coming to church, singing in church, does not form Christ in us!
When do I know that Christ is being formed in me?
When I can forgive those who have offended me, when I give up my rights, when I humble myself, when I turn the other cheek, when I love my enemies, when I bless those who persecute me and speak ill of me. When I have the fruit of the spirit in my life, which are: love, patience, self-control, joy, etc.
These are the signs that Christ is being formed in our lives.
We need to remove the veil, the religiosity, that prevents Christ from being formed and reflected in us!!!
Where do wars, disputes in nations, families, between parents and children, couples, siblings, prostitution and betrayals come from?
All of this comes from the world and even from churches because Christ is not formed in us.
Jesus is the only hope for us!
Why do you need to have Christ living through you? Because He is the hope of Glory.
Conclusion:
Why did God want to reveal His secrets to us? To save us from eternal condemnation and so that every man may be perfect in Christ!!
“The mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26-27 NIV
This mystery that was hidden was God’s will to reveal His secrets to His holy children!!
How does Christ come to dwell in our hearts?
The only way to be saved is through Faith in Christ, by relating to the Word, humbling ourselves, repenting, asking for forgiveness, and being washed by the Blood of the Lamb.
Jesus said: when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray in secret.
Why does God work in the secret place, hidden off? Because it is there in secret that Christ is being formed in us!
It is in intimacy with the Father that Christ is formed in us.
You need to let Christ be formed in you.
Another way God deals with us is through our leaders, our pastors! For they are responsible for your life before God.
“Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be upheld; believe his prophets and you will be successful.” 2 Chronicles 20:20 NIV
Paul said: I am in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
If you want to grow in God, grow in ministry, then learn to submit, follow directions, and you will be successful.
The early church followed the teachings and instructions of the apostles and prophets.
Let God transform your heart! Believe in God and follow the guidance of those God has placed over your life!
Remove the religion from within you, and let Christ be formed in you.
We need to become like in the beginning, like the image of our Creator.
Christ in you, the hope of Glory.
Let’s read the last verse:
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.'” Matthew 25:34 NIV