We have now considered the four important passages which contain the revelation of the great sacred secret, viz., Rom. 16:25, 26; Eph. 3:1-11; Col. 1: 24-27, and 1 Tim. 3:16. But there are other passages, which refer to it and throw light upon it. Some writers treat these as all referring to so many different secrets; but we shall see that they all refer to and throw light upon that which is called THE GREAT SACRED SECRET (except of course those we have already considered, connected with the Present interval, the Kingdom, Israel's blindness, and the Sacred Secret of Iniquity.)
(1) EPHESIANS 1:9-11.
Here we read how the same grace which has wrought redemption and forgiveness for His people, has also caused us to abound "in all wisdom and knowledge." What is this wisdom? - "making known to us the sacred secret of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him,--For an administration of the fullness of the seasons, to reunite for himself (under one head) the all things in the Christ, the things upon the heavens, and the things upon the earth, in him: In whom also we were taken as an inheritance, according to the purpose of him who energiseth all things according to the counsel of his will..." Here we have the great sacred secret and its purpose referred to, and in verse 22 we are told how "the Lord of our Lord Jesus the Christ, the Father of glory...did put, all things, in subjection beneath his feet. And gave him to be head over all things unto the assembly, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing, in the heavenlies, in Christ" (verse 3).
(2) EPHESIANS 6:19.
Here the Apostle's supplication is "that, unto me, may be given discourse in the opening of my mouth, with freedom of utterance, to make known the sacred secret," i.e., the doctrine of the Body of the Christ, which is the great sacred secret and the great subject of the glad message. It was especially the good news revealed to and made known by Paul according to what he calls "my glad message" (Rom. 16:25). The glad message - the good news of a Savior for lost sinners - was (as we have already seen) never a secret. It was "preached before unto Abraham" (Gal. 3:8), and all the saints of God rejoiced in it. But the good news concerning the Body of the Christ was kept secret, and then became, and could be called, Paul's special glad message to be made known among all nations. It is the good news of the Body of the Christ. Hence, in 2 Cor. 4:4, it is called "the glad-message of the glory of the Christ," i.e., the glad message of the Christ's glory. Father highly exalted Him and gave Him to be the Head of the Body. This is now "the great sacred secret of the glad message."
(3) COLOSSIANS 2:2.
Here it is called "God's Secret," i.e., the secret, which God purposed, and kept in silence through times eternal and in His own good time made known. He prays for these Colossian Saints that they "In order that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, even unto all the riches of the full assurance of their understanding, unto a personal knowledge of the sacred secret of God,--Christ: In whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden away." That is to say, all the treasures of divine wisdom are contained in the Sacred Secret - i.e., the Body of the Christ. This is the sacred secret, which, according to
(4) 1 TIMOTHY 3:9
We are to hold, as the essence of "the Faith." "Holding the Sacred Secret of the faith in a pure conscience." Here again the great secret of Christ's Body is the central object of the Christian Faith. These are all passages which refer to the great sacred secret, but there is one other which is full of instruction for us,
(5) 1 CORINTHIANS 2 AND 3.
The condition of the Corinthian saints was such that they were not spiritually fitted to receive instruction in this wondrous truth. When the first epistle was written to them, the apostle explained this to them, and says: "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the Sacred Secret of God. For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Instead of declaring to them the Sacred Secret, he had to confine himself to the simplest truths of the Glad Message. He preached only a crucified Savior. He could not declare all the great truths involved in a risen and glorified Savior. He had preached "the Glad Message of the grace of God," but he could not proclaim "the glad message of the glory of the Christ." The reason why he "could not", he now proceeds to explain.
"And, my discourse, and what I proclaimed, were not in suasive words of wisdom...Wisdom, however, we do speak, among the full-grown," or that are initiated. This word was the technical term for those who were initiated into the ancient and wrong heathen "mysteries", or "the wisdom of this world." I could not speak "wisdom" to you, he says, "howbeit we do speak wisdom to those who are initiated into it," "yet not the wisdom of this age,...but we speak the wisdom of God in a (concerning the) sacred secret, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages unto our glory (i.e., with a view to our glory)." Here is again a reference to the great sacred secret, which had been hidden in God, and ordained by Him before the ages. "None of the rulers of this age knew" about it, he says, for "it is written eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed it unto us by His spirit."
These words are usually taken in a general sense, such as teaching that the man of the soul cannot receive spiritual things. This fact is perfectly true, of course, as is definitely stated elsewhere and further on. But it is not what these words say here. These words have a special reference to the "hidden wisdom," i.e. the Sacred Secret, and what is stated here is, that no human being ever dreamed of it. It never entered the head or heart of mortal man. "UNTO US, IN FACT, HATH God REVEALED THROUGH THE SPIRIT." Then he goes on to explain what is the essence of a secret, in verses 10 and 11, and argues that as no one can tell what a man's secret is unless He has been pleased to reveal it. And this He has done, as verse 12 states: -"But, as for us,--not the spirit of the world, have we received, but the spirit which is of God,--that we might know the things which, by God, have been given in favor, unto us:- Which we also speak--not in words taught of human wisdom, but in such as are taught of the spirit, by spiritual words, spiritual things, explaining." Why? Because the next verse goes on to explain that "But, a man of the soul, doth not welcome the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and he cannot get to know them, because, spiritually, are they examined;"
"Spiritual words, spiritual things, explaining": the three words which follow have been variously rendered and interpreted. In the Greek they are pneumatikois, pneumatika and sunkrinontes. The first word is in the dative case, masc., plural "to spiritual." The second word is in the accusative case, neuter, plural, "spiritual," and the third word is peculiar. The A.V. and R.V. render it "comparing," but the R.V. margin suggests "combining" or "interpreting." It occurs only here and in 2 Cor. 10:12 in the New Testament, and means literally to separate and compound anew; hence to explain a thing, as is done when one takes it to pieces and puts it together again; to explain by comparing one thing with another; or to compare with a view to explaining; to expound, make known, declare. It is used in Numbers 15:34 of those who had caught the man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day, and it says: "they put him in ward because it was not declared what should be done to him." The word in this sentence is used to represent the word "declared." Hence, it means to declare, make known, explain, or expound. The words here mean simply this, that we speak the words "which the holy spirit teacheth, declaring spiritual things to spiritual persons." Westcott and Hort, in their Greek Text, preserve an ancient reading, but not being supported by the other MSS., they put it in the margin. It is pneumatikos, spiritually; and would read, "declaring spiritual things in a spiritual manner." Then chap.3:1 comes in, taking up the thought where it was left in 2:1, "I, therefore, brethren, have not been able to speak unto you, as unto men of the spirit, but as unto men of the flesh--as unto babes in Christ: With milk, have I fed you, not, with meat; for, not yet, have ye been able; --nay! Not even now, are ye able, For ye are yet fleshly. For, whereas there are, among you, jealousy and strife, are ye not, fleshly, and, after the manner of men, walking? For, as soon as one beginneth to say--I, indeed, am of Paul! and another--I, of Apollos! are ye not, men?"
The great central truth of the whole argument is that these Corinthian Christians were taken up with "Bodies" of men, as we now call them, and they were therefore totally unfitted to receive the truth of the "one Body" of the Christ. While they were putting the members in the place of the Head they were carnal and not spiritual, and therefore not in a position to have the truth concerning "God's Sacred Secret" declared to them. Hence, when the Apostle went to Corinth he determined not to go beyond the simplest elementary gospel teaching, to feed them with milk, to proclaim a crucified Savior; for they were not in a condition to hear about the glorified Savior - "the glad message of the glory of the Christ," and all the glorious things which are freely given to us of Father, and which He has prepared with a view to their glory, the glory of the members of the Body in Christ, their glorified Head in heaven.
