Christ In You: The Apostle's Secret
by A.B. Simpson
Ancient
mythology recognized some union of God with man, but it was a union
which only degraded the gods and did not lift mankind. It still left
a great gulf between the earthly and the heavenly.
It is this Paul refers to when he exclaims: "Eye has not seen,
nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things
which God has prepared for them that love him" (I Corinthians 2:9).
The apostle's secret of "Christ in you, the hope of glory"
(Colossians
He takes us into the divine family, makes us partakers of the
divine nature, undertakes our life for us, becomes the Author and
Finisher of our faith, and works in us "to will and to do of His
good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). This is incomprehensible to our
finite minds.
What does human poetry, human philosophy, the purest form of
human religion know of anything like this? No wonder Paul was aflame
with the enthusiasm of his glorious discovery and longed to sweep
like an angel flying in the midst of heaven to tell our helpless
race the mighty secret -- the secret that God not only had come down
to visit men with a message of mercy, but had come to stay and live
within them with "the power of an endless life" (Hebrews 7:16).
It is still a secret, except to the initiated. Not only did it
need a divine revelation to make it known to the world, it still
needs a divine revelation to make it personally known and
experientially real to the individual heart.
This is what the apostle means in I Corinthians 2, where with
great clarity and force he argues that the mere human intellect
cannot comprehend the things of God, but that we need a divine mind
to be added to our human understanding before we can enter into the
realm of spiritual truth.
It takes the mind of a man, Paul says, to understand the things
of a man; and it takes the mind of God in us to understand the
things of God. So he adds, "We have received... the spirit which is
of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of
God" (I Corinthians
Therefore the moment that this great mystery becomes an
experience in the life of a soul is a transcendent moment. It is one
of the mountain tops of life. It is the crisis of existence. It is
the Peniel where God declares, "Thy name shall be called no more
Jacob, but
Have you entered into that sublime, supreme mystery? Have you
passed through the veil into the Holy of Holies, so that you can say
triumphantly:
I have passed through the veil to the sacred abode,
Where His glory the Saviour reveals to His own;
And now, in the innermost presence of God,
I am dwelling forever with Jesus alone.
It is always a mystery, because even to the initiated there are
still depths and heights of yet undiscovered glory and blessing. The
apostle himself declares, "The Spirit searches all things, yes, the
deep things of God" (I Corinthians
Further, he prays that believers may fully know the riches of
the glory of this mystery. He declares, "The love of Christ...
passes knowledge" (Eph.
This glorious secret will unfold in ever-richer, fuller
splendors till the end of time and through the never-ending ages of
eternity. All that we know of it already is like the pebbles that a
child has gathered on the shore while the depths of the boundless
ocean stretch out unexplored beyond.
Artists tell us that the secret of genius in any great work of
art lies in the depth of the painting. Some pictures seem all upon
the surface; others open to the observing eye infinite depths of
suggestion and imagination.
But the mystery of Jesus surpasses all human thoughts, visions
or imaginations. Every day unfolds some new charm. Every experience
presents in it some new and living glory.
Like Aaron's rod, it is ever budding, blossoming and bearing new
fruit. It never will cease to be as fresh as in the hour its glory
first burst upon our transported view. And on and on through the
cycles of eternity we shall still sing with wonder and adoration:
His love what mortal thought can reach,
What mortal tongue display?
Imagination's utmost stretch
In wonder dies away.
The Bible text in this
publication, except where otherwise indicated, is from the King
James Version. This article
previously appeared on Positive Word Ministries website:
http://www.peterwade.com/.