Reasons Why The Kingdom Of God Remains A Mystery (A Hidden Truth) To Many

Isaiah 65:2.Reasons Why The Kingdom of God Remains a Mystery (A Hidden Truth) To Many

1. Truth is only understood when it is perceived through spiritual eyes. (I Cor. 2:14-16) Unless a person has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ they will consider the talk about the kingdom of God as foolishness.

Quote: REBELLION

Reserving for myself the right to make final decision.

2. Christ is the key to understanding the kingdom of God. Only those who have a relationship with Christ through saving faith will begin to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God. As Paul wrote, “In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Col. 2:3) Only those who are willing to study, follow and submit to Christ will be given the insight to know Christ and His kingdom’s phenomenon more fully. Let us understand some of the reasons why Jesus chose to speak in parables about the kingdom of God in Matthew 13:4-58:

Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says:

’you shall indeed hear but never understand,

and you shall indeed see but never perceive.

For this people’s heart has grown dull,

and their ears are heavy of hearing,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should perceive with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart,

and turn for me to heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." {Matt 13:10-17 RSV}

A. Here we find a key principle that helps us understand how God acts through the events of human history. This is precisely what Jesus is teaching us through these parables. A person cannot understand what is happening in current events nor in the whole scope of history unless you understand this principle. It is not only the principle by which God judges nations and determines the course of international events, but it is the principle by which he governs what happens to individuals as well.

B. The disciples asked why Jesus spoke in parables because they were puzzled, perplexed and curious to know the secrets of their Master’s teaching. Only when people are genuinely willing to learn from the Lord are they ready to receive what God wants to teach them.

Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." {Matt 13:10-11 RSV}

C. Jesus gladly shared the insights into the kingdom as He said, “"Well, to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." The word translated secrets means, literally, "mysteries." In Scripture a mystery is a truth, which cannot be known by the normal exercise of human wisdom and knowledge. It is a truth about life, which, if we are to know it, God must tell us about it, because it could never be discovered by the exercise of human intelligence. That is why these secrets, these mysteries, about the kingdom of heaven, and therefore about life, will never be found in science or literature or history or any other discipline of human knowledge or investigation. They are simply not there. And yet they are essential to the understanding of life. They must be disclosed to us by God.

D. We must remember that human wisdom is never adequate to understand God’s will regarding our involvement in the kingdom of God. Without faith it is impossible to please God and to know His will for our lives.. We can discover many things about life and, by our technology, we can invent a lot of useful implements and gadgets but we will never, never satisfy human life on those terms. We must know more; and only God can tell us. That is why these mysteries are of great importance.

D. Let us never underestimate the power of the gospel to open the minds of people to the mysteries of the kingdom of God. The gospel itself is one of these mysteries. Its great secret, Paul says, is "Christ in you, the hope of glory," {Col 1:27}. And Paul announced in several of his letters that it was given to the apostles to unfold these great mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But the unfolding began with Jesus.