When speaking of the mystery of Christ and the church, the Word of God refers to it as both the mystery of God and the mystery of Christ. While it is the same mystery in both cases, it is good to recognize why the Spirit of God makes this distinction, for there is a different shade of meaning in these two terms.
In the New Testament, we often find a term referred to God in one passage and to Christ in another. For example, we find that the terms “the Spirit of God” and “the Spirit of Christ” are both used in Romans 8:9. We find the term “the Word of God” used many times, but in Colossians 3:16 it is “the Word of Christ.” We have the term “the peace of God” (Phil. 4:7), but also “the peace of Christ” (Col. 3:15 JND). In Romans 8:39 it is “the love of God,” while in Romans 8:35 it is “the love of Christ.” There are others, such as “the gospel of God” and “the gospel of Christ,” that could be added to this list.
What Concerns God and Christ
While the exact meaning in each case must be ascertained by the context of the passage, yet in a general way we can say that when it is “God” that is connected with a particular thought, it is His nature and power that are brought before us — the essence of what He is in Himself. If we read the term “the Spirit of God,” it is the thought of who the Spirit is in His essential deity and in His power that works in us. If it is the love of God, it is God’s nature as love and the force and power of His love that we are to consider. If it is the peace of God, it is a peace connected with the power of God over all circumstances.
When it is “Christ” who is connected with the same entity, the thought is different. It is rather the practical side of things, referring to our experiences in life and our walk before the Lord, that the Spirit wishes to bring before us. Thus the term “the Spirit of Christ” occupies us with what the Spirit is doing in us and our identification with Christ through the Spirit’s indwelling. The “love of Christ” is spoken of in relation to trials that are in this world, such as tribulation, famine and peril, while the “love of God” is connected with power outside of this world. The peace of Christ is spoken of in relation to our walk, while the peace of God relates more to our having committed everything to God and making our requests to Him.
The Two Parts
How then do we understand these terms as applied to the mystery of Christ and the church? There are really two parts of the mystery: first, that all things shall be put under the headship of Christ, and second, that the church will be associated with Christ in it all, as His body and His bride. When we get the expression “the mystery of God” in Colossians 2:2, the fullness of the Head of the body is being brought before us. Colossians, in a general way, speaks of what Christ is to the church and gives us the highest truth in Scripture concerning His person and God’s purposes in His Son. Thus the mystery of Christ and the church is referred to here as “the mystery of God,” for it is God’s primary purpose to honor and glorify His beloved Son and to head up all things in Him, both in heaven and on earth. This is the first and most important part of the mystery, for God always begins with Himself and His counsels, for His glory and the glory of His Son. (Note that the words “and of the Father, and of Christ” in Colossians 2:2 KJV should be left out; the verse should end with the phrase, “the mystery of God.” There is no such thing as the mystery of the Father, and it is not the mystery of Christ that is in view here.)
The Mystery of Christ
The term “the mystery of Christ” is used twice in Scripture, once in Ephesians 3:4 (“my knowledge in the mystery of Christ”) and once in Colossians 4:3 (“to speak the mystery of Christ”). In both cases it is connected with our part of the mystery, namely, that God has chosen to associate His church with Christ in all His glory. We get this expressed in Ephesians 1:11: “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.” Ephesians, in contrast to Colossians, brings before us what the church is to Christ and gives us the highest truth in Scripture concerning the blessings of the believer in Christ. In chapter 3, it is the Apostle’s burden that the saints should enter into and enjoy all the privileges connected with the revealed mystery of God — that they might “see what is the fellowship of the mystery” (vs. 9) and that they might have their affections and ultimately their lives formed by that knowledge. Thus it is called “the mystery of the Christ” (vs. 4 JND), for the expression “the Christ” brings Christ and the church together as one.
Likewise, the use of the term “the mystery of Christ” in Colossians 4:3 is connected with the Apostle’s wish for practical boldness to speak of it, even though he was a prisoner and might naturally be a little reticent to bring out clearly what had previously resulted in his being made a prisoner. He might have the knowledge of the mystery, but needed practical grace to give it out fearlessly.
In these two expressions, then, we see clearly God’s pattern, in that He always begins with Himself, and then He brings man into blessing based on His own purposes and grace. This blessing is always connected with and obtained through His beloved Son. In all our thoughts, we, too, need to see everything from God’s side, for in this way God will always be glorified and man will enter far more into his blessings.
W. J. Prost