Theological term
Mystery
13 sermons · All terms
CTF 2024 Session 7 - Q&A Panel Discussion
A conference Q&A panel addresses a wide range of confessional, theological, and pastoral questions arising from lectures on the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession and its relationship to broader Reformed orthodoxy. Topics range from the nature of creedal subscription and what it means to be Reformed, to the hermeneutics of typology, the mystery language of Ephesians 3, the humanity and knowledge of Christ, divine immutability and impassibility, and the differences between the Second London Confession and the Three Forms of Unity. The panel consistently grounds its answers in the churchly authority of confessions over individual interpretation, the centrality of the means of grace for generational faithfulness, and the necessity of theological humility before the accumulated witness of the church.
The Prayer and Praise of the Apostle
Ephesians 3:14–21 presents the apostle Paul's prayer for the Ephesian church and a concluding doxology, and this exposition works through the prayer's occasion, posture, and first two petitions. Paul prays from his knees before 'the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,' drawing on the boundless storehouse of divine glory, for two things treated in this sermon: that believers would be strengthened with might through the Spirit in the inner man so that Christ dwells in their hearts by faith, and that they would comprehend the boundless love of Christ that surpasses knowledge. The sermon grounds both petitions in Trinitarian structure — strength flowing from the Father through the Spirit issues in the presence of the Son — and in the confession that God is 'most loving,' whose love neither increases nor diminishes. Hearers are urged to imitate the apostle by praying not only for temporal needs but for the spiritual strength and knowledge of Christ's love that alone sustains perseverance in a world hostile to the gospel.
The Mystery and God's Eternal Purpose
Ephesians 3:8–13 presents Paul's apostolic ministry and God's eternal purpose as two inseparable realities: Paul's grace-given charge to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Gentiles flows directly from God's comprehensive plan to display His manifold wisdom through the church. The mystery once hidden in ages past — that Jew and Gentile stand as one new man in Christ — is now made known not only to humanity but to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, as the church serves as a living trophy case of divine wisdom. God's eternal purpose, accomplished in Christ's incarnation, death, and resurrection, secures for believers boldness and access with confidence to the Father. The sermon calls saints to resist despondency, to use the access purchased by Christ's blood, and to find stability in the sovereign God who governs creation, providence, and redemption.
The Gentiles and the Covenant of Grace, Part 1
Ephesians 2:11–13 presents the former covenantal destitution of Gentile believers and the transforming power of Christ's blood that brought them near to God. The passage shows that Gentiles suffered two compounding liabilities: individual deadness in sin and corporate exclusion from the commonwealth of Israel and the covenants of promise. Against this bleak background, the apostle's 'but now' in verse 13 declares that union with Christ — secured through his atoning blood — has abolished the alienation and incorporated believing Gentiles into the one new humanity. The sermon argues that this covenantal reversal should evoke perpetual humility and gratitude in every believer, and calls the unbeliever to come to the Father through the Son in the Spirit.
Book introduction: The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom
Samuel Renihan introduces his book 'The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom,' explaining its origins in his seminary-era dissatisfaction with both pedobaptist and Baptist covenantal literature. He argues that historical particular Baptist covenant theology has been largely forgotten, and that modern Reformed Baptist literature has suffered from poor historical theology, excessive polemicism, and conclusions stated without premises. The book is structured by biblical theology rather than systematic theology, tracing three covenantal kingdoms — creation, Israel, and Christ — and contends that the concept of mystery in Paul is essential to a properly calibrated covenant theology that distinguishes the old covenants from the new covenant without collapsing the progressive development of divine revelation.
The Redemptive Work of the Son, Part 2
Ephesians 1:8–12 grounds the individual believer's redemption within a cosmic divine purpose: God's wisdom in the plan of salvation maintains all his holy perfections without compromise, the mystery of his will now openly revealed in the gospel calls sinners from every tribe and nation, and all things will be recapitulated — gathered up and set in order — under the lordship of Christ at his return. The inheritance of the elect is secured by predestination, not by human performance, so that the redeemed exist 'to the praise of his glory' — as a trophy case of grace before angels and the entire created order.
The Introduction to Ephesians
Ephesians 1:1–2 introduces one of the richest doctrinal letters in the New Testament canon, and this sermon surveys the authorship, historical context, and theological purpose of the epistle before examining Paul's greeting to the saints. The apostle's self-identification as one sent by Christ 'by the will of God' grounds his authority not in self-appointment but in sovereign divine commission, while his description of the recipients as 'saints' and 'faithful in Christ Jesus' defines sainthood in purely biblical terms — all who are justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. The sermon traces Paul's founding ministry in Ephesus through Acts 18–19, showing how the gospel's triumph over witchcraft, idolatry, and the cult of Diana provides the backdrop for the letter's emphasis on Christ's supremacy over all powers. The epistle is previewed as a two-part structure — doctrinal foundation (chapters 1–3) followed by practical application (chapters 4–6) — aimed at grounding believers in both the indicatives and imperatives of redemption.
The Mission for Saul of Tarsus
Acts 9:10–16 records Christ's commission to Ananias concerning the newly converted Saul of Tarsus, and in it Jesus reveals a twofold purpose for his chosen vessel: to bear the name of Christ before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel, and to suffer greatly for that name. This sermon traces how that double calling — to preach and to suffer — was fulfilled across Paul's entire apostolic ministry, drawing on 2 Corinthians 11, Colossians 1, and 2 Timothy to show that affliction is not a contradiction of divine favor but an instrument of it. The sovereignty of Christ over conversion and calling stands as the controlling theme, pressing hearers to abandon every excuse for unbelief and to come to Israel's Messiah in faith.
The Son's Accomplishment of Redemption
Ephesians 1:7–12 sets forth the Son's accomplishment of redemption within the eternal Covenant of Redemption, in which the Father plans, the Son accomplishes, and the Spirit applies salvation. Working through four movements in the text — redemption by the Son's blood, the revelation of the mystery of God's will, the cosmic reconciliation of all things in Christ, and the reward of an eternal inheritance — the sermon shows that sinners enslaved to sin have been purchased at a cosmic price paid only by the eternal God-Man. The sermon closes by calling believers to meditate on and proclaim this redemption, and by urging unbelievers to believe on Christ before they die in their bondage.
Apostle of the Mystery
Paul's description of his own apostleship in Ephesians 3:8–13 opens five interlocking themes: the humility and grace that characterize a true gospel minister, the Christological and Gentile-inclusive focus of Paul's calling, the divine objective of making God's manifold wisdom known through the church, the eternal and purposive nature of God's redemptive plan in Christ, and the pastoral application that theology rightly received produces comfort rather than despair. The sermon presses the unsearchable riches of Christ as the only treasure worth seeking, and closes with the exhortation that believers must not lose heart under trial because God works all things according to an eternal purpose accomplished in Christ Jesus.
Paul's Conflict and Concern for the Colossians
Colossians 2:1–5 exposes both the nature of Paul's apostolic struggle and the objectives that drove it: he agonized in prayer for churches he had never visited because the stakes of false teaching are eternal. The sermon traces four objectives of Paul's conflict — that believers be encouraged in heart, united in love, assured in understanding, and consumed with Christ as the sole treasury of wisdom and knowledge — before turning to Paul's concern in verses 4–5, where persuasive words are shown to be the perennial weapon of heresy. The antidote is not rhetorical sophistication but deep, corporate rootedness in the person and sufficiency of Christ, which alone guards the church against the humanistic philosophy, legalism, mysticism, asceticism, and antinomianism Paul will address throughout the epistle.
Paul's Stewardship of the Gospel
Colossians 1:25–29 sets before the church the apostolic stewardship and preaching ministry of Paul as a pattern for gospel ministry. The passage unfolds in three movements: Paul's divinely assigned stewardship of the mystery of Christ in the Gentiles, the content and manner of his Christ-centered proclamation, and the Spirit-empowered labor that drove that proclamation toward eschatological completeness. The sermon draws out the implications for both preachers — who must warn, teach, and strive with wisdom in dependence on God — and hearers, who bear responsibility to receive the preached word with attentive, covenant-renewing ears.
Paul's Sufferings for Christ and the Church
Colossians 1:24 confronts the assumption — doctrinal or practical — that the Christian life is one of health, wealth, and prosperity. Paul's declaration that he rejoices in his sufferings for the church raises two difficult questions: what does it mean to fill up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, and why would any apostle rejoice in prison, beatings, and stonings? This exposition works through both questions, demolishing the Roman Catholic reading that Christ's atonement was incomplete, and arguing instead that Christ so identifies with His body that their sufferings are in some sense His own, and that Paul's willingness to absorb suffering on behalf of the church is the pattern of genuine Christian ministry and churchmanship.