Mark 4:11
“To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God”
Paul wrote in1 Corinthians 2:14,
“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
In other words, before we receive Christ, the things of God remain a mystery to us. While we are capable of reading the words on the page, we do not truly understand the ways of God. However, the moment we put our faith in Christ for salvation, we are born again. The Spirit of God enters into us and we come alive to God. Spiritual things that had no meaning to us before, begin to make sense. Again let’s let Paul explain,
1 Corinthians 2:10-11 “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.”
God reveals Himself and His ways through the Spirit, and in the Word. It is because the Spirit of God rests within you that John writes,
1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.”
John is not saying teachers or teaching is unnecessary, but that the same Spirit who resides in the pastor or Bible teacher, resides in you; the same God who opens the Word and makes it alive to them, will make it alive to you. The psalmist put it like this:
Psalms 119:99 “I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.”
If all that is true, then why does so much of the Bible still evade us? Why are there so many things that still remain in the realm of “mystery” to us? I think the key may be found in the response the disciples had when Jesus first made this statement.
“And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.” Mark 4:34
Jesus spoke something that was puzzling to them. Rather than gathering together to discuss what they all thought it meant, which they did that on other occasions to no avail, they got alone with Jesus and listened to more of His Words. That, my friends, is the secret! If we want to understand the mysteries of God, we must frequent the Throne of Grace. We must follow the pattern of the twelve and get alone with Him. These mysteries will not unfold to us by getting alone with our own thoughts or meditations, they will not be uncovered by simply discussing them with one another, if we want to truly understand the ways of God, we must get alone with the Word of God. It is time we make His meditations our delight. Then it will be said of us, as it was of Moses:
Psalms 103:7 “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.”
Pastor Jim
Questions for Mark 4
- This is one of the greatest stories Jesus ever told. Take a few moments to examine the components. What does each represent?
- The Sower
- The seed
- The wayside
- The birds
- The stony ground
- The scorching sun
- The thorns
- The good soil
- The fruit produced
- Jesus speaks about our ears, he tells us to use them to listen to His Word and to be careful what other things we listen to. Is there anything that you need to stop listening to? Perhaps things that are filling you with, fear, anxiety, anger, despair. Replace those things with listening to the Word and worship.
- What difficulty do the disciples face at the end of the chapter?
- What do they do when they are afraid?
Jim Gallagher 