Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 93:371 (Jul 1936)
Article: The Mystery of God in Christ
Author: Willis W. Virtue

BSac 93:371 (Jul 36) p. 336

The Mystery of God in Christ

Willis W. Virtue

The Mystery of God in Christ appears to be a neglected subject as one will discover upon searching the writings of men. Thus I am hoping and endeavoring in this paper to pick up the threads of the theme, which is a vital portion of New Testament truth, and, as well as I am able, to construct a clear statement of the subject.

Before we enter upon the main theme let us define the terms so that we may see with a single eye. What does the term “mystery” mean? The word is derived from the Greek word “muo” which means “to shut the lips” and we have carried the root of it “mu” over into our English language from which we have “mum.” The root meaning then is secrecy or concealment. But as used in the New Testament it has the added sense of present revelation. Thayer in his Greek-English Lexicon states that a mystery is a hidden purpose, counsel, or secret will. Dr. H. A. Ironside defines a mystery as follows: “The mysteries are those truths which in the Old Testament days were kept in silence, but are the common property of all believers.”1 Dr. C. I. Scofield says, “A ‘mystery’ in Scripture is a previously hidden truth, now divinely revealed, but in which a supernatural element still remains despite the revelation.”2 The mysteries of the New Testament are not a field for merely theologians to enter but for every child of God. They form the skeleton of the New Testament and without a proper understanding of them the believer is depriving himself of a great blessing as well as limiting his knowledge of the Word. The mysteries then of

BSac 93:371 (Jul 36) p. 337

the New Testament are truths not revealed by God in the Old Testament but are revealed by the Holy Spirit in the New Testament.

In presenting this thesis of the Mystery of God in Christ I am quite aware of the differences of opinion upon the subject. Since there is in the minds of many of God’s people, and even influential leaders in Christendom the idea that the fact of the incarnation constitutes Christ as the mystery of God, I am taking considerable space to show that this cannot be the case. Christ was sufficiently revealed in the Old Testament that there need never have been any mistake as to His identity.

To demonstrate the above statement that the coming of Christ was never a secret kept from the people of God I wish to present in outline form a portion of the Truth in the Old Testament that refers to Christ and the corresponding New Testament passages.

1. Seed of the woman:
Gen 3:15......<...