Module 1 · Lesson 2
Is God a Mystery?
Why Jesus came to make Him known.
13 minutes
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“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18)
- Separate two questions: Who is God? and What is God?
- See how the Bible itself uses the word "mystery"
- Follow John's testimony that Jesus declared the Father
- Learn what the first converts from idol worship understood
- Compare two groups described in Revelation
Have you been told this?
“It's a mystery. You can't understand it. Trying only causes division. If we can't explain creation, how could we explain God?” Many sincere Christians say exactly this when the topic of the Godhead comes up. It sounds humble. But a humble-sounding statement can still rest on an unchecked assumption. So let's check it.
Two different questions
A great deal of confusion disappears when two questions are kept apart:
- Who is God? This is about His identity: who He is, who we worship.
- What is God? This is about His nature: the substance of His being.
This course asks only the first. The Bible does not explain God's infinite nature, and a finite mind cannot fully grasp it. Moses said as much: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children” (Deuteronomy 29:29). But identity is different. Is the identity of God one of the secret things, or one of the things revealed?
What does the Bible mean by "mystery"?
“The Bible itself uses the word mystery about God.” People often raise this, and the Bible answers it for us. Paul does write of "the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ" (Colossians 2:2) and "the mystery of godliness" (1 Timothy 3:16). So don't skip this. Let the Bible explain its own word.
Look at how Paul defines it in the chapter just before Colossians 2:2:
“Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:26–27)
In Paul's usage, is a "mystery" something that stays hidden forever, or something once hidden that is now made manifest?
In Scripture, a mystery is a secret that God has revealed. It does not mean "unknowable." Nowhere does the Bible say the identity of the God we worship is something no one can know. And Paul himself wanted believers to reach "the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ" (Colossians 2:2). He wanted them to acknowledge it, not to leave it unsolved.
What did Jesus come to do?
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18)
Notice who is the only one in a position to explain God: the Son, who is "in the bosom of the Father." Out of all humanity, He alone has seen and known Him. And what did He do with that knowledge? He declared Him.
Now consider when John wrote this. He wrote decades after the cross, after Jesus' work on earth was completed. He had walked with Jesus, heard Him, and lived through what followed. He was not speaking from guesswork. If John believed God was an unknowable mystery, he could not have written that Jesus had declared Him.
What John knew
Read John's own words and ask what he claims to know:
“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” (1 John 5:20)
John says we know. He includes himself and other believers. And what do they know?
- That the Son of God has come.
- That the Son has given them an understanding, so that they may know "him that is true."
Who is "him that is true"? Read the sentence: "we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ." The One who is true is the Father of Jesus Christ. John says the same in his second letter: “Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love” (2 John 3).
So John says that Jesus gave believers an understanding to know God the Father.
- If John says Jesus declared God (John 1:18), and gave an understanding to know Him (1 John 5:20), can we also say that God remains a mystery no one can know?
- If both are true at the same time, what would that say about Jesus' mission?
- Or what would it say about how we are reading John?
And one more:
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)
Eternal life, according to Jesus, is based on knowing two Beings: the only true God and His Son. Knowing here is more than recalling a name. It is a relationship, and knowing who someone is, is part of it.
How can eternal life rest on a relationship with someone no one is able to know?
What the first converts knew
When pagans and idol worshippers heard the gospel in the apostles' day, what were they taught about God? Paul commends the believers in Thessalonica for how they responded:
“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10)
Look at what they understood after turning from idols: the living and true God, and His Son from heaven. No hint of a riddle. No hint of a philosophical mystery.
Follow the chain: Jesus revealed it to Paul (Galatians 1:12). Paul taught the Thessalonians. They passed it on to Macedonia, Achaia and beyond (1 Thessalonians 1:7–8). And the report came back to Paul. Along the way, the message stayed the same, including who God is.
What do you notice about what was taught? Do you see confusion about who to worship, or clarity?
Where does the "mystery" language come from?
Here is something you can try. Read any explanation of the Trinity, from any denomination, and notice a word that keeps appearing. It is mystery. So when someone says, "the Godhead is a mystery," in a sense they are right about their description. But that is a statement about a human doctrine, not about the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible has been revealed by His Son.
Two women, two names on two foreheads
Revelation shows two women. One is pure (Revelation 12), and represents God's faithful people. The other is corrupt (Revelation 17), representing a fallen religious system. Now compare what is written on each. Of the faithful group:
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.” (Revelation 14:1)
And of the other:
“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (Revelation 17:5)
In Scripture the forehead is where allegiance is displayed. One group carries the name of the Father and the Lamb. They know whom they worship. The other carries the word Mystery.
- What is written on the forehead of the first group? And of the second?
- Why do you think a word like "mystery" appears in her name?
- Which would you rather be marked with: knowing whom you worship, or worshipping a mystery?
A test you can try yourself
Revelation 14 describes a message that goes to the whole world:
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Revelation 14:6–7)
Who is the God we are told to worship in this verse? Ask a few believers. You will likely get different answers: the Father; Jesus; "God in heaven"; the Trinity. And some will say, "Why does it matter? Don't cause problems." Think about that last response. A call to worship the right God, and the reply is "it doesn't matter."
The Bible has a name for choosing not to know. It calls it willing ignorance:
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” (Romans 1:28) “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:” (2 Peter 3:5)
Nobody chooses to be ignorant of something they think is unimportant. Ask yourself: is it that I cannot know, or that I would rather not? Hosea said it plainly: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee” (Hosea 4:6).
The identity of the God of the Bible is not a mystery. It is clearly revealed. Jesus came to reveal the Father and He did not fail. For God to remain a mystery, Jesus and His apostles would have to have failed in their mission. Are we prepared to say that?
Don't be afraid to look
Look at the two groups one more time. One knows whom it worships. The other worships what no one can explain. Which do you want to be? This is not a call to fear. It is an invitation. God is not hiding. He wants you to know Him. If you have the truth, you have nothing to fear from looking. Compare each lesson with your Bible. God will give you the wisdom and courage to live what you find.
- We are asking who God is (identity), not what He is (nature).
- In Scripture a "mystery" is a secret God has revealed, not something unknowable (Colossians 1:26–27).
- Jesus came to declare the Father (John 1:18), and gave understanding to know Him (1 John 5:20).
- The first converts from idolatry knew the living and true God and His Son (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10).
- Revelation contrasts those who bear the Father's name with a name that says Mystery.
- What is the difference between asking "Who is God?" and "What is God?"
- How does the Bible define a "mystery" in Colossians 1:26–27?
- If someone told me "God is a mystery," how could I kindly show them John 1:18?
- What is my honest response to Revelation 14:1 and 17:5?
John 1:18
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Before we look at what the Bible says about God, we need to settle how to read it. In Module 2, we learn from Scripture itself how the wise read and how the foolish do.