v 25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters so that you will not feel proud about yourselves.
One of the more insidious claims made by many shades of religious opinion in the past has been that by brain power/diligent searching/holy living, a person can discover what needs to be known about God. It is as if human effort of one kind or another is sufficient to know God and then follow the way he leads. If that were the case, suggests Paul, a person might become proud of personal achievement. It would limit membership of God’s family to those who could work it out for themselves – who could solve the puzzle of the mystery of God and gain salvation.
But there is no mysterious puzzle awaiting solution. God Himself has provided the answer. Faith in the saving power of Jesus has been revealed by God as the only way to know Him.
Our Christian Faith depends on revelation – God has revealed Himself in the person of Jesus. It is not because of our careful thinking and logical deductions that we have come to know God, it is simply that God has chosen to reveal Himself in and through Jesus.
I am hugely grateful for that; it doesn’t stop me thinking about God and thanking Him for the riches of His kindness but it does take away any note of anxiety about the meaning of my relationship with Him.
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