“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?”
– Job 11:7I’m pretty sure that all of us have heard the saying, “God works in mysterious ways.” And honestly, this is a pretty accurate statement.
To know God, one only needs to open up the Holy Scriptures. Through believing in Jesus Christ, human beings are able to truly encounter the real and true presence of God (John 14:6). However, Christians must always remember that even though they can know God, there are still aspects of God that remain hidden.
There are still particular details about God that remain mysterious. Nevertheless, God is still trustworthy (2 Sam. 7:28). Christians must accept the fact that even though they serve a mysterious Creator, they can still believe Him and embrace this God of mystery because He is worthy of worship (Rev. 14:7) and is always faithful (2 Tim. 2:13).
The Cross and the Mystery of God
Standing at the centerpiece of the Christian faith is the belief that Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, went to a cross to atone for the sins of mankind (1 John 2:2).
While there is no doubt that Christians accept this truth wholeheartedly, one must admit that what is accomplished on the cross is still both profound and mysterious.
Why was the cross the avenue in which God chose to redeem human beings? Why did Jesus have to come and die on that old, rugged cross to save us from our sins?
While the Bible is clear on what the cross accomplishes (Rom. 3:25-26; 5:10-11; Gal. 3:13-14), Christians must still humbly accept the mystery of God’s work through the cross of Christ.
For non-believers, the cross is a symbol of the foolishness of the Christian faith (1 Cor. 1:18), but for Christians, the mystery of the cross is the very power of God.
The cross is what Christians cling to. It is where we see the power of God manifested. And even though the work of the cross might perplex us at times, we trust and believe that our shame, guilt, and mistakes were put to death once and for all through this astounding work of God.
The Paradoxes of God’s Mystery
There are other areas in which Christians must embrace the mystery of God as well.
For example:
- How exactly does the Triune God’s “threeness and oneness” work together?
- How did Jesus Christ, who has always been God, take on the form of human flesh?
- What about the relationship between God’s absolute sovereignty and human free choice?
These have been questions that have been posed throughout the centuries, and yet a definitive or incorrigible answer has never been fully reached.
This truly is the paradox of the Christian faith. However, we need not worry or doubt the goodness of the one true God.
Embracing the mysteriousness of God is the humble position that Christians are called to.
We cannot fall into the trap of cognitive idolatry and expect that we will ever be able to fully understand the infinite.
God is good, and God is at work, and we must always remember that embracing the mysteriousness of God is yet another way to demonstrate our trust in Him.
