-The Secret Hidden Before the Ages
The Secret Hidden Before the Ages
To understand the wisdom and love of God hidden before the ages, and to enjoy the authority and blessings given to those who have become children of God.
Reading Scripture:
1 Corinthians 2:6–10 (NASB) “…we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory…”
Memory Verse:
John 1:12 (NASB) “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
Reference Verse:
Genesis 3:14–15 (NASB) “The Lord God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat all the days of your life…’”
This wisdom was not known by the rulers of this age. If they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:8, NASB)
The loving Lord God knew from before the ages that, through Adam’s disobedience, all people would walk the path of death.
Therefore, in His amazing wisdom, He prepared the way of salvation for mankind and kept it hidden until the proper time.
If the enemy, the devil, had known this secret, he would have tried to interrupt God’s plan of salvation, so that he would not lose the authority he had received from the fallen Adam.
- The Secret Hidden Before the Ages
The serpent that tempted Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was cursed by God. It was told to crawl on its belly and eat dust all the days of its life (Genesis 3:14).
Because God said, “The seed of the woman shall bruise your head” (Genesis 3:15), the enemy, the devil—who had used the cunning serpent—knew that the “seed of the woman,” that is, Jesus, would be born and destroy him.
So when Jesus was born, the devil stirred up the evil King Herod. Herod ordered that all boys under two years old in Bethlehem and its surroundings be killed, trying to destroy the baby Jesus.
But the Lord God sent an angel in a dream to Joseph, telling him to take the baby Jesus and Mary to Egypt. After Herod’s death, they left Egypt and lived in Nazareth of Galilee, where Jesus prepared for His public ministry.
At the age of thirty, Jesus began His ministry as the Savior. He testified to the living God, preached the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, healed the sick, and drove out evil spirits. Many people believed and followed Him.
The enemy, the devil, thought that if they could destroy Jesus, they could continue to rule the world forever. So they influenced the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees to plot against Jesus and kill Him.
In the end, they placed a crown of thorns on His head and nailed His hands and feet to the cross.
Although they completely killed the seed of the woman, there was a hidden providence of God behind it.
As written in 1 Corinthians 2:7–8 (NASB), “But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
The Lord God had planned from before the ages that by allowing His sinless only begotten Son, Jesus, to be crucified, the problem of sin would be solved, and all mankind could receive salvation.
If this way of salvation had been revealed beforehand, the enemy, the devil, would have interrupted and destroyed the work of redemption. Therefore, in His wisdom, God hid it completely as a secret until the appointed time.
Then how did the death of Jesus on the cross become the way of salvation for mankind, who were walking toward death? The Lord God works according to His justice and the laws of the spiritual realm. Just as every country has laws, so does the spiritual world. One of these laws is written in Romans 6:23 (NASB): “For the wages of sin is death.” Death applies only to sinners.
But Jesus had no sin and no fault. Yet the enemy, the devil, stirred up people to crucify Him. By doing so, they broke the law of the spiritual world. Because of this, the authority that had been handed over to the devil through the first man Adam’s disobedience could now be taken back.
If the enemy, the devil, had known this secret plan of God, they would never have crucified Jesus on the wooden cross.
As written in Romans 5:18 (NASB), “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.”
Through the sin of the first man, Adam, all his descendants came under death. But through Jesus Christ, many have received true life and eternal life.
Jesus came to this world in the flesh to save all people according to the law of the spiritual world.
He could not be a descendant of Adam, so He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born through the virgin Mary.
Because He had no original sin or personal sin, He had the power to overcome the devil. And because He had perfect love, He bore our sins and died on the cross.
But by crucifying the sinless Jesus, the enemy broke the law of the spiritual world.
Through this, the authority of death was destroyed, and the way was opened for anyone who receives the resurrected Jesus Christ and believes in His name to gain the right to become a child of God (John 1:12).
This is the very secret that was hidden before the ages—
the immeasurable wisdom and love of the Lord God.
- How to Receive the Authority and Blessing of Becoming a Child of God
The authority of becoming a child of God cannot be compared with any power in this world.
Even the child of an earthly king has great authority. Then how great must be the authority of those who are children of the Creator God, who rules over all history and the whole universe?
Among those who come to Church, there are believers who have received Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. They are the true children of God, called saints.
But there are also people who only attend Church as members.
They come and go, but they do not have true faith. Therefore, they cannot receive the authority or the blessings of being a child of God.
If a person does not become a true believer, he is no different from worldly people.
So, one must open the heart, receive Jesus Christ, and become a child of God.
In John 4, the Bible records how a Samaritan woman met and received Jesus as the Savior. After she received Him, she told others about Him, and many Samaritans came to believe in Jesus.
At that time, Jews did not associate with Samaritans.
Because Samaritans were of mixed blood with Gentile nations, Jews even avoided stepping into Samaritan lands.
When they had to pass through, they often took a long way around.
But Jesus did not care about such customs. While He was passing through Samaria, He sat by a well and said to the woman who came to draw water, “Give Me a drink.”
Normally, travelers in Israel carried their own water. Even if the water was finished, the disciples had gone to the town to buy food and would return soon. Then why did Jesus ask the Samaritan woman for water?
Revelation 3:20 (NASB) says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.”
In the same way, Jesus was knocking on the woman’s heart to bring her the gospel.
Finally, the woman and the people of her town opened their hearts and received Jesus as their Savior.
When God knocks on a person’s heart through a preacher, anyone who opens the door and receives Jesus as Savior can become a child of God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
As John 1:12 (NASB) says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”
However, Jesus said in Matthew 7:21 (NASB), “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
As written in James 2:14 (NASB), faith without deeds cannot bring salvation.
To enter Heaven, one must understand God’s plan of salvation — why God created mankind, why He placed the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, why only Jesus can be the Savior, and how He leads us to salvation.
Only when we understand these things and act according to His will can we truly enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you want to know the taste of a fruit, you must not only look at it but also eat it. In the same way, it is not enough to know vaguely that “Jesus is our Savior.” We must understand the providence of the cross — how Jesus became our Savior — so that our faith may be alive and active.
The loving Lord God prepared Jesus Christ before the ages to save mankind, who were walking on the path of destruction. May you realize the great love of God, who sent His Son Jesus Christ to this world to complete the way of salvation. And may you live according to the will of God, so that you can fully enjoy the authority and blessings of being a child of God.
Plus
Why did the Jews hate the Samaritans?
Originally, the Samaritans were also descendants of Abraham and had taken part in the conquest of Canaan together with the Israelites.
However, in 721 B.C., the Northern Kingdom of Israel, where Samaria was located, was destroyed by Assyria.
According to the Assyrian policy of racial intermixing, many foreigners were brought into the land.
The Samaritans then married those foreigners and became a mixed people.
From that time, the Jews began to despise and hate them.