Mysteries of God

God With Us The ascended Christ is still with us. Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 28:20 “… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

God’s Mysteries In certain acts, the church encounters Christ. Augustine: “The Word comes to the element; and so there is a sacrament, that is, a sort of visible word.” Thomas Aquinas: “Sacraments are visible signs of invisible things whereby man is made holy.” From Luther’s Small Catechism: “A sacrament is a sacred act instituted by God, in which God Himself has joined His Word of promise to a visible element.”

1. Baptism 2. Communion 3. Forgiveness 4. Confession 5. Marriage 6 1. Baptism 2. Communion 3. Forgiveness 4. Confession 5. Marriage 6. Shepherds & Servants 7. Care for the Sick

Confession 1 Timothy 6:12-13 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession. In confession, Christians continue to declare an invisible king to be lord of the visible world.

Communion Matthew 26:26-28 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” In communion, Christians continue to commune with Jesus by sharing a meal with his disciples.

Baptism Romans 6:4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. In baptism, Christians begin a new life by imitating our lord’s death and resurrection.

Shepherds & Servants 1 Peter 5:1-3 So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight … In our church leadership, Christian’s continue to submit to their chief shepherd by submitting to those into whose care he has left them.

Care for the Sick James 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. In caring for others, Christians continue to show their devotion to the greatest of all by attending to the weakest of all.

Forgiveness 2 Corinthians 2:10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ. In forgiveness, Christians continue to reconcile the world, not by ignoring evil, but by confessing it and forgiving it.

Marriage Ephesians 5:31-32 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. In marriage, Christians continue to be faithful to God’s creation and Christ’s church by being faithful to the meaning of marriage.

Practice the faith. Learn the mystery Practice the faith. Learn the mystery. “When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” Ephesians 3:4-5