There are certain verses of the scriptures that the adversary targets because they are tied to our progression. Colossians 2:2 is one of such scriptures as its rendition has been much debated as seen in the different versions of the bible. A man who is not schooled in the mystery of Christ would misinterpret that verse of the scripture. A similar verse of the scripture is 1 John 5:7. A little research revealed that it took 4 generations to preserve the rendition of 1 John 5:7 in the King James Version of the Bible.
Satan is against these scriptures because he wants to prevent us from rightly seeing what our inheritance is. The training of the doctrine of Christ would raise our judgement and enable us to rightly appropriate the mysteries of the Godhead highlighted in Colossians 2:2.
Satan desires to cast doubt on this new cup but we have to be resilient in our belief in the doctrine of Christ and of the Father. We have to resolve in our heart that we would persist with the doctrine of Christ as we journey on.
A cup is not just a vessel we drink from; it connotes participation. We participate in a cup by having a share of it. The cups the Lord has placed before us are means of imparting us with things that would raise an unusual manner of men on earth. We should look forward to the time when we would be recognized as incorruptible men in the spirit. The incorruptible state is a very honourable one.
We are to progress from the mystery of Christ to that of Father and then to the mystery of God. Without the doctrine of Christ, we would not have known what a man originally should be (Col. 3:3). The only man we ever knew in the true state of what God designed a man to be was Adam, however, we did not witness his original state but his fallen state. When man fell, his estate as a living soul deteriorated; he descended till he became flesh and afterwards became grass (Gen. 6:3; Isa. 40:6; 1 Pet. 1:24). The estate of grass is a very inferior kind of man and this man lacks every iota of glory. When a soul from the estate of grass rises up and does the works of Christ, it is considered a great feat.
Mysteries are secret things that are meant to be revealed (Deut. 29:29). There are secrets kept in Christ that have to be revealed. It is through the spirit of revelation that we have fellowship with the cups that will raise us. God’s intent is to reveal certain things to us and He has to do so in stratas of mysteries. There are secret things kept in Christ that will be revealed (Col. 2:3). This is so that we can relate with higher mysteries.
God has spelt out ordinances in the holy scriptures that define the true Christ. Any other preaching of Christ that is outside these scriptural definitions of Christ is not the true Christ. We must know the parameters that spell out the mystery of Christ and stay within them.
The gospel of Christ is not the very salvation that scriptures have promised; it is the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). This means that it points to salvation. The gospel of Christ is the revealer of the righteousness of God. Any gospel of Christ that does not reveal the righteousness of God is not the true gospel of Christ. This is because we cannot learn the righteousness of God outside of the gospel of Christ.
The gospel of Christ is supposed to equip us to receive the righteousness of God so that we can relate with the Father’s new cup. Faith sanctifies us so that we can experience the power of God (Acts 26:18). And just as there is the power of God that leads to salvation, there is also the power of Satan that leads to death (Rom. 1:16; Rom. 6:23). We cannot rightly discern the power of Satan if we have not been exposed to the mystery of Christ.
As we learn the power of faith, it sanctifies us not just from the works of the flesh but from flesh itself. The forgiveness of sins that the faith gives us is not the forgiveness that we have been given at New Birth; this one is for the removal of the sinful nature in our souls. As we obey faith, we experience the removal of our sinful nature. It is after the forgiveness of sins that we can go on to receive the inheritance (Acts 26:18).
In the New Testament, the inheritance is salvation. The mystery of Christ will make us obtain the righteousness of God. Charity is a higher version of faith; it is the end of the faith of Christ. A man who has reached charity has become godly. The power of Satan is worldly lusts (Titus 2:12). We are meant to do righteousness until we become godly. This is what is expected of us in this present evil world.
After a soul has done Christ and has arrived at godliness, then the soul is expected to look for the glorious appearing of the great God. Those who are sanctified are those who have engaged and used the faith of the Son (Heb. 2:11). This is why Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call them brethren. This is because such men would have undergone the curriculum of Christ and come to a place where they are not ashamed of Christ. It is made clear in scriptures that "whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26).
The realm of charity is peculiar. Those who would arrive at charity would have come to the place where they have one mind and walk in all the laws of 1 Corinthians 13. The apostles strengthen one another; they did not break the laws of charity. Peter approved Paul, and John continued and completed what Paul started. Brethren in charity would be known because they would not have their own thing; they all encourage and strengthen one another.
The Godhead typifies Charity. There has never been a time where They strive to outdo one another; rather, They submit one to another. Our prayer should be that we will come to the place of an alignment that will be so evident in the Church; such that the Church typifies Charity.
The mystery of Christ is not what should be looked away from; it is a foundational course upon which other revelations would rest. It is so important because it forms the bedrock for other unveilings of God. It is because we have prospered in the doctrine of Christ to a measure that a new cup has been opened for us. After we have fully prospered in Christ, we have come to the point where we are among the brethren that have been sanctified.
This shows that we must desire to be in the company of the brethren. Any revelation that makes you stand alone and take an entirely different route from the company seeks to rid you of the inheritance. It is possible that amongst the brethren some are more grown than the others. However, whatever accomplishments we may have in the spirit must still lead us to dwell among the brethren.
The doctrine of the Father would be opened to those who have fully done Christ. The high priestly ministry of Jesus is to father souls for God. The mystery of the Father is the bridge between the mystery of Christ and the mystery of God. God houses immortality but He would not grant this to any soul that is corrupt. The mystery of the Father is meant to perfect the work of Christ in souls and present them to God. Any soul that stops at the mystery of Christ and is not fathered can still be poached by Satan.
Satan is a father who knows how to remove things that have been wrought in a soul. This is why souls needs to be fathered so that they can be presented to God.