Col 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

     

The ‘them' at the start of this verse is, reading the previous verse, the saints or believers. Now, adds Paul, this is not to just mean the Jews, God's people from the Old Testament, but the whole Gentile (non-Jewish) world as well. To these people, God chose to make something known. He thought about it, decided it and then did it. What was it? It was a mystery “that has been kept hidden for ages and generations." (v.26). In other words, there had been a hint of something being revealed through Israel, through all the Old Testament prophecies, which had left the scholars wondering. What was God saying? It didn't seem to all fit together. There was a mystery here!

 

And then Jesus came and more questions came. Then he died and rose again and then ascended to heaven, and then the Holy Spirit fell on the believers on the day of Pentecost and revelation from heaven followed. As Paul and others thought and prayed about their new lives they came to realize that now they were vessels occupied by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus.

THIS was the end product of this mysterious plan of God, that he would indwell us. But wait, it wasn't the end product, for they realized that by this the Spirit granted them eternal life, life in glory, in heaven with God. THAT was the final end product, that God could work in such a way that the end of it all would be a family of born-again beings living with Him in heaven. Hallelujah!