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What Is the Mystery of Faith? #696 · Scripture Central

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  Likewise, must the deacons be grave, not double tongued, not
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  given too much wine, not greedy, a filthy lucre, holding the
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  mystery of the faith in a pure conscience?
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  Hello listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central, and
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  today's podcast addresses the question, What is the mystery of
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  faith? When Paul wrote his epistles to
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  Timothy and Titus, he offered many instructions regarding the
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  qualifications of those who were to be called to be local leaders
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  and priesthood holders in the Church.
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  Regarding the deacons, Paul instructed Timothy that in
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  addition to being moral, they must hold the mystery of the
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  faith in a pure conscience. This faith, or Pistus, was often
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  used to describe a relationship of trust and faithfulness
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  between God and mankind. Furthermore, while modern
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  readers may see the term mystery and draw the conclusion that
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  faith itself is mysterious or unknowable in nature, such was
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  not the case in Paul's ancient context or for his ancient
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  readers. The Greek word mysterian, for
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  instance, was best understood as a secret right or teaching that
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  was often connected to customs and ceremonies not to be
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  revealed to the public. As such, many uses of mysterion
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  appear to refer to ordinances or sacred counsel from God that is
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  not to be disclosed to those not worthy of receiving them.
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  Similarly, the Pistus relationship, common throughout
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  the ancient world, could be formalized through ritual
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  actions, and the mystery mentioned by Paul appears to be
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  understood in this context. Indeed, Brent J Schmidt has
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  noted that Pistus was additionally understood in
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  Paul's time to be a covenant oath or guarantee that created
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  trust, which was relied on to bring about assurance through
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  sacred law. In conjunction with this
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  covenantal oath, Pistus could also take the form of signs
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  given to the faithful who already trusted God.
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  These signs were given to act as evidence and lead the faithful
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  St. to greater knowledge and truth, and could further
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  persuade individuals, groups, or Hellenistic societies of the
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  certainty of what they commonly experienced.
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  These truths and signs ultimately found their place in
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  the temple. This is especially true of the
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  phrase mystery of the faith as used by Paul, which Schmidt has
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  noted meant ritual pledges, often anciently associated with
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  revelation in temples in the 1st century.
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  Furthermore, since Pistus commonly meant pledge or
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  assurance, it is very likely that Pistus also meant covenant
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  for 1st century Christians. As such, mysteries of God,
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  including the mystery of the faith, are best understood as
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  something revealed through Jesus and prophetic writings about his
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  sacrifice and resurrection that evokes obedience typical of a
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  Pistus covenant, and could be formalized through a ritual
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  action or ordinance. One of the mysteries for early
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  Christians was the first ordinance required to enter the
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  covenantal community, baptism. Schmidt has observed that early
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  Christians associated mysteries with religious rituals such as
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  baptism, seeing faith, and making covenants with God as
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  enabling disciples to understand the mystery of his gospel.
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  Christus was also closely linked to Christian ordinances by often
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  involving ritual pledges that the initiates would say, such as
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  a baptismal formula preserved in the Apostolic constitutions that
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  included renouncing the devil and promising to be faithful to
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  God throughout their life. Other ordinances were likewise
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  described in similar terms by early Christian writers.
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  If baptism and its ritual pledge was had in mind by Paul, then in
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  this ancient context the deacons were being exhorted to hold fast
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  to covenantal pleasures of baptism which were mysterious
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  only to the outside world. Regardless of whether or not
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  this particular ordinance is being referred to, Paul is
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  certainly informing Timothy that all deacons ordained must be
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  true to the covenants they have made, holding them in a pure
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  conscience. Having been initiated into the
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  mysterion or ordinances of the gospel, they had to honor the
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  sacred nature of what they had experienced.
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  Similar injunctions to hold fast to sacred things and ordinances
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  are likewise found throughout the Scriptures.
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  For example, Jesus told his disciples, Give not that which
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  is holy unto the dogs. Neither cast cheap pearls before
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  swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again
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  and rend you. Scholars, including John W
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  Welch, have observed that the holy thing mentioned in this
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  verse is likely a piece of special sacred knowledge,
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  something they are required to keep sacred and confidential, an
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  implication consistent with some other interesting conclusions of
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  Jeremiah's regarding the existence of sacred secret
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  teachings and practices in primitive Christianity.
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  The Book of Mormon begins with Nephi stating that he had a
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  great knowledge of the mysteries of God.
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  This was apparently the basis on which Nephi made his record of
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  the more sacred things, a record he began in connection with
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  building a temple. Nephi's record culminates with
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  an injunction to speak with the tongue of angels, which may
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  represent breaching the veil to enter into the Lord's presence,
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  becoming divine, and thereby joining the divine council.
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  Like the mystery of the faith, this clearly reflected sacred
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  ordinances or knowledge to be shared only in sacred spaces.
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  Ultimately, the pistus oaths, covenants, and ordinances bring
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  strength and miracles to those who faithfully abide by them and
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  hold them fast. As noted by Schmidt, knowledge
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  about and faith in one's own divine nature, expressed through
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  action, brought about miracles to many people in the New
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  Testament whom Jesus identified as being healed or able to heal
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  others through the power of their faith.
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  These surely included many who had performed ordinances and
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  were true to the covenants they had made with the Lord.
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  As noted by Schmidt, ancient nuances of faith pistus bring
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  about blessings that lead to conversion, in contrast to sin
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  that results in unhappiness. These nuances, including oaths,
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  covenants, and ordinances, are likewise essential today in our
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  own conversion to the gospel. As we read the New Testament, we
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  find that faith is closely associated with actions meant to
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  develop a patron client relationship with God, which is
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  confirmed by trustworthiness followed by a miracle.
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  Assessing the full powers of this relationship requires us to
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  act, to make covenants, and to be faithful to them.
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  Once a faithful relationship is established, Schmidt observes, 1
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  merely needs to act, and great spiritual experiences will
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  occur. As we maintain our relationship
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  with God, we will be driven to repent more fully and will seek
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  to hold fast to the mysteries of the faith so that we too might
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  be found worthy of the relationship we have made.
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  These mysteries begin to be revealed to us at baptism as we
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  enter the covenant path, and they continue as we progress
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  through the temple ordinances and prepare to enter the
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  presence of God again, truly the greatest miracle that we may one
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  day experience. Thank you for listening to this
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  presentation from Scripture Central.
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  For more information, please visit scripturecentral.org.