To them [the saints] God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27 (ESV)
There is a genre of literature identified as mystery. Mystery novels generally have unexpected endings. There are likely many clues along the way that point to the ending. But those clues are typically not obvious until the ending is revealed. Only when the mystery is unveiled do the clues become obvious.
The Old Testament is not a mystery novel. But it does have elements of mystery hidden within it. This verse refers to that mystery. A mystery that Paul said was hidden for ages and generations but had now been revealed to the saints (Col. 1:26) through the apostles and prophets (Eph. 3:5). The clues were there all along, but they were hidden until Jesus had come (1 Pet. 1:10-12).
What is this mystery? Paul describes it here as Christ in us! This expression could be understood in two ways, and both are likely true. Christ is within me as an individual believer. But he is also within his Church, the body of Christ.
No longer do we need to go to the Temple to encounter God. We have become the temple that he dwells within. And Christ is wherever his people are. Especially as we gather in his name (Matt. 18:20).
Christ in us is the hope of glory. Hope points to the future. It is a confident expectation of something that we do not yet have. And his presence within us now is a taste of the glory that is to come.
