In 1995, Christopher McQuarrie watched his masterpiece screenplay hit the big screen. The Usual Suspects arrived in theaters to moderate excitement and critical praise while earning McQuarrie and Kevin Spacey their first Oscars. Suspects was a crime drama telling the unfolding events of what occurred in the lives of five criminals from the perspective of Verbal Kint. Viewers get wrapped up in the story from start to finish, but do not find the answer until the final seconds of the film. With just a few unexpected, Academy-Award-winning footsteps and the opening of a car door, every audience gasps to the realization of what actually happened. As one of the many who was completely caught off-guard by the end result, I found myself wanting to see the movie all over again just to make sure I didn't miss other details along the way.

Mystery novels and films, when well written, have the same effect every time. The author is always the one who knows the beginning from the end and thus attempts to orchestrate the necessary storyline that will protect certain truths from being revealed too quickly. If a truth comes out earlier than it should, a reader may not find cause to continue reading other than their attachment to the characters. The best mystery, then, is the one where truth was truth from the beginning even when the author chose to keep it hidden for the purposes of keeping your attention.

"For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;" Ephesians 3:1-4

This mystery is one that we often speak of in our grace assemblies, for it is this mystery of grace, hidden in other ages, that now reveals an aspect of God we will address in Part Two of The King Eternal. For something to be a mystery, it must first have been true and unknown to all but one. It can therefore be said that mysteries begin with truth and correct (or, righteous) knowledge. For this reason, we now turn our attention to the God of truth, of righteousness, and of knowledge leading to wisdom.

"Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak [this] to your shame." I Corinthians 15:34

One of the most common approaches to this passage and others like it is to relate "righteousness" to "purity" because it deals with sin. For a moment, however, consider that the term has less to do with purity or holiness and instead draws attention to "right"-ness. That is, awake to what is "right" (or, correct knowledge) by contrast to those who do not have the right, or correct, "Knowledge of God."

Another tendency is for us to see the phrase "knowledge of God" and insert ourselves into it. The subjective, or personal, approach is to see this as "man's knowledge of God." In other words, "some have not their own correct knowledge of God." The objective reading suggests that instead of this being about our knowledge of God, it is simply God's knowledge. While I would not enforce one view over another with any dogmatic insistence, stay with me for a moment to consider why the latter choice may, in fact, be a more appropriate view of the text.

"Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?" Galatians 4:8-9

It would not be incorrect or even foolish to say that we, as believers, have knowledge of God. But as the passage above indicates, while one might say that they know God, it is even more emphatic to say that you are known of God, or by God. It is always His knowledge that supersedes our own and as we are asked to "walk worthy" of our calling (Ephesians 4:1), coming to grips with God's knowledge can and will ultimately lead us to "awake unto righteousness."

Here we find ourselves confronted with the idea that God, the One and Only Potentate, has knowledge beyond our own. What's more, He is not just spoken about as having knowledge, but that He is always right.

"(As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth forever.)" II Corinthians 9:9

He is right all the time. His rightness, or righteousness, will last forever. A sharp contrast is made to mankind:

"As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God." Romans 3:10-11

Because of our condition, it is often difficult to consider one whose knowledge is always correct and will remain accurate for eternity no matter what age passes by. But righteousness comes from one who is true. For you are only right if the information you hold is true.

"But [as] God [is] true, our word toward you was not yea and nay." II Corinthians 1:18

"For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;" I Thessalonians 1:9

The Gospel of John utilizes this term "true" in giving God several different descriptions such as the true light (1:9), the true bread (6:32), and the true vine (15:1). In each case, what we're dealing with are the building blocks of something that was once hidden. Like a vast and complex million-piece puzzle where, depending on how much time you have and how many pieces you're given, you'll still only know as much of the truth as you have time and resources to know. If that sounds complicated, it's intended to be. More simply put, God has all truth, He is always right about that truth, and He only reveals that righteous truth in the form of a mystery when he chooses to do so. All these pieces put together equal the knowledge of God.

Knowledge, as many might already be familiar, comes from the Greek word gnosis. Out of this term, two main deviations in church history have risen up. The first were the Gnostic Gospels. Highlighted recently in the Da Vinci Code film (and book of the same name), the Gnostic Gospels were those written books and testaments of witness that proclaimed to be inspired text coming from the "knowledge" of God. Today we often take for granted what remained and what did not in the canon of the Bible, but scholars and Christians debated for quite some time before reaching the conclusion of our current 66 books. Debate has continued through the present day between Catholics and Protestants who battle over additional books that are believed missing or false.

The second deviation is the agnostic belief system. Many of our young college students are coming out of church backgrounds and into an agnostic belief about God. Essentially, what they claim is that God must indeed exist because it's hard to argue otherwise, but whom and what He is can be anyone's best guess. In a sense, according to agnostics, Muslims might have truth as much as the Mormons or Buddhists. Truth, for them, is relative. But what few of them consider is the title by which they identify themselves so proudly. To be a-gnostic is to have "no knowledge" just as to be a-theistic is to have "no God." Latin makes it much more easily understood. For to be "without knowledge" in the Latin tongue is to be an ignoramus. Trying saying that to the next agnostic you meet on the road.

Righteous knowledge, in contrast, comes with a great deal of responsibility. For if there is correct knowledge of anything, improper handling of that knowledge can be destructive or harmful to other listeners. It is not knowledge, therefore, that handles itself, but wisdom. Once again, we find our Potentate to have another attribute of worthy note.

"But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God." I Corinthians 1:24

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our glory:" I Corinthians 2:7

"In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians 2:3

Wisdom, when it comes from God, draws a connection with hidden wealth. Treasures because they are true, but hidden because wealth received too quickly is a richness easily mishandled. For that reason, like the little child that climbs in her father's arms, there is a curiosity to know what we do not know. There is a desire to unlock the secret garden. Anyone given the key believes they have been given access to something that few others have known.

"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, [be] honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." I Timothy 1:17

The only "wise God" fills this title with His management of knowledge and truth. By establishing mysteries, He makes both pieces so much more valuable to those who do not have them. When someone uncovers a mystery that they did not know beforehand, we often find them exclaiming, "Wow! I can't believe I didn't see it long ago!" It's as though they have found a prize, a bundle of cash, or a pearl that was sitting underneath their couch for years. And in the end, it is the wisdom of God in that concealed truth that receives all honor and glory.

"[It is] the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings [is] to search out a matter." Proverbs 25:2