The Full And Complete Revelation Of God In The Son
From Portions and Shadows to the Mystery Revealed in Christ
Question-and-Answer Edition with NKJV and Aramaic Study of ABWOON
Prepared and Taught by
Minister Christopher Robert Holder
Testimony of God Ministries Inc.
Revised 7 August 2026
Primary Texts: Matthew 6:9; John 1:1–3; Ephesians 1:3–23; 2:4–7; 3:1–21 Hebrews 1:1–3; 7:19–28; 8:1–13; 9:8–15; 10:1–22
How to Use This Question-and-Answer Teaching
CENTRAL ANSWER God formerly spoke truly through the prophets in many portions and many ways; He has now spoken climactically in the Son. Ephesians identifies the Christ-centred mystery now revealed by the Spirit, while Hebrews shows that the shadows, copies, repeated sacrifices, and restricted access of the former administration find their substance, sufficiency, and completed purpose in Jesus Christ. The Father—invoked in the Syriac prayer tradition as Abwun or Abwoon, “our Father”—is the living Source whose eternal purpose is revealed and accomplished in the Son.
The words full and complete must be used carefully. Neither Ephesians nor Hebrews teaches that a believer has exhaustive knowledge of God. In the NKJV, Ephesians declares that the love of Christ “passes knowledge.” The full revelation is therefore not the end of wonder, growth, prayer, or illumination. It is the decisive and sufficient revelation of the Father’s saving purpose in Jesus Christ the Son: the One through whom God created, redeemed, united, gave access, and will bring all things to their appointed fulfilment.
What should the saints understand by the end of this teaching?
- To explain “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” within the complete argument of Ephesians.
- To identify precisely the “mystery” that was not made known in other ages as it is now revealed by the Spirit.
- To show how Hebrews contrasts revelation in many portions with God’s climactic speech in the Son.
- To distinguish true but preparatory revelation from the substance, access, and covenantal fulfilment accomplished by Christ.
- To lead the saints from information about Christ into corporate, experiential knowledge of His immeasurable love.
- To explain the Aramaic-Syriac form Abwun or Abwoon accurately, while receiving its devotional picture of the Father as Birther and inexhaustible Source within biblical, Christ-centred boundaries.
Which passages establish the controlling context?
EPHESIANS 1:3 (NKJV)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
HEBREWS 1:1–2 (NKJV, KEY CLAUSES)
God spoke “at various times and in various ways” and “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.”
EPHESIANS 1:3 (NKJV)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”
HEBREWS 1:1–2 (NKJV, KEY CLAUSES)
God spoke “at various times and in various ways” and “has in these last days spoken to us by His Son.”
Question 1 — What does “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
places” mean?
ANSWER It means that the Father has already granted, in union with the exalted Christ, every Spiritgiven
blessing needed for redemption, identity, inheritance, access, and participation in His eternal
purpose. It is not a promise that every desired earthly circumstance will occur.
Why is “in Christ” the controlling phrase?
Ephesians 1:3 is not a detached promise of religious prosperity. Paul blesses “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,” and then locates every spiritual blessing “in heavenly places in Christ.” The Father is the source, Christ is the sphere and mediator of the blessing, the Holy Spirit is the seal and earnest of the inheritance (Ephesians 1:13–14), and the saints are the recipients by union with Christ.
The catalogue that follows explains the blessing: election in Christ, adoption through Jesus Christ, acceptance in the Beloved, redemption through His blood, forgiveness, wisdom and prudence, knowledge of the mystery of God’s will, inheritance, hope, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:4–14). Therefore “all spiritual blessings” does not mean that every believer receives every desired earthly circumstance. It means that the Father has withheld no spiritual blessing required for the believer’s identity, redemption, inheritance, and participation in His purpose in Christ.
How does Ephesians use the expression “heavenly places”?
| Reference | Function within Ephesians |
|---|---|
| Ephesians 1:3 | The saints are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. |
| Ephesians 1:20 | The risen Christ is seated at the Father’s right hand, above every principality and power. |
| Ephesians 2:6 | Those made alive with Christ are raised and seated together in Him. |
| Ephesians 3:10 | Through the church, God’s manifold wisdom is now made known to principalities and powers. |
| Ephesians 6:12 | The church’s conflict includes spiritual wickedness in the heavenly places. |
The heavenly places are therefore the spiritual and cosmic realm in which Christ is enthroned, believers share His life and status, the church displays God’s wisdom, and hostile powers are opposed. The phrase contains blessing, authority, witness, and conflict. It is not a permission to ignore earthly responsibilities, nor is it a guarantee that the present age contains no suffering. Paul writes Ephesians as a prisoner, yet he understands his chains from the standpoint of God’s eternal purpose in Christ.
How does blessing flow from Christ’s exaltation?
Paul prays that the saints will receive “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him,” with the eyes of their understanding enlightened (Ephesians 1:17–18). The revelation is not a second Saviour or a secret truth beyond Christ. It is Spirit-given illumination to recognize what the Father has already accomplished in the crucified, risen, and exalted Christ. The same power that raised Christ works toward believers, and the church is His body, “the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:19–23).
Question 2 — What mystery was hidden in other ages and is now
revealed?
ANSWER The mystery is God’s purpose in Christ to make believing Jews and Gentiles equal fellowheirs,
members of the same body, and fellow-partakers of the gospel promise. Earlier Scripture anticipated
this purpose, but its one-body form is now disclosed by the Spirit through the apostolic witness.
EPHESIANS 3:5–6 (NKJV, KEY CLAUSES)
The mystery “in other ages was not made known” as it is now revealed by the Spirit: believing Gentiles
are fellow heirs in Christ through the gospel.
What does Paul mean by a “mystery”?
In Ephesians, a mystery is not a puzzle solved by superior intelligence. It is a purpose that belonged to God, was hidden according to His wisdom, and had to be made known by revelation. Paul did not invent the mystery; he received stewardship to proclaim it. Nor does Paul present himself as a private source of truth independent of Christ. It is “the mystery of Christ,” revealed “by the Spirit,” to God’s “holy apostles and prophets,” and carried out according to the eternal purpose purposed “in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:4–5, 11).
What is the precise content of the mystery?
Ephesians 3:6 defines the matter with unusual force: believing Gentiles are fellowheirs, of the same body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel. The emphasis is not merely that Gentiles may receive a blessing. The unveiled reality is their equal incorporation with believing Jews in one new humanity and one body in Christ (compare Ephesians 2:11–22). Christ Himself is the peace who removes the dividing wall, reconciles both unto God by the cross, and gives both access by one Spirit unto the Father.
- Fellowheirs: one inheritance in Christ, not a lower spiritual class.
- Of the same body: one reconciled people whose unity is created by the cross.
- Fellow-partakers: one gospel promise shared in Christ.
Why are the words “as it is now revealed” important?
Paul’s wording is comparative: the mystery “was not made known … as it is now revealed.” Earlier Scripture contained promises, types, and anticipations, but the equal one-body form of the mystery was not disclosed with the same clarity and covenantal realization before Christ. The former revelation was not false; it was anticipatory and distributed. The now-revealed mystery supplies the Christ-centred coherence toward which the earlier promises moved.
What part does the church play in the revealed mystery?
Paul was commissioned to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make all see the administration of the mystery hidden in God (Ephesians 3:8–9). The purpose reaches beyond human reconciliation: through the church, the manifold wisdom of God is now displayed to principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Ephesians 3:10). A reconciled, Spirit-indwelt, multi-ethnic body is not an appendix to the gospel; it is a living exhibition of God’s wisdom.
Question 3 — What are the width, length, depth, and height that the saints must comprehend?
ANSWER Paul uses comprehensive spatial language to express the immeasurable vastness of Christ’s love within God’s purpose. The saints truly know this love by the Spirit and together with the whole church, yet they can never exhaust it.
EPHESIANS 3:16–19 (KJV, WITH NKJV COMPARISON)
“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” The NKJV reads “width” and “passes knowledge.”
What is the order of Paul’s prayer?
| Movement | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Strengthened by the Spirit | The capacity to comprehend is granted; it is not produced by intellect alone. |
| Christ dwelling in the heart by faith | The prayer concerns settled, governing communion with Christ. |
| Rooted and grounded in love | Paul combines the images of a living root and a stable foundation. |
| Comprehending with all the saints | The knowledge is corporate; no isolated believer possesses the whole witness of the body. |
| Knowing Christ’s love beyond knowledge | The saints truly know what they can never exhaust. |
| Filled unto all the fullness of God | Revelation aims at transformed participation, worship, holiness, unity, and maturity. |
Do the four dimensions contain four separate secret doctrines?
Paul does not assign an independent doctrine to each spatial term. “Breadth, length, depth, and height” is a comprehensive way of speaking about immeasurable vastness. Grammatically, the love of Christ is stated explicitly in the next clause; contextually, the dimensions naturally communicate the boundless scope of Christ’s love within God’s vast purpose. They may also echo the cosmic scale of the mystery described throughout Ephesians. What must not be done is to turn the four words into an arbitrary code that the passage itself never supplies.
THE HOLY PARADOX The saints can genuinely know the love of Christ, yet that love surpasses knowledge. Revelation is full in its centre and saving sufficiency—Jesus Christ—while the riches of that revelation remain inexhaustible in experience, worship, and understanding.
Question 4 — What does ABWOON mean, and how should the term be taught?
ANSWER Abwun or Abwoon directly means “our Father.” In contemplative prayer it may be unfolded as Birther and inexhaustible Source, even as a “field of infinite potential,” provided that this language remains metaphorical, personal, and governed by Scripture’s revelation of the Father through the Son.
MATTHEW 6:9 (NKJV)
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”
EPHESIANS 3:14–15 (NKJV)
“I bow my knees to the Father … from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”
What is the literal Aramaic-Syriac sense?
The Classical Syriac Peshitta form of the opening of the Lord’s Prayer is commonly transliterated Abun dbashmaya or Abwun d-bashmaya. Abwoon is a popular phonetic and devotional spelling of the same opening. Its direct sense is “Our Father in heaven” or “Our Father who is in the heavens.” This Syriac witness belongs to the Aramaic language family; it should not be presented as proof that the Greek text of Ephesians was originally written in Aramaic.
| Aramaic-Syriac Form | Lexical Function and Sense |
|---|---|
| Ab / Abba | Father: the personal source within a family relationship. |
| -un / -wun | The first-person plural possessive element: our. |
| Abun / Abwun | Our Father; Abwoon is a devotional spelling used in prayer and chant. |
| d-bashmaya | In the heavens, or who is in heaven: intimacy joined to divine transcendence. |
MINISTRY MEDITATION: ABWOON may be prayerfully unfolded as: the Birther, the Source of creation, the One whose living fullness may be pictured as a field of infinite potential and from whom all things emerge. This is a theological and contemplative expansion of “our Father,” not the word’s bare dictionary definition.
How may “Birther” and “field of infinite potential” be used within biblical boundaries?
The title Birther emphasizes that all created life receives its existence from God. The language field of infinite potential may serve as a metaphor for the Father’s inexhaustible creative fullness: before any created possibility appears, God is already the unlimited Source of wisdom, power, purpose, and life. Yet Scripture does not portray the Father as an impersonal energy field. He knows, wills, loves, names, speaks, sends, adopts, judges, and gives inheritance. Therefore the more personal biblical expression is not merely “from which” but “from whom” all things come.
Nor does creation flow from God by necessity, as though the universe were an extension of His substance. The Father freely creates according to His will and eternal purpose. Ephesians says the mystery was hidden in God who created all things; Hebrews says God made the worlds through the Son; and John declares that all things were made through the Word. The Father is the originating Source, the Son is the personal Word and agent of creation and redemption, and the Spirit communicates divine life and power.
Does ABWOON compete with the revelation of God in the Son?
The revelation of the Father and the revelation in the Son belong together. Jesus teaches the disciples to pray “our Father,” and Hebrews declares that this same God has spoken climactically in the Son. The Son does not obscure the Source; He makes the Father known. Conversely, language about divine source, womb, potential, light, or creative fullness must be judged by the Son, who is the brightness of the Father’s glory and the exact representation of His being.
- ABWOON is personal: the Father, not an abstract force.
- ABWOON is relational: “our” Father forms a family and agrees with Paul’s “with all the saints.”
- ABWOON is creative: the Father’s purpose precedes creation and is accomplished through the Son.
- ABWOON is Christ-centred: the fullness of the Source is disclosed savingly in Jesus Christ.
DOCTRINAL BALANCE The devotional image enlarges prayer only when it remains governed by Scripture: the Father is the inexhaustible Source; the Son is the complete personal revelation and mediator of His purpose; the Holy Spirit strengthens the saints to receive, comprehend, and embody that revealed fullness.
Question 5 — What does Hebrews mean when it says that God has spoken in the Son?
ANSWER God’s earlier speech through the prophets was true and authoritative, but it came in many portions and many ways. His speech has now reached its climax in the Son, who is not merely another messenger but the Creator, radiance, exact representation, purifier, Priest, and enthroned King.
HEBREWS 1:1–3 (KJV)
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son … who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person … when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The NKJV renders the opening “at various times and in various ways.”
What are the “many portions and many ways”?
The KJV reads “at sundry times and in divers manners.” The opening Greek adverbs are polymerōs and polytropōs: in many portions and in many ways. God spoke through promises, laws, histories, wisdom, visions, prophetic oracles, priesthood, sanctuary, sacrifice, feast, and covenant. Each portion was truly God’s speech, yet no single prophet, institution, sacrifice, or event carried the whole climactic disclosure.
Hebrews does not contrast a speaking God in the Old Testament with a silent God in the New. God is the speaker in both. The contrast concerns the mode and climax of His speech: formerly to the fathers through the prophets in many portions and ways; now, in these last days, to us “in Son.” The Son is not merely one more messenger placed at the end of a long list. He is the heir of all things, the agent of creation, the brightness of God’s glory, the exact representation of His being, the sustainer of all things, the purifier of sins, and the enthroned King.
Why is the Son both messenger and substance?
The prophets spoke words received from God; the Son reveals God as the Son. His identity, incarnation, obedience, sacrifice, resurrection, priesthood, and enthronement are themselves God’s climactic message. The phrase “spoken unto us by his Son” therefore means more than that Jesus delivered superior sentences. In Jesus Christ, God’s character, saving will, covenant faithfulness, holiness, love, and kingship are personally and decisively disclosed.
Question 6 — How does Hebrews move from shadow to substance?
ANSWER The former covenant’s priesthood, sanctuary, sacrifices, and restricted access were genuine God-given patterns, but they could not accomplish final purification or unrestricted access. Christ brings the better covenant, the true heavenly ministry, the once-for-all sacrifice, and the opened way into God’s presence.
Hebrews 1:1–3 states the thesis; the rest of the book unfolds it through a series of “better” realities. The following contrasts do not degrade the former revelation. They show its appointed, preparatory function and its fulfilment in Christ.
| Former Order | Limitation / Goal | Fulfilment in Christ | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earthly sanctuary | Copy and shadow of heavenly things | Christ ministers in the true sanctuary | 8:1–6 |
| Old covenant | A covenant unable to produce final inward renewal | A better covenant established on better promises | 8:6–13 |
| Animal sacrifices | Repeated offerings and external cleansing | Christ’s own blood obtains eternal redemption | 9:8–15 |
| The law’s sacrifices | A shadow, not the very image; repeated yearly | One offering perfects forever those being sanctified | 10:1–14 |
| Restricted access | The way into the holiest not yet made manifest | Boldness to enter by Jesus’ blood—the new and living way | 9:8; 10:19–22 |
| Sinai | Distance, fear, and trembling | Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and Jesus the mediator | 12:18–24 |
Does “shadow” mean that the former revelation was false?
A shadow is real as a witness, but it is not the embodied person who casts it. A copy is meaningful, but it is not the heavenly original. Repetition remembers and anticipates, but repetition also announces that the work has not reached finality. Hebrews uses these categories to honour the divine purpose of the former order while refusing to treat it as the completed substance.
What does the seated Priest declare?
Hebrews 10 contrasts priests who stand daily and repeatedly offer sacrifices with Christ, who offered one sacrifice for sins and sat down. His seated posture does not mean inactivity; Hebrews also says He ever lives to intercede. It means the sacrificial work is sufficient and unrepeatable. “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). The revelation is complete because the saving act to which the revelation bears witness has reached its appointed goal in Him.
Question 7 — What do “perfect” and “complete” mean in Hebrews?
ANSWER They describe reaching God’s appointed goal: effective purification, permanent priestly sufficiency, and confident access to God through Christ. They do not mean that believers possess exhaustive knowledge or have finished growing in holiness.
HEBREWS 1:1–3 (KJV)
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son … who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person … when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” The NKJV renders the opening “at various times and in various ways.”
Hebrews repeatedly uses the language of perfection or completion. In context, the word family points to reaching the intended goal, especially effective access to God, purification of conscience, and the sufficiency of Christ’s priestly work. It does not teach that believers have become incapable of error or no longer need growth and discipline.
- Hebrews 7:19 — “the law made nothing perfect,” but a better hope brings believers near to God.
- Hebrews 9:9 — the former gifts and sacrifices could not make the worshipper perfect as pertaining to the conscience.
- Hebrews 10:1 — repeated sacrifices could not make those who approached perfect.
- Hebrews 10:14 — Christ’s one offering has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
- Hebrews 11:39–40 — the faithful of earlier ages did not receive the promise in isolation; God provided a better thing so that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
The combination in Hebrews 10:14 is especially important: perfected forever, yet being sanctified. Completed standing and continuing transformation belong together. Christ’s offering needs no supplement, but the saints continue to be formed in obedience, endurance, holiness, and love.
Question 8 — How do Ephesians and Hebrews explain full revelation together?
ANSWER Ephesians reveals the content and cosmic administration of God’s mystery in Christ; Hebrews reveals the Son’s superiority, sufficient sacrifice, permanent priesthood, and covenantal finality. Together they show what the Father has purposed, what the saints possess in Christ, and why access to God is now complete in Him.
| Theme | Ephesians | Hebrews |
|---|---|---|
| The time contrast | The mystery was not made known in other ages as it is now revealed. | God formerly spoke in many portions and ways; now He has spoken in the Son. |
| The divine Source | Paul bows to the Father, from whom the whole family is named and whose eternal purpose is accomplished in Christ. | The God who speaks is the Father who made the worlds through the Son and brings many sons to glory. |
| The centre | Every blessing, inheritance, unity, and access is “in Christ.” | The Son is heir, creator, radiance, purifier, priest, mediator, and King. |
| The heavenly realm | Blessing, enthronement, union, witness, and warfare occur in the heavenlies. | Christ ministers in the true heavenly sanctuary; believers come to heavenly Zion. |
| Access to the Father | Through Christ, both Jew and Gentile have access by one Spirit to the Father. | By Jesus’ blood believers enter the holiest by a new and living way. |
| The people of God | Fellowheirs, one body, one new humanity, one household. | Christ is Son over God’s house; believers join the assembly of the firstborn. |
| The goal | To know Christ’s love and be filled unto all the fullness of God. | To be brought to the intended goal through the Son’s once-for-all offering. |
The prayer-name ABWOON supplies the relational starting point: God is “our Father,” the living Source who forms a family. Ephesians describes the content and cosmic administration of His revealed mystery; Hebrews explains why the revelation in the Son is superior, sufficient, and covenantally final. Ephesians declares what the saints possess in Christ and what the church displays. Hebrews shows the priestly, sacrificial, and covenantal foundation that makes that possession and access possible.
Question 9 — What does “full and complete revelation” mean—and what does it not mean?
ANSWER It means that God’s saving self-disclosure and redemptive purpose have reached their decisive centre, substance, and sufficiency in Jesus Christ the Son. It does not mean exhaustive human knowledge, the rejection of earlier Scripture, or permission for private revelations to displace Christ and the apostolic gospel.
What does it mean?
- God’s self-disclosure has reached its climax in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ the Son.
- Father is the personal and inexhaustible Source of creation, purpose, blessing, and family; He is not an impersonal cosmic force.
- The scattered promises, patterns, priesthood, sacrifices, and covenant signs receive their coherence and fulfilment in Christ.
- The mystery of believing Jews and Gentiles as equal members of one body has now been revealed by the Spirit through the apostolic witness.
- Christ’s one offering is sufficient, His priesthood is permanent, and access to God is opened by His blood.
- The church is called to receive, embody, and display the manifold wisdom of God in the heavenly places.
What does it not mean?
- That earlier revelation was erroneous. It was God’s true speech, given in preparatory portions and forms.
- That the devotional phrase “field of infinite potential” is the literal dictionary meaning of ABWOON. The direct sense is “our Father”; the larger language is a Christ-governed meditation on the Father’s creative fullness.
- That Paul introduced a message greater than or independent of Jesus. Paul’s gospel is the mystery of Christ, revealed by the Spirit and grounded in Christ’s cross, resurrection, and lordship.
- That one minister, denomination, or isolated believer possesses exhaustive comprehension. Paul says “with all the saints.”
- That the saints no longer need the Holy Spirit’s illumination, prayer, teaching, correction, or growth.
- That private claims of secret revelation may displace the Son or contradict the apostolic gospel. The revealed mystery exalts Christ and creates one holy body; it does not create spiritual elites.
- That knowing Christ removes holy wonder. His love is truly knowable and eternally beyond exhaustion.
DOCTRINAL SAFEGUARD Hebrews does not contain the exact English sentence “Jesus is the complete revelation.” That conclusion arises from its sustained argument: God has spoken in the Son, the Son perfectly represents God, His sacrifice is once for all, His priesthood is permanent, His covenant is better, and through Him the way into God’s presence is opened.
Question 10 — Which doctrinal answers should the church retain?
ANSWER The church should retain the following eight propositions as a concise doctrinal summary of the relationship among the Father, the Son, the Spirit, earlier revelation, the mystery, Christ’s completed work, and the saints’ continuing growth.
- Revelation begins with God. Human discovery cannot replace divine disclosure.
- Earlier revelation was true, authoritative, and preparatory; its many portions anticipated the unity found in Christ.
- Jesus Christ is not merely the bearer of the final message—He is the personal centre and substance of God’s climactic revelation.
- The mystery now revealed includes one reconciled body in which believing Gentiles and Jews are equal fellowheirs in Christ.
- The objective work is complete: one sacrifice, eternal redemption, permanent priesthood, and opened access.
- The subjective apprehension continues: believers must be strengthened by the Spirit to comprehend with all the saints and to know Christ’s inexhaustible love.
- The Father is the personal, inexhaustible Source of creation and salvation; every devotional expansion of ABWOON must remain governed by the revelation of the Father in the Son.
- The proper fruit of revelation is worship, holiness, unity, bold access, endurance, love, and the public display of God’s wisdom.
Question 11 — How should the full revelation in Christ change
ministry and daily life?
ANSWER The saints should live from their blessing in Christ, pray to the personal Father, read all
Scripture through its fulfilment in the Son, draw near with confidence, seek illumination rather than
novelty, receive the whole body, rest in Christ’s offering, and stand in spiritual conflict.
Live from blessing, not for blessing. The saints obey from their identity and inheritance in Christ; they do not attempt to purchase what the Father has already bestowed in Him.
Pray to ABWOON as the personal Source. Approach the Father as the inexhaustible Giver of life and possibility, while refusing to reduce Him to an impersonal force. Receive His purpose as it is revealed in the Son.
Read the former revelation through its fulfilment in the Son. Honour every portion of God’s Word while asking how its promise, pattern, covenant, priesthood, sacrifice, or hope reaches its goal in Christ.
Approach God with holy confidence. Hebrews does not invite careless familiarity, but bold access through the blood of Jesus with a true heart and full assurance of faith.
Seek illumination, not novelty. Paul prays for enlightened understanding of God’s accomplished work. Sound revelation makes Christ clearer; novelty often makes the teacher central.
Comprehend with all the saints. Listen across cultures, generations, and gifts. The mystery itself creates one body, and its love cannot be faithfully embodied through spiritual segregation.
Leave the cycle of repeated self-atonement. The conscience must rest in Christ’s sufficient offering rather than in endless attempts to punish oneself for sins already brought to His cross.
Stand in the heavenly conflict. Being blessed and seated in Christ does not eliminate warfare. Put on the whole armour of God and stand in truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word, and prayer.
Question 12 — How can this teaching be presented to a congregation?
ANSWER Begin with the controlling NKJV texts, ask what changed when God spoke in the Son, then move from blessing, to ABWOON, to the revealed mystery, to shadow and substance, to completed access, and finally to the saints’ corporate experience of Christ’s inexhaustible love.
| Stage | Teaching Direction |
|---|---|
| Opening reading | Read Matthew 6:9, Ephesians 1:3, Ephesians 3:3–6 and 3:14–19, and Hebrews 1:1–3 in the NKJV. |
| Question | If God spoke before Christ, what changed when He spoke “in the Son”? |
| Point One | All spiritual blessings are located in Christ and operate within the heavenly reality of His exaltation. |
| Point Two | ABWOON means “our Father”; devotionally, the Father is the Birther and inexhaustible Source whose purpose remains personal and Christ-centred. |
| Point Three | The mystery now revealed is God’s one-body purpose in Christ, disclosed by the Spirit. |
| Point Four | The former order was true but partial, patterned, and shadowed; Christ is the substance and goal. |
| Point Five | The one sacrifice and permanent priesthood provide complete access, while the saints continue growing in sanctification. |
| Point Six | Full revelation produces inexhaustible love: we know truly, corporately, and increasingly what surpasses knowledge. |
| Response | Invite the church to rest in Christ’s completed work, draw near to the Father, receive one another in the one body, and pray for Spirit-given comprehension. |
Question 13 — What review questions and suggested answers can be used in class?
ANSWER Use the following questions to test comprehension, invite discussion, and return the group to the precise language and argument of Ephesians and Hebrews.
Review Question 1: What blessings does Paul identify after Ephesians 1:3?
Suggested answer. Paul names election in Christ, adoption through Jesus Christ, acceptance in the Beloved, redemption through His blood, forgiveness, wisdom, knowledge of God’s will, inheritance, hope, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit. The context therefore concerns spiritual identity and participation in Christ, not a guarantee of every material desire.
Review Question 2: How do the five references to the heavenly places shape the church’s identity?
Suggested answer. They show Christ enthroned, believers raised and seated in Him, the church displaying God’s wisdom, and the saints confronting spiritual opposition. The heavenlies are therefore the realm of blessing, authority, witness, and warfare.
Review Question 3: What exactly does Ephesians 3:6 say was hidden and is now revealed?
Suggested answer. Believing Gentiles are fellowheirs, members of the same body, and fellow-partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel. The mystery includes equal incorporation of Jew and Gentile in one reconciled body.
Review Question 4: Why is “as it is now revealed” more precise than saying that earlier generations knew nothing?
Suggested answer. Earlier revelation contained promises, types, and anticipations. Paul’s comparison concerns the new clarity and realized one-body form of the mystery, not the total absence of all prior knowledge of God’s saving purpose.
Review Question 5: How does Hebrews 1:1–3 distinguish the Son from every prior messenger?
Suggested answer. The Son is heir of all things, agent of creation, brightness of God’s glory, exact representation of His being, sustainer of all things, purifier of sins, and enthroned Lord. He carries and embodies the climactic revelation.
Review Question 6: Why does Hebrews call the former order a shadow?
Suggested answer. The sanctuary, priesthood, and repeated sacrifices were true God-given patterns, but they anticipated the effective heavenly ministry and once-for-all offering of Christ. A shadow is preparatory, not false.
Review Question 7: How can Christ’s love be known while still surpassing knowledge?
Suggested answer. The saints can know it truly through the Spirit, faith, and shared life in the body, yet they can never measure or exhaust it. Saving knowledge and endless wonder belong together.
Review Question 8: What does “with all the saints” require from a congregation?
Suggested answer. It requires humility, mutual reception, cross-cultural fellowship, shared worship, accountable teaching, and attentiveness to the gifts and witness of the whole body rather than isolated spiritual individualism.
Review Question 9: What is the literal sense of Abwun or Abwoon?
Suggested answer. Its direct sense is “our Father.” Birther, Source of creation, and field of infinite potential are contemplative expansions. They should not be presented as the bare dictionary definition and must remain personal and Christ-centred.
Review Question 10: How do Hebrews 1:2 and John 1:3 govern the language of the Father as Source?
Suggested answer. They teach that the Father made the worlds through the Son and that all things were made through the Word. The Father is the originating personal Source, and the Son is the personal Word and agent through whom creation and redemption are accomplished.
Question 14 — How should the congregation respond to this revelation?
ANSWER The congregation should bless the Father, confess the sufficiency and supremacy of the Son, rest in His completed offering, draw near through His blood, receive every saint in the one body, and ask the Holy Spirit for strength to know and embody Christ’s inexhaustible love.
Congregational Declaration
READ TOGETHER
We bless ABWOON, our Father—the personal Birther and inexhaustible Source of creation—who grants every Spirit-given blessing from the heavenly realm to those who are in Christ. We receive Jesus Christ as the Son in whom God has spoken, the brightness of His glory, the purifier of our sins, our eternal High Priest, and the Mediator of the new covenant. We rest in His one offering, draw near by His blood, embrace every saint in the one body, and ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen us to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
Closing Prayer
ABWOON, our Father and living Source, from You all life receives its beginning and purpose. Strengthen us with might by Your Spirit in the inner person. Cause Christ to dwell richly and govern fully in our hearts through faith. Root us and ground us in love. Give us grace, with all the saints, to comprehend the immeasurable width, length, depth, and height of Your purpose in Christ and to know His love that passes knowledge. Keep our language of infinite possibility personal, holy, and governed by the Son in whom You have spoken. Deliver us from confidence in shadows when the substance has come. Fix our eyes on Jesus, the Son, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. Let the church display Your manifold wisdom, walk in holiness and unity, stand in spiritual conflict, and draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith. Fill us unto all Your fullness, for Your glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Key Scripture Index
- Matthew 6:9 — “Our Father” and the Aramaic-Syriac prayer form Abwun or Abwoon.
- John 1:1–3 — The eternal Word; all things made through the Son.
- Ephesians 1:3–14 — Every spiritual blessing in Christ; the mystery of God’s will; inheritance and the Spirit’s seal.
- Ephesians 1:17–23 — Wisdom, revelation, enlightened understanding, resurrection power, Christ’s exaltation, and the church as His body.
- Ephesians 2:4–22 — Raised and seated with Christ; one new humanity; access by one Spirit to the Father.
- Ephesians 3:3–12 — The mystery now revealed; fellowheirs and one body; manifold wisdom displayed through the church.
- Ephesians 3:14–21 — Strengthened by the Spirit; comprehending with all the saints; knowing Christ’s love; fullness of God.
- Ephesians 6:10–18 — Spiritual conflict in the heavenly places and the whole armour of God.
- Hebrews 1:1–3 — Many portions and ways contrasted with God’s speech in the Son.
- Hebrews 3:1–6 — Moses as servant; Christ as Son over God’s house.
- Hebrews 7:19–28 — Better hope, permanent priesthood, salvation to the uttermost, and the perfected Son.
- Hebrews 8:1–13 — Heavenly ministry, better covenant, and better promises.
- Hebrews 9:8–15 — The way into the holiest, Christ’s own blood, eternal redemption, and a purified conscience.
- Hebrews 10:1–22 — Shadow and image; one offering; perfected forever; boldness to enter by Jesus’ blood.
- Hebrews 11:39–40 — The earlier faithful and God’s better, corporate completion.
- Hebrews 12:18–24 — Sinai contrasted with heavenly Zion and Jesus the Mediator.
Text and Study Notes
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version (NKJV) or the King James Version (KJV) as identified. KJV text is public domain. NKJV quotations are brief study excerpts; Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The phrase “in many portions and in many ways” explains the sense of the Greek adverbs polymerōs and polytropōs in Hebrews 1:1. “Full and complete revelation” is used as a theological summary of the canonical argument, not as a direct quotation from Hebrews.
Aramaic-Syriac note: Abun or Abwun means “our Father”; Abwoon is a popular devotional spelling. “O Birther” and related cosmic-source language are associated particularly with Neil Douglas-Klotz’s contemplative rendering of the Syriac Lord’s Prayer. In this teaching, “Birther,” “Source of creation,” and “field of infinite potential” are used as theological meditation, not as a literal lexical gloss. They are expressly governed by the biblical confession of the personal Father who creates and accomplishes His purpose through the Son.
Online text references: Matthew 6:9 (NKJV) | Ephesians 1 (NKJV) | Ephesians 3 (NKJV) | Hebrews 1 (NKJV) | Hebrews 10 (NKJV)
Greek lexical reference: Hebrews 1:1 Lexicon
Aramaic-Syriac references: Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon | Syriac Lord’s Prayer | Douglas-Klotz Devotional Rendering
“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” — Ephesians 3:21 (KJV)