The Mystery of Godliness

¡§Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.¡¨ (1 Timothy 3:16)

The church¡¦s theme for September is ¡§The equipping of knowledge¡¨. When it comes to knowing God and His works, we must also know the Son of God, Jesus Christ. That is because ¡§the mystery of God (is) Christ¡¨. (Colossians 2:2) Paul expressed amazement at the salvation completed by Christ and the church He established. Paul exclaimed, ¡§How great it is! This is the mystery of God.¡¨ Now this mystery of the Lord has been revealed to us through His son, Jesus Christ. It is no longer hidden. From Paul¡¦s wonderment we can contemplate six aspects of the mystery revealed by God.

1. God appeared in a body -

This is the mystery of the Word becoming flesh. God is a spirit, without human form. But for His love of the sinners of the world, He willingly put on the body of a person, so that the spirit dwelt temporarily in a vessel of flesh, constrained by time and space and trapped by weakness and deterioration, in order through death to destroy the devil who holds the power of death. On the other hand, Satan still refuses to admit his defeat, so that the demons under his rule also refuse to acknowledge that Christ came in human form. This however helps us to test and distinguish which spirits come from God, and which come from the evil one (1 John 4:1-2) Therefore, the joining of spirit and body is a great mystery. God becoming flesh is a great and wonderful thing.

2. Was vindicated by the Spirit -

This is the mystery of resurrection from the dead. From the bible, we know that all men are destined to die because of sin. (Hebrews 9:27) Only Jesus Christ could become the Son of Man, yet was resurrected through the Holy Spirit to become our Saviour. ¡§The gospel (was) promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding His Son, who as to His human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.¡¨ (Romans 1:2-4)

3. Was seen by angels -

In the mysteries of the spiritual realm, there is no greater love than that of God for Man. That is, the Son of God coming down to earth, becoming Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, dying for men so that they can be called the sons of God through belief in Him, and bringing them into the glory of the spiritual realm (Hebrews 2:9); sending angels to serve those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14); subjecting to us the world to come (Hebrews 2:5); and giving us the authority to judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:3).

4. Was preached among the nations -

This is the mystery of Jews and Gentiles all receiving grace, ¡§which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.¡¨ (Ephesians 3:5-6)

5. Was believed on in the world -

This is the mystery of righteousness through faith. The salvation prepared for Man by God is a blessing that is freely given through the faith of Man, and is not dependent on Man performing good works in exchange. God uses the foolishness of what is preached to save those who believe. That is the wisdom and power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:21-25)

6. Was taken up in glory -

This is the mystery of being humble before being lifted high. Jesus Christ is the creator of the Heavens and the earth. Yet He lowered Himself to become the Son of Man, taking the very nature of a servant to preach and serve, finally dying for the sins of Man and entering into death. But God resurrected Him and raised Him up to high Heaven to sit at God¡¦s right hand and take delight in our worship. (Philippians 2:6-11)

By: Daniel To