The Mission Revealed

Sermon Title: The Mission Revealed

Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Occasion: The Lord’s Day

Date: November 17, 2024

PRAY

“Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.”

1 Ti 1:2.

Introduction:

There’s something in us that’s captivated by mystery.

Think back to childhood—how many of us enjoyed the suspense of a mystery book, that thrilling moment when the puzzle lay just beyond our understanding?

Even as adults, whether it’s a mystery novel or an unsolved story on television, there’s something about the unknown that draws us in.

But here in 1 Timothy 3, Paul presents us with a mystery unlike any other.

He calls it “the mystery of godliness”—a mystery that is now revealed in Christ and meant to captivate not only our minds, beloved, but our very lives.

This passage, brothers and sisters, is the very climax of Paul’s letter to Timothy.

It’s as though we’re seeing the heartbeat of the pastoral letters, a declaration that shapes the entire mission of the church.

Paul has been building to this moment, and as we’ll see, he will continue to emphasize the importance of godliness throughout the remainder of this letter.

In fact, godliness is the subject of Paul’s next “trustworthy saying” in 1 Timothy 4:8, where he says,

1 Timothy 4:8 (ESV)

for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

This godliness, centered on Christ, is foundational to who we are and what we’re called to be.

And it’s certainly NOT removed or made possible apart from the local Church.

The Church has a mission, and it is Pauls aim in this Paul to reveal that mission to us!

With that said; Today’s sermon title is “The Mission Revealed.”

In this passage, Paul gives us three critical insights about the mission: the urgency of the mission, the nature of the mission, and the message of the mission.

Through these, we’ll see how Paul’s words bring us face-to-face with Christ, the One who stands at the center of God’s mission for the church.

Let us open our hearts to receive this mission and see how it changes everything.

I. The Urgency of the Mission (1 Timothy 3:14-15a)

1 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV)

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,

if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God…

Paul opens with a heartfelt desire: “I hope to come to you soon.”

Here, we see Paul’s pastoral heart.

He yearns to be with Timothy, his spiritual son, to personally strengthen and encourage him.

But Paul is realistic—he knows his arrival might be delayed.

And so, he writes with a sense of urgency, saying,

“I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God.”

The Pastoral Epistles, specifically 1 Tim. and 2 Tim are more than casual letters; these are vital instruction manuals for the church.

Paul knows that the mission is too crucial, the stakes too high, for Timothy and the church to simply “figure it out” as they go along.

Illustration:

Imagine a pilot preparing for a long flight.

The destination is important, and there’s a lot riding on the journey—passengers, safety, and timing.

The pilot doesn’t just hop in the plane and take off, hoping to “figure it out” in the air.

Instead, he carefully checks his route, instruments, and weather conditions.

He’s given thorough training and instructions because the stakes are too high to leave anything to chance.

Similarly, Paul knows that Timothy’s mission in the church is far too important to be done without instructions.

Just as a pilot needs direction to avoid disaster and reach the destination safely, Timothy needs the solid, tested instructions Paul provides.

Exhortation and Admonition:

This mission of the Church has eternal significance; it’s not something to just "wing."

We can’t think for a second that we can “wing” things or make things up as we go along in God’s household.

The church is God’s household—His people purchased by the very blood of Christ (Acts 20:28), His family, and Paul wants them to understand that this is the Fathers house, and in the fathers house there are parameters and boundaries and standards.

You can’t just come into His house and do whatever you want with his family.

Would you allow someone to do that with your family and your house?

Imagine someone just walks in and just starts re-arranging furniture, bossing your kids and wife around, eating out of your fridge…You get the point,

You see, too many Churches have fallen into grave danger, and with them many christians, have fallen into theological error because they decided they were just going to “wing it” or even worse, “do it their way”.

Hear me on this, and hear me clearly:

Church is not like Burger King, where you can “Have it your way.” No, Jesus is the King of God’s house, the head of the Church. This is the father house, and He says, “The only way we do it, IS MY WAY.”

Anytime you hear someone saying “I’m going to do church different” or “We have a new way of doing Church”, BEWARE! Leave that place.

John Owen,

“The pattern of the church and its worship is settled by Christ, and to innovate upon this is to reject the authority of Christ.”-John Owen (The Nature and Power of the Church)

So Richard Baxter says,

“Let us not be wiser than God, and introduce new ways of serving Him which He has not commanded.” -Richard Baxter (The Reformed Pastor)

So, Why the urgency?

Paul understands that without clear guidance, without apostolic truth, the church could lose its way, the truth of the gospel could be distorted, and false teachings could creep in.

It already was!

There was danger already in the Ephesian church by these false teachers!

The mission of proclaiming Christ is too precious to be left vulnerable and unconfronted.

If you where on a trip and found out there was a burglar in your house, you would just wait around to see what would happen; no you would do everything you can to get there and address the situation.

So Paul is urgently reminding Timothy—and us—that we must hold fast to the truth of the gospel, grounding ourselves in Christ.

To Guard the gospel.

To speak up when it’s not being preached,

BUT this is also call to speak up, as he will focus on here in verse 15, when the gospel is not being lived and displayed in the Church.

Don’t just sit around in a church and not do anything when the gospel is be attacked both in orthodoxy (doctrine) and in orthopraxis (practice).

Paul isn’t just interested in head knowledge (believers can just spat off bible) ; he’s calling for a community of believers that are living truly transformed lives. (It is evident in their conduct/Behavior)

Scholar Robert Yarbrough captures this well when he says, “The main point is to translate knowledge into practice, which is Paul’s concern here.”

1 Timothy 3:14–15 (ESV)

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that,

if I delay, you may know (knowledge)+ how one ought to behave (Practice) IN THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD…

Paul’s urgency here is not just concerned that the write gospel is being preached and protected but that right living among this new Church is being modeled and multiplied.

Yarbrough continues, “Turning to Christ … implies a simultaneous turning away from one’s previous way of life, for which Christ frees and enables the believer.”

This is what Christ does at salvation-There is a saving knowedlge of Christ that leads to a new way of living.

A life of christ fueled and mercy filled godliness!

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

We see that in Pauls life right here in this letter, don’t we?

1 Timothy 1:12–16 ESV

I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Church, do you see that?

Paul wants Timothy to preach a message that doesn’t simply confirm people in a complacent or “status quo” way of life but changes them completely.

This message Paul is giving Timothy is about a life transformed by the gospel—a life that no longer looks like the world but reflects the love, holiness, and grace of the Lord Jesus.

This is why Paul writes with such urgency.

The church isn’t just any community; it’s the household of the living God.

We are a family brought together by the blood of Christ, and our lives should be marked not only by the message of Christ but also by life of Christ.

People should see our conduct, or better translated, our new way of life, and by the way, not just individually, but corporately, “in God’s house” , and say “wow that house is other worldly” , “That house, that family, must not be from here.”

Our house should reflect the Kingdom.

Kingdom priorities.

Kingdom values.

Kingdom ethics.

When they see us (the family of God), it should shockingly different.

Example:

Have you ever had a neighbor move in next door, and right away you could tell—they’re not from Orlando?

Maybe they’re not even from this country.

You can notice it immediately by the way they carry themselves—their customs, their language, their lifestyle.

In the same way, the Church has a distinct flavor, a unique light, a deep joy, an unwavering resolve rooted in God’s truth, and a sense of order.

These qualities set our household drastically apart from the household of this world.

Paul could of just said It’s urgent I get there to make sure everyone knows the gospel, but rather he focuses on the knowledge of our behavior as God’s children, in God’s house, in this foreign world.

It’s not just about what you know, its about how you are taking what you know and living it out.

Some of us are so full of knowledge that we have no room to fit anymore in our brains.

But the problem is that we have not even started to apply that knowledge we do have of the Bible to our lives.

May it not be, Christian.

You have more than enough knowledge of scripture if you have the gospel.

It’s time to apply what you know.

It’s time to put what you know into action.

That was the issue with these false teachers.

It wasn't just what they knew, it was how they were behaving in Gods house.

They were not conducting themselves according to the gospel.

Whatever it is they were preaching was beginning to be very clear in their actions.

They didn't get it! And it was greatly damaging the witness of Christ in and outside of the Church.

That’s how it works doesn't it?

You can tell if someone has a good grasp on gospel can’t you?

How?

By the way they live.

By their actions.

Are they humble?

Are they servants?

Are they greedy?

Are they prideful?

Are the loving, gracious, and filled with mercy?

Or are they quarrelsome, double-tongued, disrespectful, and violent?

You get the point?

Reflection Questions:

When people see your life, if you claim the name of Christ, what would people say you knew?

Would they associate you with Christ? With the gospel? With the Bible?

Or with this world? Or with the ruler of this world, the devil? Or with the philosophies and teachings of this world?

I digress!

Paul is saying here, that when a true church moves into a community, or a true Christian family moves into a neighborhood, it’s unmistakable.

They stand out through the everyday godliness of their conduct—a new way of life that reflects the kingdom to which they belong.

And as we live this way, the world around us should see a difference—a people who are anchored, grounded, and transformed by Jesus.

Exhortation to the Church:

So, church, Paul’s urgency isn’t just a call to Timothy; it’s a call to us.

We must live out the truth of the gospel, not as isolated actions, but as a way of life that shows the world who we belong to.

The mission is too important, too life-changing, to take lightly.

We belong to a family with a purpose, and that purpose is to lift high the name of Jesus in how we live, love, and serve.

This is the urgency of the mission: to embody the gospel in such a way that our lives proclaim, “We are the household of God.

Transition:

Now, as we feel the weight and urgency of our mission, Paul doesn’t leave us wondering about its nature.

He gives us a clear and vivid picture of who we are and what we’re called to do.

Look at verse 15.

II. The Nature of the Mission (v. 15b) 1 Timothy 3:15

1 Timothy 3:15 (ESV)

if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Paul’s words here in 1 Timothy pack three powerful images into one verse.

He describes the church as the household of God, the church of the living God, and a pillar and buttress of the truth.

These images don’t just tell us who we are; they show us the mission we’ve been called to carry out.

Let’s walk through these one by one, quickly, and let their meaning sink into our hearts.

1. The Household of God: Called to Be a Family, Not Just a Building

Paul starts with “the household of God.” He’s not talking about a building or a place; he’s talking about a family, about belonging and responsibility.

Growing up in a Portuguese household, I know family isn’t just about shared space—it’s about shared responsibility.

Everyone has a role, whether it’s helping with dinner, caring for one another, or just looking out for each other.

That’s how God calls us to be as a church.

We’re not just attendees; we’re members of God’s household, united as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Like a well-ordered family, we’re called to live with earnest care for each other.

(Speak of the ways in which our church has been a family to me and our family)

Paul says it this way to the Galatians in Galatians 6:10

Galatians 6:10 ESV

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

One of the sweetest doctrines of all the bible is the doctrine of our adoption.

At the heart of Paul's message about the household of God is a powerful truth that we must grasp:

Through Christ’s finished work, we receive not only justification before God. It’s more than being declared “not guilty.”

It’s more than receiving Christ’s own righteousness, more than the forgiveness of sins, and even more than the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, all of these are incredible blessings, but there’s an even deeper reality: we are declared sons and daughters of God Himself.

Think of it this way:

Imagine standing in God’s courtroom.

There, God the Father, the righteous Judge, looks at you and declares, “Not guilty.”

He sees you clothed in the righteousness of Christ, washed clean by His blood.

But He doesn’t stop there.

After the verdict is read, Jesus steps forward with a document in His hands—our adoption papers.

Let me read to you what those adoption papers would say, words that express the depth of our new relationship with God.

It would say something life this:

“This is to certify that by the authority of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, you, who once were alienated, a stranger to God and His promises, are hereby adopted as a beloved child of the Most High.

You are now declared a son or daughter, with all the rights, privileges, and inheritance that belong to Christ Himself.

You are no longer a slave to fear or sin; you are forever part of the family of God.

You have the Spirit of God as a seal of this adoption, binding you to your Heavenly Father, who has set His love upon you for all eternity.”

These words capture what Christ has accomplished for us bring unto his family.

Jesus didn’t just bring us forgiveness—He brought us into the family of God, never to be cast out.

And because of His work, our adoption is not just a piece of paper but a promise sealed in His blood.

He has written our names in the Book of Life, not as mere citizens but as cherished members of His household.

We belong to Him, and He belongs to us, forever.

In the words of Romans 8:14-17

Romans 8:14–17 ESV

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

We in the family!

2. The Church of the Living God: A Living Faith in a Living God

Paul calls us “the church of the living God.”

This title is rich with meaning and brings to mind God’s powerful presence with His people throughout history.

In the wilderness, God dwelt in the midst of Israel, leading them with a cloud by day and fire by night.

His holy presence was unmistakable, guiding and guarding His chosen people.

Yet, that presence in the wilderness was a shadow of what we now experience through Christ.

As the book of Hebrews shows us, through Christ’s finished work, we have been brought into a far greater reality.

Hebrews 8:5 reminds us that the old covenant was only “a copy and shadow of the heavenly things,” but in Christ, we have come to the very substance—the living presence of God, not confined to a tabernacle or temple, but dwelling within us through His Spirit.

Now, we, as the church, are the dwelling place of God—the living God is with us through His Spirit, fulfilling what was promised and foreshadowed for generations.

Hebrews 10:19-22 encourages us to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” because, through Christ, we have direct access to the Father.

(Example of the other day I working out, Leo came in and just started talking with me. He knows he has access anytime!)

Our worship, our gathering, our fellowship is filled with the very presence of God, not merely as a distant or symbolic gesture but as the active, abiding presence of God Himself in our midst.

This reality transforms how we worship and live.

Unlike the dead idols worshipped in the ancient world, specifically Ephesus such as Artemis, also known as Diana, who dominated the worship of the Ephesian culture- our God is alive, and we are brought into a living, vibrant relationship with the father through the redemptive work of Christ, and the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

When we gather, we aren’t just keeping tradition alive; we’re living out a relationship with the One who conquered death, ascended in glory, and sent His Spirit to dwell among us.

Consider the practical application of this truth:

We don’t come to church to go through the motions, nor to reminisce about something long past.

We come expecting to meet with God Himself, the One who knows us, speaks to us through His Word, and strengthens us by His Spirit through His people.

Why do you come to Church?

If the answer is anything other than coming to meet with the living God, then you don’t get it yet.

Maybe that is why Church has never made sense to you; or that it has never been priority to you.

This is not a temple of the dead, this is the Church of the living God.

As the song we sang earlier, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today”,

“He is not dead

He is alive We Have this hope In Jesus Christ”

1 Peter 1:3 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

In every prayer, every song, every act of service, Christ is exalted, and His Spirit is at work within us, binding us together and transforming us to be more like Him.

This truth should fill us with reverence and joy every time we gather, for we are the church of the living God, and He is truly with us.

Through the finished work of Christ, we live in the joyful assurance that God has come near, not merely as a pillar of fire or cloud but as the eternal Spirit dwelling within His people.

And as Revelation unveils, we look forward to the glorious consummation of Christ’s kingdom when He returns in triumph.

On that day, we will dwell with God and He with us, forever.

This promise fuels our hope, shapes our lives, and directs our hearts and worship of Christ ever onward towards the shore of eternity in and with Christ.

This eternal hope transforms our gathering from a temporary assembly to a foretaste of that final day when all things will be made new and we, the redeemed, will worship God together in the fullness of His glory.

And last but not least of these powerful images is that Paul described theChurch as the Pillar and Buttress of the Truth.

3. A Pillar and Buttress of the Truth: Holding High and Guarding the Gospel

Here, Paul uses a powerful architectural image.

A Pillar holds a structure up.

A Buttress supports and strengthens the structure. Some translation render it “Foundation” (Transliterated-Mainstay)

Just as pillars hold up a building and a buttress holds up a pillar, the church’s role is to hold high and holds fast the truth of the gospel in a world that desperately needs it.

In other words the Church holds high the truth of the gospel

- That’s Proclamtion.

But it is also the Buttress of the truth which means that the Church is also by nature called to defend the truth.

Pillar-Proclamtion.

Buttres- Protection.

Proclaim and Protect!

( Context if Needed:

Paul is pulling from all the architecture that adorned Ephesus.

Maybe he is thinking of the temple of Artemis which was massive.

The columns at the temple of Artemis were about 60 feet tall.

That is the size of a six-story building.

In today’s terms, that’s close to the height of The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., whose columns stand around 44 feet high.

Imagine columns even taller than that, each roughly the diameter of a car, and you get a sense of the awe-inspiring scale of the Temple of Artemis.)

The Church is to be Pillars in that we are to guard and proclaim (hold high) the truth of God’s Word, and more specifically the mystery of Godliness in the person and work o f Jesus.

That’s the image Paul gives us of the church’s role with God’s truth.

The church doesn’t create truth; it upholds it, defends it, and presents it to the world.

We’re guardians of an “inestimable treasure,” as John Calvin once put it.

We carry this “inestimable treasure” of Christ crucified and risen, a treasure that brings light to those in darkness and salvation to the lost.

This message of Christ admonishes the idle, it encourages the fainthearted, and hit help the weak and weary saints keep on their tourney to the celestial city.

1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

So this makes the Proclamtion / Preaching of God’s Word is so essential doesn't it?

Expand on this without notes:

That is why Paul begins with having qualified elders who can rightly handle God’s word in verses 1-7.

Then deacons in verses 8-13 to assist and help guard the elders time in giving themselves to the vital task of teaching and preaching God’s Word.

Why?

Because, without the elders faithfully protecting and preaching God’s Word we have nothing.

No Pillars and No Buttresses.

We project nothing of eternal significance.

There is no salvation, no sanctification, no glorification without the proclamation of God’s Word!

The Negative effect:

As a matter of fact, without the upholding of doctrine, and the defending of the truth of God’s word, we are actually polluting the world, and damaging the witness of Christ.

That imagery of a Pillar and a Buttress of truth is so significant for two reasons:

If we do not protect and proclaim the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help us God..

We Don’t Make Him and His glory Known- The glory of his Son!

Habakkuk 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”

Psalm 96:3 “Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!”

Isaiah 12:4 “Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.”

2. We send people to hell.

Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”

Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

This is why Paul must not delay, and has such urgency to come to Timothy at Ephesus.

God’s name is at stake and souls are at stake.

In the ancient world, a pillar wasn’t just decorative; it bore the weight of a structure.

Paul uses this metaphor to remind us that the church is a load-bearing part of God’s kingdom.

We stand as a beacon, holding high the truth of Christ and the salvation he brings to all sinners who seek refuge in him.

And this is the only truth and message upon which our world will blessed.

There blessed by the truth!

The truth will set the world free!

This is the nature of the mission of the Church.

Proclaim and Defend the Truth.

Transition

Having laid out the urgency and nature of the mission, Paul now leads us to the message of the mission—a message that centers on Christ Himself.

III. The Message of the Mission (v. 16)

Scripture:

1 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

In the Greek it transliterated to “Most Certainly”, “Undoubtedly”, “beyond all question”…”GREAT WE CONFESS IS THE MYSTER OF GODLINESS!”

It all hangs on this mystery, that is certain and wonderful!

If you remember from last week in pastor Jeremy’s sermon, one of the qualifications for deacons was very similar.

Paul said that deacons …

1 Timothy 3:9 (ESV)

[DEACONS] must hold the MYSTERY of the faith with a clear conscience.

Paul is using similar language in verse 16 when he says that the church’s confession is the mystery of godliness.

Keep in mind, the New Testament was still being composed and compiled, so music would be a great way for believers in the early church to remember core doctrines of the faith.

The early church would have sung this, recited this, much like we do here at restoration, especially with the Nicene Creed.

But the mystery of Christian godliness is really not that mysterious at all because that wonderful hymn that Paul shares with us gives it away.

The mystery of godliness is Jesus Christ.

Actually it seems obvious doesn’t it?

One way to think about the mystery of godliness are in the lyrics from that great hymn “And Can It Be”

“Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God shouldst die for me.”

Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross is our strength for living the Christian life.

The Jesus that saves our soul is the source of our godliness.

The Christian’s godliness doesn’t come from anything he has done but in and through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

The Christian isn’t holy by inherent righteousness, or some place of goodness tucked inside him, no the Christian is made righteous because he’s covered in the blood of the lamb.

The church has a responsibility then- to teach this truth (this is the message of the mission) as the basis for salvation and spiritual growth.

Because the Christian life is a lifetime of turning more of ourselves over to Jesus Christ.

That’s what it means to be salt and light in a sin-sick world!

The more you turn yourself over to Christ, the more you align your life in accordance with God's Word- the saltier and brighter you’ll become.

Sarcastic:

It really sounds like Paul is laying down the ingredients for a church to become weird, cliquey, and ingrown, right?

Paul’s basically telling Timothy that church government is critical for protecting the truth and building up godliness.

That’s what chapter 3 seems to really be all about!

That would get some amens from some independent fundamental churches wouldn’t it?

We’re standing for truth and encouraging godliness.

Look to Christ:

This is call to look to Christ in the face of the gospel- IF WE SO DESIRE TO BE SAVED AND SO DESIRE GROW IN CHRIST-LIKENESS!

Look at this hymn with me at the end of verse 16.

Before we dive deeper into this hymn, I want you to know that this hymn is poetry because it has a chiastic structure.

A chiasm is a poetic structure where language is mirrored and repeated.

A good example of a Biblical chiasm was when Jesus said, “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”

Or another one is, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

And that’s exactly what’s going on in the poem at the end of verse 16.

Maybe the easiest way to see what I’m talking about is to look at the last word in each stanza of the poem:

flesh, Spirit, angels, nations, world, glory.

It begins with earthy/worldly language and ends with spiritual/heavenly language.

Let’s walk through this confessional hymn together.

The first two lines are references to the key points of Jesus’ earthly ministry: the incarnation and the resurrection.

The first line says, “He was manifested in the flesh.”

This is a reference to the incarnation of Jesus Christ, which is what we celebrate at Christmas every year.

The fact that the eternal Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among us.

The second line states that Jesus was “vindicated by the Spirit” which is a reference to the other bookend of his earthly ministry: the resurrection.

Now his whole ministry in one sense was “vindicated by the Spirit, right?

He performed countless miracles, taught heavenly truths, but the absolute pinnacle of Jesus being “vindicated by the Spirit” came at his resurrection.

Paul makes this point in Romans 1:4 where he said,

Romans 1:4 (ESV)

[Jesus} was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

The second couplet revolves around those who witnessed the power of Jesus’s ministry.

“seen by angels / proclaimed among the nations”

The power, work, and ministry of Jesus Christ was witnessed and affirmed by both angels and men.

Throughout the gospel accounts, angels make it a regular habit to attest, validate, and affirm the power of Jesus Christ.

Mark tells us the angels ministered to Jesus while he was in the desert.

Angels “strengthened” him in Gethsemane.

Angels bore witness to his glorious resurrection.

And angels comforted the disciples after his ascension.

So angels attested to, affirmed, and validated the work of Jesus Christ.

And so did people.

People proclaimed the gospel of Christ among the nations, which is exactly what happened at Pentecost, right?

Peter preached and 3,000 were added that day.

And the message that was proclaimed was for all people from every tribe, tongue, and language.

The gentiles were graciously grafted into the kingdom of God.

It’s spelled out for us in the Great Commission: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.

The third and final couplet is about the results or outcomes of Jesus’ ministry.

He was “believed on in the world / taken up in glory.”

The natural result of Jesus being “proclaimed to the nations” would be people getting saved, right?

The result of the gospel being proclaimed is the salvation of men.

And once Jesus’ earthly ministry was completed, he was “taken up in glory.”

That is, he ascended into glory at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

Transition:

On a broader, more basic level, this hymn that Paul is probably reminding Timothy of, is simply a summary of the gospel.

Conclusion:

Paul’s point is this: everything that happens in the church should be born out of a deep love for Jesus and his gospel.

Jesus is our godliness.

Paul’s point is that it’s the gospel that changes us!

The minute we take our eyes off Christ and His gospel, we are in big trouble, Church!

The minute we think we need something more, and something deeper, we are probably not heading in a good direction.

NO GOSPEL NO SALVATION.

NO CHRIST NO GODLINESS/GROWTH!

But again, there’s a logical connection in these verses:

The church must be about establishing good qualified elders and deacons, protecting and proclaiming the truth, and encouraging godliness, AND ALL OF THIS IS centered upon Jesus Christ.

And when we cling to the truth and grow in personal holiness all out of a love for Christ - that is the church’s witness to the world!

There is something deeply ironic when we believe that in order to reach people for Christ we need to compromise God’s truth and live just like them.

Maintaining the truth and encouraging godliness among believers in the church should not be doctrines we cling to in order to keep the world at arm's length: no, those are the very doctrines we cling to in order to draw people in!

Jesus said in Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:13–14 (ESV)

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

It’s naive to think that there is no connection between our church’s commitment to the truth of God’s word, your personal holiness, and reaching the lost.

No, those things are intimately connected.

In order for the gospel to be proclaimed in power to the nations we must be committed to the truth and personal holiness.

Robert Murray M’Cheyne (1813-1843), an influential Scottish pastor famously said, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.”

It’s certainly true for me.

Ministers must be men who are committed to the truth and pursue holiness.

But it’s true for everyone too.

Your family’s greatest need is your unwavering commitment to God’s Word and your own personal holiness.

Our church’s greatest need is your personal holiness.

And Jesus Christ is the well that you and I must return to over and over and over again if we will ever be holy as He is holy.

The same message that saves us is the very basis for our godliness.

As the song goes “yet not I but through Christ in me”!

So whether you are lost or found, Great Indeed, we confess, in the mystery of Godliness- The God/Man Jesus Christ!

Turn to Him today.

Turn to him and find salvation.

Turn to Him and find your sanctification.

Turn to Him who was..

1 Timothy 3:16 “manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

PRAY