The Creedal Imperative (1 Timothy 3:16)

Introduction

A. Preliminaries

Good morning. As many of you are no doubt aware, this Sunday is the concluding sermon on our series on the Apostles’ Creed. I want to once more thank Neil Barham for co-preaching this with me. It’s been a great help to me during a very busy time. Bursting with blessing, but full of busy. And I have also been blessed getting to sit under the preaching of the Word alongside my wife and children, for which I can only say “thank you.”

My hope and prayer is that the series has been a blessing to you. We always have a need to return to those things we most easily forget, which are the foundations of our faith.

And, as I have said before, we always confront the danger of vain repetition. Of saying or singing things just because they’re on the page or in the bulletin or on the screen, and what a series like this does is, it invites us to consider carefully what we are confessing.

And so with that in mind, I invite you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:16, which we will consider along with a few other texts this morning. But I’d like to start with that one in 1 Timothy.

B. Sermon Text

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.

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God!

C. Prayer for Illumination

Let’s Pray:

Blessed Lord, you have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning—grant us that we may in such a way hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them; that by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

From The Book of Common Prayer (1552)

D. Transition to Sermon

What I want to show you this morning is that not only is it good to know things like the Apostles’ Creed, but it is good that we confess such things in worship together. Worship and Confession of our faith are tied together by necessity.

I want to show you at least three things:

I. Confession is Worship

II. Worship is Confession

III. Worship Happens Alongside Eternity

I. Confession is Worship

When you look at Paul’s letters, what you discover is that his doctrinal statements are always part of his joyful worship.

For example, in Philippians 2:6-11, we find what was probably a creed or hymn of the early church, what we call the Kenosis passage. Paul speaks of

Philippians 2:6–11 ESV

[Jesus Christ] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Most scholars agree that this was probably an early creed or hymn of some kind, and it comes right after Paul has given them instructions on loving one another, living together in unity, and practicing humility.

Philippians 2:1–5 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

The call to holy living gives way to worship, which is expressed joyfully in a kind of creedal formula that established itself very quickly in the early church.

Another example is this morning’s sermon text 1 Timothy 3:16, which comes right at the end of chapter 3. Right after Paul has laid out qualifications for elders and deacons. Once more, there is instruction for holy living, followed by praise. He says

1 Timothy 3:16 ESV

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness...

Now stop there for a moment. He’s just talked about qualifications for officers, and behavior in the church, now he’s talking about godliness. So what is the mystery?

What I am expecting is some practical advice about living the Christian life. Right? He says you need to know how to behave, and here is the mystery of godliness. So what I am expecting next is for Paul to solve the mystery and tell me how to be godly. And what does he do?

He launches into a creedal formulation, and what was probably a sung hymn of praise.

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.

So is Paul vocalizing doctrine or is he worshipping? And the answer is yes.

Is he singing a hymn of praise or is he giving instructions to Christians on godliness?

Again, yes.

And this is why Creedal Statements are part of our worship. Because Confession is worship, and it’s part of our worship. Theology and doxology (that is doctrine and praise) are always meant to be connected together.

II. Worship is Confession

As you all know very well, a major part of our gathered worship together is praising God.

A good text for this is Psalm 150:1-2

Psalm 150:1–2 ESV

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!

But what does it mean to praise the Lord? How shall we praise the Lord? What sorts of words shall we use? How does Psalm 150 do it? By a declaration of who God is. This is like when we sing the song Behold Our God. We aren’t saying look at God--that would destroy you. We are saying look at all he is. Hear about it. Think about it. Delight in it.

The Creeds give us a concise statement of who are God is, according to a historic Trinitarian formulation. In fact, if we want our Trinitarian convictions to be part of our worship, I don’t know of a better way to do that than to confess the Creed.

Our doctrine of the Trinity is that there is One God with no contenders, only sinful creations who think they are fit for the job. And this God has always existed in three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And being a Trinitarian people is important because the whole Christian life is Trinitarian.

The Gospel we preach is that God the Son is sent by God the Father, empowered by God the Holy Spirit to carry out his work. Salvation has a Trinitarian shape, you might say.

Carl Trueman once observed

“The facts of the gospel are necessarily trinitarian facts.”

--Carl Trueman

We are also a people with a fundamentally Trinitarian Identity. That is, we are a people united to Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit enjoying communion with God our Father.

As you might recall, Christ’s Baptism was a Trinitarian moment. The Son submits to baptism, the Father speaks from Heaven, the Spirit descends like a dove. Jesus’s ministry begins with a Trinitarian proclamation, and so does ours. The Great Commission we are given is to baptize in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit because our baptismal identity and our confession of the Trinity are inseparable.

And when we confess the Apostles’ Creed together, we are reminding each other of the identity of God in Trinitarian terms.

But not only is our worship Trinitarian, is is based on biblical data, which is also why we confess the creed. In other words, we worship not only in light of who God is, but what he has done.

In fact, when you read your Bible carefully, you discover that it’s almost impossible to find passages that are full of praise and worship and do not detail the history of God’s actions. There are passages that simply say “Praise the Lord, he’s good, he’s awesome, he’s glorious, so praise him.”

But the overwhelming majority of biblical worshipful declarations about who God is also focus on what he has done.

If you remember our sermon series in Ezekiel a few years ago, the repeated refrain was God saying “I am going to do something, and then they will know that I am the LORD.” Because God is not only revealed by his descriptions, but by his actions.

Psalm 8 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

The point: It’s hard to find texts that describe who God is that don’t rely mostly on what he has done.

The Creed not only declares who God is, but also what He has done, is doing, and will do.

What he has done: He has created all things, he has come in the flesh, he has died, he has risen, he has ascended.

What he is doing: Ruling from his throne on high. Building a church. Growing his kingdom across every neighborhood, city, and nation. Blessing us with communion and fellowship with himself and each other. Forgiving all our sins.

What he will do: He will bring us back from the dead, to live with him forever in a restored and renewed creation.

What the Lord has done reveals who he is to us.

This means that part of our work as believers is not only to evangelize our neighbors, but to keep on evangelizing each other, so to speak. To keep returning to the simple ordinary glories of all the words of God, and to focus on his works. To remember his goodness to us. His kindness throught he years.. And to keep speaking those things to each other.

For this reason, Carl Trueman advises that

The Creedal Imperative The Creeds and Trinitarian Worship

As Christians, we should expect worship always to be a learning experience. That requires us not only to call ministers who are able to stretch us theologically; it also means we should fill the worship service with material that draws us on to maturity. The creed is one such thing: it takes a few minutes to memorize and recite but a lifetime to master.

III. Worship Happens Alongside Eternity

What I mean by this, to just put it bluntly is that the Christian Church is older than the ministry of Bill Graham. That’s an old quip that a seminary professor of mine used to use--he used to say “For many evangelicals, Church History starts with the birth of Billy Graham.”

But in reality, our God has been saving, leading, and instructing his people, by all his Words and by the Holy Spirit applying those Words, for over 2,000 years. Much longer than that if you count the Old Testament Saints, which you should.

In fact, what we find in Hebrews 11 is a long list (“often called the Hall of Faith”) of Old Testament saints who left behind faithful examples for us, and after that long list of faithful men and women, along with all the glories of their work, the author of Hebrews says

Hebrews 12:1 ESV

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Now notice what he says.

He doesn’t say “Therefore, since you have some examples.” (though you do)

“Therefore, since you know these stories.” (though you do)

He says therefore...since you are surrounded.

Not only are these dear saints not dead, they’ve got us surrounded.

This is what I meant by “Church History did not start with Billy Graham.” The Holy Spirit has been at work for at least 2,000 years, guiding the people of God by all the Words of God. Through many dangers, toils, and snares. Through many descents into error and many glorious reformations. And we stand in their company and, as it were, on their shoulders.

One of the great temptations and errors of the modern age is that we tend to think of history as a series of ponds. You have your ancient pond. Early Medieval Pond. Late Medieval Pond. Reformation Pond. Modern Age pond, and so on. Each of these ages being disconnected from each other, and our present one being very disconnected from all of them.

But in reality, history is not a series of separate ponds. It is really more like a flowing river, and we find ourselves in the part of the stream called 2025. God can see the whole stream, we can only see our part of it. But we are downstream from some amazing examples of faithfulness, wisdom, godliness, holiness.

And now I’m getting to the point of all this. The Creeds are one of the few things that have stood the test of time for most of our history as a people. Men and women have come and gone. Empires have risen and fallen. Reformation has come with vigor and lampstands have been removed. But these confessions of faith that we call Creeds have stood the test of time and been received and repeated by generation after generation.

And it is, frankly, only the modern pride, arrogance and hubris of the last 100 years that has suddenly supposed maybe we don’t need these anymore.

And so I would invite us to obey the apostle Paul and exercise humility toward one another, including the great cloud of witnesses.

I am not saying that every church tradition is right simply because it is a church tradition. If that were true, there would have been no Reformation. But the reason why the Reformation took hold with such strength was in part because the Reformers understood that the burden of proof was on them to do the overturning of the false and unnecessary things.

Martin Luther did not roll out of bed one day and say “I happen not to like those indulgences. Who’s with me?”

No, he said “This is wrong because God says it’s wrong, and here’s where he says it, and here’s why we must obey God rather than men.” That is why the Reformation has endured. Because the Reformers understood that if you’re going to tell your fathers “You are wrong,” you’d better come ready to prove it.

And so, when you are considering how to worship God. What to sing. How to pray. How to walk after your Savior in holiness, you should always consider what G.K. Chesterton called “The Democracy of the Dead.” Let that cloud of witnesses have a vote.

Because worship happens alongside eternity. We walk by the testimony of the scriptures and the work of the Holy Spirit through those Scriptures, and the combined testimony and work of well over 2,000 years of God’s work in this world. And when we confess this creed together which is at least 1500 years old and has survived the great winnowing fork of time, we are joining together with the saints throughout the world and throughout time itself.

Conclusion

So my encouragement to you this morning is to think of confessing creeds together not as some sort of terrible duty, but as one of the highest privileges we have as Christians. To unite our voices with the everlasting echoes of the saints of old, to speak our faith together, with our neighbors saying the same strong words, so we remember that we are never alone in this work and fight.

Let Creedal words take shape in our midst as a fundamental matter of identity. This is who we are. This is what we believe. This is who our God is. The one who has created all things. Has rescued us by His Son, the God-Man, Jesus Christ. He has sent his Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, so that we might be brought into his Church, know communion with our fellow saints, rest in the forgiveness of our sins and wait for the resurrection of the dead and the hope of the world to come.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.