Theology

Welcome

Alright everybody, I’m so glad you’re here. Seriously. The leaders and I love y’all and we couldn’t be more pumped for this semester. And we’re in the Sanctuary, which is pretty cool! By God’s grace we’ll be in our UPDATED student group room very soon.

But tonight, we begin our first sermon series of the semester: discipleship focuses. These are 6 areas that the follower of Jesus should grow in in order to become a more mature disciple of Christ. We’ll spend the next 6 weeks looking in Scripture at each of these focuses, what they are, what they mean, and how we need to live them out. Let’s read our text for tonight in 1 Timothy 3:14-16, pray, and dive right in.

READ 1 Tim 3:14-16

PRAY

Introduction

Most of you guys just got back to school. What’s something you usually get on the first day or the first week? Usually you have to bring it back? A syllabus right…to get signed maybe?

That’s sort of what the apostle Paul is doing here! He’s giving Timothy the reason that he’s writing this letter to him. And then he gives the foundation on which the church is built, the truth, found in God’s word!

We’re not going to look at all of 1 Timothy or Paul’s “syllabus for the church” tonight, but we will spend time looking at what the church of Jesus Christ confesses or agrees on universally.

And it is on this very agreement within the church that we see our first discipleship focus: theology. Simply put: theology is the study of God. And this “mystery” that Paul says is great in our text tonight makes up so much of the disciples theology.

My sermon title tonight is simply that: theology. We’ll look at our text in two sections: The Church of God and The Mystery it Confesses.

My hope for you students tonight is this: 1) You walk away thinking “great is the mystery of godliness!”. 2) You leave more excited than ever about the study of God…because every disciple of Jesus is passionate about learning more and more about Jesus…and living it out.

Context

Since we’re diving right into the middle of a letter here, we need context. Paul is Timothy’s mentor and the author of this letter. He’s writing to Timothy, who he’s discipled. The focus of this letter is how the church should live in light of the gospel and how Timothy/the church should be on guard against false teaching.

The Church of God

We begin with The Church of God. Look back at 1 Timothy 3:14–15 “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, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”

Paul is hoping to come and see Timothy soon, but he’s being held up in Macedonia. So, he decides to send this letter to Timothy to teach him how the church of God should live.

Pause just for a second and look at the language Paul is using. This helps confirm for us that Paul was a real dude writing to a real dude that he cared about. The Bible is an accurate book written by real people under the leading/inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God!

It’s so awesome how clearly Paul gives us the purpose for his letter here. He gives Timothy and the local church direction for how they’re supposed to be behaving and living.

Students, if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, that applies to you! There IS a way you should behave in the household of God! It’s a life sold out for the glory of God, on fire for and satisfied in the person of God, all fueled by the grace of God!

Being a Christian isn’t an excuse to live however you want. It’s an invitation to die to yourself and live in Christ. Not out of fear of judgement but in Christ’s own joy and grace!

Paul calls the church the “household of God” here. The church is a family. Family is messy sometimes. We don’t always get along. But its beautiful, needed, and part of God’s design for your walk. Hear me: if you dedicate your life to being involved in the local church out of your love for Christ, your life will feel fulfilling, joyful, and useful.

For the church is the church of the LIVING God! We don’t serve a God that’s dead but alive and well! Ruling and reigning over the entire universe!

Notice what else Paul calls the church: a pillar and buttress of truth. What in the world does that mean? You see that big wall behind y’all? Separating this room from the overflow room? We CAN’T take that wall out. It’s a load bearing wall…which basically means that if you take that out, we’re getting crushed! This building doesn’t fully DEPEND on that wall, but its helpful.

In a similar way, the church of God is a pillar of the truth. NOT that the truth DEPENDS on the church…but the truth props up or holds up the truth of God on display for the world to see! The household of God promotes and protects the gospel that God has given it!

We’re cool on that…but whats a buttress??? It means a support, base, or even a foundation. So, Paul is using arthecechual terms to describe the church. The household of God, the church, provides stability and visibility for God’s truth. And who gives the church this truth? Who’s truth is it? GOD’S!!!

Here’s what Paul is saying here: the church upholds and displays God’s truth. An old dead guy, Francis Turretin, says that the church exists to preserve and proclaim God’s truth. Verse 15 in NO WAY means that the church is without failing or error. We get things wrong all the time.

Instead, we believe in whats called Sola Scriptura, meaning that the Scriptures are the only infallible (never wrong or failing) rule of faith and practice. This is important for you students to know and believe because there are many different ideas out there and temptations to doubt this truth.

But the truth of the matter is that 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” …not the church or a man or a pastor, but Scripture is breathed out by God.

The church displays and proclaims the truth of God as found in Scripture…see yourself a part of this believer! You are brought in to this work, to be a part of being a pillar for the truth! Stand firm against the lies in your school. Magnify God and His word. Let your theology be founded and deeply rooted in God and His word alone!

The Mystery it Confesses

Verse 16 brings us from The Church of God to The Mystery it Confesses. Pauls says 1 Timothy 3:16 “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.”

The mystery of godliness is great! Its awesome! To confess means to agree with. So great is this mystery that we proclaim and agree with. What’s the mystery? Christ Jesus our salvation! Paul is describing our savior here!

He was manifested or revealed in the flesh…Jesus took on human flesh like ours to die the death we deserved!

He was vindicated by the Spirit…meaning He was declared to be righteous by the Holy Spirit! And Jesus was seen by the angels because He is God!

Jesus has been preached and proclaimed among the nations…to Jew and Gentile! He’s been believed on in the world and taken up back into heaven in glory at the right hand of the Father!

All of this mystery of godliness shows that Jesus is God, our only Savior, the promised Messiah to come in the OT, and that He cares for you, student! He came down to earth to pay the penalty of sin that you deserved to pay!

Jesus it not merely a good teacher or a good example…He is God in the flesh. And the Holy Spirit Himself testifies to the righteousness of Christ the God-man!

Many of you feel unvaluable, forgotten, left aside. Christ gives you value, holds you for enternity, and will never forsake or do wrong by you!

Christ has been proclaimed among the nations. The Great Commission is still alive! And YOU are to participate in it! Will you take the gospel to the nations? If you don’t, who will?

He’s been believed on in the world by the power of the Spirit of God. And He’s been taken up, ascennded back with the Father, proving that Jesus Christ is Lord!

If we miss this mystery of godliness, that was once concealed in the OT and now is revealed to us in the New, we miss our theology entirely. The church has been given its theology by God in His word. And it’s the church’s mission and purpose to preserve and proclaim this truth in the world.

If you are a believer, you are a part of the church of God, and you are apart of the pillar and buttress of truth!

Conclusion

So, whats your theology? Have you ever thought of that? Do you even care? You absoloutely should, becasue as the great RC Sproul has said everyones a theologian. We all have our thoughts and opinions of God…the question for you young students is, is your theology biblical, true, and meaningful?

Does your theology light your heart on fire for the Lord? Does it cause you to love Him more? Does it cause you to pursue holiness? Does it cause you to love others?

If not, you need a deeper, more true, more biblical theology.

By God’s grace, think more on this mystery of godliness. And that will bring you to the eternal stream that never runs dry.