The Mystery of Godliness

Paul Meets Timothy

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 16

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek,

2and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium.

3Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. 5So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.

God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 19

This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.

18Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.

19And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

20So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

12so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.

13But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”

14Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.

15And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”

16And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

So what happened in Ephesus?

Plenty. It was in Ephesus that Apollos was discipled and trained (). It was in Ephesus that the sick were healed by Paul’s old handkerchiefs and aprons (). It was in Ephesus that the seven sons of Sceva lost a punch up with a demon possessed man (). It was in Ephesus that a massive pile of magic books were burnt (). It was in Ephesus that Demetrius started a massive uproar as thousands protested at the declining influence of Artemis and decline in trade of silver idols because of the growth of the church.

Hymaneus & Philetus taught that the resurrection was purely a past event and there would be no future resurrection () but there were other false teachers and apostles who had an unhealthy interest in myths, genealogies and poor understanding of the law ().

So Paul’s response to false teachers who were ungodly men is to appoint godly men as elders whose characters were known to the congregation and could be trusted and that same response would also deal with the problem of the gossipy, loose young women of Ephesus who were learning the ways of Christ.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 6

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”—

21which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.

Grace be with you.

Gnostics in gereral have a dualistc view of the universe .

marked division between good and evil, light and darkness, spiritual and physical realms .

All existence is divided into two components, spirit and matter.

These components are at war with one another and do not mix

GOD

God represents Good and is completely Spirit and cannot be known

They do not beleive that matter and spirit can mix

Mans main objective is to shed his body (matter), which is evil and become all spirit.

So Paul’s response to false teachers who were ungodly men is to appoint godly men as elders whose characters were known to the congregation and could be trusted and that same response would also deal with the problem of the gossipy, loose young women of Ephesus who were learning the ways of Christ.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 3

It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

2An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

3not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money.

4He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity

5(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?),

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 3

Deacons likewise must be men of dignity, not double-tongued, or addicted to much wine or fond of sordid gain,

9but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

10These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.

11Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.

12Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.

13For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long;

15but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

16By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh,

Was vindicated in the Spirit,

Seen by angels,

Proclaimed among the nations,

Believed on in the world,

Taken up in glory.

New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory. New Living Translation

INCARNATION

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Incarnation

Literally, “in flesh”; theologically, the doctrine that in Jesus of Nazareth God took on human flesh and became the divine God-man.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines “incarnation” as “a central Christian doctrine that the eternal Word of God (Logos), the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, became man in Jesus Christ, who was then truly God and truly man.”

Osborne, G. R. (1988). Incarnation. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 1, p. 1025). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Dunn, J. D. G. (1992). Incarnation. In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 3, p. 397). New York: Doubleday.

1. Incarnation and Indwelling. In a dualistic system, where spirit and flesh are seen as sharply and irreconcilably distinct and even antithetical, the resulting embodiment is probably more accurately described as indwelling than as incarnation.

Dunn, J. D. G. (1992). Incarnation. In D. N. Freedman (Ed.), The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (Vol. 3, p. 398). New York: Doubleday.

The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary Incarnation

The consequence was that in Hellenistic conceptuality the divine could manifest itself in the flesh but not as flesh. The axiomatic structures of thought made it literally unthinkable that the divine should become flesh, that the (by definition) eternal and unchanging should become that which (by definition) changed, decayed, and perished. Gods might appear in the guise of human beings, but they were still gods and not flesh

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update Chapter 1

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

When we turn from the Old Covenant(Testament) to the New Covenant (Testament), we turn from the Old Form to the New Form where it is perfectly and Finally fulfilled.

God out of sheer grace bestows upon himself to his people as their God and gives them to himself as his people. he call them His children, call Himself their father. Tells them THAT i am Holy so you be holy. Walk before me and be perfect.

God knowing that their sin and frailty would prevent them from keeping covenant, he provides for them a way of Covenant response that would take place when God provided from within Isreal, and from within mans actual existence and life, the answer.

He comes and Son and Word.

Son- bey entering our rebellion and then becoming perfectly obedient where we were disobedient therefore bringing reconciliation

Word- comes ito our darkness and blindness to bring revelation of God’s sheer love for us effecting our view on God.

Dabar- Back or hinterside