1 Timothy 3.16a-The Mystery Of Godliness
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday May 18, 2011
1 Timothy: 1 Timothy 3:16a-The Mystery Of Godliness
Lesson # 70
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 3:14.
We complete our study of chapter three by noting verse 16.
In this verse, Paul presents a Christ hymn that expresses a common confession in the church and speaks of the mystery of godliness.
1 Timothy 3:14 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but 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. 16 By 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. (NASU)
Not translated is the “epexegetical” or “explanatory” use of the conjunction kai (καί) (keh), which introduces a statement that “explains” in specific terms the meaning of the noun aletheia, “of the truth” that concludes 1 Timothy 3:15.
“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness” is composed of the adverb homologoumenos (ὁμολογουμένως) (owe-moe-low-who-mehnoce), “by common confession” and the nominative neuter singular form of the adjective megas (μέγας) (may-gahs), “great” and the third person singular present active indicative form of the verb eimi (εἰμί) (ee-mee), “is” and the articular genitive feminine singular form of the noun eusebeia (εὐσέβεια) (ef-sev-ee-ah), “of godliness” and the articular nominative neuter singular form of the noun musterion (μυστήριον) (me-stear-ee-own), “of the mystery.”
The adverb homologoumenos means “affirmatively” in the sense that the first century apostolic church “asserted as fact” the mystery of godliness, which is spelled out in the hymn defining specifically what the church asserted as fact.
It speaks of the fact that the entire Christian community in Ephesus is obligated to acknowledge or affirm the truth of this confession or first century apostolic affirmation by both their words and conduct.
The adjective megas describes the revelation of Jesus Christ as superior in importance to the heathen religions including the worship of Artemis whose center was in Ephesus.
The common cultic cry throughout Ephesus in the first century was “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.”
Undoubtedly, Paul uses megas to emphasize the superiority of Christianity because it is based upon an historical person, Jesus Christ who performed extraordinary, supernatural deeds, which is confirmed by witnesses and evidence unlike the heathen religions of the world.
Christianity is based upon Jesus Christ the truth whereas the heathen religions of the world are based upon the lies of Satan’s cosmic system.
Towner writes, “Given the Ephesian setting, whether or not the famous riot associated with Paul’s ministry (Acts 19) was still fresh in mind, it is impossible not to hear in Paul’s statement a subversive echo of the city’s bold claim, ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians’ (Acts 19;28, 34; cf. 19:27, 35). And in calling the church to confess so extensive a claim – ‘Great is the mystery of godliness’ – it would be quite appropriate for Paul to intentionally hijack the pagan rhetoric to rewrite this bit of the local religious story in terms of the gospel-promise of a new code of existence, in Christ.” (Towner, Philip H., The Letters to Timothy and Titus; page 277; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Grand Rapids, MI, 2006)
Therefore, in 1 Timothy 3:15, the adjective megas means “great” in the sense of greater quality and importance.
It contains a comparative idea and describes the revelation of Jesus Christ in the gospel as superior in importance to the heathen religions including the worship of Artemis.
It is superior because it is based upon an historical person, Jesus Christ who performed extraordinary, supernatural deeds, which is confirmed by witnesses and evidence unlike the heathen religions of the world.
Christianity is based upon Jesus Christ the truth whereas the heathen religions of the world are based upon the lies of Satan’s cosmic system.
Eusebeia means “the way of godliness or godly living” or “the Christian way of life” in the sense that by the power of the Holy Spirit the Christian is conforming their thinking and conduct according to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Word of God.
It means that the Christian is conforming their attitude and conduct to the will of the Father as a result of faith in the Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God resulting in obedience to the Father’s will.
The genitive case of eusebeia is epexegetical meaning that the word is defining the ambiguous noun musterion.
Thus, eusebeia is defining the term musterion and explaining it in explicit terms.
We see this exact same construction in 1 Timothy 3:9 where pistis was used with musterion.
The noun pistis speaks of the gospel as a body of doctrine that the church believes.
Therefore, not only is pistis synonymous with musterion but also eusebeia.
Both are synonymous with aletheia, “truth.”
Pistis, aletheia, musterion and eusebeia speak of the gospel from different perspectives.
The noun musterion speaks of the gospel as fully disclosing God’s plan of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and its proclamation by the apostles.
Now, eusebeia speaks of the gospel from the perspective that is the Christian way of life.
In other words, it refers to proper Christian attitude and conduct that is produced by the Holy Spirit as a result of exercising faith in the Word of God resulting in obedience to the Word of God.
As was the case in 1 Timothy 3:9, the noun musterion in 1 Timothy 3:16 means “mystery” and refers to the gospel message which fully reveals God’s plan of salvation for both Jew and Gentiles.
This plan is now fully revealed during the church age by the Spirit through the apostles to the church, which was not fully known to the Old Testament prophets of Israel.
The content of this mystery is Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection for both Jew and Gentile. Therefore, musterion is centered upon the person of Christ, which is indicated by the six line hymn that follows.
The “hidden” nature of the gospel is not that it was totally unknown since the Old Testament prophets, all the way back to Abraham, were told that salvation would be provided for both Jew and Gentile through the Jewish Messiah.
What Paul means by musterion in 1 Timothy 3:16 is that through the Spirit, God the Father has “fully” disclosed the gospel in the person of Jesus Christ and in the proclamation of the gospel by the apostles.
Therefore, musterion refers to the proclamation of Jesus Christ’s victory over sin and Satan through His death and resurrection and that faith in Him for salvation would be proclaimed to both Jew and Gentile.
It refers to the manifestation of the divine decree eternity past.
It is a secret known only by God but has now been revealed to the church by the Spirit through the apostles.
Therefore, like aletheia in 1 Timothy 3:15, the noun musterion is a synonym for the gospel, which centers upon the person and work of Christ (Romans 1:3-4).
Therefore, the word refers to the content of Paul’s teaching that appears in exhaustive detail in the main argument of the Romans epistle in Romans 1:16-15:13.
In relation to non-Christians, i.e. who have not yet been justified through faith in Christ, the gospel is the good news and God’s victorious proclamation of God’s love in delivering the entire human race from sin, Satan, his cosmic system and eternal condemnation and has reconciled them to Himself through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This reconciliation with God and deliverance and victory over sin, Satan and the cosmic system that God accomplished through His Son’s crucifixion, burial, death, resurrection and session is received as a gift and appropriated through faith in Christ (John 3:16-18; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:1-2).
In relation to the believer, the Gospel message is God’s victorious proclamation regarding the believer’s deliverance and victory positionally from the power of Satan, the old sin nature and the cosmic system of Satan (See Romans 5-7).
By positionally, I mean that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ, which was accomplished at the moment of salvation through the Baptism of the Spirit when the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit placed the believer in an eternal union with Christ.
The Baptism of the Spirit identifies the believer with Christ in the sense that the omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit causes the believer to become identical and united with the Lord Jesus Christ and also ascribes to the believer the qualities and characteristics of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It identifies the believer with Christ in His crucifixion (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), His death (Romans 6:2, 7-8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3), His burial (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), His resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12; 3:1) and His session (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1).
The believer can experience this victory and deliverance by appropriating by faith the teaching of the Word of God that he has been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ (Romans 6:11-23; 8:1-17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:5-17).
He will permanently experience this identification with Christ at the rapture of the church (Romans 8:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57)