Skip to main content

God was manifested in the flesh ...

"I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God ... the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh ..." (1 Timothy 3:15-16).

We read, in 1 Timothy 3:16, of our deeply-held convictions concerning our Saviour, Jesus Christ: "God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory." Paul is not only speaking about beliefs that we hold with our minds - 'I believe this about Christ. I believe that about Him.' He's speaking about beliefs that change the way we live - "how you conduct yourselves in the house of God" (1 Timothy 3:15).  
When Paul speaks about "the mystery of godliness", he's speaking about "God was manifested in the flesh". He's also speaking about "how we conduct ourselves in the house of God." This is the practical mystery - How can sinners live a godly life? This takes us beyond recalling the events of Christ's life. This takes us beyond, "I believe this about Him. I believe that about Him." This takes us on to Paul's teaching concerning the Holy Spirit: "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you ... you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit ... " (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). 
When Paul writes to us about "how we conduct ourselves in the house of God", we may recall his description of our life (it's more than our body, it's our body and our spirit) as "the temple of the Holy Spirit." Paul is not only concerned about how we behave when we set foot in the house of God. He's concerned about our whole life. He's saying to us, "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).
What is the connection between "the mystery of godliness" - God was manifested in the flesh" - and "the mystery of godliness" - sinners saved by grace are led in the way of the Holy Spirit? - "You were bought at a price": If we really believe the things that happened to Christ and the reason that these things happened to Him ("for us and for our salvation"), how can we continue to live as if these things were not true?
How we conduct ourselves - in the house of God and in the whole of life: This is where the real strength of our faith will be seen. Strong faith expresses itself in godly living. A strong faith is always ready to ask the question, "How much is my life being changed by the Lord?"
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If We Are To Be True Followers Of Jesus ...

"Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!" (Matthew 17:6),. even after there us divine revelation (Matthew 16:17), the influence of evil can be felt (Matthew 16:23), The warning - "Be careful! Watch out ... !" must never be forgotten. Satan is looking for an opportunity to leads us away from the Lord. We must hear what Jesus is saying to us about discipleship (Matthew 16:24), and we must commit  ourselves to Him (Matthew 16:25). There is nothing more important than this (Matthew 16:26). If we are to be true followers of Jesus, we must learn to live our lives in the light of eternity (Matthew 16:27). We are to seek revelations of God's eternal Kingdom, revelations which will send us back, from the mountain-top, to live each day for Jesus.
Post a Comment
Read more

Without God's Word at the centre, everything else means nothing.

Numbers 7:1-8:26  From each tribe, the gifts came. The Levites had a special ministry. For this ministry, they needed to be made "clean" (Numbers 8:5). Through cleansing, they were made "ready to do the Lord's work" (Numbers 8:11). In a very special sense, God said of them, "the Levites will be Mine" (Numbers 8:14). Between the gifts from the tribes (Numbers 7) and the preparation of the Levites (Numbers 8:5-26), there are the seven lamps on the lampstand, giving "light in front of the lampstand" (Numbers 8:1-4). The lamp stand was made of "gold."  This is the precious light of God's Word, shining like gold, which is greater than all the other metals. God's Word is the light which inspires the giving of the tribes and the ministry of the Levites. Without God's Word at the centre, everything else means nothing.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Son of Man came to save the lost ...

"The Son of Man came to save the lost" (Matthew 18:11). In Matthew 18:12-13, Jesus speaks about sheep. He's really speaking about us. He is the Shepherd. We are His sheep. Sheep wander away from the shepherd. We wander away from the Lord. The shepherd looks for the lost sheep. Jesus has come to seek for us and find us. He brings  us home to God, our Father. Through His saving grace, we receive new life - a life  in which we rejoice in our great Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He delivers us from the condemnation, which our sin has brought upon us. He brings us into the knowledge of His forgiveness. This Gospel of salvation changes us. It teaches us to live in the power of God's love. Jesus speaks about "the Kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:12,23), "the Kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:14,24) and "eternal life" (Matthew 19:29).  Jesus' way of thinking and living is so very different from the world's way of thinking and living. He chall...
Post a Comment
Read more