By: Dale Weckbacher
1 Timothy 3:16
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.
NKJV
The contexts of first and second Timothy are letters written
by Paul to young Timothy while awaiting his execution. In the previous verses of 1 Timothy 3:1-13,
Paul outlined the qualifications of earthly leaders in the church. Our careful investigation of these
qualifications determined the importance of these qualifications and even
determined that these qualifications apply to leadership outside the church as
well.
In 1 Timothy 3:14-15, Paul expresses his hope to soon be
able to see Timothy. However, in the
interim, he writes this letter as a means of encouraging young Timothy while he
is delayed. His purpose is that in his
absence they may know how they are to behave as the Church of the Living God
which stands as a buttress and pillar of truth in a world ruled by darkness and
sin. In truth, I believe Paul knew his
current imprisonment would ultimately end with his execution and wanted to
insure the church remained strong after he went to be with the Lord.
In 1 Timothy 3:16, Paul states that “Great indeed is the
mystery of godliness.” While we as
mortal individuals may never totally understand this mystery, Paul proceeds to
give us a brief synopsis of this mystery and contained in that synopsis we see
the eminent qualifications of our commander in chief, Jesus Christ. Let us now take a more in depth look at these
qualifications for in them we can begin to understand why we as soldiers
engaging in spiritual warfare can confidently enter into spiritual battle following
Jesus Christ with no doubts.
1)
Intimately identifies with our situation – John1:14 tells us that the Word became flesh.
This verse is not speaking of how words written on a page somehow took
on flesh and blood form and dwelt among us but is instead speaking of how the
Word of God, which was contained in print, took on fleshly form in the person
of Jesus Christ and dwelt among us. The
power of this statement is that God living in the sinless glory of heaven,
where he could have stayed for eternity, thus sentencing us to eternal death in
our sins instead chose to take on fleshly form and come to live with us. As such, God was exposing Himself to the
temptations, sins, and suffering of this world, making Him relatable to
us. However, even though God was exposed
to the temptations and sins of this world, he never gave in and sinned making
him eminently qualified to be the Lamb of God who could once and for all cover
all of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). As
for suffering, Jesus voluntarily endured and suffered the judgment of god for
our sins, taking on our death penalty so that we can escape that judgment by
choosing Jesus as our savior.
2)
Justified by the Spirit – After John baptized
Jesus the heavens opened up and the Spirit of God descended and settled upon
Jesus. Then everyone heard a voice from
heaven declaring, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with
him.” (Matthew 3:16-17). Earthly leaders seeking office seek
endorsements that they believe to be a stamp of approval on their leadership
abilities that will sway people to give them their valuable vote. Jesus was about to embark on his earthly
ministry and could have received no greater endorsement then that of his
Heavenly Father’s pleasure with him coupled with the indwelling of the power of
the Holy Spirit.
3)
Seen by Angels – When my first son was born, my
wife had to have a caesarian section. This
was in 1976 and hospitals did not allow dads in the operating room during
caesarian sections. As such, I was
relegated to waiting in the waiting room for news that my son had been
born. I remember how happy I was when
the doctor came out to let me know the procedure was successful and that my son
had been born. Now imagine the joy of
the shepherds when they not only had an angelic visitation but that these angels
witnessed the birth of their Messiah and came to declare this great news (Luke2:8-12). We have recently witnessed the
anticipation and joy of the announcement of the birth of the royal children in
Great Britian. When ones birth receives
a massive public announcement, it is an indication that someone of importance
has been born. However, an angelic
announcement of one’s birth indicates the birth of someone deemed important by
God in heaven and therefore is someone that we should follow.
4)
Preached among the Gentiles – One would have
thought Jesus, the Son of God, would have begun his ministry by preaching to
the religious leaders of His time. Instead,
Jesus chose to preach to the common Jewish people in Galilee. After ascending to God, he then allowed the
preaching of the message of the Gospel to the Gentiles. John 3:16 declares that God sent His Son to
the world, not just the Jews, and that when anyone in the world, Jew or Gentile
believes in Him, they shall have eternal life.
5)
Believed on in the world – The very fact that
many, including myself, have chosen to heed the message of the Gospel and make
Jesus our Savior is proof that the message of the Gospel has spread throughout
the world for almost 2000 years spanning thousands of generations.
6)
Received up in glory – Not only did Jesus take
the death penalty for our sins, he demonstrated dominion over death by rising
from the dead. This fact was witnessed
by many including 500 in one instance alone (1 Corinthians 15:6) and then
ascended to be with God the Father where he acts as an intermediary between us
who serve as ambassadors for Christ in this sinful world (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Our commander in chief in spreading the Gospel to a dark
world in need of its message of light and salvation is eminently qualified to
lead His church. He is a relatable
leader, endorsed by the heavenly authority of God the Father whose birth was
announced by angels. His message is for
all and has been received by many. He is
also alive and seated in a position of high authority where he acts as an
intermediary for his church.
Next Wednesday we will look at 1 Timothy 4.
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