The Mystery Of Godliness

A Summarization of the Message Believed and Taught by the Church (1 Timothy 3:16)

Paul ends 1 Tim. 3:15 by saying that the church is “the pillar and ground of the truth.” This verse contains the duty of the church, and it is interesting that there is no mention of having to be seeker-sensitive, innovative or philosophical in belief or ministry. Rather this statement as Calvin puts it, “relates to the ministry of the word.”¹

The Apostle continues in verse 16 by saying, and by confession, great is the mystery of godliness. Note how Paul begins, and by confession. The word confession appears only here in the NT. The basic meaning of this term is “that which is agreed upon.” In other words, what Paul is about to say is “agreed upon by all believers.” This is non-negotiable truth, it is absolute. The church is to uphold this glorious confession.

The truth that is agreed upon by all believers is called the mystery of godliness. When you view this text as a whole it is clear that this is a reference to Jesus Christ. God’s truth was revealed in a historical Person. Verse 16 is clearly talking about various characteristics and influences of the Lord Jesus Christ. But let’s first consider the phrase mystery of godliness closely.

The term mystery refers to something “which was hidden” but is now revealed. Then he adds the phrase of godliness. The term “godliness” appears 10 times in the Pastoral Epistles.² It is an inner quality that drives our outward behaviour. So then, this is a term for the Christian faith and it emphasizes conduct. One commentator said that godliness “stands for the whole of Christian existence, viewed from the perspective of a life which is lived in response to the knowledge of God.”³

The following six lines of this verse contain the specific description of this mystery. So at the centre of the truth in which the church is the “pillar and ground” of is Jesus Christ. This thought characterizes the following six lines.

The remaining portion of this verse contains what appears to be a fragment of an early church hymn. This hymn contains six lines with rhythmic excellence (each line begins with a verb in the third person singular aorist). This is a hymn of majesty extolling the mystery of godliness, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. These six lines can be divided into 3 stanzas: (1) The Divine Appearance, (2) The Divine Accomplishment, and (3) The Divine Admission. Each stanza contains 2 lines that work as contrasts.

1. The Divine Appearance (line 1 & 2)

God is invisible. The entire Person of God cannot be seen by man, consider the following texts, “No one has ever seen God…” John 1:18; “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (emphasis mine) 1 Timothy 1:17. However, the NT portrays Jesus Christ as the second Person of the Trinity, having two natures, namely divine and human. This makes Him a unique manifestation of the Person of God.

Incarnation
Who was revealed in the flesh. This is a reference to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The incarnation refers to the event in which Jesus took upon Himself a human nature. The best description of this is can be seen in John 1:14 “and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us….”

Now consider the word revealed. This term means “to make visible” which implies that Christ was already in existence. He was hidden, but now has been revealed. The Lord Jesus Christ became visible by taking upon Himself a physical body. His humanity is evident from Scripture, consider the following examples: (1) He was Born, Isaiah 7:14; Matt. 1:23; Luke 2:7. (2) He Experienced Growth, “The Child continued to grow and become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him” Luke 2:40; “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” Luke 2:52. (3) He Experienced Limitations, Weariness (John 4:6), Thirst (John 19:28), and Hunger (Matt. 4:2). (4) He Experienced Human Emotions, Marvelled (Matt. 8:10), and Tears (John 11:35). Though Christ was revealed in the flesh, it is equally clear from Scripture that He was without sin. This leads us to the second aspect of the Divine Appearance.

Deity
The second line of this hymn says He was justified in the spirit. Now there has been multiple opinions concerning the meaning of this line. Basically there are two main views. (1) “Spirit” in this verse refers to the Holy Spirit. This view says that the Holy Spirit proved or vindicated the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God. (2) “Spirit” here refers to Jesus’ human spirit. His claims were proved or vindicated by His own spiritual nature. Now both views are theologically correct, however I believe that this verse is talking about the second view just mentioned. I think the greatest evidence for this is the hymns parallelism.

This truth is seen in the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, it is clear from Scripture that Jesus is God, “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” John 1:1. And secondly, He displays the attributes of God.⁴ The Lord Jesus Christ is God, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form” Col. 2:9.

The Lord Jesus Christ was righteous in the spirit. In John’s first epistle he says the following, “…we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (emphasis mine) 1 John 2:1b. Hebrews 7:26 describes Him as, “…holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens.” In the incarnation, nothing was taken away from His Divine nature. In addition to His Divine nature, He took upon Himself human nature. This was necessary for Him to be a perfect substitute, to die in our place in-order to receive the wrath of God and atone for the sins of God’s elect. Only Jesus Christ could do this. That is an incredible thought, hence why this is part of the Mystery of Godliness. This is the first aspect of what Christians believe and teach!

2. The Divine Accomplishment (line 3 & 4)

In addition to our Lord’s Divine Appearance, there was also Divine Accomplishment. This is evident through His work on the cross and the effects that followed. Consider the next two lines of this hymn.

Ascension
The third lines says, was seen by angels. This is a picture of approval. Angels were present throughout the life of Christ, however the event that is in view here is the resurrection.

Preaching
The fourth line of this hymn says, was preached among the nations. This message seen by angles (those of Jesus Christ, climaxed at His resurrection, was not only closest to God), but was preached among the nations (those farthest away from God). This aligns with the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:19-20.

The Divine Accomplishment must continue to be a part of the churches belief and teaching.

3. The Divine Admission (Line 5& 6)

Belief
The fifth line says, was believed on in the world. As a result of the faithful preaching of God’s word, many did and will come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. “…For You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” Revelation 5:9. By God’s grace and sovereignty, many depraved sinners, believed in Christ.

Glorification
The final line of this hymn says, was taken up in glory. This event is recorded in Acts 1:9-11. After Jesus ascended into glory, Hebrews 10:12 records these amazing words, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at glory of the right hand of God.” The Lord Jesus Christ had the right to enter the heaven because He is the perfect Son of God, the Mystery of Godliness.

Summary

This is the truth that the church, without hesitation and with full force both believes and teaches. It is the churches duty to be the “pillar and ground” of this divine certainty. May our minds be consumed by the person of Jesus Christ and in turn drive us to proclaim His excellencies in both doctrine and evangelism.

1. Calvin, John. Calvin’s Commentaries Volume XXI, Baker Books, 199 page 90. [↩]
2. 1 Tim. 2:2, 3:16, 4:7, 8, 6:3, 5, 6, 11; 2 Tim. 3:5; Titus 1:1 [↩]
3. Marshall, I. Howard. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles. International Critical Commentary, eds. J. A. Emerton, C. E. B. Cranfield, and G. N. Stanton. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1999. Page 523 [↩]
4. E.g. Omnipotence (Matt. 8:26-27), Omnipresence (Matt. 28:20), Omniscience (Mark 2:8) [↩]