1 Timothy | Chapter 3 – Scripture Supply

1 Timothy Ch. 3

The Church and its members

“Help wanted”

Main Teaching:

3:1-7 Purity of elders

3:8-13 Proven deacons

3:14-16 Proper conduct at Church

Vs. 1 Working for money, member or the Master?

Vs. 2-3 Personal traits

Vs. 4-5 An example at home

6-7 A veteran of good reputation

Introduction

Here in this section we have the qualifications for leadership in the local church but over the years depending upon your church background the names of these leaders have changed. Regardless of the title when you look at the Bible you have two designated groups called “elders and deacons”. When you compare the qualifications for bishops here with the list for elders in Titus 1:5-9 you will see that Paul uses those two words interchangeably as they are the same office. This office was not a position where natural gifting’s or worldly success granted a person the position; instead it is a position that can only be recognized through observing Christian maturity visible in godly character. Paul goes on to list recognizable qualifications of Christian character for a man to exhibit if he is to be considered for the position of elder or pastor.

Vs. 1 Working for money, member or the Master?

Vs. 1 According to Ephesians chapter 4 verses 11-12 the Lord Himself gave some to be missionaries, some that were gifted to speak forth the heart and mind of Christ, some that were called to evangelize and some that were called to care for and instruct believers. That’s an important detail as the Lord did not call for an election from the general church, instead He had established leadership to appoint these believers after a sometime of observing them based upon the qualifications found in verses 2-7. The first thing Paul does is show two important truths about this position of an “elder” within the local church:

“If a man desires the position of a bishop”: The word “desires” means to “stretch oneself out after” and implies study and effort to equip oneself for leadership. Paul makes it plain that a person “desiring” the position is good for it will require Christ like characteristics that are only obtainable through the Holy Spirit empowerment and the servant’s death to self-centeredness. The problem with some in church leadership is not to be found in the desire nor the position but rather that some desire the position without the empowerment of the Spirit and the death to self!
“He desires a good work”: The word rendered “good” means “valuable and virtuous” and we learn that this is a calling not a career within the body of Christ. The Church must not fall into the trap of looking at its leadership as the world often does when appointing people like corporations or country clubs. The leadership of the local Church is not the invention of man.

The corporation and the country club run their organization either for MONEY or for MEMBERS but the Church does not run its organization for the benefit of MONEY our MEMBERS but rather for the benefit of our MASTER! The position is a “good work” not a good retirement plan, a good position, but a good WORK where a man answers this call by saying, “Here I am, send me”.

Elders are not to serve in a manner that supplants Christ as if He was no longer a part of the Church but as invisibly as possible to demonstrate that Christ is still present and available daily for each and every believer. People have forgotten the most important part of the great commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 which started with Jesus’ authority, followed by His command to go, make disciples, baptize and teach but ended with the most important truth for each believer that He will always be with His Church to the end of time.

Vs. 2-3 Personal traits

Vs. 2-3 First Paul gives TEN guidelines of what to look for in the character of those who serve as overseers or Elders in the Church. Then he will follow that by where it will be first seen, then he concludes with two other things to consider before appointing leadership:

Blameless: The word has to do with the person’s character and means that they are to be “above reproach”. That doesn’t mean that they never do anything wrong as we wouldn’t ever find a person that would qualify. The word means that when they have done something wrong they handled it right, by being open, and accepting responsibility, seeking reconciliation and desiring to live righteously.
Husband of one wife: Literally this says a, “one woman man” and when Paul was writing this letter to Timothy he was in Ephesus a culture that was dominated by Greek thought which thought that a man ought to have three women in his life:

Mistress: For conversation
Concubine: For pleasure
Wife: For children

Paul says, no you need to be a one woman man!

Four personal character traits: Here Paul focuses on four person character traits that describe a person who is a leader.

Temperate: The word means calm and describes a person that doesn’t easily lose their cool but it also describes a person who doesn’t quit or give up. What a great personal trait for leadership is a person who won’t give up and displays this by remaining calm.
Sober-minded: Some render this word as meaning “sensible” as the root word means to exhibit self-control. He must possess a serious attitude about his work for the Lord, not lazy or haphazard in their duty. That’s the idea here, living with the inward peace and discipline of life because we are living as “loved” people.
Of good behavior: Here the word means to live orderly, not living with your life going this way or that with a bunch of unfinished projects. The best way to describe the meaning of this word is that the person in leadership needs to be a “Doer” as well as a “Dreamer” otherwise his dreams will remain just that!
Hospitable: Finally they need to be people who are willing to open their home and their lives to strangers as well as friends. People who are desiring to open their lives to others. What a great quality as often it is our hospitality towards others that open hearts to the word.

Able to teach: Elder need to be able to rightly divide the word of God. He must be able to recognize false teaching as well so as to guard the sheep from wolves. To be a teacher requires first and foremost a person to desire above being in front of folks a heart that wants to learn.
Not given to wine: The word means that the elder is not to be getting drunk or becoming intoxicated. It doesn’t mean that they are not to drink wine, it means that they are never to get drunk. I always think it is a wise practice when in public not to do so in case there is a weaker brother or sister who has struggled with alcohol abuse.
Not violent: The elder must not be an angry man, they must not be looking for an argument or looking to attack someone else who has a different view. I love being around the leadership that can have and does have differing views but doesn’t attack the other person with a different view and instead is willing to listen and discuss.
Not greedy for money: He must not be into leadership for what he can get out of it but instead what he can put into it! Far too often the church has made the mistake of looking only for those people of wealth and influence who put their interest above the cause of Christ.
Gentile: Someone who is willing to listen to people and be able to take criticism without reacting. Not a person who lords over others but instead rolls up their sleeves and gets to work.
Not quarrelsome: The word means not a stubborn person, a person who insists on their point of view at all costs. Short tempers make for short ministries!
Not covetous: This isn’t only speaking about money as you can covet, popularity, possessions and positions as well. Not a person who wants what others have.

Vs. 4-5 An example at home

Vs. 4-5 Now Paul describes where these qualities will be most on display, the home. The first place to see if this is the right person for leadership in the church is to see how well their home is running. How does he treat his wife, if he is married, how do his children behave and so on? Paul is not saying that the “elders” home must be free from defects only that when it has problems how does the elder handle those difficulties? There ought to be a balance of love and discipline in the home as that is what we want to see in the church. The home ought not to be a place ruled by a dictator but rather a loving shepherd who leads by example.

6-7 A veteran of good reputation

Vs. 6 Not a novice and word here means “newly planted” thus it refers to both to a new believer as well as a younger person, who lacks the experience and maturity to lead. It is not the successes that define a man, it is the disappointments that reveal his true character. There are far too many “personalities” in the pulpit and it has caused people to take their eyes off of the Person and work of Jesus all for the ego of man! A mature man knows that he must die so that Christ may live through him, he knows that it is “The Necessity” that Christ gets ALL the glory.

Vs. 7 Lastly, an elder must have a good reputation among those outside the church. Over the years I’ve had many occasions to meet people who were not believers but knew people who were a part of the fellowship and it’s always an interesting observation to see how they respond to the question, “Do you know so and so?” If they say, “Yes, they are so kind, such a hard worker, wonderful person to deal with etc…” then I know they have a “good reputation” among those that are not believers. There have been occasions where I’ve asked do you know so and so and their facial expressions and words tell me that folks don’t much care for their witness.

Elders are “overseers” or to be “looking over” to see what the Lord is doing with His people, utilizing the opportunities that He brings forth this is why it is a “good work”. God has set His church in the center of society and given us the opportunity to impact our communities with morality, kindness and compassion. He has granted us the opportunities to speak His word into the lives of those around us.

1 Timothy Ch. 3

The Church and its members

“Time to kill the spider”

Vs. 8 General characteristics of those that serve

Vs. 9-10 Threefold demonstration

Vs. 11 Four characteristics of a deaconesses

Vs. 12-13 Two results of good Service

Introduction

The primary difference between Elders and deacons is that elders guide the ministry in prayer and teaching the word whereas the deacons guide the church in the physical functioning of the fellowship. Things such as administration, distribution and other general areas of need within the local church. Two weeks ago we looked at the structure of the church with the characteristics and qualities of an elder. Today we look at the same two aspects of a person who is a deacon or what makes a deacon “deek”. Some have noted that Biblical maturity happens when the believer takes off the bib and puts on the apron. But even those that serve need to be reminded to grow. There once was a deacon who was fond of praying, “Lord God help me clean out the cobwebs of my life!” Week after week, year after year he prayed the same prayer until one fella couldn’t take it anymore and stood up and said, “Lord don’t do it, don’t just clean out the cobwebs, KILL that darn spider!” Saints, I pray that as we study this area on church leadership we take the

Vs. 8 General characteristics of those that serve

Vs. 8 There are two striking differences in the church between elders and deacons:

The absence of gender with regards to deacons: In chapter 3 verse 1 Paul had written to Timothy that “If a MAN desires the position of an elder, HE desires a good work.” But right off the bat we notice the position of a deacon is not gender specific as Paul writes, “Likewise deacons must be reverent…” The likewise is not linked to the gender of the male elders but rather to the godly characteristics and qualities.
Their beginnings in Acts chapter 6: There arose over a dispute over the distribution of goods to the needy Greek speaking the Hebrew speaking Jews. It seems that some of the Greek speaking Jews felt that the distribution was not equable between these two groups and that the Hebrew speaking Jews were getting more of the benevolence. At first the apostles tried to handle this but it became too time consuming as they began to neglect the prayer and teaching of the word to (as they put it) wait on tables. God used adversity to establish leadership.

In Acts chapter 6 verse 3 the apostles list three qualifications all deacons MUST have:

Good reputation: Their character must be in full view of the congregation. You can see why when you know of the conflict between the two sides. What interests me is that of the 7 men chosen all of them have Greek names suggesting that they were all Greek speaking Jews. Yet apparently they were so well respected that none of the Hebrew speaking Jews felt slighted by their promotion.
Full of the Holy Spirit: The reason these 7 men were accepted by both sides has everything to do with them being “full of the Holy Spirit”. You cannot behave in the flesh if you are “full of the Holy Spirit”, you cannot carry your prejudices forward if you are “full of the Holy Spirit”. No one saw these 7 as Greek or Hebrew speaking; they saw them only as those who spoke and acted consistently in the heart and mind of Christ.
Full of wisdom: They were to display the gift of wisdom. The difference between wisdom and knowledge is:

Knowledge is the accumulation of truth
Wisdom is the application of truth

We are not to be just collectors of truth, we are instead to be possessors of truth putting it into practice every day.

Four personal qualifications:

Reverent: Just like the quality in elders above they are to be “doers” as well as “dreamers”. A deacon by their very nature is a person who “completes tasks”. There are many folks today that have great vision but just never seem to complete a thing instead they just move from one dream to another and seem to be more excited about the dream than they are in seeing it get finished.
Not double-tongued: The meaning of the word is saying one thing and doing another. A man who speaks the truth the first time, with no intent to deceive. Deacons are people who are believable, straight shooters and not into saying different things to different people just to gain favor.
Not given to much wine: This is the same word that was applied to elders in verse 3 and doesn’t mean that they are never to drink intoxicating substances, but that they are “Never to Get Drunk”. I have met Christians over the years who have said to me that either publicly or privately that they like to “Take the edge off” as they differentiate between fallen down drunk and tipsy. The Bible doesn’t draw that difference as Paul says in Ephesians 5: 18 that we are not to be “drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit”. If you are truly interested in “taking the edge off” I’d suggest you try the Holy Spirit instead of distilled spirits as intoxicating drink has never taken any edge off but sure has added a few!
Not greedy for money: They are not to be materialistic, a person whose values are influenced by opportunities for personal gain. It’s a tragic truth that you can see this even in God’s church where people miss use the funds that the Lord has laid upon the hearts of His people to give to go to work for His glory. Those that handle the finances need to be people who are “not greedy for money”.

Vs. 9-10 Threefold demonstration

Vs. 9-10 Three things that they have to have demonstrated among the body of Christ.

Holding the mystery of the faith: A “mystery” in the bible is not something that is mysterious and past our understanding but rather something that was beyond our understanding but is now understandable because of the Spirit of God working through the Word of God. A deacon must be a person who can communicate the simple truths of the Bible simply! Elders are called upon to “teach” the Word of God whereas deacons are to “hold” the Word of God.
With a clear conscience: This phrase means that they are to practice what they preach with regards to the truths of God’s word. Deacons may not be called on to teach the Word regularly but they are called to live out what they believe daily.
Let these also first be tested: The word implies time as well as observation in which they have a measurable record of dependability, willingness and loyalty in serving Christ and His people. There is no shortage of biblical illustrations to observe: First a servant, then a ruler!

Joseph served 13 years before he became 2nd ruler in the land of Egypt.
Moses cared for sheep for 40 years before God called him.
Joshua also spent better than 40 years before he led the nation of Israel after Moses. David spent years tending his father’s sheep then was hunted by Saul for another 15 years before he realized the throne.
Paul was making tents for 14 years.

Vs. 11 Four characteristics of a deaconesses

Vs. 11 Paul now moves to deaconesses as he addresses four personal qualifications for women who serve. In verse 11 the word “their” is italicized which can mean by the use of the word that it is a reference to the wife of a deacon but I believe that because of the above passage in verse 2 that this verse isn’t about the deacon’s wife but rather about the women that serves. In Romans 16 we read of a deaconess named Phoebe who served at the port city near Corinth, so clearly the early church had women who served in this capacity. These women have four things that should characterize their lives before they serve:

Reverent: Just like their male counterparts women deacons must be task completers. Vision is a wonderful thing but nothing will get completed if all a person has is vision.
Not Slanderers: The word used is diablos and in Titus 2:3 in older translations is “she-devils”. Apparently while men in Ephesus were more prone to being double tongued (saying one thing and doing another) the women were more prone to gossip and slander. Scientific studies indicate that on average women have 7000 more words a day than do men and Paul is saying that those that serve as deacons need to make sure that they use those words to build others up not tear others down!
Temperate: This word can refer specifically to a woman’s alcohol consumption but it is a general word that includes all habits. Women deacons ought to live in a way that doesn’t indulge the things of this life, be that eating, shopping, working etc.
Faithful in all things: They are to be “trustworthy” and faithful individuals who when given something to do will see it to completion. Paul will conclude speaking to both men and women deacons in verse 13 that those that serve with these traits “obtain a good standing and great boldness in the faith…” In other words when a servant is faithful in the little things God will grant them greater opportunities.

Vs. 12-13 Two results of good service

Vs. 12-13 Paul closes with a general word of instruction to both male and female deacons.

The first admonishment is clearly addressed to the male, married deacon and like the elder above they are to be a “one woman man” this of course in not insisting that they be married or that they have never divorced as Paul had both of those situations. Rather this is a statement that says that they are to have eyes for only their wife!
Furthermore they are to manage their homes and their children well. It doesn’t mean that they never have any problems, only that they know how to handle those problems when they arise. I have found that you can best view how a person is going to lead others by examining how they live their home life.

Paul concludes with two results when the service of a deacon is done the right way:

Obtain a good standing: First it will cause a sense of appreciation on the part of those they serve. Those they serve will appreciate their service and often tell them what it means to them or take them out to lunch. These 80 or so folks are not paid here on earth for their service. Their reward is laid up in heaven but it is nice for them to hear a thank you from time to time to encourage them.
Great boldness in the faith: Paul says that Christ will give you even more boldness and greater desire to share His love with others. Isn’t that great that service produces greater opportunities? Saints, the healthiest thing you can do for your spiritual life and wellbeing is get involved and serve others. If you want to experience more joy, more peace and boldness then get involved.

1 Timothy Ch. 3

The Church and its members

“A case of spiritual amnesia”

Vs. 14 Important words

Vs. 15 Three phrases that describe the Church

Introduction

An Oxford atheist professor in a debate said, “It doesn’t really matter whether a person has a belief system that is biblical or godly. The important thing is that they believe in something.” To which the believer he was debating replied, “Imagine, Professor, that you’re in downtown Los Angeles and it’s 2 AM and your car breaks down. You get out and hear footsteps, you turn to see 10 big young men walking towards you.

Would it make a difference if you knew that they had just come from a Bible study?” This last Sunday “60 Minutes” aired the story of Nicholas Winton, a 104 year old man and former London stock broker, who at the age of 29 in 1938 began a mission to save Jewish Children from death in Prague Czechoslovakia. Over a few months he was able to get 669 children out of certain death back to England just before Hitler invaded. One of the saved children wrote a book on his act calling it,

“The Power of Good”. Those grown children gave him a ring with an engraved inscription from the Talmud that says, “Save one life, save the world.” Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer once said, “The greatest creativity ever given is the ability of men, by their choices, to change the course of history.” Saints, that is why God in His wisdom has given His Church His creativity to engage in “The Power to do Good” to “Save one life” and by doing that we have the power to change the world!

Vs. 14 Important words

Vs. 14 Ephesus was the 2nd largest city in the Roman Empire, a center of commerce, culture and beauty. It boasted in its most prominent feature, “The Temple of Diana” which was dedicated to the worship of sex. I suppose that the Ephesus of America would be Hollywood or Las Vegas. Paul had sent Timothy to this church to keep them on track so that they would not lose focus of what their mission was. To date in this letter Paul has written to Timothy about making sure that he continues to teach the importance of Jesus and not allow others to teach things that would get them off tract. Timothy was given careful instructions on prayer, praise and the proclamation of the word of God. He was given practical guidelines on identifying the characteristics of leaders who the Holy Spirit is raising up.

But here the letter takes a turn and clearly Paul thought that what he was about to write to Timothy was of utmost importance as he couldn’t risk that this information waiting upon his hopeful arrival, he needed to make sure that Timothy and the church he pastor had this information immediately! What could be so important for the Church to know that it couldn’t wait? They needed to know who they were! One of the difficulties facing the church in Ephesus apparently is the same one facing the modern evangelical Church in America “A Loss of Identity” or simply spiritual amnesia where we have forgotten who we are in Christ. So Paul lists three truths with regards to who the church is.

Vs. 15 Three phrases that describe the Church

Vs. 15 Paul uses three very descriptive phrases in telling us what the Church is:

The house of God: The use of this phrase is deliberate on Paul’s part as he could have said “Tabernacle” or “Temple” but he doesn’t instead he calls the church the “House of God”. The use of this phrase causes the reader to think of family, intimacy and warmth. We have become so accustomed to think of the Church as a building instead of a family. This isn’t something new as Solomon fought this same concept on the day he dedicated the temple he prayed in 1 Kings 8:27 “The heaven and heavens of heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that we have built.” If the “House of God” is not the Church building then what is?

Well according to Hebrews 3:6 we Christians are the dwelling place of God … .Saints, God doesn’t inhabit cold buildings He inhabits His people. That’s why Jesus said wherever there are two or three gathered together in My name there I AM in their midst. If that doesn’t excite you then you probably ought to check your pulse. The view of the Church as the house of God not only is the view of a family but it also reveals to our heart that God is a loving Father who lives with us as our close friend.

The Church of the Living God: In the Greek this word “Church” was used to describe political assemblies where business was transacted by qualified citizens. The word is used 100 times in the New Testament but always to identify the local church as “called out one”. “Called out ones” describes us being called out of our former life but that isn’t all we are as Paul puts that word together with what we are called into, “the living God”. He wrote this to Timothy in close proximity to the famed temple to Diana where they worship a multi breasted meteorite that had fallen from the sky as an idol. They built this elaborate building that was one of the ancient wonders of the world around a weird looking rock and worshiped it. Now before we look down on the ancient world for their worship of an odd shaped meteorite that came from the heavens there are folks today that worship people they call Rock Stars and some of them are pretty weird looking as well. In contrast to the lifeless idols Paul says the Church is intimately connected to the LIVING GOD apart from which the world would not function as everything and everyone draws its life and vitality from what He has created.

When Paul had come into Athens, that great intellectual city of the Greeks, he noticed idols to everything imaginable in fact he even saw an idol with the inscription “To the Unknown God”. He took that opportunity to make known the God they declared they didn’t know and even quoted a Greek poet who said of God, “In Him we live and move and have our being.” Every living creature draws its breath by the grace of God; saints, that’s the God we know and are a part of relationally.

God has committed Himself to us and is so confident in His finished work in us that He has only us to use to reach those who as of yet have no relationship with Him. Every Church that gathers in His name and every Christian has at their disposal a power that is completely self-sustaining and is waiting to be released upon the hearts of humanity to transform lives.

Oh how we the church have forgotten our resources and free access to the Holy Spirit through prayer. The Church of the Living God is anything but boring and dull. It’s combustible waiting to power up that which God in His wisdom has released us to empower. The book of Acts is proof of its power that cannot be harnessed to accomplish what we want; it can be led by the Spirit to accomplish what He wants.

The pillar and ground of truth: These are architectural terms that remind us of our foundation as well as structure. We are built upon the Rock of truth Jesus Christ of which Jesus said nothing could ever dislodge us from. The problem of lack of effectiveness within the church today is that we have forgotten or never knew just who we are in Christ. We know this because we try to subdue the world with the weapons of the world: Fame, money, technology and public relations. But the Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God….” Paul uses two dramatic words to describe us: “Pillar of truth” and “Ground of truth”. Both those words describe the primary way in which we are to function in this fallen world, TRUTH;

Pillar of truth: Pillars in the ancient world were several feet thick and used to support structures that were built upon them. But pillars were also used in ancient or biblical times to fasten public edicts upon where they would be in full view of all. The church isn’t the foundation of truth but it has been placed upon that Truth it is the pillar because it holds up the truth for all to see. The Church is like a pharmacy in that we dispense that which enables folks that are broken to live life as they were intended to whole and healthy, full of life and joy! Go back in every generation and examine the world’s great learning institutions, observe the folks who have studied at those universities and examine their lives and you will see that even with those degrees they still have the same problems they always had prior to their education. Ah but go back and study those same generations of folks who have sat at the feet of Jesus, walked with Him throughout their lives and see that they live victoriously not bound by that which defeats the rest of society. It is as the “Pillar of truth” that we boldly proclaim to a lost world that there is an alternative to the confusion they are living.
Ground of truth: Not only are we to proclaim and live out that which we can live the rest of life on, we are to proclaim the foundation which is Jesus. There is a sense that the church in America is stuck in a dichotomy: In one sense we are the most educated church the world has ever seen but at the same time it is the most biblically illiterate Church the world has ever seen.

The reason for this is that the Church only intellectually knows but doesn’t believe what it knows. Some of the reason for this is that it isn’t being taught as people are being given truth but they don’t know how it connects to the Word of God. People are also given information without any real conviction for application and it is application that through the Holy Spirit will lead to personal transformation!

That is why Paul wanted Timothy to remind these Ephesian believers who they were in Christ so that they would see their mission as believers with changed lives taking the message of Christ into the world. Wherever you have God’s people, you have the Church and whatever those Christians are doing is the work of the Church. Saints we have been sent into the world to change the course of history, to make a difference in one life at a time starting with our own. That will be the focus of Paul next talk with us the “Mystery of godliness” the inner working of personal change!

1 Timothy ch. 3

The Church and its members

“Living whole in a fractured world”

Vs. 16a The truth about Humpty Dumpty

Vs. 16b Three secret truths

Introduction

Last week we focused our attention upon Paul’s threefold description of the church:

House of God: We are the family of God
Church of the living God: We are called out of the world and called into living God
Pillar and ground of truth: We are in the business by our lives and words of tearing down the illusions that people are being deceived by.

In that description we learned the amazing truths of who we are in Christ and the possibilities that we now have to change the course of history one soul at a time. There is one sole reason why this is a reality,…..are you ready for this? GOD DWELLS AMONG HIS PEOPLE! His church is made of ordinary people like you and me as His channels to release the power and life among this world. Furthermore God is so confident of this that He has no other plan. This morning our focus is upon one single verse that most believe was an early church hymn that was sung as a confession of faith. This one verse is “THE TRUTH” that everything else is built upon it is the pillar and ground that Paul spoke about in verse 15. With Jesus we can forget the manuals on how to do things better because we have Emmanuel who has transformed us.

Vs. 16a The truth about Humpty Dumpty

Paul frames this with the words, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:” When Paul describes this as a great “mystery” he doesn’t mean that what he is about to say is impossible to figure out instead he means that what he is about to reveal is THE significant truth and that there is nothing more important than this. The fact that this truth was sung by believers causes us to realize that to those who are not believers in Christ this still is a secret. We need only to look at our own lives to see what this revealed secret has done, a sort of before and after of our life experience.

Before: We were plagued with the same “death, disease, despair and disillusionment” that every other human experienced. We tried to fill the holes of our life with any and everything (good, bad or indifferent) that would give us a moment’s rest from the awfulness of the life we experienced. But all we saw is a graveyard of ideas and ideals, people’s attempts to escape the inevitable. Hegel the German philosopher described this groping as, “History teaches us that history teaches us nothing.” The reason for this is that we are missing pieces of truth about ourselves because we are missing truths about God and our relationship to Him.
After: When we have come to faith in Christ and discovered the mystery Paul describes, victory becomes our way of life. We are more than mere survivors, we are conquerors in Christ. We aren’t numbing our life down to get by, we are stimulated by living a new life. We are no longer satisfied by temporary happiness of escaping things, we are filled with endless joy and peace despite our present circumstance. Life has meaning and purpose and our passion becomes taking as many with us as we can.

Paul also tells what realm this truth is in when he calls it the “mystery of godliness” the actual Greek word does not contain the word for “God” in it and the closest English translation would be “wholeness” William Barclay defined the word by saying that godliness is, “Living in such a way that you are aware of what life requires of you.” In the 70’s we used to say that we need to “Get our lives together” which of course infers that we weren’t together and instead were fractured. Paul is about to reveal THE SECRET of living whole in a fractured world. The simplest explanation to our fractured existence is that we are like Old Humpty Dumpty who had a “Great FALL”. And like Humpty all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again. But what Paul declares here is that what the world’s kings couldn’t do the KING of KING did not by merely putting us back together, He created us a NEW!

Vs. 16b Three secret truths

Vs. 16b The secret to wholeness is not a philosophy, the secret is a Person! And not just any person but God the Son who is revealed in three pairs of contrasting truth that are both visible and invisible.

God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit: What this is saying to us is that Jesus appeared as a man normal in appearance, He entered life as a man as we did. He understood life in this fallen world as we do, hard work, pain, and loss of a loved one, poverty, rejection and suffering were all the experiences that He experienced. Jesus ate and slept and experienced the same bodily functions as we do.

Paul wants us to know that Jesus being “THE SECRET” is to be understood in the application of Him to every situation and limitation that we have. There is no new situation that can come up that some little words will pop up and say, “Sorry this application of Jesus will not work in making your life whole”.

Even though Jesus lived life looking like an ordinary man in a world full of corruption He didn’t affect Him the way it does us, He was never not whole, He always functioned as “perfect man”. When John looked back upon his experiences with the Jesus in this world some 70 years later he wrote in John 1:14 that,

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus had a daily beauty in life through every situation that made the rest of humanity look ugly by comparison. His grace, compassion, love, and mercy are always on display for everyone. That is what Paul means by the phrase “justified in the spirit” as there was a continual witness to the reality that in every situation and circumstance that Jesus faced He always acted “right”. The Father testified to this in three separate occasions:

Matthew 3:17: At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry at His baptism
Matthew 17:5: At the mid-point of His ministry as he was transfigured
John 12:28: Finally at the end of His ministry just before his crucifixion

Jesus always acted in words and deeds as a person perfectly secure in His Father’s love. Jesus passed this acceptance onto us as we are told by Paul in Ephesians 1:6 that we are “accepted in the Beloved”! Jesus earned this designation because He always did right. We have inherited this designation by trusting in Jesus’ work as God the Father sees us in His Son. When the world is rattling our life and we are being persuaded to see ourselves in the eyes of the world Jesus breaks through and reminds us that we belong to Him and are loved in a way that nothing can ever separate us from His love.

Seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles: These are invisible “seen by angels” and visible truths “preached among the Gentiles”. The word “seen” in the Greek is where we get our English word “eyeball”, which tells us that the angels studied Him, He was under their constant observation. They were at His birth, completely amazed at His incarnation having seen Him glorified in heaven. They were there to strengthen Him at the beginning of his ministry during those 40 days and nights of temptation in the wilderness.

They were with Him in the garden of Gethsemane watching as He dropped great drops of blood. They stood watch over His tomb and stood beside His disciples as He ascended into glory. These angels knew His majesty as they worshiped Him, for His power and greatness. But there is one thing they never knew personally: The greatness of His forgiving love. As our sin was placed upon Him who knew no sin they understood something that they had never seen prior the height, depth, breath and length of God’s redeeming love! That is why it is left up to mankind who alone has experienced the love of God to proclaim Jesus. We of all of God’s creation understand what our Creator has done out of love to those who rejected Him. What an amazing privilege it is to tell folks as lost as I was that they can experience His unending love. “There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved”, Save Jesus!

Believed in the world, received up in glory: Not only is applying Jesus to our lives guaranteed to transform us but applying Him will work any time and any place in the world. People have testified from all walks of life, from every geographical location, from every age and from every state of moral decay of the change that has occurred in their life simply because they have trusted in Him

No matter how bad our personal fall and failure, how badly broken and foolish our decisions have been with Jesus there is a 100% certainty of change. That is the power only Jesus has to change lives when we in the world believe upon Him, it’s a miracle that has been happening for thousands of years and those of us who have received Him are a part of that miracle.

When Jesus was here on earth only those who could speak with Him or came near Him could be transformed. If He was in Jerusalem and you were somewhere else and needed Him to change your life you were out of luck. But His Ascension means that He is perfectly able to transform your life everywhere at any time with everyone. We now live life presently in His power that is constantly available to us! Christianity is not a way of doing special things. It is a special way of doing everything. It’s an everyday, moment by moment life He offers us as Ruth Graham placed over her kitchen “Divine service performed here three times daily”.

That’s what Christianity is, Jesus is the secret of life. He is how we live whole in a fractured world! Christianity is not a religion, religion is man’s quest groping, fumbling is search for something that can get through the day. Christianity is about a living person who has made victorious living available for all who will trust Him, He is the great mystery of life that will no longer be a mystery if you simply trust Him.