“And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.”
We come to the end of Chapter 3, and of the first half of Paul’s letter to Timothy with an early Christian song or hymn. It expresses six truths about Christ. We will explore each one but first let’s look at the song itself. While one of the commentators I read described the verse as a poem Paul wrote, most described it as an early creed. Michael Eaton, in The Branch Exposition of the Bible; A Preacher’s Commentary of the New Testament puts it this way:
“This is obviously a song. It was a kind of creed or confession of faith sang by the early Christians. Like many creeds it has the word ‘who’ in a very prominent position at the front of the song. We may compare Philippians 2:6 (‘Who being in the form of God). This song seems to have three two-line verses in it. In Greek each line ends with the same sound.”
Paul starts this way. “And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great…” The ESV translates it this way. “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness…” What is this mystery? That God himself would take on human form.
The first truth that the creed expresses is that He was manifested in the flesh. The notes in my CSB study Bible say that in some manuscripts, the ‘He” reads God. God was manifested in the flesh. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines ‘manifest’ as “to make evident or certain by showing or displaying.” God showed Himself in the flesh. That is the first truth. Jesus is God in the flesh. John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Next, He was vindicated in the Spirit. Again, I looked at Merriam Webster for a definition. The definition given for vindicate is this: “1) to free from allegation or blame: to show someone is not guilty; 2) confirm, substantiate; 3) to provide justification or defense for.” So what does it mean that He was vindicated in the spirit? It means He was shown to be the Son of God when He was raised from the dead. We can look at two passages in Romans for this. Romans 1:3-4 says, “…concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh and was appointed to be the powerful Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead.” In Romans 8:11, we read, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.”
The third truth is “seen by angels.” Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19) and angels, authorities, and powers are subject to Him (1 Peter 3: 22). Another early song found in Philippians 2 ends with this. “For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—
in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (vv. 9-11). And lastly, Hebrews 1:6 reads, “Again, when he brings his firstborn into the world, he says, And let all God’s angels worship him.”
Fourthly, He was proclaimed among the nations. Some versions say that He was proclaimed among the Gentiles. Even from the beginning, the Gentiles (non-Jews) were part of God’s redemptive plan. As early as in Genesis, we see this. In God’s blessing of Abraham we read, “I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the city gates of their enemies. And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed my command” (Genesis 22:17-18). Later, in Galatians, Paul writes that just as Peter has been entrusted with the gospel to the Jews, he has been entrusted to preach the gospel to the Gentiles (Galatians 2:7-8).
The fifth truth is “believed on in the world.” As the gospel was preached, people believed. The gospel message originally spread due to persecution. It was due to the persecution of the early church that they were forced to flee. Gotquestions.org says, “As a result of the persecution, many of the early Christians were scattered throughout the Roman Empire, expediting the cause of evangelism and fulfilling the Lord’s commands to make disciples of all nations.” In the introduction to Peter’s first letter, we can see where some of these early Christians lived: Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Thomas Hale writes in The Applied New Testament Commentary, “This Jesus- a Jewish carpenter, executed as a criminal- has been made known throughout the world. Men and women from every nation on earth have believed in Him. He is the savior of all people of every age.”
Lastly, he is taken up in glory. Mark 16:19 reads, “So the Lord Jesus, after speaking to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.” We read in Ephesians, “He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens— far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (1:20-21).
These six truths show three things. First, He was revealed. When he was manifested in the flesh, He was revealed as the Son of God. When He was vindicated in the Spirit, He was more fully revealed as the Son of God. Secondly, He was recognized. He was seen by angels, who are subject to Him. He was preached throughout the world to both Jews and Gentiles. And thirdly, He was received. Many throughout the world and throughout history have believed Him. And He was taken up into glory.
This ends the first half of Paul’s letter to Timothy. Andreas J. Köstenberger describes it as “both the high point and the turning point of the letter.” The next section will be advice for Timothy including warnings about apostasy. These are warnings that are still so valid today!
Grace be with you!
Abundant Joy 