1 Timothy 3:14-16 - Christ, Our Godliness

In Galatians 5, Paul makes an essential clarification for Christians. Speaking to those who belong to Christ, he describes a inward battle between the flesh and the Spirit,
between the new nature and the sin nature. He says, “these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

The struggle doesn’t mean that you don’t belong to Christ, but it does mean that even as believers, we should be aware of the conflict and rest in Christ alone as our righteousness.

The struggle also means that we don’t always embrace the truth. We read that God’s people – His church – are to be “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” We’re to uphold the truth and live according to it. But who can honestly claim to have always and continually done that?

Only Jesus Christ can make such a claim. He perfectly upheld the truth during life on this earth. In fact, He was and continues to be the very embodiment of truth.

Many things interfere with our desire to uphold the truth. Things like pride, self-protection, people pleasing, fear, comfort-seeking, even exhaustion get in the way. It’s discouraging to say the least. But this is our comfort: Christ upheld the truth in our place.

He entirely wiped away the guilt of sins.

He fully credited us with His righteousness.

And He is the way that we as His church become upholders of the truth.

He is the way to what Paul calls “godliness.” These verses show us how.

Now, there is some common misunderstanding here, and to be honest, even once we understand it, we’re still prone to mishandle it. The key distinction is outlined in these points on page 6 in the WG. Christ defines godliness through His Word and Spirit, but He produces godliness through His person and work.

Yes, we must hear and understand what is true. We must be taught what godliness is. But being told the truth is not enough to cause us to love the truth. Instruction alone can’t make the heart love what is right. Christ must work within us. As He causes us to behold Him and all that He is for sinners, He reshapes our desires. If we miss this distinction, obedience becomes man-centered. But Scripture teaches us to begin by treasuring the Godly One.

Now, these verses mark the end of a long section on instructions for the church. Through chapter 2 and this chapter, Paul expresses many “dos and dont’s” – rules and guidelines communicating God’s will for His church. Notice verse [14] again. Paul says, “I hope to come to you soon.”

He wanted to visit and tell them this information in person. And yet, he adds, “but I am writing these things to you so that, [15] if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God.” In his role as an apostle, Paul functioned like an OT prophet. He announced God’s will to His people. Notice here that God’s will written down is just as good as His will spoken in person. In writing is just as valid as in person.

In 2 Peter 3, the apostle Peter equates Paul’s writings with OT Scripture, and elsewhere, Paul states that Scripture is “breathed out by God.” That’s how God’s Word has been given to His people. Peter says “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

God is love, and He has a will and a plan for us. So doesn’t it follow that in love He would inform us of those things? Yes, and He has. God has revealed His desires and His plans for us. We have them recorded in His trustworthy written Word. But not everyone sees the Scriptures as the true Word of God. Something else is necessary to recognize it as His Word.  Or rather, Someone else is necessary.

The Holy Spirit must illuminate our minds. 1 Corinthians 2 says, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” The Spirit of God must “turn on the lights” in our minds, so to speak, because the human mind is naturally darkened by sin.

So what’s in view here is the written Word of the Lord, given through Paul by the Spirit’s power, as well as the Spirit of the Lord who enables us to understand and receive it.

God is gracious to give us eyes to see, minds to understand, and hearts to receive truth. He’s no respecter of persons. He reveals truth even to those who are weak and lowly, while hiding it from those who are powerful and proud. Feeling your weakness and your need is a good thing.

Now notice that Paul wants them to know “how one ought to behave in the household of God.” Where does God live? Well, He’s omnipresent. He’s everywhere. But He dwells particularly in and with His new-covenant people “which is the church of the living God.” The “church” is the community or public assembly of God’s people. And the one true God is “living” – in contrast with all the false, pagan gods of the ages.

Paul says that God’s household and church is “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” This helps us understand the church’s relationship to the truth. Of course, it’s God’s truth. The church didn’t originate the truth. Rather, the God of truth originated the church. And the church didn’t discover the truth. God revealed the truth to His church. But God has established the church to uphold His truth. That’s the meaning of “pillar and buttress” here.

In construction, pillars and buttresses are means of support. A pillar stands beneath; a buttress comes from the side. God strengthens His church to support His truth. He uses the church to display His truth before men. The church proclaims the truth, even as the Word and Spirit proclaim truth to us. The church defends the truth, even as God defends her.

The truth is under constant attack in the world. Some attacks are obvious; some are more covert. Some attacks come from outside the church; some come from within. Remember, we have a battle going on inside of us. The new self loves the truth; the old self hates the truth.

Some of you need to be assured that this inner struggle is normal Christianity. To enjoy that assurance, linger with and mull over the reality that you died with Christ, our charges are dropped, and therefore you have peace with God forever. The battle rages within you, so that you agree with Paul when He says in Romans 7, “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

But in Christ, your pre-conversion and post-conversion sins are forgiven by Christ. You need to chew on that, so that you might rest in what remains true and unchangeable whether you are able to rest in it or not. I say this because as the inward struggle persists, you may fear that some sinful thought or urge defines who you are – but it doesn’t. If you are in Christ, He defines you. He is your life. You can rest in God’s love for you.

When Paul tells them “how one ought to behave in the household of God,” He’s reiterating that Christ defines godliness for His church, and He does so through His Word and Spirit. Christ tells us what to do and not do, and by His grace and power, we comprehend it. However, that is enough to produce godliness in us.

As I said before, simply being told what is right is not how we experience change. God’s instructions are true and reasonable, but again, we have this inward struggle. This presence of the sinful nature within us is what leads Paul to say – in Romans 8 – that God’s law was weakened by the flesh. God’s law was weakened by the flesh. This means that because of sin, the law can’t produce obedience. Christ defines godliness for us through His Word and Spirit, but more is needed to produce godliness in us.

Look at verse [16]. “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: “We confess” is to say something like “we all agree.” The church agrees concerning the mystery – what was hidden but is now revealed. It’s the revelation “of godliness.”

This relates back to what Paul said in verse 15. This is the revelation of how it’s possible for the church to behave as God desires us to -  the revelation of how it’s possible for us to be the people of God. Paul is about to express what was hidden but is now clearly seen. And these next lines were likely a common confessional statement in the churches.

Think of something like the Doxology, for example. The Doxology is not a quote from the Bible. Thomas Ken, a minister in the church of England, wrote the Doxology around 1674. You might think, “Wait, didn’t Paul already reveal godliness to us in chapters 2 and 3?” Yes – but how can sinners do the things he said? How can our desires change so that we uphold the truth?

Something was hidden but has now appeared to enable the church to uphold the truth. Paul says it over in Titus 2. He writes, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”

It was Christ who appeared and brought salvation, wasn’t it? The grace of God appeared in the living person and the saving work of Christ. As we think carefully about Him, He works powerfully in us.

And so Paul describes the person and work of Christ in detail here. Notice, “He was manifested in the flesh.” This is the incarnation of Christ. He took on a human body and nature. His pre-existence is implied. So, He was God the Son from eternity past. Then He became man.

Next, He was “vindicated by the Spirit.” This refers to His resurrection. Christ was crucified and seemingly cursed, but His resurrection from the dead proved that He was truly the Christ. He had been mocked and called a liar. His death seemed to prove that He was a fake. But His resurrection proved He was from heaven.

Also, He was “seen by angels.” His work encompassed both the spiritual and physical realms. Even angels in heaven observed the effects of His great work.

And He was “proclaimed among the nations.” This refers to the preaching of Christ, to evangelism and the Great Commission. His gospel was spread and continues to be.

Also, Christ was “believed on in the world.” More and more people have trusted Him. And He was “taken up in glory.” Christ ascended to heaven and He rules from there, where He is seated in glory. Therefore, we know for certain that the work of the church will succeed.

All of this is “the mystery of godliness.” Dr. John MacArthur explains this well. He states that this mystery “refers to the truths of salvation and righteousness in Christ, which produce holiness in believers.” True godliness flows from Christ. Therefore we must depend on Him and not ourselves.

In Isaiah 30, God told His people, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” This doesn’t mean that we must become monks or nuns or that stop all activity to pray and meditate all day long. But it does mean that must intentionally and continually turn the eyes of our hearts to Him served and saved us. Christ is the mystery now revealed. He is godliness and truth in person.
 
Did you notice the word “surety” in the first song we sang this morning? “Before the throne my Surety stands.” There’s a note explaining that in the margin. Surety” means “a person who takes responsibility for another's performance of an undertaking, for example their appearing in court or the payment of a debt.” If you have trusted in Christ, He is your Surety.

Do you feel like your performance is never enough? Christ took responsibility for you, and performed perfectly. Do you struggle with guilty fears? Christ was the bleeding sacrifice who appeared on your behalf.

Through His Word and Spirit, Christ has defined godliness for us. He has told us what it is and how it looks. All of His Word, OT and NT does that. But through His very person and work, Christ produces that godliness in us.

To be clear, the Spirit is at work in the producing as well. And yes, we must take steps in obedience. But like Paul, we do so “with all [Christ’s] energy that He powerfully works within” us. Paul literally says there, “with all [Christ’s] working that He powerfully works within” us. He works in us as we look to Him, the author and perfecter of our faith. The one who brought us to God!

We naturally think of Christ the way we think about a GPS app. The GPS shows us the route. It tells us exactly where to turn. But the GPS doesn’t take us to the destination. You can have flawless directions and still be sitting in your driveway. Why?

Because directions aren’t enough. We also need an engine. We need the power that actually moves the car. And many Christians misunderstand the Lord, assuming that after He saves us, He simply points out the road. They think He saved us and now we make this thing go with His direction.

Yes, He tells us what humility, purity, self-control, and faithfulness looks like. But He hasn’t merely handed us the direction. He supplies the engine by His living power at work within us. Through His Word and Spirit He defines godliness for us, and through that same Spirit, as we look to Him in faith, He produces the very godliness He commands.

This is important to understand as we go to His table. Godliness is not first a matter of getting better instructions. It’s a matter of deeper dependence upon the living Christ. At His table, we see that He hasn’t just give us directions – He’s given us Himself.

Will you believe on Him now, admin your sin and need, and trust in Him?

Let’s bow in prayer.