1 Timothy 3:16

Well good morning, Saylorville! If you brought a copy of scripture with you this morning, you can find first Timothy chapter three if you would. First Timothy chapter three.

So I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and you got all those started up with all the Christmas decorations, have you? You know I’m a big Thanksgiving guy. Around our house it’s very important to me that we don’t do anything Christmas until Thanksgiving is passed. That’s right! And I let my wife know that three weeks ago. And she promptly started putting up the Christmas stuff right away.

We are talking about veiled Jesus. We are in the midst of a series in the book of Revelation, which is titled Unveiled, which is what the word “Revelation” means, “to be unveiled.” Jesus Christ, in all of His second coming glory, is unveiled in the book of Revelation. But now as we center in on Christmas, we just flip that around. Jesus is veiled. So at His first coming … His second coming, His glory is revealed. In His first coming, His glory was concealed, so to speak. And my favorite line in all of the Christmas hymns is the following,

“Veiled in flesh the Godhead see; Hail the incarnate Deity…” Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

That’s chocked full of Truth! When we talk about something that’s incarnate, to be “incarnate” means literally means “in flesh.” So in the “incarnation,” we are talking about “God coming in flesh.” And first Timothy chapter three and verse 16 is the earliest… scholars would say, this is the earliest Christian hymn of all time, right here. This is what the early church would have sung, recited, chanted in some way, some way shape or form the words in this verse. And it’s a theology, albeit concise, of Jesus Christ. There are three couplets in this of flesh and spirit, of angels and humanity, and the world and that which is to come. So let’s look at the text, shall we? It says,

1 Timothy 3:16, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He (some of your Bible say, “God”) was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.“

In 1739, Charles Wesley, wrote a hymn for the ages. It was one of 6,000 plus poems or hymns that he actually wrote. And the one that I have in mind was so cross-denominationally loved, I remember singing it as a Roman Catholic boy at midnight mass, which was at, well, at midnight on Christmas Eve. And the goal, by the way, that Wesley had when he wrote these hymns, the goal he had was to teach the poor, and often the poor were also illiterate… sound doctrine. And his brother, much better known brother, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, once said that Charles, his brother, Charles’s, hymnal was the best theological book in existence. And it may very well have been in those days. Charles, who wrote the hymn that’s on my mind, also wrote other great hymns many of you know and you could actually quote much of those hymns. He actually, in one of those hymns, wrote his own personal story, his own personal experience, his own personal testimony, embedded it right into the hymn. And many of you probably didn’t know that. I’m thinking of the third stanza of the hymn “And Can It Be?” Here’s how it goes.

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay,

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;”

(He’s describing our lives, your lives, many of your lives outside of Jesus. You’re like a blind man in a dark room looking for a black cat that’s not there. And that’s what he’s saying here.)

“Thine, (this is God’s eyes) Thine, eye defused a quick’ning ray — (I love that!)

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;”

(It’s like this is the proverbial, spiritual, theological, salvific [of or relating to redemptive power] ‘aha’ moment where ‘I get it! It makes sense! I want to trust Jesus!’ That’s what he’s saying here.)

“My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

(You can just sing it, can’t you?)

“Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me?”

“And Can It Be?” By Charles Wesley

Now, the only hymn that I love more than that one, that gives his own personal testimony and, I think, the crown jewel of all of his theology of hymns is “Hark!,”

“Hark! the herald angels sing,

“Glory to the newborn king…” (Here’s how the second stanza, how he writes the second stanza, and you’ll be singing this in your mind)

“Christ, by highest heaven adored,

Christ, the everlasting Lord,

late in time behold Him come,

offspring of the Virgin’s womb: (And then, what I shared with you earlier)

veiled in flesh the Godhead (what?) see;

hail the incarnate Deity,

pleased as man with men to dwell,

Jesus, our Immanuel. (God with us)

Hark! the herald angels sing,

“Glory to the newborn King!”  “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” By Charles Wesley

We are talking this morning as we begin this Christmas series, “Veiled,” of the Incarnation, the In-flesh-ness of God, Christ with us, God with us.

Now prior to His incarnation, Jesus dwelt amongst the triune, the Trinity; God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit. Now listen to this. He dwelt amongst the Trinity without flesh. Did you catch that? He was God, but not with flesh. When He created the world… and He did create the world. You knew that, right?

John 1:1-4

1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

And in John 1:14

14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, (or as one writer put it, moved into our neighborhood) and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father…“

So when Jesus was in eternity past, He was with our triune God in perfect love and fellowship without flesh. When He made the world and everything within it in the universe, He did so, and He did so… not in flesh. He was God, but not God – Man. The miracle of the incarnation is Jesus, very God of very God, becoming human! And this is something we should, in all of our finite-ness, attempt to wrap our minds and hearts around in worship, so that our theology becomes doxology, and so that we are become real worshipers.

So the contemplation of that truth of the incarnation is what prompted me to write about 25 years ago one of the most controversial statements I’ve ever written. (congregation laughing) Here it is.

At his incarnation, Jesus did not become less than God. He became more than God!

Pat Nemmers

And this just throws people into a tizzy every time! ‘What do you mean more than God?’ Here’s the clarification. By “more,” I don’t mean “greater than.” That’s not possible! I mean “in addition to.”

So think deeply with me. I just quoted it to you. Now I’m going to put it up there for you. When John talks about Jesus being the Word, “the Word was with God and the word was God,” and then he says the verse 14 of John 1, “And the Word, (what?) became flesh and dwell among us.” The word “became” is the Greek word, “ginomai.” It literally means it literally means “to come into being.” Just think about that for a moment. Let that blow your mind! It means “to come into being.” ‘Now wait a minute! What came into being?’ Not Jesus! Jesus is very God of God! Jesus is the eternal God! Jesus always has been! Not Jesus as God… in fact, Paul writes in Philippians… (and I’m just gonna pull it up here real quick) In Philippians chapter two, he says this;

Philippians 2:5-6

5 “Have this mind among you, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form (the very nature) of God,” (Have you ever read that?) “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped…”

In fact, that’s the only time that word is ever used in the New Testament, the word “grasped.” It literally means “to seize,” “to snatch,” “to rob,” “to take that which is not in your possession.” Notice what it says, “did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped.” You don’t have to grab something you already hold! Amen? You don’t have to grab something you already possess. You don’t have to grasp or grovel or grope for something that… you grasp, you grovel, you grope for that which is not in your possession! But Jesus was already God! Amen? Already God! — So powerfully and poetically written by Paul. No! What became at His incarnation was Jesus, the God-Man!

An unknown writer during probably the second or third century, don’t know for sure, in the very early church, penned these powerful words as if coming from Jesus Himself, and I love it! Here’s what he wrote.

“I am who I was— God. I became who I was not — Man. I am now both — God and Man.” Unknown

We worship the God – Man! Amen? — Jesus Christ! Now theologians call this “the Hypostatic Union.” How’s that? — hypostatic, (now we’re gonna have a test next week on this) (congregation laughing) but the hypostatic union basically says in essence that you have undiminished deity, that is God who doesn’t lose anything of God-ness, and full humanity united together as one forever! And that happened in a point in time, which makes Christmas so powerful, so beautiful, so full of our adoration and deservedly so, amen?

Now to the text, 1 Timothy chapter three, verse 16. Notice what he says.

1 Timothy 3:16

“Great (Mega. That’s the word we get our word mega. Mega) indeed, we confess (that word “confess” if you have a New American Standard bible is translated… it’s the only time this word’s ever found in New Testament as well. It means by common confession. So what Paul is saying to Timothy is in that first century, and this is probably around 60 to 65 AD, even then what he is about to write is what the church common embraced. This theology in verse 16 is a Christology. It’s what we believe about Jesus and it was in common in that era. That’s the idea here. He says) “Great… we confess is the mystery…” (Now that’s a word that means “something that was formerly concealed, now revealed.” And when you think about it, the incarnation of Jesus which the virgin conception and the eventual virgin birth of Jesus, is sort of found in the Old Testament, but it’s not exactly in neon lights. Right? You see it there in

Genesis 3:15, where after Adam and Eve sin, the promise is that the salvation will come through the seed of the woman. Well, last I checked, women don’t have seed. So you have this veiled allusion to the virgin conception of Jesus. But it’s much clearer many years later when Isaiah writes,

Isaiah 7:14b, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call His name Immanuel.” (“God with us”)

So it’s there, but sort of veiled. But it’s a mystery of godliness. You see, and this is sort of throws people off. This is the mystery of godliness. ‘What? The mystery of God? I thought the mystery of godliness was with Joel Osteen, my best ‘like’ now.’ No! No! It’s right here. As Ligon Duncan wrote, the mystery is,

“The mystery isn’t godliness. Godliness is based on the mystery. And the mystery is not what, but Who.” Ligon Duncan

… Jesus Christ. Here it is. And there it is, the next line. God was manifested in the flesh! Hallelujah! This is amazing! Again, John 1:14,

John 1:14, (The Word “became, “ginomai,” “came into being”) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.”

He’s vindicated by the Spirit. So you’d have to go to Romans 1:4,

Romans 1:4, [“… and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by His resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord…”]

… where we’re told that the Holy Spirit affirmed, vindicated Jesus in the power of his resurrection, affirmed everything Jesus claimed to be to be true, vindicated by the Spirit.

We saw that as well in His baptism where the Spirit comes down like a dove upon Him. Right? Seen by angels… that’s got Christmas written all over it! Doesn’t it? Seen by angels… and by the way, the angels remember, they’re not little gods, they’re not omniscient. They’re not, they’re not, they’re not even omnipotent, though they’re very powerful! In first Peter chapter one and verse 12, Peter tells us,

[1 Peter 1:12, “It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.“]

… God reveals through Peter rather, that the angels still look with inquiry. They look with a kind of a query with this almost incredulous element to them. It’d be a holy incredulous, but it’s like, ‘What in the world?’ They look into what God is doing to save people. I mean, angels never got a plan of salvation, but we did! And He was seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations. That’s still going on! Amen? It was going on then! It’s going on now! We just raised a pile of money so that we could implement this new, “send initiative” to send you to the uttermost parts of the earth! That’s what we’re doing. That is our call, to go tell it on the mountain! Right? “… believe on in the world…” I love this! — because with every confession of faith… I sat down with a couple, just a couple of weeks ago, who cried out to God who repented of their sin, (just like some of you need to this morning) they placed their faith in Jesus, and this verse was affirmed again! And every time someone places their faith in Jesus, this verse is affirmed. He’s believed on in the world, …

[1 Timothy 3:16, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

proclaimed among the nations,

believed on in the world,] taken up into glory.”

[Acts 1:9, “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.“]

You know what that refers to? After Christ had lived, died, rose again, presented Himself for a month and a half alive, He’s with His disciples. He’s teaching them about the kingdom.

[Acts 1:7] He tells them ‘It’s not for you to know the time. You’re gonna be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria… to the uttermost parts of the earth.’ [Acts 1:8] And as He says that, He just starts ascending before them! They’re just staring up and this angel stands nearby and says, ‘Why are you staring? This same Jesus who you see going up in the clouds will come again… in like manner! He is coming!’ [Acts 1:10-11]  And the only question is, do you believe this? Do you believe this?

Last week, I had two wonderful opportunities with some new friends to talk with two very interested individuals, seekers, both of them are seekers. The difference between the two was that one was a seeker of Truth… very knowledgeable, very… just taking in knowledge like a sponge, but genuinely seeking the Truth. The other was a seeker of knowledge, and he’s still there. In fact, as we went back and forth on some of these very passionate Truths about Jesus’ incarnation, he continually, my one friend, continually pointed me back to myths, the Greek gods and such, what’s in a lot of the antiquity of places like Egypt, and where there are semblances of gods coming and dying and being raised. It was his attempt to make Jesus out to be just another god among other gods. And so in the midst of it all, I asked him, I said, “Did any of those gods make the claims Jesus made, and then back them up with an impeccable life that Jesus lived?” And this really kind of put him back, because he’s all about knowledge. He’s not so much about character. And Jesus, the fact that Jesus became God is a biblical theological, actual fact, but with it, He was a perfect man! He never capitulated to sin, though tempted in every way like you and me. I said, “Did your gods claim an impeccable life?” — because most of them don’t, and then I said, “How many of them died for their very own creation?” And he literally reared back. And I’m really excited about the continual conversation with them, but he’s a seeker of knowledge and not a seeker of truth.

So with this theology we’re seeing here in First Timothy, all I want you to do is look at that first line. “God was manifested in the flesh.” [1 Timothy 3:16b] The word “manifested” is the word, “phaneroo.” It’s a Greek word which basically means “to hold up to a light,” “to make it visible” so you can see it, which is what we do and we wanna see something. Right? — up close. I remember, as I was thinking about God manifested in the flesh. I remember a story I read a hundred years ago, and many of you probably heard it as well, but it… true story… apparently. This little girl… in a Christian home, it was the middle of a violent storm, lightning thunder of the house was shaking! — and she ran out of her bedroom, ran into her parents’ room, and dove into the bed and just clung to her Dad! And, you know, it woke him up and, you know, “What’s wrong, honey?” “I’m so afraid of the storm!” — And he goes, “I know, honey, I know, I know. But remember, God is with you.” And she says, “I know, Daddy, but right now, I just need somebody with skin on him!”

Jesus Christ put the skin on for us and never took it off! Never took it off! And why? Why? I think if I asked you why Jesus became a human being, I’m going to guess many of you would make a beeline to His ability to be able to relate to us, because, you know, God can’t relate to us until He becomes like us, right? It makes sense… except that He’s God and He created you, and He doesn’t have to become you to relate to you! He’s the Creator! Right? So along those lines I would say, yes, God became flesh to show us that He could relate to us even though He always has. That’s not a problem for God. We do have Hebrews chapter four and verse 15 which says;

Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

So why did God take on flesh? The answer is actually simpler. It’s because you can’t kill God! You can’t kill God.

[John 4:24] “God is spirit. Those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth.”

Right? You can’t kill God unless he takes on a body! — Which is exactly what He did! Thank you very much! And by the way, when you know this is exactly what the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 10 and verse 5, here it is. I’ll put it up there.

Hebrews 10:5, “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, (but watch this)

but a body have You prepared for me;”

Have you ever read that? This is the reason why Jesus, God, became Jesus, the God – Man! And Tim Keller was right. If you understand the word “incarnation,” you’ll understand what Christmas is all about. It’s all about the love of God. And it’s actually there in the most popular verse in the Bible.

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His (one and) Only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.“

Does your theology produce doxology [praise]? — because if you get that, it will! — because, at Christmas, God said, ‘I’m all in on you!’ That’s what He did. At Christmas, God is saying, ‘I’m all in on you!‘

In His great, expositional commentary in the New Testament, William Hendricksen wrote, this in Matthew’s gospel. He wrote;

“God’s whole-hearted love must not be answered in a half-hearted manner. When God loves, (watch this) when God loves… He loves the world. When God gives… He gives His Son.“

William Hendricksen

You know what that’s telling me? He’s all in! He is all in on you! Jesus in His incarnation, veiled Jesus, says to you, He says to me, ‘I went in on you, all in on you! Will you go all in on Me?’ That’s what the incarnation says. He says, “I went all in on you. Will you go all in on Me?”

Some of you have never gone in on Jesus… period! And today you see that God loves you so much, and notice I kept it in the present tense. It is a past tense event, but it’s a present tense reality. God loves you so much that He sent His One and only Son, wrapped Him in human flesh, never diminished an Iota of His deity, took on full humanity so that He could die as a sacrifice… in your place on the cross, get buried, rise again, ascend into heaven, seated at the right hand of God and ready to receive you to Himself, because “He ever lives to make intercession for you.” [Hebrews 7:25] That’s what the Bible says. And “if anyone is in Christ, they’re a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new.“

[2 Corinthians 5:17]

Would you be made new today? Would you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today? — And for those of you who have believed on Jesus, you have a relationship with Him, would you allow in your mind and in your heart the incarnation of God to rekindle your love for Him? I can’t think of a better time than celebrating around the Lord’s table to rekindle your love for Jesus. Some of you will be “getting it” for the very first time. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” [Acts 16:31]

Let’s pray.

Our Father in Heaven, we thank You. We thank You for the incarnation of Your Son, the impeccable Lord, Jesus Christ, God of God, very God of very God. You are God, Lord Jesus, and always have been. You have existed from all eternity, but You became a human being at a point in time, and you did it because You loved us. You were all in on us. Oh Lord, by faith, help us to be all in on You. And I pray, Lord, that during this time around the Lord’s table, You would cause those of us who know You to deepen our love, rekindle it if necessary, and our theology, the depth of what it meant for You to come and leave the glories of heaven, to come to this world and suffer as You did, to die and rise again. Lord, make this incredibly intimate and for Your glory. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.