Today for our Bible study I would
encourage you to turn to 1st Timothy chapter 3, 1st Timothy
chapter 3, and we'll begin reading at verse 14. These things write
I unto you, unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. Here's Paul the Apostle writing
back to his young preacher friend Timothy with vital instruction
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest
to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of
the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without
controversy," now here's my text this morning, and without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on into the world, believed on in the world
and received up in to glory. Now the house of God in the church
of the living God is set forth in this world as a pillar and
ground of the truth. The pillar is a support and public
prop of the truth, the true gospel in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's
the ground and the stay and the foundation of the truth. So the
church of the living God in this world is a pillar and ground
of God's truth of salvation in and by and through and exclusively
in the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And then he says, and without
controversy, without controversy, among God's church, those who
believe the gospels, its preachers, its pastors, and every believer
born of God, Justified in the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel
of God's sovereign grace, and that's the only gospel there
is, the gospel of God's sovereign grace in and by and through the
Lord Jesus Christ is not an issue of debate or controversy. It's wholeheartedly received,
believed, preached, and supported among God's people, the house
of God, the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of
the truth. And the gospel is not a controversy.
Now here he describes to us this truth that we hold as the ground
and the pillar of the gospel and without controversy. Now
here's six things that he mentions. Great is the mystery of godliness. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is often called a mystery. It's not Known by education,
it's known by the revelation of God. It's a mystery, it's
a hidden truth that must be revealed. It is rejected by the natural
man. The natural man is the gospel's
foolishness to him. It must be revealed by the heart,
by the spirit of God, by the spirit of God, by the word of
truth. And then Paul defines the essence
of this mystery in six planes. Truthful, comprehensive statements
of this gospel, the ground of the truth that's without controversy. Here's the first one. God was
manifest in the flesh. Now this is essential. This is
essential. God was manifest in the flesh,
exposed to view, made known in human flesh. Now we know the
scriptures teach that God is spirit. He's the invisible God,
God is spirit. But yet we see here he became
visible in human flesh. The word was made flesh, John
tells us in John 1 14. The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. God who inhabits eternity inhabited
a body of a man. He said he thought it not robbery
to be equal with God but took upon him the form of a servant
and was made in the likeness of men. He was manifest in the
flesh, truly and totally and fully God. He never stopped being
God, and yet he became what he was not, man, flesh, truly and
fully man in one blessed person, God and man. That's why the old
writers used to call the Lord Jesus the God-man mediator, and
he is. Now why was this necessary? Why
was The manifestation of God in human flesh apart from sin
necessary. What will establish righteousness
for his people? In the fullness of time, God
sent forth his son, excuse me, made of a woman, made under the
law to redeem them. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law being made a curse for us. The God-man, by his obedience,
honored and satisfied God's holy law, establishing a justifying
righteousness for his people. That's why his incarnation, God
manifest in the flesh, is necessary to establish righteousness, to
make atonement for sin. Now, I can't establish righteousness
in myself, nor can I put away my sin, make atonement. to cover, I cannot cover my sin,
but this is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did as God
incarnate. God made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin that we might be made to righteousness of God
in him. Now here's a pillar and ground
of the truth. God incarnate. God incarnate to establish a
justifying righteousness whereby he imputes that to his people
by sovereign grace and to make atonement for sin whereby he
declares us justified through the redeeming blood of Jesus
Christ, essential to the gospel. Secondly, he further defines
this gospel by saying justified, justified in the spirit or justified
by the Holy Spirit. That is, vindicated, proven,
and upheld by God the Holy Spirit. Now our Lord claimed and declared
to be God. He said, you've seen me, you've
seen the Father. I and my Father are one. Such
a claim needed strong, indisputable confirmation. His spiritual nature
as man was so elevated by his deity that it abundantly justified
his claim to be God. We read in scripture, someone
said, never man spake like this man, and truly no one did. At
his command, death leaves. He says, Lazarus, come forth.
At his command, water turns to wine. At his command, the blind
see, the lame walk, the deaf hear. Who is this man? Well, he's a God-man. He vindicated
and proved and justified his claim to be God by his works,
his deeds, and his word. Truly, he is God. But not only that, he's justified
in his own person, but also justified and vindicated and declared to
be God by God the Holy Spirit. In his conception, he's born
and conceived, conceived by God the Holy Spirit. At his baptism,
the Holy Spirit descended upon him, and God spake from heaven
and said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
You see, the Holy Spirit justified his person, vindicated, owned,
and declared that he is God. In his resurrection, he's declared
to be the Son of God by the Holy Spirit, in that God raised him
from the dead. You see what he's saying here?
Justified, owned, proven, vindicated. declared to be God, by God the
Holy Spirit. Thirdly, here's another pillar
of the truth. God incarnate, God justified,
and then we see here thirdly, seeing of angels. Here's another
pillar of the truth. Seeing of angels, the heavenly
host of elect angels are deeply interested in the gospel of God's
redeeming grace. They desire to look into these
things. God incarnate, made a little lower than the angels, being
made sin for us, certainly the angels are interested in those
things. They were sent to Joseph and Mary to declare, call his
name Jesus, he shall save his people from their sin. They sang
at his birth, glory to God in the highest, peace on earth.
goodwill toward men. They waited on him after the
temptation. They came and ministered unto
him. They strengthened him in the garden in Gethsemane. They rolled the stone away at
his tomb. They sat in his grave. They declared
that he is risen. Why do you seek the living among
the dead? He's not here. He is risen. And they declared
this same Jesus shall come again. The gospel of grace in Christ
may be folly to some. Foolishness to some, but to his
elect angels and his elect people, it is a power, wisdom, and glory
of God unto salvation. Without controversy, you see
this pillar of truth? Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified, proven, vindicated, owned by God the Holy Spirit,
seen of angels. Fourthly, here's another pillar
of truth, preached unto the Gentiles. Until Christ came, there was
not much preaching done to the Gentile world. Paul, writing
in Ephesians 2, said we were one time without God, without
hope, and without Christ. And yet it pleased God by the
means and method of preaching, preached unto the Gentiles, preaching. to declare salvation in and by
and through the Lord Jesus Christ. God sent the Jews unto the Gentile
world to declare the way of salvation in and by and through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Peter was sent to the house of
Cornelius. Paul unto this Gentile world. God raised these men up to declare
the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It pleased God through
preaching to save them that believe. How else are we to be made aware
of redemption in Christ, pardon in Christ, a justifying righteousness
in Christ? But by the preaching of the gospel,
how else does faith come? But by the preaching of the gospel,
faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of truth. Have you reverently
heard the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ preached into the
Gentiles? God has ordained the preaching
of the gospel to the calling out and to the salvation of God's
people. And we see the fruit of that,
another pillar of the truth is believed on in the world. How
did they believe on him in whom they have not heard? They first
heard the gospel and God granted faith to receive the word as
it is in truth the word of God. believed on in the world. What
a miracle of grace. A miracle to hear the gospel.
But oh, what a privilege to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus
and to fall in love with him. To you who believe, he is precious. I know it's not the work and
will and way of men to believe on Christ and to receive him
as God, as righteousness, as salvation. It's rather the way
and will and work of God alone. With men it is impossible to
believe the truth, but with God all things are possible. Have
you heard the truth? Have you believed the truth?
Are you resting in the Lord Jesus Christ alone? He was preached
unto the Gentiles and he was believed on in this world. What a privilege to hear the
gospel and to believe God and to rest in Christ. Here's the
sixth pillar of truth. received up in the glory. What does this mean? What are
the implications of the Lord Jesus, his ascension, his resurrection? He was delivered for our offenses
and raised again for our justification. But my friend, more than that,
he ascended to glory and is seated at the right hand of God. When
he had by himself purged our sin, he sat down at the right
hand of God. Now what does this mean to you?
What does this mean to the believer? It means this, he finished his
priestly work. He said, my meat is to do the
will of God that sent me in to finish his work. And my friend,
the Lord Jesus is no failure. All that the Father gave him
in that covenant of grace, all those for whom he died and stood
as surety, all those for whom he stood as substitute in righteousness
shall be justified through the Lord Jesus Christ. His priestly
work is finished. His work was not only finished,
but accepted. of God, and God says, it's enough. It's enough. He's satisfied.
He's satisfied with the death and the blood atonement of Jesus
Christ. And my friend, the Lord Jesus Christ has taken possession
of glory for us. He is a forerunner, entered in
and is seated, and the believer is seated and enthroned in Christ.
Our salvation, based upon His ascension, His resurrection,
and His enthronement, His enthronement is a certain and sure token and evidence of the certainty
of salvation in Christ Jesus, based upon Christ. His blood,
atonement. His justifying righteousness.
His glorification. He's able to save to the uttermost
all that come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for us. The pillar and ground of the
truth.