That was good. You're getting
better and better. Someone told me last time they
heard me preach, they said, you're really growing. I thought, well,
one of us is. I hope it's me. And I hope it's
you too. We should always grow better
and better in the things of God, shouldn't we? I should grow better
and better as a preacher, and you grow better and better as
a listener. That's how it ought to work. Turn back to 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy
3, verse 16, the title of the message, the great mystery of godliness. The great mystery
of godliness. There are many things that are
a mystery to us. Actually most things unless God
gives us an understanding. I guess all things unless God
gives us an understanding. Creation is such a mystery. You look at the creation of God
and how he makes all things work together in harmony. I look at the stars and how they
have their effect upon this earth. You know, they all have their
effect upon this earth. You know, as far as my understanding
goes, all the billions or trillions, I guess, of stars, galaxies,
center around this one earth. It all operates and has its effect
on this earth. And I don't know how all that
happens. It's a mystery to me. How the sun shines like it does,
that ball of fire never runs out of gas. I know it does so
by the word of God, but God is a God of means. And it's such
a mystery to me. It's fascinating. I'm fascinated
with it. There was a time I wasn't. There
was a time when I lived like you'd be sitting in a car driving
a hundred miles an hour down the road and everything just
going passing by. But now I begin to slow down
and stop and look. And I stop and I think and I
meditate upon the things that I look upon on this earth. I
do. I look at the trees, the creation,
and I see them in relationship to God, in relationship to Christ,
in our relationship. I see that. I see it more and
more. Yet it's still a mystery. There's
still a shroud of mystery in it that we'll never comprehend. We are a mystery to ourselves. There's nothing more fascinating
to me than the mind, the brain. and how it functions. It's like uncharted almost. There's
so much there that we haven't began to... Science hasn't began
to touch the brain. It's just... That's why David
said, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. You ever look in a mirror
and look at yourself and look at... Just do this. Just do this. Somebody see me
sitting around doing this, they think I'm crazy, but I'm not.
I'm thinking. I'm meditating on the fearfully and wonderfully
made. I'm not crazy, at least by my terms I'm not. But I'm
fearfully and wonderfully made. It just astounds me how the body
works together and they're still finding out things about the
body. It's just amazing. It's a mystery. But the greatest mystery of all
is the mystery of godliness, the things of God. Things that
concern God, Christ, redemption, us in Christ. The word mystery
means any truth that is unknowable except by divine revelation.
You know the gospel is unknowable except by divine revelation.
Who by searching can find out God? If God does not reveal Himself,
you and I will never ever know Him. We will not know Him. God is Spirit. He's on another
level. And listen, He's got to bring
us up to His level. But you know what? Here's the mystery. In
doing so, He came down to our level. That He might bring us
up to His level. That He might be able to reveal
these things to us. But a mystery means any truth
that is unknowable except by divine revelation, or anything
that is kept secret, or unexplained, or unknown. Listen to Romans
16.25, "...now to him that is of power to establish you according
to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to
the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the
world began." You know, you and I are knowing some things now
that were kept secret since the beginning of the world. And this
mystery of godliness belongs to the church, the pillar and
ground of the truth spoken of there in verse 15. Now seeing
that godliness is a great mystery, we must be careful not to try
and explain it. Us who preach, we do get into
a habit sometimes of trying to explain everything. We're called
to proclaim it. I'm called to proclaim the gospel.
And it's God's business to reveal it. It's God's business to give
you an understanding and to make you to know the truth. Because
all the explaining in the world is not going to give you an understanding.
Only God can do that. Only God can open up the Scriptures
to our understanding or open our understanding up to the Scriptures,
whichever way. But God must do that. It comes
by revelation. It's got to be revealed. We completely
depend on God, the Holy Spirit, to reveal the mysteries of godliness,
the gospel, the things of God, Christ, His redemptive glory. Now let me read you a few scriptures
here concerning the mystery of godliness. And all that's included
in this. Ephesians 6.19, "...and for me,
that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth
boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel." It's a mystery. You know, man thinks it's simple.
He thinks it's just simple. You accept Jesus Christ as your
personal Savior, He died on the cross, and you accept Him as
your personal Savior and all is well. That's not a mystery. That's not a mystery. The gospel
is a mystery. The whole scheme of redemption
is a mystery. Even us who believe can't comprehend
it. Not fully. Can you comprehend
the Trinity? You know, I believe the gospel.
I believe God. And some of you believe. But
we can't comprehend the Trinity. One God, three distinct persons
in the Godhead, but there's only one God. That's such a mystery. Ephesians 3.4, whereby when you
read, you may understand my knowledge and the mystery of Christ. He says in Ephesians 3.9, And
to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which
from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God. This mystery
was hid in God. That's why it's great. That's
why it's great. It's called great here. Without
controversy, great is the mystery because it's of God, it's hid
in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Colossians 1.26,
Even the mystery, which hath been hid from ages and from generations,
but now is made manifest to his saints, to whom God would make
known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles. Not just the Jews, but the Gentiles,
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Here's the mystery
that they never comprehended. Christ in you. God in you. You are the building of God.
What a mystery. What a mystery. But you understand
it. Not completely. Not completely. Paul said we know in part and
we preach in part. We don't know anything completely. I mean,
as far as comprehending, and we believe. We believe God. We believe Him concerning the
gospel, concerning Christ, concerning our salvation in Him. But to
really comprehend that in its fullness is too much. It's too
much. Colossians 2.2, that their hearts
might be comforted being knit together in love unto all riches
of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgement of the
mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ. Colossians 4.3, with all praying
also for us that God would open unto us a door of utterance to
speak the mystery of Christ. for which I'm also in bonds.
And last of all, 1 Corinthians 2, 7, but we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery. You see, the Greeks call it foolishness,
and to the Jews, it's a stumbling block. It's a mystery to them. But God's revealed it to us.
Even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world
unto our glory, it's a mystery. It's a mystery. Now, in verse
16, without controversy, without disputed argument, but the word
controversy means this, confessedly. It means confessedly. In other
words, this mystery has been confessed from the beginning.
God confessed it from the beginning, after the fall. It's confessed
constantly by the church, which is the pillar and ground of the
truth. She holds forth the truth, this mystery. This mystery is
held forth by the church of the living God. and no one else holds
it forth, but she does. And without controversy, now,
there will always be controversy over the gospel by the unbelieving
world, but it's not, it's without controversy between me and you,
isn't it? It's without controversy between me and you who believe
God, how God saves sinners, how God can be a just God and a Savior.
It's without controversy between me and you, but not with the
world. The world's always going to find controversy with us. But he's writing to the church.
He's not writing to the world. He's writing to us. So it's without
controversy, without dispute. The mystery of godliness. is
the whole revelation of God concerning Christ and His redemptive glory. That's what it is. Now listen,
when we speak of godliness, and here in this verse of Scriptures,
He's speaking of godliness. He starts with God. He starts
with God. It doesn't start with me and
you doing certain things or not doing certain things. That's
not godliness. Godliness starts with God. It starts with Him. It's the things of God is what
it is. It has to do with the things of God, the things of
Christ, the things of redemption. Now, He makes us godly by the indwelling of His Spirit,
by a new birth. He makes us godly, but that's
not what He's talking about here. He's talking about redemption. He's talking about God coming
into this world and saving us by Himself. Redemption is the greatest mystery
of all mysteries. The whole purpose, I want you
to understand this. Man does not understand this.
The science world is always trying to figure out creation. They're
always trying to probe into how it began, how it functions, and
what keeps it ticking. That's science for you. That's
man for you. That's man for you. But you and
I know this, that the whole purpose of creation serves this mystery
of godliness. The whole purpose of all the
stars, all the galaxies of the creation of this earth is for
the mystery of redemption. That's what it's for. We understand
that, don't we? We understand it. I understand
that this earth I walk on is the earth in which redemption
is going to be played out, and sin is going to be put away forever,
and Jesus Christ is going to be glorified, and God is going
to populate heaven with a people just like His Son. That's what
it's all about. Do you think about this? God
who is in His greatness, in His glory, in all that He is, that
He's going to create an earth, And he's going to put man upon
it. And man's going to fall. And he's going to live about
70 years. Now, that's about what we live. And during that 70 years,
you're going to grow up. You're going to get an education.
You're going to get a job. You're going to pay for a house. You're
going to buy you some food and get transportation. You're going
to clothe yourself. And then you'll grow old. You're going
to die. That's the infinite wisdom. And that's the purpose. The whole purpose of creation
is that God is going to be glorified in a people, and that people
is going to be just like His Son. And His Son is going to
receive all the glory. God so loved the Son that He
put all things into His hands. That's the reason for all this.
That's the reason for all of it. Now, it's a mystery, but
thank God we do understand a part of it. All of creation is going to serve
this mystery of redemption. And here, listen, He begins to
give us the mystery of godliness. As I said, it starts with God. It doesn't start with me and
you doing right or not doing right, doing this, doing that.
It has nothing to do with me and you, this part of it. It has to do
with God. God. manifest in the flesh. What a great mystery. God who
is inconceivable. God who is unknowable, unless
he makes himself known. God who in all his greatness,
in all his attributes, in all his glory, God became a man. with a real soul, real body,
in every way God made himself to a man. A body hast thou prepared
me, the Lord said. The Son of God, the second person
of the Trinity, came into this world and became a real human
being. He was not a phantom. He's really
God in the flesh. It's who He is. God incarnate,
the second person of the Trinity, became flesh. The Word, it says,
was made flesh and dwelt among, walked among, tabernacled among
us. Immanuel, call his name Immanuel,
being interpreted God with us. Over in Isaiah 9.6, he's called
the mighty God, the everlasting Father, Counselor, Prince of
Peace. Now, there have been many manifestations
of God in the Old Testament. God manifested Himself in the
Old Testament in dreams. He made Himself known by prophets,
by His Word. He was manifested to be judge.
But now, here, listen, here is the pinnacle of it. God now has
manifest Himself as a man. And that man is Jesus Christ. The invisible... No man has seen
God at any time. The invisible God is now visible. Jesus Christ is not a visible
representation of God. He's not a visible representation. He is God visible. I can't put that, I just can't
say that strong enough or plain enough. God walked among us. God walked among us. Hebrews
1 through 3, chapter 1. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed the heir of all things, by whom also he
made the worlds, who being the brightness of his glory, the
outshining and the expressed image of his
person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down at the right hand of the Magi still on high, This man
is God. Jesus Christ, as I said, is not
a visible representation of God. He is God visible. That's who
He is. God became a man with a real
soul and a real body. He says in Hebrews 2.16, For
verily He took not on Him the nature of angels, but He took
on Him the seed of Abraham. He took on Him the nature of
the seed of Abraham. That's what He did. It says over
in Isaiah 53, when thou shalt make his soul, his soul, he had
a real soul. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he had a real soul, just like you and I have,
except for sin. He grew up from being an infant
to being a man. He worked like any other man.
in the carpenter shop is where he worked. He ate and he drank
like any other man. Let me give you this mystery
of godliness in a few words here. Of course, I can't even scratch
the surface, but listen here. God who dwells in a light that
no man can approach became visible. He who sits on the circle of
the earth also sat by a well and thirsted. He who has no beginning
of days was born of a woman. He who is Lord of all became
a servant. He is the wisdom of God, yet
he grew in wisdom and in stature. He who is eternally holy was
made to be sin. He whose kingdom rules over all
became a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The prince of life
became obedient unto death. God who cannot be tempted with
evil, James said in James 1.13, God who cannot be tempted with
evil was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin. What
a mystery. What a mystery of godliness.
The things of God. To look upon Jesus Christ is
to look upon the living God. You know creation can tell us
something of God's power, of God's wisdom, but only in Jesus
Christ can we see the fullness of God, can we see the fullness
of His attributes, can we really comprehend or have some understanding
of who God really is. You cannot understand who God
really is by looking at a tree. But you can by looking at that
one who hung on a tree. You can understand something
about who God is. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. The heavens, He said, the heaven
of heavens can't contain Him. But yet He dwells in this man,
Jesus Christ, who is God. To look upon Him is to look upon
the living God. Listen in John 14, the Lord's
speaking to Philip. Jesus saith unto him, Have I
been so long a time with you? Because he said, Show us the
Father, and it sufficeth. He said, Have I been so long
a time with you? And yet thou hast not known me,
Philip. He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Nobody else could say that. No
one else can say that. How sayest thou then, Show us
the Father? You're looking at him. You go
over in Isaiah 9, 6, and it gives unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given, and one of his name is the Father, the everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace. Oh, what a mystery this man is.
The Jews couldn't figure him out. They said, well, you know,
you're the carpenter's son. They couldn't have been further
from the truth. Joseph had nothing to do with
his birth. Some thought he was a prophet. Some thought he was
Elijah. Even today, Christ is a mystery to this religious world.
The Mormons, the Jehovah Witnesses, they deny his deity. They deny
it. This man is God. God Almighty
in the flesh walked over there in Jerusalem. He walked those
streets. God walked on this earth in the
flesh. God walked those streets over
there. God Almighty was hung on a cross over there. God was
hung on a cross. Not just a man, the God-man,
the Son of God. God Almighty in the flesh died
on that cross. You say, that can't be. That
can't be. God can't die. Well, it says
He purchased the church with His own blood. That's a mystery. It's a mystery of godliness. Who can comprehend that? Nobody. But here's a question
concerning this mystery. Why did God in all His glory
become a man? Have you ever thought about that?
I was watching a movie some time ago. It's Vikings. They had axes,
fighting each other, cutting each other's head off in a bloody
battle. And it's hundreds of years ago. And I thought as I watched it,
what interest would God have in this? Well, I don't know, but it serves
his eternal purpose. It serves His eternal purpose.
I do know that. That much I do know. You know,
Job said in Job 7, What is man that thou should visit him? It
says the same thing over in Psalm 8 and Psalm 144. What is man? Do you ever think of that? Do
you ever really think that? What is man that God in all His
glory and all His greatness would even think upon us? Would even
have anything to do with us? We're so weak and feeble and
sinful? And wicked? Why would God do
such a thing? Why would He think upon such
a one as me? David said, I'm a dead dog. Why
do you think upon me? Who am I and what is my house
that God would bless me so? My, my, my. What is man? I'll tell you this. Apart from
the man Jesus Christ, man's nothing. Apart from Him, I'm nothing. I'm nothing. I'm a zero apart
from Christ. I really am. And I'll tell you
what, if I miss Christ, I'll find that out. Every man will find it out that
misses Christ, every man and woman, that they're nothing. But our Lord became a man that
he might fulfill all righteousness, that he may keep the law, make
it honorable, that He may satisfy justice, that He may bring in
everlasting righteousness, that He may reconcile us to God, that
He may make an atonement for sin, and that He may finally
put an end to sin, that it exists no more. It can never raise its
ugly head up again. And God as a man has redeemed
a multitude of sinners, and He's going to bring them into His
presence. And they are going to enjoy the
glory, the being, the presence of God forever and ever. And
God's Son is going to get all the glory. God's going to honor
His Son. That's what He's going to do. Now He says here, Without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. He was manifested in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit. We have the witness of the Holy
Spirit that this man is God. We have the witness of the Holy
Spirit that this man is the Messiah. He has the witness of heaven
behind him. At His baptism, the Holy Spirit
descended on His shoulder in the form of a dove to set His
seal upon Him. This is the One. This is the
Son of God. This is the Messiah. This is
the anointed One, Son of God. And God the Father spoke from
heaven. And He said this, And lo, it
says in Matthew 317, and lo, a voice from heaven saying, this
is my beloved son, this is my son in whom I'm well pleased. Hear him, listen to him. God came down from heaven and he's tabernacled among us
and he's spoken to us. And He has the very witness of
heaven, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, God the Father spoke,
said, this is my beloved Son. And He's seen of angels. Angels saw Him before His incarnation,
you know that? They saw Him before that. Can
you imagine that? They were at His beck and call
before creation. They were there. And then they saw Him, they saw
the Son of God, God, become a man. Can you imagine how astounded
they were at that? It says the angels desired to look into the
things that you and I know. They saw Him become a man. They
saw their Lord, they saw their Master, they saw their Creator
laid down in a manger. About that long. About a foot
and a half long. They saw Him become an infant.
They saw the Ancient of Days become an Infant of Days. They
saw that. The angels saw Him hang on a
cross. Can you imagine? And when He
was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He said, I can call twelve legions
of angels and they will come right now. I said, all I got
to do is command the host of heaven and they'll be here. You
know they were just hovering watching that. Watching him grovel
on the ground. Watching him say, my soul is
exceeding sorrowful even unto death. They watched that. He
was seen of angels. They are the ones who rolled
away the stone. They saw him buried. They saw them lay him
in a grave. He went from laying in a manger
to laying in a grave. They were the ones who came down
and moved the stone. They saw Him rise. They saw Him ascend
back to heaven. They saw Him ascend back to heaven. And there they behold His face
right now. You see, they beheld Him as God, their Creator, and
now they behold Him as a man, the God-man, who is still their
Creator and Commander. He's still their Commander. He's
still their Lord. But now they see Him in the flesh. That's how they see Him. And
preach to the Gentiles. Here's a great part of the mystery
of godliness. We Gentiles are included in the covenant of grace.
My soul. My soul. Our ancestors for 4,000
years, for the most part, all perished under the wrath of God.
They did. But God has sent the Gospel to
us. God has sent the Gospel to us.
We're included in the covenant of grace. And listen, He has
preached to the Gentiles and believed on in the world. You're part of it. You're part
of that portion of Scripture. You and I are the fulfillment
of that Scripture. We believe. We believe. Not everyone, but some here believe. We are part of it. Christ shall
see if the travail of his soul will be satisfied. Everyone for
whom he died for, Jew and Gentile, shall be saved. God's going to see to it. God's
going to see to it. And listen, and I'll close. He's
believed on in the world and received up into glory. This
shows that God is satisfied with him, and he's satisfied with
everyone in him, with everyone who believes on him. God, God
the Father is satisfied. Justice is satisfied. He's received up into glory.
There's a man who is God. He is God, as the old writers
would say, God, very God. Here's a mystery. God is seated
at God's right hand. God is seated at God's right
hand. Except this time, He's seated there in the flesh. You see, it says in Psalms that,
what is man's heart? Mindful of him. You've created,
he's a little lower than the angels. You know what that means?
A little lower for a little while. But in glory, through the man
Christ Jesus, we will not be lower than the angels. We are exalted to the throne
of God. We are made, now listen, we are made partakers of the
divine nature. Sons of God. Listen. Sons of God, not just by adoption,
but by nature. By nature. We are sons of God. There's a
representative man who is God. Can there be a better representative
for you than God himself? God himself represents us to
himself. What a mystery! 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 in the
world, received up into glory, And in a little while, he's coming
to get us. If I go and prepare a place for
you, I'll come again and receive you myself. And where I am there,
you may be also. I'm waiting for him to come.
I'm waiting for him to come. And I understand this earth that
man abuses, and he thinks it's his. It's the Lord's, and it
serves his redemptive purpose. And when he's done with it, he'll
fold it up and put it away. It'll be gone. and you and I
will be in glory on a new earth, on a new earth. All right.