Open your Bibles, if you would,
to 1 Timothy 3, verse 16. 1 Timothy 3, verse 16. But before we get to our text,
I'm going to start a mini-series this morning. We've come to an
end of the book of Hebrews. There's a few verses left in
chapter 13 that we did not look at. I'm going to leave that to
you continue reading in your own time. And I do pray that
the Lord may illuminate those words as well. But I think it's
time to go ahead and move on. And I haven't picked a book. The Lord has not laid it upon
my heart yet what book to go to next. So I'm going to bring
some short studies. And I'll be up front with you.
These are studies that are written by Don Ford. Much of what I will
be reading will be direct quote from Don Fortner, from his book. And it's a book that's not very
well known. We've seen a lot of his writings
in Discovering Christ in This and Discovering Christ in That
book. But this one was a small book, and it's titled The Mysteries
of God. And part one will be from 1 Timothy
3.16, where we read, and without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, and preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into
glory. Now, there's several points there.
We're going to look at them on an individual basis in other
studies. But this morning, I want to give
to you as an introduction to this book, I want to get to you
as Don gives us in an introduction. It says, let a man so account
of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mystery
of God. Don writes, as it is ordinarily
used, the word mystery refers to something that is unknown,
perhaps unknowable, or, in other words, a phenomenon. It refers
to that which is a secret or hidden, a mystery, and it commonly
implies the withholding of knowledge. However, as it is used in the
New Testament, the word mystery refers to divinely revealed truths. Divinely revealed truths. A mystery
in the Word of God is something that was hidden at one point,
or partially revealed in types and in shadows of the Law and
the prophecies of the Old Testament. But it is clearly revealed in
the New Testament, in the Gospel of Christ. Now a mystery is something
hidden from natural men. We all remember a time when the
Scriptures, the truths of Scriptures, were hidden from us, as it were. Our Lord says, Thank you, Father,
that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and the prudent
and revealed them unto babes. A mystery in the New Testament
is a profound spiritual truth that could never be known. It
could never be known nor understood by divine revelation. I want
to show you an example of that that's not in the book that Don
wrote, but we're going to look at it anyway, and that is over
in Matthew. So turn over to Matthew chapter 16. Hold your spot in
Timothy there, we'll come back to that verse again. But turn
over to Matthew chapter 16 for just a moment. Matthew 16. And look with me if you would
at several verses starting at verse 13. We're talking about the mysteries
of God. We're talking about the things
of God that are revealed. And look what it says here in
Matthew 16, beginning at verse 13, when Jesus came into the
coast of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying,
Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? When you're out in
the groups, in the crowds, when you're going about your way in
the streets, what do the people say? Who do they say the Lord
Jesus is? And listen to the answer, verse
14, and they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist. Oh,
you know, John the Baptist, he was going about doing all kinds
of wonderful miracles, doing this and doing that. He has to
be John the Baptist. And some say Elias, others say
Jeremiah, or maybe one of the prophets. And then the Lord said
in verse 15, he said, he saith unto them, but whom say ye, that
I am. And we've talked about that before.
Who do you say the Lord Jesus is? Who is He to you? To God's people, He is our Lord. He has made Himself our Lord.
Where there was a time when we were our own Lord, when there
was a time when we walked this world, through this world, believing
that we had something to do with this or that, God has made Himself
Lord of all to us. He's Lord of everything. I was
talking with Brother Roger out here on the front porch this
morning. And we were thinking about back on the times when
we walked this earth thinking that we were the Lords. How lucky
we were that we didn't get in trouble for this or we didn't
get in trouble for that. Yet we both know now it wasn't
luck at all. We both know now that it was
the Lord of all things who kept us from the trouble that we could
have gotten into in our earlier life. And keeps us from the trouble
that we could get into today, as a matter of fact. Right? Yep. Simon Peter answered in
verse 16 and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood
hath not revealed. You can't learn the mysteries
of God through men, through just casual conversation, through
sitting with men around a table under casual conversation. No, the scriptures tell us that
God reveals himself through the preaching of the gospel. And
I know He uses men to preach that gospel, but it's not the
men who open the hearts of God's people. It's God Himself, through
the preaching of His Word, that reaches into a man's heart, pulls
out that old stony heart that will not have His Lord over us,
and gives us a heart that is willing and loving to Him who
loved us first. Flesh and blood hath not revealed
it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. What is it that
reveals the mysteries of God? God Himself. Don goes on to say
this, he says, when we come to study the mysteries of God, we
are studying that which no man can understand, apart from divine
revelation and a God-given faith in Christ. These mysteries revealed
in the New Testament are the most profound truths of the universe. I remember a time when I heard
Pastor Gene standing here in this pulpit and say, you know,
I remember when the Lord first called me out of darkness. I
heard a man preaching the truth and I said to myself, that is
the most profound thing and the most Obviously, a true thing
that I've ever heard in my whole life. That makes more sense than
anything I've ever heard. I said the same thing. I said
the same thing after sitting over here hearing the gospel
for the first time. That makes more sense than anything I've
ever... I finally have heard of a God who deserves to be called
God. Don goes on, he says, yet to
a believer. These are matters of confidence, assurance, joy,
and peace. Our Savior declares in Matthew
13 verse 11, it is given unto you to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of heaven, but unto them, speaking of those who believe
not, it is not given. The fact is, folks, the mysteries
of God are those aspects of gospel truths which are most confusing
to the world. I remember I made a mistake,
by the way, those of you who were able to be here on Friday
night. I was trying to remember and recall what it was that Kathy
wrote that note that said, I understand, finally. What it was, it wasn't
election. I was just scrambling to remember
what it was, but she reminded me in a conversation afterward. It was to do, if I'm still correct
on that, it was to do with the point that God, was manifest
in his son, the Lord Jesus. It was a mystery to her. She
couldn't understand that I and my father are one. She struggled
with that, being raised as a Jehovah Witness, where they teach that
Jesus is not the God, he's a God. They believe that he's a good
prophet, but he's not God Almighty in the flesh, which scriptures
clearly declare. She couldn't see that. It was
a mystery to her, and that's what we're talking about, the
mysteries of God. The mysteries of God are the
fact that Jesus Christ is God Almighty in the flesh. And we're
going to look a little bit deeper into that as we go into our next
study, our next message, but for now, let's go on. Don goes
on to say this, he says, the fact is the mysteries of God
are those aspects of gospel truths which are most confusing to the
world, but most comforting to God's people. Oh, how comforting
it is to know that He is God of all things. I've got to be
honest with you. I didn't know if I could get
up here this morning. I'm greatly troubled with the
situation in my family, with my son, and I ask for your prayers,
unspoken prayers, for my son Tim in Kentucky. But here I am preaching the word
of the Lord to you despite the problems that I have in my own
life, the things that are weighing heavy on my own heart. My only comfort is this. It's not that things are going
to get better. It's not that things could have been done differently. It's that my Lord is still Lord
on His throne. That's my comfort. That's the
comfort of all of God's people. And you who have gone through
great trials, you who have gone through great trials, know that that's your comfort
too. The word mystery, writes Don,
is used 22 times in the New Testament. Mysteries is used 5 times. But all the mysteries revealed
in the New Testament may be set forth in 7 distinct categories. In this study, we will look at
all 7 in a general overview. In the studies that follow, we
will study these mysteries individually. This morning, I want to look
at this in our text. Go back to your text in 1 Timothy
3.16 and read once again with me if you would. 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 in the world, and received up into glory. These words that are spoken of
in 1 Timothy, they have preference to the person and the work of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The word godliness simply means
devotion. The devotion, the dedication,
the commitment of a true believer to Christ, is a mystery to an
unbeliever and to the religious hypocrites. The world calls our
faith fanaticism and our devotion to Christ foolishness. The fact
is the world knoweth us not because it knew Him not. Isn't that the
words of 1 John 3, verse 1? What is it that inspires and
encourages a believer to commit to Christ? His church, and the
gospel of His grace. Here, Paul declares that the
mystery of godliness is the mystery of our devotion to our God, our
Savior, and His work in the person and the work of Jesus Christ
as our substitute and Savior. Here are six things about the
Lord Jesus which graciously constrain and irresistibly compel the hearts
of all who know Him to consecrate them to Him. And the first one
is this, it says, God was manifest in the flesh. The Son of God
came into this world in human flesh, that He might both bring
in everlasting righteousness and satisfy divine justice as
the substitute and the representative of God's elect. And we see several
verses on that. Let's begin over in Isaiah chapter
17, if you would. Isaiah chapter 17. You have Isaiah,
Jeremiah. We want Isaiah 17. And we're
talking about God was manifest in the flesh, is our point here.
And we see in Isaiah chapter 17, Verse 14, the Lord says,
and behold, I'm sorry, 7, not 17, I got dyslexic there. Turn
over to chapter 7, I'm sorry. Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. Therefore
the Lord himself shall give you a sign, behold, a virgin shall
conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Now we know that Immanuel given to us in the book of God over
in Matthew chapter 1, and we'll read that in just a moment here,
but that tells us that Immanuel means God with us. So we see
that God was manifest in the flesh. This is a mystery. This
is the mystery I was talking about with my wife about Kathy
just a moment ago. What was it that she saw that
day when the Lord spoke to her from the preaching of His gospel?
He spoke to her and taught her that He is God Almighty in the
flesh. He was manifest. in the flesh. Look at another verse over in
chapter 9, verses 6-7. Turn to the right to chapter
9, and just read a couple of verses with me there. Verse 6-7,
we read these words, For unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and
his name shall be called Wonderful. Is his name not Wonderful to
you? Oh, it is to me. Counselor! I seek counsel? I'll tell you, don't get me wrong,
I would never encourage anyone not to see a counselor here in
this world. But the best counselor you can
seek is the counsel of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Word. Counselor. Look what the next phrase is.
This is speaking of Christ. The mighty God. Don't take my
word for it. Don't take my word for the fact
that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, manifest in the flesh.
Here's His word perfect. He's called the mighty God. The
everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. Of the increase, verse 7, of
His government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne
of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. Let's look at another one, shall
we, over in Matthew chapter 1. Turn over to Matthew chapter
1. Look with me there. Matthew chapter 1, verse 21. And she shall bring
forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall
Save His people from their sins. Two more if you would. John chapter
1 verse 14. I can quote that one for you.
Go to Galatians chapter 4. John chapter 1 verse 14. It says
in verse 14, And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth. Over in Galatians 4, we
read these words in verses 4-6. Galatians 4, verses 4-6, we read
these words. But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His Son made of a woman, made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive
the adoption. So we see here the first point
that is made in these verses in 1 Timothy, and without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. The mystery that Paul is describing
here is that first thing is God was manifest in the flesh. Secondly, we read in that very
verse, it says our Savior was justified in the Spirit. Now, there are many ways in which
the Holy Spirit has borne witness to Christ and justified all of
His claims as the Messiah, the Son of God. He did so at our
Master's baptism in Matthew chapter 3, verse 13, and I'll turn over
there now to read that. Matthew chapter 3, verse 13 through
17, listen to these words, Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to
Jordan unto John the Baptist, to John to be baptized of him.
But John forbade him, saying, I have no need to be baptized
of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering, said unto
him, Suffer to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill
all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus,
when he had baptized, went up straight away out of the water.
And, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit
of God descending like a dove. Here we go, we're talking about
justified in the Spirit. This is the Spirit of God revealing,
justifying who Christ is as God in the flesh. The Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting upon him and lo, a voice from
heaven saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. He did so on the day of Pentecost
as well. Turn over to Acts chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2. We're talking about the Spirit
being justified by the Spirit. The Spirit justifying who the
Lord Jesus Christ, over in verse 33, we read these words, Therefore,
being by the right hand of God, exalted, and having received
of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed
forth this, which now ye see and hear. For David is not ascended
into the heavens, but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my
Lord, sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of
Israel assuredly know that God hath made that same Jesus, whom
ye crucified, both Lord and Christ." So we see the Holy Spirit bore
witness of these, and also He witnessed to justify the claims
of Christ by the miracles of the of the apostolic age. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
1. Hebrews chapter 1. And look at one verse there with
me if you would, verse 3. Speaking of Christ being justified
in the Spirit, we read these words, Who being the brightness
of His glory, and the expressed image of His person, and upholding
all things by the word of His power, when He hath by Himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high. He continues to do so today,
folks, through the preaching of the Word of the Gospel. However,
Paul is talking about our Lord's justification from sin by His
resurrection from the dead. When He was raised from the dead,
Christ, who was made to be sin for us, was freed from sin and
justified in the Spirit. Thirdly, we see where it says,
seen of angels. In all of his work as our representative,
the Lord Jesus Christ was seen of angels. The angels of God
beheld him and worshipped him at his birth. They saw him and
ministered to him in the wilderness and watched with wonder as he
prayed in Gethsemane as he was made to be sinned and as he suffered
and died at Calvary. They watched Him in His resurrection
and His ascension. They behold His face in glory
today. They even behold Him through
the ministry of the Word in the house of God. Look over at 1
Peter, if you would, chapter 1. 1 Peter, chapter 1. One verse. Verse 12. 1 Peter 1, verse 12, unto whom
it is revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us they
did minister the things which are now reported unto you, speaking
of the ministers of God in the house of God, by them that preached
the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,
which things the angels desire to look into. One more, if you
would, go to the left from 1 Peter over to Ephesians. Ephesians
chapter 3. In Ephesians chapter 3, we read
these words, beginning at verse 7, Whereof I was made a minister,
Paul speaking of himself, and we're talking about the things
that angels desire to see, and Don is giving you this example
of this very thing. Even the house of God, they wish
to see the gospel of Christ even in that. So here's Paul talking
about that in verse 7. Whereof I was made a minister
according to the gift of grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power unto me who am less than the least of
all saints is this grace given that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and to make all men
see what is in the fellowship of the mystery which from the
beginning of the world have been hid in God who created all things
by Jesus Christ. To the intent that now and to
the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known
by the church the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal
purpose which he had purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. So we see that the angels seek
to see the gospel as well. The next thing, the fourth thing,
is preached unto the Gentiles. Our Lord was crucified, risen,
exalted, and he, as God our Savior, has been and is now preached
unto the Gentiles. The Gospel of God redeeming,
saving grace in Christ is now preached to you and I, Gentiles,
the most vile of men and women in the world, the vilest wretches
of the earth, by our Lord's expressed command over in John chapter
3, 2 verses, verses 16 and 17. And I'll read those for you quickly.
John chapter 3, verses 16 and 17. 16 we know by heart. It says,
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. For God sent not his Son into
the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him
might be saved. Fifthly, it says that he was
believed on in the world. The preaching of Christ to the
Gentiles has brought saving faith to God's elect throughout all
the world, throughout all time, throughout all tribes, and throughout
all tongues. Christ is believed on in the
world. Wonder of wonders. God has given
faith to the most despicable wretches in the world. He has
given us faith in Christ. Truly, this is the basis of and
the motivation for all true godliness. All true devotion. All true commitment. Sixthly, it says He was received
up into glory. When He had finished all that
He came here to do, our Savior, the Son of God, was manifest
in the flesh, was received up into glory. He was raised from
the dead in the glorified body. He ascended into heaven in the
glorious manner. When He was received up into
glory, He was there received as our representative, as our
forerunner. You can turn to Hebrews 6. Hebrews
6. In verse 20 we read these words.
Whether the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made
in high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. Then
look over now, if you would, over at chapter 9, verse 12.
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood,
He entered once into the Holy Place, which obtained, having
obtained eternal redemption. He is crowned with glory. He is the King of all glory.
He holds all the fullness of the glory for all those for whom
He lives. died, rose again, and ascended
up into heaven and make intercession for her. The believer's devotion
to Christ is not fanaticism. It is the most reasonable thing
in the world. And let me read for you from
Romans chapter 12, verse 12. Rejoicing in hope, patience in
tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Another one is over
in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 19 and 20. What? Know ye not that
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with
a price. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit which are of God's. Don closes with
these words on today's study. He says, It is a devotion to
an all-sufficient Redeemer who is the sovereign monarch of the
universe without controversy. Great is the mystery of godliness. Amen.