The Mystery Of Godliness

Q: What does the Bible say about the mystery of godliness?

The mystery of godliness, as stated in 1 Timothy 3:16, reveals that God was manifest in the flesh. The mystery of godliness is a profound truth encapsulated in 1 Timothy 3:16, which states that 'God was manifest in the flesh.' This declaration emphasizes the Incarnation, where Almighty God took on human form. It highlights the dual nature of Christ—fully God and fully man—making Him the perfect mediator between God and humanity. This truth is foundational in understanding the gospel as it reflects God's love and His plan for redemption through Jesus Christ.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of the Incarnation is true?

The doctrine of the Incarnation is validated by historical evidence and scriptural accounts of Christ's life and ministry. The truth of the Incarnation is confirmed through various scriptural attestations and the fulfillment of prophecy. In the Old Testament, prophecies such as Isaiah 7:14, which speaks of a virgin giving birth, point to the miraculous nature of Christ's birth. The New Testament further affirms this doctrine through the accounts of His life, miracles, and ultimately His resurrection. The Holy Spirit's role in vindicating Christ's claims confirms His divine identity, as seen in John 5:31-39 where Jesus speaks of multiple witnesses attesting to His truth.

Q: Why is the Incarnation important for Christians?

The Incarnation is vital as it shows God’s intimate involvement in human redemption through Jesus Christ. The significance of the Incarnation lies in its demonstration of God's desire to engage with humanity on a personal level. By becoming man, God provided a means for reconciliation and redemption, addressing the sin problem that separates mankind from Him. The humanity of Christ ensures that He fully understands human experiences and temptations, thus qualifying Him as our mediator and high priest (Hebrews 4:15). Furthermore, the reality of the Incarnation assures believers of their hope for eternal life together with Him, as He represents their humanity in heaven.

Q: What does it mean that Christ was justified by the Spirit?

Christ being justified by the Spirit refers to His divine vindication as the Son of God through the Holy Spirit. The term 'justified by the Spirit' in 1 Timothy 3:16 emphasizes the Holy Spirit's role in affirming Christ’s divine nature and His ministry. This justification includes His baptism, where the Spirit descended upon Him as a dove (Matthew 3:16), signifying God's approval of Him. Additionally, Christ's resurrection by the power of the Spirit (Romans 8:11) further substantiates His identity as the God-man, underscoring the essential belief of Christian faith that Jesus' work on behalf of sinners is valid and effective because He is indeed God incarnate.

Q: How does the mystery of godliness relate to salvation?

The mystery of godliness emphasizes that salvation is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The mystery of godliness connects directly to the concept of salvation as it encapsulates who Christ is and what He has achieved for humanity. As outlined in 1 Timothy 3:16, the narrative of Christ being manifest in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, and ultimately received into glory assures believers of their hope in Him. Salvation is wholly dependent on Christ's dual nature; it is through His humanity that He identifies with us, and through His divinity that He overcomes sin and death. This understanding not only assures believers of their standing before God but also calls them into a deeper relationship with Him.

Let's bow together for prayer. Our merciful Father, we're so grateful unto Thee for
the blessings that we've enjoyed this day. Thou hast granted to us this
glorious privilege of gathering together here in this place and
worshiping Thee, to sing these great hymns of praise and thanksgiving,
to read Thy Word, to fellowship with our people, and to preach
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave
Himself for us. Father, we pray that thou would
not leave us alone. Deliver us from the traditions
of religion, the customs, the way that seems right unto men. Deliver us from the form of religion
and grant to us a heart knowledge of Christ Jesus and a love for
Christ Jesus and a confidence and faith in him. and a peace
of heart and a joy and rest in Christ. As we open thy word again
now at this time, may thy servant be filled with thy spirit. Give
to me, O Lord, the spirit of understanding, wisdom, grace,
compassion, that I might preach Christ and him crucified. in
a way that will glorify his matchless name, in a way that will bring
glory to thee, in a way that will accomplish thy divine eternal
purpose, in a way that will comfort and strengthen thy people, in
a way that will be used of thy spirit to convince men of sin
and reveal to their hearts the Lord Jesus Christ, in a way that
will bring faith, confidence, comfort in him. And we pray for our brethren
everywhere who preach tonight, all who, even at this very moment,
are standing before thy people. Lord, speak through them. Speak
to them. Speak to thy people, thy sheep,
through thy servants. And we pray especially for those
who are sick, those who need thy strength and grace and comfort
at this time, those going through great trial. We commit them unto
Thee. Lord, let patience have her perfect
work, but may it please Thee for Thy glory to raise them up. We pray for Christ's sake and
in His name. Amen. All right, I want you to
open your Bibles with me tonight to the book of 1 Timothy, chapter
3. 1 Timothy, chapter 3. Now, I've always felt that those who preach the gospel—I'm
talking about myself, mainly—those who preach the gospel
should do so with four things in mind. Four things. Number one, we who
preach ought to preach for the glory of God. That should be
the motive for all that we do. His glory. His glory. Our Lord Jesus in the Garden
of Gethsemane prayed in this passion. He said, Father, glorify
thy Son that thy Son may glorify thee. Glorify me that I may glorify
thee." And the apostle tells us whatever we do in word or
deed, do it for the glory of God. Oh, that I might preach
tonight that this message that he's given me or laid upon my
heart, that it might be delivered only for the glory of our God,
the glory of God. Let us sing for the glory of
God. Let us preach for the glory of God. Let us love for the glory
of God. Let us give for the glory of
God. Let us do, whether we eat or
drink, for the glory of God. And then secondly, I believe
that those who preach the gospel ought to be dedicated to, dedicated
to preaching the truth, the truth of His word. In that same prayer
in John 17 where our Lord said, Glorify me that I may glorify
thee, when he prayed for his people he said, Sanctify them
through thy word. Thy word is truth. Sanctify them
through thy truth. Thy word is truth. Study to show thyself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the word of truth. We're not to please men. We're
to preach the truth of God. Somebody said that he was driving
through Mississippi one time years ago, and he passed a religious
school. And the motto of the school was
out on a bulletin board in front of the school. And the motto
was this, three statements. God said it. I believe it. That settles it. And he got to
riding along and he said, you know, it sounded pretty good.
God said it, I believe it, that settles it. But he said after
a while it dawned on him that if God said it, that settles
it whether I believe it or not. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
It's the power of God unto salvation. And I have no plans to compromise
that gospel for any reason. preach for the glory of God and
preach the Word, preach the truth. Paul said to Timothy, in season
or out of season, there's no season for preaching the truth,
it's always to be preached. God will bless His Word and the
truth will set you free. And then thirdly, I believe that
all who preach the Word, and I'm talking to myself, I wrote
these things down concerning my own thoughts about the ministry.
the ministry of the pastor and the people, the missionaries,
the church. We're all in the ministry. We're
in his ministry. And we're all responsible to
fulfill these things. First, for his glory. Secondly,
we must preach the truth. We must not compromise the message. You know, it was said by someone
years ago, the business of the people, the business of the people
is to fill the pews. The business of the pastor is
to fill the pulpit. And if this man who fills the
pulpit gets ambitious and desires to fill the pews more than he
fills the pulpit, he'll compromise the message. He'll cut down on
that message in order to fill the pews. I'm glad for the pews
to be filled. But my main responsibility is
to have something for those who feel the abuse, to preach the
truth. And then thirdly, with sincerity
of purpose. God helped me to be sincere. God helped me to not have a shade
of hypocrisy or insincerity in this preaching of the gospel
and what we're doing here in our preaching and our teaching
and our and our witnessing. There's a scripture over in 2
Corinthians 2. Let's turn over there a minute
before I read the text. In 2 Corinthians 2, listen to
what the Apostle Paul says here. In 2 Corinthians 2, verse 17,
he says, For we are not as many, we are not as many, which corrupt
the word of God, or deal deceitfully with the word of God. Use the Word of God to accomplish
our purposes. Use the Word of God to promote
our progress. We're not like that. We're not
as many who corrupt the Word of God, deal deceitfully with
the Word of God. But as of sincerity, as of sincerity,
but as of God, in the sight of God, before God, speak we of
Christ. There it is. That it is. God will bless that. We are not
as many who deal deceitfully with the Word of God. But as
of sincerity, as of sincerity, as of God in the very sight of
God, we speak of Christ. Let our message be one of deep,
godless sincerity. And then In the fourth place,
I believe our concern ought to be to preach not only with sincerity,
but with simplicity. If you turn with me to 2 Corinthians
chapter 1, well, just look back across the page there. You're
already at 2 Corinthians 2. Look back at 2 Corinthians 1
verse 12. Paul said, For our rejoicing
is this, are rejoicing as this, the testimony of our conscience,
that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom,
but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world
and more abundantly to you. Preach for the glory of God.
Preach the truth of preach the truth of God for the glory of
God in simplicity. You know, we can't make men believe
what we preach, but we certainly can make the message plain so
that they can understand what we preach. Also in 2 Corinthians 11, turn
over there and look at this scripture. 2 Corinthians 11, verse 3. Simplicity. Simplicity. He says in 2 Corinthians 11 verse
3, but I fear lest by any means that as the serpent beguiled
Eve through his subtlety, through his craftiness, so your mind
should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. And I'll tell you, I believe
that these four rules would apply to all that one does, not only
in spiritual matters, not only in the ministry, but in all things
that we do as believers. Do what we do for the glory of
God. Teach and preach and witness
the truth of God, and do it with sincerity, and do it in simplicity. Now turn to 1 Timothy chapter
3, and here is a single verse, only one verse of Scripture,
but it glorifies God all how it glorifies God, it declares
the truth of God, and it is stated in such simplicity. One old writer
called it this. He called it the summary of true
religion. He says here in one verse you
have the very summary of true religion, summed up, true religion
summed up in one verse of Scripture. And Paul calls it the mystery
of godliness. Let's read it carefully, 1 Timothy
3 verse 16. And without controversy, without
controversy, without debate, without argument, great, great
is the mystery of godliness, the mystery of God, the mystery
of the gospel. It is great. What is it? God was manifest in the flesh.
God Almighty became a man in human flesh. That's the mystery
of godliness. God became a man. Almighty God,
whom the heavens cannot contain, became a man. Burrito? And that
God-man was justified by the Holy Spirit, vindicated by the
Holy Spirit. Write that word in there, justified
means vindicated. That God-man was vindicated by
the Holy Spirit. And then thirdly, that God-man
was seen of the angels. Oh, this is important. He's seen
of the angels. And that God-man, fourthly, was
preached to the Gentiles. Preached to the Gentiles. And
fifthly, that God-man was believed on in this world. And in the sixth place, that
God-man was literally, actually received up into glory. Now here's
the thing that I'm presenting tonight. Mystery. Great mystery. Great wonder. Two things, and one's just as
much a mystery as the other. That God could become a man. or a man could be in the presence
of God, which is the greatest mystery. That Almighty God, God
Almighty, who made heaven and earth, God whom Brother Paul
talked about in his majesty and holiness and righteousness and
beauty, actually dwelt among us. The Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. But I'll tell you a mystery just
as great, that a man is dwelling among them. That's right. But let's look at it one at a
time. I'll tell you this, listen, this is either the most amazing
truth ever spoken or the greatest deception ever organized and put off on
the human race. Think about it. Isn't that right,
Rick? This is either God became a man, and man is going to be
conformed to the image of God. That's either the greatest mystery
and the most wonderful thing that's ever been spoken in human
language, or that's the greatest deception and con-work that's
ever been put off on the human race. And I can't afford to be
indifferent. I'm going to have to find out
what this is all about. That's reading the Without argument,
without debate, this is the greatest thing ever spoken. This is the
greatest thing ever, ever considered. This is the greatest thing that
could ever be preached. Without debate, without controversy,
this is the greatest thing you could ever contemplate. God became
a man, and a man dwells in glory with God. A man like you and
me. Let's look at it in a moment.
Let's look at these six things. I'll try to be, like I said,
preach it in simplicity. The glory of God. First of all,
it says this, without controversy, great is the mystery of God,
the mystery of godliness, the mystery of the gospel that, number
one, God was manifest in human flesh. God Almighty. This is what Scripture declares
in the Old and New Testaments. Behold, God himself shall give
you a sign, a virgin shall be with child." The reason Jesus
Christ had to be born of the virgin is because he's the Son
of God. He's not the son of Joseph. He's
the Son of God. And when a man begets another
man, he begets him in sin, and Christ was begotten of the Holy
Spirit. the body which God prepared him
was begotten of the Holy Spirit, that he might be born without
sin. He didn't partake of our fallen nature. It says, under
us a child is born, under us a son is given. Under us a child
is born. A child was born and walked on
this earth that never had walked on earth before. A human body,
a man child. But the son is given. The Son
existed. That child body did not exist
before, but this man, this Son did. He came and inhabited that
body. And his name is called Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace, and the Governments on his shoulders. You see, the
manger in Bethlehem literally holds the glorious God in human
flesh. I can't understand that. I just
know it's so. The manger in Bethlehem holds. You know, Jenny, that precious
little girl of yours, six weeks old, one day my Lord lived in
a body just like that, six weeks old. A mother held him in her
arms. He inhabited a six-weeks-old
body, infant of days. The ancient of days became an
infant of days. He who made woman was made of
a woman. That's right. The carpenter shop
was the workshop of God for a little while. He who is the light of
the world worked by candlelight. The one higher than the heavens
became lower than the angels. The Son of God became the Son
of Man. He thought it not, Robert, to
be equal with God, yet made himself of no reputation, and took upon
himself the form of a servant, the habit of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of this sinful flesh." Jesus Christ actually
became a man. And this is so important because
who he is determines the efficacy of what he did. What he did on our behalf and
for us, what he did depends entirely on who he is. Isn't that right,
Pastor? If he's not God in human flesh, then if we worship him,
we're committing idolatry. And if we trust him, we're committing
folly if he's not God. But he is God, and every time
it talks about what he did, it's preceded with who he is. It says he was made sin for us
who knew no sin. It's said in 1 Peter 3, the just
died for the unjust. That's right, who he is. Hebrews
1 tells us this. God, who at sundry times and
in divers manners spake to the fathers, by the prophets, hath
in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom he made the worlds, who is the exact
or express image of his person, who, when he had purged our sins,
sat down on the right hand of God. So who is, is always declared
before what he did, because who he is makes what he did efficacious. So God was manifested in human
flesh. All right. Secondly, he was justified
in the Spirit, or he was vindicated by the Holy Spirit. This is speaking
of the Spirit of God. As I said, now watch this, all
that Jesus Christ did on behalf of his people, like working out
for us a perfect righteousness and going to the cross and paying
our debt of sin and rising to the right hand of the Father
and interceding for us. All that he did depends on who
he is, and the Holy Spirit tells us who he is. The Holy Spirit
vindicated every claim. I'll show you something very
important. Turn to John 5, John chapter 5. This is very important,
John chapter 5. The Holy Spirit justified every
claim, vindicated every claim. In John chapter 5, it says in
verse, John chapter 5, verse 31. John 5, 31. Now watch this carefully. Christ
is speaking. He says, If I bear witness of
myself, my witness is not truth. That's the Son of God said that.
And he said that as the Messiah. He said that as our representative.
In other words, this man is standing here who was born of a woman. It's like the Jews said, we know
who he is. He's the carpenter. We know his
mother, Mary. We know his father, Joseph. We
know his brothers and sisters, Jodie and Judas and all the rest
of them. We know who he is. How can he
say I came down from heaven? How can he say, before Abraham
was, I am? We know who he is. So here he
stands and he says, now if I bear witness of myself, my witness
is not true, because the scripture says, let every word be established
by the mouth of two or three witnesses. All right, listen
to his witness. Verse 32. There's another that
beareth witness of me. I know that the witness which
he witnesses of me is true. you sent unto John, he bear witness
of the truth." John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament
prophets. And John the Baptist, miraculously
born of Elizabeth and Zechariah, John the Baptist, miraculously
sent of God, filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's
womb, came bearing witness of one person, behold, the Lamb
of God. He said, I'm not the Christ,
I'm sent to bear witness of the I'm a voice in the wilderness,
and I'm saying, Prepare you the way of the Lord. I'll send my
messenger who will prepare the way before me." That's John the
Baptist. And Christ said, That's my witness.
Secondly, verse 34, But I received not testimony from a man, but
these things I say, that you might be saved. John was a burning
and shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice
in his light. But I have greater witness than
that of John. for the works that the Father
hath given me to finish the same works I do by witness of me that
the Father sent me. He made the blind to see. He
made the deaf to hear. He made the lame to walk and
the dead to live. Nicodemus said no man can do
what you do. No man. You've got to be more
than a man. You've got to be from God. John the Baptist told you who
I am. These works that I do tell you who I am. Has it ever been
known that a man has been made to see who was born blind? That's
what that fellow said. Is not this the Christ? The third
witness, verse 37, And the Father himself which hath sent me He
hath borne witness of me." You've neither heard his voice at any
time nor seen his shape. You don't have his word abiding
in you. But nevertheless, he did say at the baptism of Jesus
of Nazareth, this is my beloved Son. And he did say on the Mount
of Transfiguration when Christ was glorified before his disciples,
this is my beloved Son. And he did hang a star over that
Bethlehem manger. He did bear witness. And he did
shake the earth and cover the sun with a veil when he died. And
he did raise him from the dead. All right, read on. Fourth witness,
verse thirty-nine. And search the Scriptures. You
search the Scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life, and there they which testify of me." All the prophets bore witness
of him. John the Baptist, the last one.
The works he did. The Father, the Word. The Holy
Spirit vindicated him. for he was born in the womb of
Mary by the Holy Ghost. The angel came to Mary and said,
you're going to have a son. She said, I don't know a man.
The angel said, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. The Holy
Ghost shall come upon thee, the power of God shall overshadow
thee, and that holy thing conceived in you will be the son of God.
The Holy Spirit, at his baptism, when John put him beneath the
water, and he came forth out of the water, the Scripture said,
And the Holy Ghost came down from heaven in the form of a
dove, and fell upon him. He was raised from the dead by
the Holy Spirit. And he said, And when the Spirit
of truth is come, He will glorify me. He will take the things of
mine and show them to you. And that's what the Holy Spirit
is doing tonight. As I'm teaching this scripture,
He's taking the things of Christ and showing them to you. When
you hear a preacher, I don't care who he is, how old he is,
how young he is, or how charismatic he is, or how intelligent he
is, or how successful he is. If you hear a preacher who talks
about the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost, the Holy
Ghost all the time, he does not have the Holy Ghost. He's speaking
by another spirit. Because the Scripture says plainly,
he shall not speak of himself. He shall take the things of mine
and show them to you. The preacher who has the Holy
Ghost is the preacher who preaches Christ. Christ, Christ, Christ. That's right. The Holy Ghost
vindicated him. All right, thirdly, turn back
to Matthew, 1 Timothy 3, 16. God was manifest in the flesh.
God. We beheld his glory, the glory
as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and The
Holy Ghost justified him, vindicated him. He was seen of angels. Now listen to me a moment. He
was seen of angels. This man, Jesus Christ, was seen
of angels. What does that mean? Well, I'm
sure it's occurred to you. It's occurred to me quite frequently. that most all of the religious
doings of men today, there's a lot of activity, there's a
lot of programs, there's a lot going on in the religious world.
You know that and I know that. There's a lot going on. This
is a religious day. I was over in Russia just days
ago, just two months ago. And they opened up a little door,
a little bit of freedom in Russia's religion. And The things that
are going on over there are mind-boggling. People bringing their religion
to Russia. Religion is activity, it's programs,
it's hand-waving, it's hook-to-do, it's carnival atmosphere, it's
accept Jesus, it's all these things. Have you ever noticed
that most all the religious doings and activities of men today are
not honored by heaven or recognized by heaven? Where is any clear
evidence that God is in it? Think about it. ...doings and telethons and all
this sort of thing. Where is any evidence, any supernatural
evidence that God is in this? What most religious organizations
do today, promoting the flesh, promoting their programs, their
activities, in no way honors and glorifies God, hence the
silence of God. God is silent. God is silent. Oh, I know they're
running up and down, screaming and yelling and clapping their
hands, but the preacher has to do it. If he leaves it alone,
he'll die. If he leaves it alone, if he
doesn't keep the cheerleading going, if he doesn't keep the
activity going, if he doesn't keep all these things going,
it dies. God's not honoring him. But all
that Jesus Christ did All that he did was recognized and attended
by angels. Did you know that? Everything
he did. His birth was announced by the
angels. The angels came down from heaven
to earth and talked to a man named Joseph. He said, Joseph, don't be afraid
to marry Mary. Because that holy thing within
her is the Son of God. The angels came down to Mary
and said, You're going to have a child. The angels announced
that when he was born in Bethlehem, the angels of God came down and
the shepherds were taking care of their flock out there on the
hillside. And they looked up and around there was a heavenly
And they were singing, Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, goodwill toward men. And the angels were afraid,
and they said, Don't be afraid, unto you is born this day, down
there in that little city of Bethlehem, a Savior, Christ the
Lord, and this will be a sign to you. You'll find that babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. God announced
his birth, The angels attended his birth, and when he was on
the Mount of Temptation in the wilderness, forty days he fasted,
the angels came down and ministered to him. At his tomb, the women
came to the tomb to anoint his body, and the angels were sitting
there, and they said, Why seek ye the living among the dead?
He's not here, he's risen! And that day when his disciples
walked with him out on the top of the Mount of Olives, and they
stood and watched him go up, two men in white apparel stood
by them and said, Why do you stand gazing up into
heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as you've seen him go. Now, why
do you tarry? Do what he said. Go down to Jerusalem
and wait to be endued with power of the Holy Ghost. Then go preach
the gospel. I tell you this. Wouldn't you like to see God
honor what we do? God gives some evidence. You
say, let's get out and get them in. Well, that's all right. Wouldn't
you like to see God anoint us with his power, anoint the singing,
anoint the preaching? You know, I went, there's a lady
in her seventies who's been listening to me on television for 10 years.
Her name, she's a widow. in poor health. She lives up
in a little town in East Kentucky called White House. Her name
is Garnet Penkowski. I've heard from her every month
for ten years, every month. We write, she writes me and I
write her, every month for ten years. She sends a little offering,
orders a tape. I've seen her twice in ten years.
One time about six, seven years ago I went up to Pikeville, Kentucky
to preach. And she heard I was going to
be there. And she doesn't drive. She lives alone. She talked her
niece into bringing her to the circus to hear me preach. The
niece wouldn't even come in. She sat out in the car and worked
a crossword puzzle. But she wasn't going to listen
to me preach. But Garnet came in by herself. And she said to
me that night, she said, I want to be baptized and confess Christ.
I said, well, Garnet, we don't have any water in the pool. And
I said, you don't have any clothes. to change to. I said, it's just,
I'm sorry, it's just not the time. It takes hours to fill that thing,
you know. And she went home. Well, about
three weeks ago, I was down there preaching again. I wrote her
and told her I was going to be there. And she came. Got that niece to bring her again.
Wouldn't come in. Here she came in by herself,
you know. up in years, sat on the third row, and I preached.
After the service, I wanted everybody to know who she was, and I said,
I've got a dear friend here tonight. I've already preached, and I
was getting ready to pronounce the benediction. I said, she's
sitting there. I want all of you to know her. I said, she
loves the gospel, and she loves Christ, and she loves his preacher,
and she supports the gospel. We were standing. I pronounced
the benediction. She said, you know why I came
then, don't you? She said, I want to be baptized.
Seven years later, six, seven. I said, well, I'll pronounce
the benediction. I'll come down and talk. So I
went down and talked and I said, Garnet, people still standing
around talking. I said, Garnet, I told you before
you have to have clothes. She said, I got them this time.
In other words, towel, dress, everything. I said, well, you know that thing's
got water in it? By the providence of God, the
man had filled the pool for baptism the next day. I said, everybody
come back and sit down. Come back and sit down. They
all came back and sat down. They began to sing. I went back
there. Gary Shepherd was there with
me. He brought his waiters with him. I didn't have anything with
me. that he did. He had everybody with him. They
had the pool filled, and she was there. And we, she said,
somebody had to help me up them steps. I said, they'd be glad
to. You know, and I told the people,
I said, now this, this is evidence of the presence of God. Do we have to pool people? Do
I have to tell them what to do? I was going to tell him good
night. She said, you just hold it now. I came here to confess
my Lord. You just hold it. Don't you love that? What you
wish? And one night not long ago, one of our elders preaching
somewhere on a Samaritan woman. He finished preaching. The lady
back there started sobbing. She said, somebody help me. I'm
in trouble. Somebody help me. This is what
I'm saying. What's going on today is so stereotyped,
scheduled, programmed, organized. The spirit of the living God
doesn't even have to be there for it to just keep on going.
God's not honoring it. But as you're asking too much,
Lord God of heaven, to ask thee to give evidence that this is
your gospel, That's what Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel. He said,
Lord, let it be known this day that I'm your servant, and what
I've said is by your will, and that you're God in heaven, and
you're the only God. Let it be known! And deliver us from this ritualism,
and form, and ceremony. He'll let you know when he gets
through preaching that he's not depending on the Holy Spirit,
because he starts telling people what to do. Raise your hand.
Raise your hand. Do this. Bow your head. Do this.
Do this. Peter didn't tell them what to do at Pentecost. They
asked him, what must we do? He got through preaching. They
said, what are we going to do? We've crucified the Lord of Glory. He said, I'll tell you what you
better do. You better repent. and be baptized in his precious
name. The angels bore witness. Just wait on the Lord. Wouldn't
you like to see that again? You're seeing it, and you will
see it more by God's grace. All right, here's the fourth
thing. He was preached to the Gentiles. God was manifest in
the flesh. God was justified and vindicated
by the Spirit. God, Jesus Christ, the God-man,
was seen of angels, and He was preached to the Gentiles. Turn
back there to where Brother Paul was reading a moment ago, Ephesians
3. Look at that again. Look at that again. It says here in verse 6, this
is a mystery. that the Gentiles should be fellow
heirs of the same body, partakers of the promise in Christ for
the gospel. Paul says, Well, I am made a
minister according to the gift of grace of God given to me by
the effectual working of his power unto me, who am less than
the least of all the saints. Is this grace given that I should
preach among the Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ?
That's us, Gentiles. The Gentiles didn't have the
law. or the prophets, or the tabernacle, or the priesthood,
or the mercy seat. There was one mercy seat. It
was in Israel. It was one high priest, one atonement,
Israel. But I'll tell you, thank God
that the Lord Jesus has been pleased to include us. It says, turn back to Ephesians
2, talk about us Gentiles Verse 11, listen, Ephesians 2, 11,
Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the
flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision
in the flesh made by hand, at that time you were without Christ.
You were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. your strangers from
the covenant of promise, having no hope without God in this world,
but now in Christ, you who were one time so far off are made
nigh by the blood of Christ? Miracle! Terry, miracle. Miracle, mystery, that we Gentiles
should be in Christ. He torn down the middle wall
of petition, made one body of the twain, few and Gentile. I tell you, somebody said many, many, many
years ago, the nearest thing to God is an angel, and the farthest
thing from God was a Gentile. Isn't that merciful that he should
include us? He included me. He included me. By faith, I'm a son of Abraham.
He's not a Jew, which is one outwardly, but one which is one
inwardly. All right, fifthly, in 1 Timothy
3. Let me move on here. 1 Timothy
3, verse 16. It says, And he was believed
on in the world. You know, saving faith's a miracle.
Now, religion's not a miracle. And some kind of faith is not
a miracle. But saving faith's a miracle. saving face of mystery. People of all races—listen to
me now. Think with me a little bit. People
of all races and cultures are religious. And I know what I'm talking about.
I've been literally all over this world. There's so many,
many countries, and everywhere I go they've got religion. Africa is one of the most pagan
countries I've ever visited and one of the most religious. Religion
and superstition. You look at all the religious
ceremony and the religious traditions and the religious customs and
the religious ritual. Russia. This is hard for the
average person to believe. They've been under communism
for seventy years. I went to the Kremlin twice.
The Kremlin, the seat of government, the seat of the Russian hierarchy
and power, is a wall around the Kremlin twenty or more feet high. The Kremlin is a city within
a city. That's where the Parliament is and where the seat of government
is and where the power is and where the whole Russian-Soviet
complexity is ruled from that place right there. And you have to go in at a certain
time in a certain gate. They'll let visitors go in there.
We went in, and it's just a city within a city, as I say. Do you
know inside the walls of the Kremlin, there's seven cathedrals? Seven cathedrals. I'm not talking
about little church buildings. I'm not talking about little
religious chapels. I'm talking about mammoth, massive,
monstrous cathedrals with their gold domes. Right, Doris? Seven
of them. Every one of the great old czars
and rulers during their reign built a cathedral in their name
and memory. And religion, religion in Russia
has been a powerful The czars, up till 1917, were almost ruled
by the religious leaders. Just outside the Kremlin, there
are two more cathedrals. One, Ivan the Terrible built,
with its seven domes. A monstrous thing. In other words,
out there on Red Square, you've got on your right here Lenin's
tomb, where all those dignitaries stood, you know, when they'd
have the May Day parades and run the tanks and all down that
big Red Square. When you look left yonder, it's
Ivan the Terrible's cathedral. And the architect that designed
it, that was his life's work. And when he got through the years
and years and years of designing and building it, Ivan said to
him, Do you think you could build a cathedral more beautiful than
that one? He said, I think I can. He said,
I'll put your eyes out, and you won't be able to. Listen, this world is religious,
superstitious. Paul came to Corinth, and he
said, I walked through your city, and I perceived, I saw all these
altars, shrines, and cathedrals to God's And you even had one
to the unknown God. You're superstitious. You're
religious. Watch a baseball manager walk
out to change pictures. He won't step on the line. It's
superstition. Watch a bride. I go back in my
study to have a wedding. They got their candles and all
this paraphernalia. Something old, something new,
something borrowed, something blue, something tradition. Superstition. And I'll say to the groom, is
your girlfriend here? I don't know. I said, what do
you mean you don't know? He said, I can't look at her
before the wedding. Superstition. We're governed by it, ruled by
it, controlled by it. Look, superstition, religion,
that's what it is. Crosses around the neck. Watch
a batter come up to the plate, spit on his head, spit on the
ground, cuss a little bit, fellow's son, little boy sitting
watching the baseball game, he saw him do that, said, well,
I'd help him, Daddy. He said, well, if he can hit
the ball. Superstition. Let me tell you
something. Listen to me real well, I think. It's a miracle and a mystery
if I or any of you can be totally delivered from all of that junk. and superstition, and custom,
and prejudice, and power, and ceremony, and be brought to really
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a miracle, Rick. It's a
miracle. For you to come to look to Him,
and Him alone and have no confidence in this flesh when anything the
flesh can produce, look to Him and Him alone, and stay there
till you die in faith like Abraham of old. That's a miracle. If you do, it's God's miracle
in you. Most folks quit before it's over. They go back. They go back. They can't bear the pressure.
They can't stand the persecution. They can't stand the loneliness.
They can't stand the dedication to Christ. Christology, that's
what it is. Christ and Christ alone. And
that's a miracle. That's what he says here. For
God to become a man is a miracle, but for you to believe it is
a miracle. Try it. For you to believe Him. Believe Him. I'm not talking
about accepting Jesus, I'm talking about believing him. To where
you take your only son, lay him on an altar and bind him and
raise a knife to sacrifice him to God. That's the man that believed
God. So you take a lad whom you love
and who's been your only son for 14 years and put him out. Say, go your way, because the
bondman's, the bondwoman's son cannot live with a son of promise.
That's believing God. When you leave your home and
go to a land God will show you, and you don't even know where
the land is, that's believing God. That's a miracle. And all these folks, the preachers,
are pulling down to the front and saying, now repeat after
me. Now you say, you wait and see. You wait and see what they're
saying. You wait and see. That man who
believes God, who, by the grace of God, by a miracle of his supernatural
Holy Spirit's regeneration, believes God, he's saved. Isn't that a miracle? To God be the glory. Or fifthly,
sixthly rather, closing. And this man, this God-man, God
became a man. The Holy Spirit vindicated his
coming, vindicated his claims. The angels announced everything
he did. He was preached to the Gentiles.
He was believed on, believed on, actually believed. I believe
God. And he was received up into glory.
And right now in heaven, there's a man, there's a man like this man here.
that one day was born of a woman, came out of a mother's womb,
was washed and salted and swaddled and wrapped in clothes and nourished
on a mother's breast and grew up by the side of the father
and worked as a carpenter with his father, walked through this
world solid, thirsted, hungry, weary, man of solace, acquainted
with grief, tempted in all points as we are in the flesh, and died. He died. This man died. And they put him in a grave.
And God raised him, this man, in human flesh. And when he appeared
to his disciples to show them he was the same Jesus that died,
he ate a piece of bread and honeycomb. And he went to glory, sat down
at the right hand of God. And I'll tell you, that's my
and your only hope of being in glory is to be with that man. in that man, represented by that
man, redeemed by that man. But that encourages me, because
if there can be one man in glory, there can be two. If there can
be one, there can be one million. If there can be one, there can
be one billion. Because the difficulty is one. That's the difficulty. There's one God and one mediator
between God and man, the man Jesus Christ. You say he's a
man, he's a man in glory. That's what this says. Isn't
that what this says, Pastor? And that's my hope. He is my Redeemer. What he did, he did for me. When
he died, he died for me. What he's doing now, he's doing
for me. And one day, he said to those disciples, I go to prepare
a place for you. And if I go and prepare the place,
I'm coming back and receive you unto myself. And he will. He'll
be back for you. He is. He'll be back. He said
he will. He'll be back. That where I am
there, you may be also. All right. Thank you. Our Heavenly Father, You have
borne witness to the knowledge of the Spirit and the power of
the Spirit.

The Mystery Of Godliness

What does the Bible say about the mystery of godliness?

How do we know the doctrine of the Incarnation is true?

Why is the Incarnation important for Christians?

What does it mean that Christ was justified by the Spirit?

How does the mystery of godliness relate to salvation?

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The Mystery Of Godliness

What does the Bible say about the mystery of godliness?

How do we know the doctrine of the Incarnation is true?

Why is the Incarnation important for Christians?

What does it mean that Christ was justified by the Spirit?

How does the mystery of godliness relate to salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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