First Timothy chapter 3. We'll
begin by reading just one verse, the last verse in chapter 3,
verse 16, verse 16. 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, received up into glory. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. And Paul tells us what he means
by that, this mystery that's without controversy. God was
manifest in the flesh. What a mystery. What a wonder. This is the great mystery Paul
speaks of and he says that's without controversy. Don't need
to even consider arguing that point without a doubt. This is a great controversy in
the original The words without controversy would read, confessedly
so. Paul says, I confess, this is
a wonder. I confess, this without a doubt
is a great mystery. Paul, notice here, he doesn't
even attempt to explain this great mystery. He simply says,
it's so, it's so. God in flesh. God in flesh. What a mystery. What a mystery. Meaning, man cannot comprehend
this. He just can't comprehend it.
Believers bow to it. They rejoice in it. They believe
it. Oh, but they can't comprehend
it. It's supernatural. God in the flesh. And we're only
natural men. So how can this puny brain of
a man comprehend how God Almighty could become a man? Jesus Christ
was made in the likeness of men. We read it a moment ago in Philippians
2. And he was found in fashion as
a man. I want to read you a few verses
from Psalm 139. Psalm 139. And I know these apply
to David. And I know these apply to every
man and woman. But they apply also to the Lord
Jesus Christ. God manifests in the flesh. In
Psalm 139, verse 13, For thou hast possessed my reins,
thou hast covered me in my mother's womb." You remember when he came
into the world, he said, a body has thou prepared me. Great is that mystery. Verse
14, I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works, and
that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from
thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the
lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see me, see my
substance, yet being imperfect. And in thy book all my members
were written, which in continuance were fashioned, fashioned mysteriously,
wonderfully, We can't comprehend how. But where fashion went as
yet, there was none of them. And in that body that God prepared
him, he said, I come to do thy will, O my God. You remember what the angel said
to Mary? Let me read that verse to you.
In Luke chapter 1, and the angel answered and said unto her, the
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest
shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And when he appeared to Joseph
in Matthew 1, we read, that it should be fulfilled which were
spoken by the prophets. He shall be called Emmanuel.
What does that mean? What does that mean? That means
God with us. God with us. That's a wonder. Paul says without controversy,
without a doubt, this is a great mystery. God became a man. A man. Flesh of our flesh. Bone of our bones. He looked
like a man. And yet, he didn't cease to be
God. I read a comment by Mr. Spurgeon
along this line, and I think it goes very well with what I'm
trying to say. Spurgeon wrote, deity is not
to be explained. It's not to be explained. That's
exactly what Paul said. It's a mystery. Deity is not
to be explained, but to be adored. And the sonship of Christ is
to be accepted as a truth of revelation and to be apprehended
by faith, though it cannot be comprehended by the understanding. When I thought of this, text
of scripture and during the preparation of this message, I thought, man,
I'm in over my head, John. I'm way over my head. And that's
as it should be. Because we're speaking of that
one who was in the beginning God and never ceased to be God
and yet became man. What a mystery. And I was reminded of years ago. I thought this
might help illustrate my feeling. Years ago, when my children were
still small, sometimes during the summer, their summer vacation,
we would take them to an amusement park. And one year, we went to
Kings Island. And my youngest son, Roger, had
just gotten big enough, tall enough, to get on the roller
coaster, the big one. He was nervous. I said, Roger,
we'll get in the same car together. So we sat. And you know how those
things begin. That steep incline, and they're
just going rather slow, inching their way up. But as we got higher
and higher, Roger looked over. I saw his knuckles just turning
white on that safety bar. And he looked at me. He said,
Dad, we're going up. I guess we've got to come down. I said, yeah, Roger, we've got
to come down. When I read this text of scripture
and others like it, I think no matter how high I may fly, on
the wings of God-given faith, when I read that God was manifest
in the flesh, I've just got to come down. Just bow before this
mystery, and as Mr. Spurgeon said, adore and wonder. Christ emptied himself, not by
losing what he was. That's not what emptying himself
means. But by taking unto himself that
which he was not, becoming a man. A mystery indeed. It is he, it
is rather because of who he is, who he is, that gives merit and
virtue to what he does. Now think of that. That's comforting,
child of God. That's your foundation. That's
your assurance before the Lord God that John taught this morning
demands righteousness, demands perfection. Christ gave it to
him. And he did so as the substitute
and representative of his people. Who he is gives merit and virtue
to what he does. Without a Savior who is divine,
You don't have a Savior at all. Look unto me and be ye saved
for I am God and there is none else. I am just God and Savior. He's God and man. If Christ is not God, then we
are not Christians. If Christ is not God, we may
as well bow down out there and worship that fallen tree because
we're lost. I thought again of an illustration,
and I know, I'm aware that I've used this before, but I visited
a friend in the hospital one time, Shannon was his name, and
I went in while he was having lunch, and he was working on
a piece of meat on his tray, and finally he just pushed it
away and said, Larry, I declare, the longer I chew that piece
of meat, the bigger it gets. So it is here. So it is here. My soul, unless we can comprehend
the height, and we can't, unless we can comprehend the height
from which Jesus Christ came, how can we appreciate how far
he came to? condescended. If we cannot grasp
how rich he was, how can we understand how poor he became? Paul said it's a mystery. It's
just a mystery. The word was made flesh, John
said, and dwelt. Dwelt. The word dwelt is tabernacled. The word was made flesh and tabernacled. in the body of this flesh for
a little while among us. What a mystery! God comes to
us in the form of one like ourselves. It speaks of the great God and
Savior. Six things Paul tells us concerning
this great mystery. He says, God was manifest in
the flesh, that's one, justified in the spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received
up into glory. And all six things refer to the
Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of those. God was manifested,
that was Jesus Christ. He was justified in the Spirit.
That too is Jesus Christ. All six things describe none
other, can apply to none other, but the Lord Jesus Christ. He
was manifest in the flesh. That's the first thing. And that's
the only one we'll consider now. And I'd like to go to two or
three places in scripture to help exemplify this. Three scenes that set before
us this great mystery of our Savior's incarnation. And remember
this as we do. Remember these words, child of
God. That our Lord spoke to Simon Peter. When he asked the question,
whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And some said one
thing, some said another. They all had an opinion. But
Christ said, but whom say you that I am? And I'm asking you, and I'm asking
me. Take the words of Christ, take
this question, and direct it to yourself. Who say you that
I am? And Simon answered, Simon answered. Is this your answer? Is this
your answer? In your heart of hearts, because
God has given you the precious gift of faith in his Son. Is this your answer? Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God. Hear this. If that's your answer,
hear this. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Blessed art thou. Hear this, child of God. Blessed
art thou, Simon Barjona. or John Copeland or Larry Chris
blessed art thou for flesh and blood have not revealed it unto
thee that but my father which is in heaven now with that in
mind let's go to Luke chapter 1 Luke chapter 1 this first picture
has two sides to it in Luke chapter 1 and then again in Matthew chapter
1 But look first here in Luke's Gospel chapter 1. We read one
verse a moment ago from this passage. This is when Gabriel
appears to the Virgin Mary with the news that she should have
a son. Verse 26 of Luke 1. And in the sixth month, the angel
Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee named Nazareth
to a virgin and spouse to a man whose name was Joseph of the
house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel
came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favored,
that has been graced, is the word. The Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast
in her mind what matter of salutation this should be. It's a great
mystery. And the angel said unto her,
fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold,
behold, pause, adore, and wonder. Thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and that shall call his name Jesus. He
shall be great. He shall be great. And shall
be called the son of the highest, and the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall
be no end. Mary, he shall be great. Now, when I was in school, I would sometimes read a biography
or the teacher in history class would have a lesson on Alexander
the Great, for example. Alexander the Great. Well, how
do you do? What did he do? Why does he deserve
the name Great? Alexander the Great? He conquered
all the then known world of his day and then died at the age
of 32. I don't know whether it's true or not, perhaps not, but
it says that after he conquered all the world, he sat down and
wept because there was no more worlds to conquer. Alexander
the Great. And then we can read of the Caesar's
dynasty. What did they do? You fill in
the blank. Man, great, all those the world
calls great, no mystery, no wonder, all but concerning the Lord Jesus
Christ, he shall be great. Jesus Christ's birth is the greatest
wonder in this world. This, the birth of Jesus Christ
that the angel announced to Mary, is the hinge on which eternities
revolve. It's the meeting place of eternity
past and everything that's to come. The past looks forward
to this event. The future looks back to this
event. Everything is concentrated upon
the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. God Almighty was made like unto
man. No wonder the angels sang about
it as they looked into that manger with holy wonder. They had looked
forward to this since they were created. He was seen of angels
we read of in scripture. I never read that the angels
of God show any excitement concerning anything else. I mean by that
anything that man does. They don't look in. They're not
amazed. They don't extol it. But this,
this, they had been looking forward to for ages. This captivates
all their attention. As Bobby sang a moment ago, concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, be thou my vision. Oh, Lord of my heart,
he is to the angels. They're interested in this, concerning
this blessed fact. that unto us a child is born
and to us a son is given, which things the angels desire to look
into. They wander with delight to see
their creator made of a woman. They look into that stable and
they can't get over it. Our great God Our creator is a babe. The infinite is become an infant. He upon whose mighty arms the
universe is upheld is he himself now held in the arms of a woman. Great is the mystery. What a
wonder how the angels adore him. I know that's so. Look, if you
will, in Luke's Gospel, chapter 2. This is exactly what we read
here. In Luke, chapter 2, verse 6. And so it was that while they
were there, that is, Joseph and Mary, the days were accomplished. Everything concerning the Lord
Jesus Christ uses that word, accomplished. That she should
be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn
son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger
because there was no room for them in the inn. And there was in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock
by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord
came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them,
Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And
this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find a babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising
God and saying, these are angels that desire to look into these
things. Glory to God in the highest and
on earth peace, good will toward men. Angels. who never experienced redemption. Angels who never personally experienced
salvation or forgiveness because Christ did not take upon himself
the nature of angels, but he took hold of the seed of Abraham.
He didn't come to redeem angels. He came to redeem his people.
Wherefore, it behooved him, it was necessary for him, in all
things to be made like unto his brethren. The angels that failed,
God passed by. No mercy. And of course, these
angels that we read of, that sing the praises of their incarnate
God, have no need. They were kept. And they wonder,
even though they never experienced it, is that not perhaps why they
look in with amazement? Look! Look! He from whose hand
we have our being, look! He who is our mighty God, our
Creator, He who created all things by the word of His power, He
who is God over all and blessed forever. Look, look at that. Look at that. That's Him. That's Him. Oh, and they adore
and marvel. I wonder, do angels also wonder
that those who have tasted of His mercy and grace, that those
for whom He came as a man, Those who have experienced His glorious
redemption, do the angels who look on, even now for 2,000 years,
they've been considering this blessed wonder. In heaven they
sing His praises. They've never gotten over it.
I wonder do they find it odd that those who have tasted His
mercy and grace can be so unmoved So seemingly unaffected by it,
so much of the time, I'm not thinking of you, I'm thinking
of myself. God, forgive me. God, forgive
me. Let anything in this world become
commonplace and passe. Let me turn a deaf ear and a
blind eye to everything except this. Oh, may he be thou my vision. Oh, Lord of my heart. High King
of heaven, my victory won. What a Savior. The second part
of this picture, the incarnation, will you turn with me to Matthew
chapter 1. I suspect you knew where I was
going. Matthew chapter 1. Here we're
told the reason he became flesh. A man that sinned against God
cannot by anything he does satisfy God's demands, his holy law,
and yet If he's ever forgiven, God's law must be satisfied.
And God cannot die for sins. Oh, but the God-man, he can do
both. Indeed. He satisfies God. And as man, he bears the penalty
due to all of his people. We have one mediator between
God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Here in Matthew chapter 1, look
at verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise. This is how it occurred. This
is how it happened. When as his mother Mary was espoused
to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the
Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take
unto thee Mary thy wife. For that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost. Great is the mystery of godliness.
And she shall bring forth a son. Unto us a son is given. and thou
shalt call his name Jesus." All capital letters there. For he
shall save his people from their sins. The blood of sacrifices
and of animals can never do that, can never take away sin. Oh,
but the blood of God's Son has done so. Has done so. The blood of Christ has completely
purged all the sins of all of his people. We've been redeemed,
Peter reminds us, with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. It's precious
because it's his blood. It's his blood. Paul in Acts
20 said, the church of God which he hath purchased with his own
blood. His blood makes atonement. His blood makes atonement. Doesn't attempt to make atonement.
Doesn't take a stab at making atonement. His blood makes atonement. His blood redeemed his people. He entered one time, one time,
because once was enough. Once got the job done. One time
into the holy place, having obtained, obtained eternal redemption for
us. His blood satisfied all the claims
of God Almighty. When his son died, God said,
it's enough. Oh yes, when he was made sin
for us, God said, a Waco sword against the man who is my fellow,
smite the shepherd. But after doing so, God puts
the sword back into the sheath and says, that's enough. I'm
satisfied. Do not measure. your acceptance
with God by the yardstick of your own merit. I know that's our nature to do
so. And that's why we become depressed and cast down. Don't measure your acceptance
before God by the yardstick of your own merit or your own works.
Rather do this. Measure your acceptance before
God by the merits of Jesus Christ. Measure your acceptance before
God by Christ's worthiness. Remember that God, for Christ's
sake, has forgiven you. That's why he says, when I see,
what, God speaking, when I see that Larry's prayed enough, given
enough, visited enough, witnessed enough, preached enough, oh no,
that's my own yardstick. No, he says, when I see the blood,
when I see the blood, the blood of my own son, The blood of the
eternal Lamb of God. The blood of that one sacrificed
from the foundation of the world in the mind and purpose of God.
When I see THE blood, THE blood, the only blood that satisfies
God, when I see that, God says, I'll pass over you. You notice
that? Those are both declarations of
blessed assurance. There's no if about either one
of those. The cause is this when I see
the blood. And the certain effect is this,
I will pass over you. Oh, I find that comforting. That
will give peace to you. That will give you a good hope.
Joseph, call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. I'll tell you what. You're looking
at a fella who needs to hear that every day. I need to hear
that every day. Because I battle with sin every
day. Every day. I cry with the apostle
Paul regularly. Oh, wretched man that I am. Oh, this body of death strapped
on me like a dead corpse. Who shall deliver me? Call his
name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He shall save me to the very
uttermost. He was manifest in the flesh. God became man for this very
purpose, to bear the sins of all of his people in his own
body on the tree. The second picture is this. Turn
with me to Luke's gospel again, chapter 2. We'll just be brief
here. Time is going by quickly. Luke chapter 2. Here's another
revelation. Remember what we read in Matthew
16? I asked you to remember it and
apply it to yourself if you're a child of God. Blessed art thou,
Simon Marjona, for flesh and blood have not revealed this
unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." It was revealed
to Mary, to Joseph, and now an old man named Simeon. Here in
Luke chapter 2, we see him, our Savior and God, 40 days old,
being brought to the temple, being carried to the temple. to fulfill the law of God. Oh my, what a mystery. In the
beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word
was God. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. He was in the world and the Word
was made by Him, that same one that's carried to the temple
in the arms of its mother. That's God Almighty. My, my,
my. What a mystery. And we see in this picture an
old man named Simeon. Verse 28. It's been revealed
to him that God's not going to let him die until he sees God's
salvation. God told him that. Simeon, you
won't leave this world. He's an old man now, but God
said, you're not going to leave until you've seen my salvation. Oh, I'm so thankful, not as thankful
as I should be, but that God Almighty didn't let this rebel
leave this world until he had been pleased to show me his salvation. All those days of darkness when
I cursed His name and made mockery of every believer I knew. Oh,
I thank God that He did not let me die, did not give me what
I deserved. Oh, but blessed, blessed miracle
of grace, He revealed His Son in me. What a wonder. What a wonder. Simeon, verse
28, comes into the temple. where Christ was. It seems all
this was arranged, doesn't it? You mean God does things on purpose?
My soul, well, of course. Then took he up in his arms,
that is, this old man, and blessed God and said, Lord, now let us
thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, for my
eyes have seen thy salvation. That old man takes God in his
hands, in his arms, and he knows it. God's revealed
who that baby is to Simeon. He wouldn't have known otherwise.
He wouldn't have known otherwise. It's to whomsoever God will reveal
him. The Son won't be known otherwise.
He takes the baby in his arms and he holds in his hands the
God who holds him in his mighty hand so that he shall never perish
or be plucked out. And then he says, let me depart
in peace. Let me depart in peace. Simeon
says, when I die, put my fork in my coffin because something
better is coming. Let me depart in peace. Simeon, are you ready to die
again? Let's not confine that question
to Simeon. I'm asking you. I'm asking you,
Terry Hough. Are you ready to die? Are you
ready to face God Almighty? I don't ask you, are you ready
to go to purgatory, no such place. Lying the grave in soul sleep,
no, that's a lie too. Are you ready, after death, to
stand before God Almighty? It's appointed unto men once
to die. You have an appointment with
death. God Almighty has ordained it. And after death, that's not out,
the judgment. You'll depart and stand before
God. Simeon said, I'm ready. How can
any man be ready to stand before God Almighty? Multitudes have
departed this life thinking they were ready, only to hear, depart
from me, I never knew you. How was this old man ready? The
only answer, verse 34, because mine eyes have seen thy salvation. He had Christ revealed to him.
He had Christ revealed to him. That's the only way you'll ever
see God's salvation. It takes a miracle. Oh, I know
you've heard of Jesus. But before you can embrace him
in the arms of faith and know that I am his and he
is mine, The only way you can depart this world prepared to
meet your God is if God Almighty is pleased to reveal His Son
to you and in you. If He is pleased to command the
darkness to depart, and the light of the glorious gospel of Christ
to shine into your hearts to reveal Christ, that's the only
way you'll know as this old man knew. Can you imagine Simeon
lying down that night to sleep? He was probably thinking, I hope
I don't wake up. I hope I don't wake up. Simeon
lay down after seeing God's salvation, and he knew, oh, he knew. Did he ever sleep so sound before? Lying down that night and knowing,
it's well with my soul. It's well with my soul, knowing
that he's accepted in to be loved, and nothing could separate him
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. He knew. He
knew there's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
Oh, in the beloved, accepted and free, in the beloved, accepted
eternally. I was going to consider one more.
We'll just briefly make mention of it. Luke chapter 23, we'll not turn
there. Here's another picture that illustrates
the mystery of godliness. Our Lord hangs on the cross. Two thieves on each side of him. One thief. We're told that at
first both thieves ridiculed him, mocked him just like the
folks on the ground did. But then in the space of a few
hours, something miraculous happened. One of those thieves took sides
with God against himself. He did a complete turnaround.
If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Behold, all things
are passed away. All things become new. And that
thief said, I'm getting what I deserved. And in verse 42,
he said, Lord, remember me. Remember me. Remember me. How could he forget? That thief
was one that God Almighty had entrusted into the hands of Christ
before the world began. He wouldn't forget him. One for
whom he was dying at that moment, obtaining eternal redemption.
He wouldn't forget him. Can a woman forget her suckling
child? That she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will
not I forget you. Behold, I have graven you upon
the palms of my hands. Thy walls are continually before
me. He says, remember me. And Christ
says today, thou shalt be with me in paradise. Those words apply to every child
of God. They had this sweet promise that
whenever it is God's will for you to depart from this world
and be absent from the body, you'll be present with the Lord. Great is the mystery of godliness.
Has it been revealed to you? The Lord Jesus Christ. If so,
know this. If so, know this. Thy sins are
forgiven thee. God give you grace to go in peace. One hymn writer expressed it
like this, and I'm finished. Sons of peace redeemed by blood,
raise your songs to Zion's God. Made from condemnation free,
Grace triumphant, sing with me. Sin is lost beneath the blood,
drowned into the Redeemer's blood. Zion, oh, how blessed art thou,
justified from all things now. Amen. Amen. God bless you.