There were two brothers by the
name of Priestley who were preachers. Both of them had been raised
in a very strong gospel family, taught the gospel from their
youth. Both of them ordained as preachers, Presbyterian preachers
in their youth. But the older brother, older
by one year, Joseph Priestley, got too smart for God. And he
became a Unitarian liberal preacher, moved to Philadelphia from England,
and helped to establish the first Unitarian church in Philadelphia.
And his younger brother, Timothy, remained faithful to the gospel. The older brother, Joseph Priestley,
was quite a chemist as well, better known for that than as
a preacher, as well he ought to be. But the younger brother
came over to visit his older, better-known brother. And while
he was visiting, the older Dr. Priestley, the liberal, unbelieving
Unitarian, courteously asked his younger brother if he wouldn't
preach for him when Sunday came around. And he agreed. Got close
to time, but he got a little afraid. The liberal fellow thought
maybe he might have made a mistake in asking his brother to preach
for him, so he came to him and asked him, said, I just have
one request. Said, when you preach for me,
I would request that you find a subject that is not controversial. And the younger brother, Timothy
Priestley, said I had planned on doing that. And so he was
greatly relieved. Sunday morning came. And the
younger Dr. Priestley stepped into that liberal,
unitarian, godless, reprobate pulpit and announced as his text,
1 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16. And he said, my brother has
asked that I preach to you on a subject that is not controversial. And this is the one subject that
we know is not controversial, for it is written And without
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. And proceeded to
preach from 1 Timothy 3.16. I've never read the sermon. Don't have any idea what he said.
I suspect it's much like what I'm about to preach to you tonight.
As I said this morning, I've often been accused of being too
controversial in things I preach, things I write. So tonight I'm
going to improve my image. The title of my message is a
subject without controversy. My text, 1 Timothy 3.16. Let's look at it together. 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. Now let's look at Paul's introductory
statement first. When he says, without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness, he means for us to understand
at least these two things. First, the doctrine of the gospel
is irrefutable. I said the doctrine, not doctrines. Anytime you read this book, whenever
doctrine is in the plural, whenever it is used in the plural, it
always refers to false doctrine. The doctrine of God, the doctrine
of the Bible, the doctrine of Christ is one. We tend to compartmentalize
things. And we like to look at the doctrine
of rediction, the doctrine of justification, the doctrine of
sanctification, and so on. And I suppose there's some value
in that because our brains are so small. But the reality is
that this book is not a revelation of many doctrines. It is the
revelation of one doctrine. And that one doctrine is the
doctrine of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And the doctrine
revealed in this book, that is the doctrine of God as it relates
to the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is one. It is one. Paul is telling us
here that the doctrine of the gospel, the doctrine of Jesus
Christ, all that is revealed in this book concerning the God,
our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord, everything revealed here
concerning him is undebatable. It is irrefutable. It is undeniable. It is without controversy. These
things are not up for debate. They're not things we discuss
with men like we would theories of science or theories of philosophy. It said, well, this opinion may
have some value and that opinion may have some value. If your
opinion about Jesus Christ is not God's opinion, your opinion
is of no value. If my opinion about those things
revealed in this book are not in concordance with what God
says in this book, my opinion is of no value. It is utterly
meaningless. These things are without controversy. Yet the gospel of Christ, Paul
intends for us to understand, is a mystery. A mystery that
no one can comprehend. Now, when I was a 18-year-old
boy, started in Bible college, I learned early on how the theologians
tell us mysteries in the scriptures are. A mystery I was taught is
something that was once hidden but is now revealed. Well, that
won't quite get it. The Apostle Paul is here telling
us, great is the mystery of godliness. The revelation of God. is still
a mystery. It is a mystery we believe, a
mystery we experience, a mystery in which we rejoice, a mystery
in which we find great hope and consolation, but it is still
a mystery. That means that it cannot be
received It cannot be understood. It cannot be believed except
a man be born again. He cannot see the kingdom of
God. And that which is revealed to
us is known only by divine revelation. When you read this book, read
it and study it, compare scripture with scripture. But as you read
this book, read it with prayer in your heart, God Give me understanding. Write the words on the tables
of my heart and teach me what is written here. Otherwise, we
read the book to no profit. And even when we are given the
revelation of the things of God, so that we see the glory and
the beauty and the majesty of these things. so that we believe
God and rejoice in Christ Jesus so that we worship and adore
our God still in our mortal state presently. We cannot comprehend
these things. Everything in this book is just
too big for you and me to comprehend. I keep coming back to passages
just like you do and I read them and And suddenly a passage will
just burst open and you say, my, I wonder why I didn't see
that before. Because God didn't show it to
me before. It's just that simple. It's just that simple. We read
the book and it opens to us as God opens the book to us. Having
said all that, Paul goes on to declare and assert the unquestionable
facts that are revealed to us, those things that mortal eyes
look upon as incomprehensibly mysterious, and yet facts that
cannot be disputed. Facts so plainly revealed, so
evidently set forth, so manifestly clear, that no reasonable controversy
can be raised concerning them. Facts so evidently set forth
that they cannot be denied by any man with honesty who even
looks into them. I find it sadly amusing, but
amusing nonetheless, to listen to men discussing the things
of God. especially the brilliant, what
was it Mr. Bush used to call them, talking
heads on television. They discuss the things of God
as if they had some clue what they were talking about. They
discuss them just as if they really, you know, were not absolutely
insane spiritually. But their discussion proves that
they're willing to embrace willing to believe, willing to concoct
any imaginary thing, rather than bow to divine revelation. If
you choose to sicken yourself, just listen sometime, but don't
let yourself pay any attention. Because if they speak not according
to the words of the prophecy of this book, it is because they
have no light in them. And if you choose to follow the
lead of a blind man, you're as blind as he is. All right, let's
look at these facts. Here are six facts that are beyond
dispute. Number one, God was manifest
in the flesh. A little more than 2000 years
ago, the incomprehensible God stepped into a body and came
into this world. God was manifest in the flesh. The greatest mystery in all the
world is the mystery of the incarnation. It was miraculous, a supernatural
work of God almighty. And that which is supernatural
cannot be explained by the laws of nature any more than that
which is spiritual can be explained by the laws of physics. When
Paul says God was manifest in the flesh, this is what he's
telling us. God the Son, the second person
of the eternal Trinity, who in the covenant of grace assumed
all responsibility for our souls, who in the covenant of grace
stood forth as our surety and pledged himself to save God's
elect, that man who is himself God came into this world. He became a man, God did, so
that he might accomplish this great work. He never ceased to
be God. He was no less God when he was
in this world. No less God when he walked on
this earth. No less God when he stopped at
Jacob's well and asked for some water. No less God when he hung
on the tree and said, I thirst. No less God when he died in our
stead than he was when he made the world. But God was manifest
in the flesh. Turn to John, first John chapter
one. First John chapter one. This is how John describes. That which was from the beginning.
Which we have heard. Which we have seen with our eyes. Which we have looked upon. and
our hands have handled of the word of life. For the life was
manifested and we've seen it and bear witness and show unto
you that eternal life, which was with the father and was manifested
unto us. That which we have seen and heard,
declare we unto you that you also may have fellowship with
us. And truly our fellowship is with the father and with his
son, Jesus Christ. God was manifest in the flesh. Number two, back here in our
text, God was manifest in the flesh. And then we're told justified
in the spirit. What does that mean? At your
leisure, you look at, look at John one 32, the spirit descended
upon him and abode upon him. God gave his spirit to him without
measure. anointing him above his brethren
with his spirit above measure. God, the Holy Spirit being given
to him without measure, fully satisfied all the claims that
he made himself, that he is the Messiah, the Christ of God, our
Redeemer, the Son of God. All the prophets pointed to it.
At his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven and lighted
upon him and abode upon him. The miracles he performed in
this world, he performed in conjunction with and by the power of the
spirit. Yes, he's God in the flesh. And
yet as the God-man, our mediator, the spirit worked through him.
And these things proved him to be the son of God whose mission
it was to save his people from their sins. I'm also certain. That when he says he was justified
in the spirit, the apostle means for us to understand that our
Lord Jesus, who was made sin for us, was justified from sin
when he was raised from the dead. Turn back to Romans chapter four
for a moment. Hold your hands here in first
Timothy, but turn to Romans four. Years ago, I read a statement
by Robert Murray McShane in which he made this observation. The
body of our savior, who had been made sin for us, laid in an unjustified
state for three days under the sentence of death. But on the
third day, the spirit of life came again to his body. And by
his resurrection from the dead, he was justified in the spirit. He was spiritually justified.
justified as our surety, as our representative, as the representative
of all God's elect, all the church of God's elect for whom he died.
Our sins, which were made his sins, he has put away by the
sacrifice of himself. And when he was in the grave
for three days, after three days he came forth from the dead and
God publicly declared our sins, which had been made his, now
are gone because he put them away. Look at Romans chapter
4 verse 25. He was delivered for our offenses. That is, he was delivered because
of our offenses. Delivered unto death because
our offenses were made his and he was raised again For our justification
again, the word is because Justification was accomplished when he cried
it is finished. I But he was raised again because
justification was accomplished. And being raised again, it is
publicly declared by his resurrection from the dead that the sins of
his people, made his, now are put away. All right, back in
our text. Here's a third thing. God was
manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels. I want to come back to that in
a minute. But here, understand the risen savior was seen with
joy, adoration, and praise by those holy angels that never
fail. And the risen savior was seen with envy and dismay by
Satan and all those apostate spirits who kept not their first
estate. And the fallen angels were forced
to acknowledge him as the Christ, the son of God. over and over
and over in the scriptures. He would come to those who were
demon possessed and the demons would cry out, thou Christ, the
son of the living God, thou Christ, the son of the living God, because
they were compelled to acknowledge the thing they most despised.
And so it shall be with all rebels against him. Here's the fourth
thing. The apostle adds, he was preached
under the Gentiles. He who is God came into this
world as a man, died under the penalty of sin as the sinner's
substitute, and was raised from the dead and beheld of angels. He is the theme of all true preaching. Oh, let me repeat it one more
time, just in case somebody Here's it for the first time. He is
the theme of all true preaching. If I stand here and speak to
you about any other subject, I'm just beating the air, mocking
your souls, mocking eternity and denying the revelation of
God. But Brother Don, shouldn't we
preach about this thing and that thing? No. No. We don't preach
things. We preach Him. We preach Christ
crucified. And if I don't preach Him, I've
got no business preaching or claiming to be a preacher. Anytime. Anytime. He was preached unto
the Gentiles in his twofold character. as the God-man mediator, the
one mediator between God and men who gave himself a ransom
and was testified in due time. He was preached unto the Gentiles
as the only all sufficient sacrifice for sins. That one who alone
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, that one who purged
our sins and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on
high, that one by whose obedience we have been made perfect and
sanctified forever. He was preached unto the Gentiles
as the everlasting righteousness of all who believe. As our sins
were made his sins, so his righteousness has been made ours. As he was
made sin for us, so we are made the righteousness of God in him. His name is Jehovah Sidkenu,
the Lord, our righteousness. The Lord Jesus. is relentlessly
preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews by every faithful
gospel preacher. In the Old Testament, the prophets
spoke of him. In the New Testament, the apostles
spoke of him. Today, all true preachers speak
of him. He who preaches the book preaches
Christ crucified. And he who does not preach Christ
crucified Matters not where he takes his text, does not preach
the book. I'll share a little secret with
you. I had been studying, ever since we finished studies in
Zachariah, Haggai chapter one. Haggai chapter one. And I haven't
begun preaching from the book of Haggai. I promised you I'm
going to plan to next Sunday evening. And I'll tell you why
I haven't. Not because I don't understand
the historic statements in Haggai chapter 1. That's not hard to
figure out. Not because I don't understand
the background to the passages. That's not hard to figure out.
But this is not a history book. And for me to stand up here and
just recite to you the history of the Jews in their best times
or their worst times is useless and meaningless for your soul.
I've been reluctant and hesitant because I haven't yet gotten
a firm grasp on how Haggai chapter one speaks of Christ. And I'll
make you a promise. I'm not going to stand up here
and pretend to understand it when I don't. I'm not going to
do that. I'm not going to do it. And if
God doesn't give me a clear message from Haggai one for next Sunday
night, you won't hear next Sunday night. There is no true preaching
of this book until Christ crucified is proclaimed from the book in
the passage where we're speaking or where we're reading. All right,
look at the next thing. This blessed Christ who was preached
unto the Gentiles was, is, and shall be until time is no more
believed on in the world. I can't say this has always been
true, but it is more and more true
every day. Let me tell you what I expect
from you. When I stand here and preach
the gospel, I expect you to believe Christ. I expect God to give
sinners faith. I expect him to create faith
in men who otherwise could not and would not believe because
the preaching of the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Because faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the word of God. And as Christ is preached, sinners
believe. As Christ is preached, sinners
believe. As Christ is preached, sinners
believe. And as we preach Him, He is believed
on in the world. It's been that way all these
past 2,000 years. And it will be until there is
not left an elect sinner to be brought to believe on Him in
this world. The crucified Christ. is the
one we preach, and He is the one we believe. Our Lord said,
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on Him
should not perish, but have eternal life. When Moses lifted up that
serpent, some folks who were there real close by could see
that serpent very clearly and distinctly. They could make out
the details on the pole and they could make out the details in
the engravings on the brazen serpent. They could see his eyes
and his head. Other folks off in a distance,
remember there's a huge camp of Israelites and they're just
looking at a brazen serpent lifted up on a pole. All they could
see is there's a serpent lifted up yonder. And God said, Look
at Him and you'll live. So it is with God's people in
this world. Some see things very clearly
and some not so clearly. Some see things with precision
and some with little precision. But anybody who looks to Christ
lives. Oh, but Brother Don, I can't
see things Clearly as you do. Nobody said you had to. But,
but I can't see. Those folks, those serpents couldn't
see either till they looked. But our Savior says, look unto
me and be you saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and
beside me there is none else. Our business is to lift up the
crucified Christ and he declares I If I be lifted up from the
earth will draw all men unto me. All right, here's the sixth
thing. 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. He was raised from the dead.
And his body was glorified as I shall be in the resurrection.
He ascended to heaven in a glorious manner with the angels of God,
the chariots of the angels, 10,000 of them. He was received up in
a cloud and there in heaven's glory, he was received by the
father, sat down on his right hand and was crowned with glory
and honor. glorified with the glory he had
with the Father before the worlds were. Turn over to John 17. John 17. I think we often miss
this. The glory our Savior now possesses. is the very same glory he possessed
from everlasting, from the beginning, from the time he stood forth
in old eternity as our covenant surety and the father trusted
him as our surety. The Lord God put in his hands
all things, gave him the rule and dominion of all things. And
when he came down here in this body of flesh as a man, he was
not seen to have all dominion and power and authority, but
rather he was looked upon as that humble one, that meek one,
the least in the kingdom of heaven, which he made himself to be.
And now that he's finished his work of obedience, he asked the
father to restore to him the glory he had with him. before
the world was. Look at it, John 17, 1. These
words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said,
Father, the hour has come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee, as thou hast given him power over all
flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast
given him. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom
thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the
earth. I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And
now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, watch it,
with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. In other words, our Lord Jesus
wraps everything up exactly in the end of time as he had wrapped
everything up in his purpose and decrees before time began. The glory he now possesses having
earned that glory by his obedience to the father is the glory he
possessed in everlasting as the God-man mediator before ever
he came into this world having earned that glory by his obedience
to the father when he said, I will I've come to do thy will. Oh
my God. He was received up into glory.
there to intercede for his elect received up into glory to rule
the world for his elect received up into glory to execute the
salvation of his elect and now let me show you something the
book declares about it this one who's been received up into glory
you can read it for yourself in Isaiah 42 for he shall not
fail He who undertook for my soul
from old eternity shall not fail. He who came to save me from my
sins shall not fail. He who brought in everlasting
righteousness for me shall not fail. He who redeemed me shall
not fail. He who came to seek and to save
me shall not fail. He who declares Don Fortner shall
never perish shall not fail. He makes intercession for the
saints according to the will of God. And the intercession
he makes for us is the intercession of one who pleads the merit of
his blood and righteousness. And that makes it effectual intercession. He pleads for us before the father
and therefore we are continually preserved and kept by him. Go
back to the middle of this verse. Paul makes this statement, and
I find it tremendously instructive, terribly reproving, and greatly inspiring. He tells
us that the Lord Jesus, God, who is manifest in the flesh,
was seen of angels. The angels of God Whenever they
were created, as soon as they were created by him, saw him,
loved him and adored him. And long to know all they can
about him as our redeemer. Paul tells us in Ephesians three
and Peter tells us in first Peter chapter one that the angels of
God fill up this room here. Right
now. Imagine that. Angels of God. Not little pretty trinket pictures
of angels. The angels of God fill up this
room. Right here where we're gathered. That they might learn from us
the manifold wisdom of God. That they might look into these
things with regard to the salvation of our souls. The angels of God,
they intently devote themselves to learning more about Jesus
Christ crucified all the time. They never tire of seeing him
and beholding him and adoring him and learning of him. And Merle, they can never, ever,
ever learn what you have experienced and experience every day. Oh, be ashamed, my hard heart. that I lack that same intense
interest in Him. The angels know nothing about
personal redemption, substitutionary atonement. free justification. But as soon as they came forth
from the creature's hand, they began to look on Him from the
Creator's hand. They looked on Him as He stood
forth in the covenant of grace as our surety. Oh, how they must
have stood in awe. God shall assume a flesh and
suffer and die under the penalty of sin in the stead of men, that
men might stand before God in righteousness? Oh, wonder of wonders! The angels
of God beheld him. The angels beheld him. in all
those pre-incarnate manifestations throughout the Old Testament
as he little by little revealed himself to his saints saying
this is what I come to do. The angels of God beheld him
as he came into the world was conceived in the womb by the
power of God the Holy Spirit and on that day when finally
at Bethlehem he came forth and was laid in a manger, all the
hosts of heaven sang his praise and worshipped him. The angels
of God saw him while he grew in wisdom and stature. They saw
his obedience. When our Lord was baptized, symbolically
fulfilling all righteousness, the angels of God were there
watching him. As he symbolized how he would, by the sacrifice
of himself, dying, burying, and rising again, save his people
from their sins, the angels watched with adoration. When he was tempted
of the devil, the angels stood back and just watched. They didn't assist him. He didn't
need their help. They just watched. And when the
temptation was done, as they watched him, who is the last
Adam coming and he begins to undo the ruins of the first Adam,
they watched with awe. And then when the temptation
was over, they came and ministered to him, refreshing him, the Lord
Jesus. And he set his face to go up
to Jerusalem and goes to Gethsemane while the disciples for whom his soul was in agony,
slept, Darwin, the angels watched. Just go ahead and take that knife
and stick it in your heart, too. And then when he goes up to Calvary,
oh, how the angels watched him. heard his piercing cries, saw
him forsaken of God when he was made sin. They saw the veil in
the temple ripped from top to bottom and they saw him breathe
out his spirit and ascend up to glory having obtained eternal
redemption by his blood. And when he at last was risen
in exalted glory and took his seat on his throne as the son
of David, the son of God our King, the angels of God saw him
and worshipped him. Worshipped him all the more because
now they saw in him the accomplishment of redemption. by the sacrifice
of himself. And they wait before his throne
with constant adoration and praise for that which he has done, not
for them, but for us. Blessed Savior, give us from this day forward
such an intense interest in you that we may ever look on and
see you who loved us and gave yourself for us. Oh, Son of God,
Feel my heart and feel my vision. Amen.