1 Timothy chapter 3, let's read
verse 16 one more time, and this is without, without debate, without
controversy, without argument, the apostle writing by the power
of God the Holy Spirit, Without controversy, great is the mystery. Great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the mystery of the gospel.
That's what he's writing about, the mysteries of the gospel.
God, he mentions six things here. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels. Angels attended his
ministry. Preached, he was preached. unto the Gentiles, thank God
for the preaching of the gospel, God's ordained it, and then from
the preaching of the gospel, blessed by the Spirit of God,
believed on in this world. That's a miracle. That's a mystery,
how God makes sinners alive in Christ and gives them faith to
believe the gospel. And then the Lord Jesus Christ,
having accomplished all of our salvation, was received up to
glory. And we are received up to glory
only in Him. Only in Him. I'm taking a title
with a message from what is said there in verse 16. 1 Timothy
3, 16. A message without controversy.
The gospel is a message without controversy. Or I thought about
this title. Great is the mystery of the gospel.
Great is the mystery of the gospel. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ, among those who believe, to everyone who is blessed to
hear and believe the gospel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, is a message
that is not controversial. The gospel is not to be contended
and debated over and argued over, not among believers. It is a
message that is loved, received, and believed that brings salvation
to our heart. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ to a believer is not controversial. It is the gospel of God without
controversy. While this religious world will
not hear, receive, the message of God's sovereign saving grace
in the Lord Jesus Christ. They will not have the Lord Jesus
Christ to reign over them in absolute power and authority.
To them, the gospel of Christ is mere nonsense and foolishness. To them, it's not a mystery.
To them, it's foolishness. But unto us which are saved,
Christ crucified, is the wisdom and power of God unto salvation
to everyone that is blessed to believe the gospel. It is a great
mystery. We preach Christ crucified unto
the Jews, the religious, a stumbling block, unto the Greeks, unto
those who are intellectual foolishness, but unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, And Christ
is the wisdom of God. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It's the power of God and the
salvation to everyone that is blessed to believe the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, some of the old timers refer
to verse 16, 1 Timothy 3, 16, as a summary of the gospel or
the summary of true religion that the church is built upon.
He mentions the pillar and ground of the truth, and the church
is built upon the pillar and ground of the truth, which is
the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I will build my church
in the gates of hell, shall not prevail against it. The gospel
sums up, and this verse truly sums up the gospel of Christ
who came in the flesh as a real man and personally accomplished
all our salvation. He didn't come to help us achieve
salvation. He came to accomplish all of
our salvation by Himself, with Himself, with His own blood,
shedding His blood, earning for us a perfect righteousness by
His faithful obedience unto death. That's all of our salvation.
All of our salvation, it is of the Lord and of Him only. In the fullness of time, God
sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem
them that were under the law. He redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us. Now, look back at the
text. We'll begin at verse 14. These
things the Apostle Paul writes to young Timothy, his young son
in the faith, these things I write unto thee, hoping to come to
thee shortly. We know that all Scripture that
he is writing, if you turn over here to 2 Timothy 3.16, Paul is writing by the inspiration
of God the Holy Spirit, All scripture, this is 2nd Timothy 3.16, all
scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for
doctrine, that's teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, how God can be just and the justifier. That's a man of God may be complete,
truly furnished under all good deeds, under all good work. Paul is writing to this young
preacher, by the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit, hoping,
he says here, hoping to come to thee shortly. That is, Paul
said, if it's the Lord's will, I hope to come and see you if
the Lord is willing for me to come and personally meet with
Timothy and to encourage him in the ministry. blessing that God gives young
preachers, older preachers, to encourage them. If you look over
here back to 2 Timothy chapter 1, and Paul the older preacher,
was encouraging the younger preacher, and I appreciated the Lord sending
me in my young ministry, when I was just very young, some old
faithful gospel preachers to instruct me in the way of grace. Wherefore, he says, In 2 Timothy
chapter 1 verse 6, I put thee in remembrance that thou stir
up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my
hands, or by the acknowledging of my hands being laid upon you,
acknowledging that you are a gospel preacher. For God hath not given
us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord,
nor me his prisoner, but be thou a partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God. It's the power
of God who saved us and called us. with a holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.
Purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. Paul writes to young Timothy
to remind him, I want to come and see you, hoping to do so
that I might encourage you. Now look at verse 15, but if
I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave
thyself in the house of God, as a minister of God, as a believer
of God, the house of God, which is the church of the living God.
He is the true and living God. We have life in Him. He is eternal
life. The pillar, the ground of truth. Paul is writing, if I'm not able
to come and see you, I'm writing to tell you and believers how
they ought to behave in the house of God. Believers are seeking
to worship God in spirit and in truth, how to conduct yourself
as a minister of the Lord, how to manage things for the worship
service of the Lord, seeking to worship the Lord in spirit
and in truth. When we come here together, we
take His Word, read His Word, pray unto the Lord, and ask for
His grace to help in our time of need, and then we preach the
Word from the Word. And that's the charge that He
gives us. Don't turn, let me just read it to you. I charge
thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who shall judge
the living and the dead. Preach the Word. Preach the Word. Be instant, in season, out of
season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For when we come together, what
do we do? We preach the Word. As Paul said, I'm determined
to know nothing among you, but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now, I like what he says here
in the last part of verse 15. The house of God, that's the
family of God, which is the church of the living God. The church
is His body. His body. The word church means
those who have been called out. We're called out of darkness
into His marvelous light. He put us in the body of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I'm the head, you're
the body. And it's built upon one foundation,
and that foundation is Jesus Christ. God said, behold, I lay
in Zion for a foundation of stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone. Those who believe and trust the
Lord Jesus Christ will never be forced out, forced away. Our Lord says over here, if you
want to turn with me, find the book of Matthew, this one foundation. Look at Matthew 16, Matthew 16,
13. The Lord Jesus Christ is that
rock, the rock of ages that the church is built upon. When Jesus
came in the coast of Caesarea Philippi, Matthew 16, 13. He
asked his disciples saying, whom do men say that I am? And they
said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, or Elijah,
Or others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets, Isaiah, Ezekiel,
maybe? And he saith unto him, but whom
unto them, whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the
Lord answered and said unto him, Your blessed man, blessed art
thou, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it
unto thee, but my Father. The mystery of the gospel has
to be revealed. And I say unto thee that thou
art Peter, and upon this rock, not Peter, but upon the rock
of Christ, Christ, I build my church, and the gates of hell
cannot prevail against my church. Now look back to the text. The
house of the Lord is the church of the living God, the church
which He purchased with His own redeeming blood. Remember, He
loved the church and gave Himself for it. His body. His body. He gave Himself for the church.
Notice this. The church of the living God
is resting upon this pillar and ground of truth. The foundation
of the church, which is His body, rests upon that one and only
foundation that He has laid for us, and that foundation is Christ
alone. And notice, it's the foundation,
it's the foundation, it's the pillar and foundation of the
truth. The truth. Our Lord said, I am
the way, the truth, the life. No man come to the Father but
by and through me. Our Lord said, it is the truth
that will set you free. It's the truth that sets you
free. Whom the Son set free, He is
free indeed. A lie is never the truth. Did
you know that? God doesn't use lies to teach
men the truth. A lie is never the truth, no
matter how many times it's told, no matter how many people believe
the lie, it never becomes the truth. It's still a lie. A lie
can never be the truth, can it? The truth can never be a lie.
It's impossible for God to lie. The truth can never become a
lie. The truth never changes. A lie
cannot be truth. John writes this, I have not
written unto you because you know not the truth, but because
you know it, and that no lie is truth." It's impossible for
God to change. It's impossible for God to lie. What He gives us is the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The truth does
not rest upon the church. The church rests upon the truth. upon Christ who is the truth,
who is the true and living God. If you look across the page at
1 Timothy 1, verse 17, Now to the King, eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, the honor and glory forever and
ever. Amen. He is the truth. He is
the Alpha, the Omega. He's beginning and the end. He
is the way and the truth. Now, verse 16. Here we find the summary of true
religion or the blessed gospel of the glory of God and without
controversy. This truth of God's salvation
by the grace of God is without controversy. Great is the mystery
of godliness. What's great is the mystery of
godliness. Six vital blessed facts, indisputable. Undeniable. Unchangeable. Jesus Christ is
all in salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. The
sum and subject matter of the gospel is the person and work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what he's talking about
in verse 16. Who He is and what He did. And
where He is now. And why He died. Verse 16. is the mystery of godliness. Look up just a page there to
verse 9, 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 9, holding the mystery of the
faith in a pure conscience. It's a mystery, a mystery. The gospel is often called a
mystery. that is not understood or believed
by the natural man, it comes by the revelation of God the
Holy Spirit. Turn over here to Romans 16.
Look at verse 25. that is a power to establish
you according to my gospel, Romans 16, 25, and the preaching of
Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which
was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest
and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment
of the everlasting God, made known unto all nations, to the
obedience of faith, to the only wise God, to God only wise, be
glory through Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen. It's revealed
in the Word of God. He takes the Holy Spirit, takes
the Word of God, and reveals the Gospel unto us. Great is
the mystery of godliness. Now, six things are mentioned
here. Here's the first thing. God was manifest in the flesh. Now, who is the Lord Jesus Christ? God, who is God forever, God
Almighty, God eternal, who never changes. He said, I'm the Lord,
I change not. The Lord Jesus Christ is God. And the Lord Jesus Christ, who
dwelt from all eternity in time, was manifested in the flesh as
a real man. What a glorious, glorious mystery
of the Gospel. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. And of His fullness have we all
received grace for grace. Who is the Lord Jesus Christ
without apology? Without controversy, the Lord
Jesus Christ is God Almighty, come in the flesh. God who inhabits
eternity, He's God our Savior, who inhabits eternity, inhabited
the body of a real man, totally and completely, fully God, never
stopped being God when He was manifested in the flesh. He said,
I am my Father, we are one. He said, when you've seen me,
you've seen the Father, we are one. He's the Prince of Peace.
He's the everlasting God. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and in Him believers are complete. Turn to John chapter 10. Why
did those Jews hate Him so viciously? You know why they hated Him?
He said, I'm God. I'm God. He was saying, I'm God
manifest in the flesh. Look at John chapter 10. The
Jews came round about him, verse 24, and said unto him, How long
dost thou make us to doubt? If you be the Christ, the anointed,
tell us plainly. John 10, 24. Now notice what
the Lord says here. I told you, and you believe not.
The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.
But you believe not, because you are not my sheep. As I said
unto you, my sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow
me, I give unto them eternal life, they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which
gave them to me is greater than all. No man can pluck them out
of my, no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I, my Father, verse 30, I, my Father, are one. One nature,
purpose, power. The Jews took up stones again
to stone him. The Lord said, many good works
have I showed you from my Father. For which of these works do you
stone me? They didn't mind him healing
the sick, feeding the hungry. The Jews answered, saying, for
good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, because thou,
being a man, you make yourself God. My friend, he is God. He is God Almighty in every sense
of what that means in human words. The Lord Jesus Christ is God,
our Savior. Made of a woman, made under the
law to accomplish all our salvation. He came to do the Father's will
in accomplishing all things for us. He said, my meat is to do
the will of Him that sent me. And my friend, He accomplished
all God's redeeming work In the sacrifice of Himself, He came
to do the Father's will in accomplishing our salvation. I put it like
this in two ways. Satisfied every precept of the
law of God for us, those 800 precepts of the law, the Lord
Jesus Christ as a man honored every precept of that law. earning
for us a perfect righteousness before God. His obedience, His
faithfulness unto God is our righteousness that He gives us.
That's a great mystery, is it not? Blessed is the man to whom
the Lord imputed righteousness without works. The Lord said,
I didn't come to destroy the law and the prophets. I came
to honor the law of God. He did that for us, satisfying
every precept of that law in His life. satisfying every penalty
of that law in his death. What is the penalty of the law?
What does the penalty of the law say? The law says the guilty
must die. The Lord, no way around that.
The Lord Jesus Christ became guilty for our sin and the holy
justice of God vindicated itself, satisfied itself in the crucifixion
and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. God made Him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. We see who He is and what He
did. He accomplished our salvation for us with the sacrifice of
Himself. When He by Himself purged our
sin, He set down the right hand of God. That is a great mystery
without controversy. There's no debate or argument
here, is there? which believed the Lord Jesus Christ as God,
the God-man, mediator, accomplished our salvation for us. The second
point, and another great mystery, is this. Justified in the Spirit,
or vindicated by God the Holy Spirit. Vindicated. by God the Holy Spirit in all
that He said and all that He did. He said, the words that
I speak unto you are not mine, it's the Father which gave me
these words. The Holy Spirit, God the Holy
Spirit owned Him as God the Son and declared Him to be the Son
of God in the power of God the Holy Spirit. We read in Romans
1 verse 4, declared to be the Son of God with power according
to the Spirit of holiness, or by God the Holy Spirit. What
is the chief, paramount office of God the Holy Spirit? It's
not to make you feel good. You missed it. What is the chief,
paramount office of God the Holy Spirit? To glorify the Lord Jesus
Christ. Can I show you that in Scripture?
Look back to John chapter 16. The chief and paramount office
of God the Holy Spirit is to take the things of Christ and
show them unto you. In John 16 verse 13, Howbeit
when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, God the Holy Spirit,
the Spirit of truth, He will guide you into all truth. For
He shall not speak of Himself, the Holy Spirit does not preach
the Holy Spirit, He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever
he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you things
to come. He shall glorify me, for he shall
receive of mine, and reveal it unto you. God the Holy Spirit,
it takes God to reveal God. God the Holy Spirit reveals unto
us that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished all of our salvation.
Verse 15, All things that the Father hath are mine, therefore
said I, He shall take of mine, and show it, or reveal it unto
you. Verse 16, "...a little while,
and you shall not see Me. And again, a little while, you
shall see Me, because I go to My Father. I go to My Father. Where I am, there shall you be
also." The formation of God, the formation of His human body,
was by the energy and power of God the Holy Spirit in the womb
of a virgin. This is a great mystery. You
know, this puzzled Mary. Remember? Turn over here to Luke
chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. When the angel came to her and
said, you're going to have a son, a special son, the son of the
highest. Luke chapter 1 verse 30, And
the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found
favor with God. Luke chapter 1. Verse 31, And behold, thou shalt
conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his
name Saviour, Jesus. He shall be great, shall be called
the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. He shall reign over the
house of Jacob forever, and in his kingdom there shall be no
end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing
I know not a man? And the angel answered and said
unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the high shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy
thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son
of God, conceived of God the Holy Spirit, made in the womb
of the Virgin without the aid of a man. The Lord Jesus Christ
was a real man without sin. And yet God Almighty manifests
in the flesh. The formation of his sinless
humanity was by the energy and power of God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit descended
upon him, and the Father spoke from heaven and said, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3, 16 and
17. The Spirit of God, when He came
up out of the water, He said to John, Suffer us to fulfill
all righteousness for us. And when He came up out of the
water, the Spirit of God descended upon Him. And the Father spoke
from heaven and said, this is my beloved Son. There we see
the three persons of the Godhead manifesting three distinct persons,
yet one God. The Son confessing the Lord Jesus
Christ, obedient in baptism, the Spirit of God descending,
and God the Father speaking from heaven. And then the greatest
confirmation was confirmed by God the Holy Spirit who has raised
His body from the dead. Raised His body from the dead.
He was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. Turn over here to Romans chapter
1. Delivered for our offenses, raised again for our justification. Romans chapter 1, Paul, a servant
of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the
gospel of God, which he promised to afford by his prophets in
the Holy Scripture, concerning his son Jesus Christ, who was
made of the seed of David according to the flesh, declared to be
the Son of God. made of the seed of David, a
real man, declared to be the Son of God with power, according
to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.
God guaranteed everything he said, everything he did, and
that he raised him from the dead, having accomplished all of our
salvation. Look back to the text again,
without controversy, without debate, without argument. This
is a great mystery. God was manifest in the flesh,
vindicated by God the Holy Spirit, and then thirdly, scene of angels.
This is a great mystery. Another great mystery, scene
of angels. The elect angel saw the Redeemer perform the whole
work of salvation. They were eyewitnesses to his
ministry, attended it with power. Matthew chapter 1, the angel
came to Joseph and said, call his name Jesus, he shall save
his people from their sin. In Luke chapter 2, the angel
appeared to the shepherds to announce his birth. The heavens
were filled with a multitude of angels singing, glory to God
in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men. After his
temptation in the garden, After his temptation in the wilderness,
forty days and forty nights, the angel came and ministered
unto him. In Luke 24, during his agony
in the Garden of Gethsemane, the angel came and strengthened
him when his body was pouring out blood like sweat. In Luke 24, the angel attended
his resurrection. Remember they said to the women
that day, why do you seek the living among the dead? He's not
here. He's risen. The angels declared
He's the risen victorious Savior. And then we study in Acts chapter
1, the angels attended His ascension to glory. The risen Lord lived
forty days among men, and then He ascended as a God-man mediator
to the throne of God. And he sat down. The angels said,
this same Jesus which is taken up into heaven shall so come
again in like manner. Even today, when the gospel is
preached, it says in 1 Peter 1.12, when the gospel is preached,
the angels desire to look into these things. The angels are
amazed at the mystery of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think about this. The elect angels,
even the fallen angels. Remember what they said of the
Lord Jesus Christ? Have you come to torment us before
time? Even the fallen angels serve His eternal purpose in
all things. This is a great mystery. Another
great mystery is this. Preached. Preached. Look at it. Preached unto the Gentiles. The
Gentiles, who were the Gentiles? Remember Paul writes of them
in Ephesians chapter 2, dead in sin, without God, without
hope, children of wrath, even as others. The gospel was sent
to Gentile dogs, you and me. What a great mystery. God saves
sinners. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ being preached to the lost and dying world of ungodly
sinners is our only hope of God calling out His elect among the
world, whether it be Jew or Gentile. He said, go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. That is a great mystery. To hear the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, what a blessing. It leads God through the foolishness
of preaching to call out those who believe, to call those out
by giving them faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of the Lord. Let me read this
to you. Romans 10, don't turn, you're familiar with this, but
let me read it to you. Romans 10, you cannot believe
what you have not heard. Can you? He was preached, and
then it says, believed on in the world. How shall they call
upon Him? Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. How shall they call upon Him
in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in
Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? How beautiful are the feet of
them that preach the gospel of peace, that bring glad tidings,
that say, Behold, thy God reigneth. You cannot believe What you have
not heard, you must hear the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But not in word only, but the
power of God the Holy Spirit. Priests and the Gentiles, look
at the next thing, believed on. People actually believe the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's another great mystery.
Without faith, it is impossible to please God. God grants and
gives faith through the preaching of the Word of God. That's a
mystery. He gives us life with that incorruptible
seed of God. You shall know the truth. The
truth will set you free. Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the Word of God. We only believe the Gospel according
to the power of God. It's a miracle that any dead
sinner would believe the Gospel. God raises him up, gives him
life. Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, he's born
of God. If you believe the Gospel, God's
raised you from the dead and granted and given you faith in
your heart to trust Him. As many as were ordained to eternal
life, they all believed the gospel. He was preached, and they believed. We've seen that all through the
book of Acts, haven't we? Paul went preaching. Peter went
preaching. John went preaching. Stephen
went preaching. And God called out a multitude
of sinners. One time, 3,000 people. One 3,000
people. Look what it says next. preached unto the Gentiles, believed
on in this world. What a privilege to believe the
gospel. What a privilege to hear it.
Great mystery and to believe it. And then received up to glory. Received up to glory. Another
great mystery. I remember hearing a sermon 40
years ago. There was a man in glory with
nail print in his hand. What does it mean to me? It means
everything. It means everything to me. It
means the forerunner has entered in for us, and his seat is in
the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus, having accomplished
all the work the Father gave Him to do, having accomplished
salvation, now sits on the right hand of God with power and glory. Why did He sit down? His work
was finished. He sat down. the right hand of
the throne of God. The forerunner is for us entered,
even Jesus, made a high priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek,
Hebrews 6.20, Hebrews 9.24. For Christ did not enter into
holy places made with hand, which are figures of the true, but
into heaven itself. now to appear in the presence
of God for us. What an amazing mystery. But I tell you even more so,
when He ascended to glory as a representative man and entered
in and sat down, the Scripture says that we ascended in Him
and we are seated together in the heavenlies right now in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Read it, Ephesians 2, verse 4,
6, 7, seated in the heavenlies, raised
up together with Him and seated in the heavenlies, the Lord Jesus
Christ is all our hope of salvation. Colossians 1 said, even the mystery
which hath been hid from ages and generations, but now is made
manifest to the saints, to whom God would make known what is
the richest of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which
is Christ in you, the hope of salvation. This is a great mystery. Without debate, without controversy,
great is the mystery of godliness. Look at it again. God was manifest
in the flesh. Oh, thank God. Justified, vindicated,
God the Holy Spirit said He accomplished all the Father gave Him to do.
Scene of angels. The angels declared, this is
the Son of God. He was preached. I'm determined
to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. Believed
on in this world. Received up to glory. He finished
all salvation by Himself, with Himself, and we have a good hope,
a good hope through the Lord Jesus Christ.