Now my message for you this morning
will be taken from one verse of scripture. I want you to open
your Bibles with me to 1 Timothy chapter 3. 1 Timothy chapter
3. Let me read verse 16. 1 Timothy 3 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, and received up unto glory. Someone has called this the summary
of true religion. This is true religion. This verse does not deal with
trivial matters. It involves the loftiest, most
glorious themes of thought. God was manifest in the flesh. And Paul says that's without
controversy. No argument here. No debate. Grave is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh. Now, I know even people who do
not believe this scripture have to admit, even if they don't
believe this, even if they've never paid any attention to it,
they have to admit that this is the greatest news, the most
glorious news ever proclaim or this is the most amazing revelation
or this is the most astonishing deceptive bit of news that man's
ever heard. This is even the greatest thing
that's ever been declared and if it's not true it's the worst
deception that's ever been recorded or put forth to the public. No one can be undecided about
this. God was manifest in the flesh. No one can be undecided. Paul
is saying here that the Almighty God, Holy Lord of heaven and
earth, came down to this earth in the flesh, in the person of
his only begotten son to die on a cross and reveal to us God's
salvation for sinners. Do you know anything more profound
than this? If you do, tell me what it is. This is the most profound statement
that's ever been put forward. God was manifested in human flesh
My subject is the greatest one because it involves our eternal
salvation. My salvation and yours. We have
but one soul. I have a body, but it's dying. I have a body, but it's on the
way to the grave. I have a body, but it'll return
to the earth from which it came. But my soul either will live
eternally in the presence of God or be eternally separated
from Almighty God. That's awesome. Absolutely awesome. And I want you to listen to me
here. I've got something I want to say. In preaching the gospel,
I'm not rattling the chains of denominationalism. The mystery of godliness is not
a ceremony. The mystery of godliness is not
baptism. The mystery of godliness is not
drops of water. The mystery of godliness is not
rules of conduct. There are some rules, but that's
not what the mystery is. It is Almighty God in Christ
reconciling the world unto himself. That's what I'm preaching. And I'm not setting dates. I'm
not setting dates in times of prophecy. I don't know a whole
lot about what's going to happen. I'm not trying to predict what's
going to happen. But I sure am preaching what
did happen. God, what did happen? God Almighty
came to this earth in the flesh and died for his people. God
Almighty came to this earth to die on a cross to redeem sinners. And this is not, listen, this
is not exhibition, an exhibition of mere facts. I'm not up here
to preach facts, I'm here to preach Christ. This is not an
exhibition of theology. This message is alive. This message
is a living hope. This message is a living proof. Great, great is the mystery of
godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. This is not cold logic and dead
theology. This is living truth. When our Lord came to this earth
in the flesh, God declared, this is what he declared, this is
my beloved son. in whom I'm well pleased and
again he spoke from heaven he said this is my beloved son hear
him pay attention listen to him because listen I the Lord appointed
him to be the lamb slain from the foundation of the world I
the Lord prepared him a body and sent him into the world I
the Lord made him to be seen for his people. I the Lord sent
him to the cross. I the Lord smote him. I the Lord
bruised him. And I the Lord left him alone
to die on that cross for his people. And I the Lord took him
down from that cross and laid him in a tomb But then I, the
Lord, I raised him from the dead. I raised him from the dead. And
I exalted him at my right hand. And I gave him a name above every
name that at the name of Jesus Christ ever need. That means
mine and yours and everybody in this cotton-picking world.
Everybody, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess,
He is Lord to the glory of God Almighty. Now write down these
four words in your mind anyway. If Jesus Christ died for us,
then we must have been hopelessly, helplessly lost. Without hope,
without help, without God in this world, if he died for us.
If Jesus Christ died for us, there sure is no other way to
be saved. If Jesus Christ died for us,
he must have loved us with an incredible, indescribable, unspeakable
affection. He loved us and gave himself
for us. That's why. If he died for us,
I'm asking all of us, would not such love and grace motivate
us to love him? Would not such love and grace
motivate us to live for his glory and to serve him and his people
and church as long as we live? Oh, the love of Christ our Lord
ought to motivate, constrain us, that if he died for us, we
need to serve him. Now let's look at this scripture. In 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse
16, word for word almost, phrase
for phrase, without controversy, debate, argument, Great is the
mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. The manger in Bethlehem is the
bed of the Lord God. Well might a multitude of angels
surround that bed and cry, praise God, glory to God in the highest,
peace, goodwill, The carpenter shop in Nazareth
is where he worked as a man. That's right, people walked by
there and watched him work. He who made the words and put
them in place made a chair and a table and a cabinet for the
people of the town. This is Jesus the carpenter. That's who he is, but he's the
son of God. The cross at Calvary, the cross
at Calvary bears the human body of the incarnate God. Where might
the sun refuse to shine when God died on the cross? He's the
son of God and yet he's a man of sorrows the queen of the creed,
that's my savior. He walked the billows of an obedient
sink and yet he didn't own a foot of land, that's my savior. He fed thousands, thousands,
yet he sat on a well and asked a woman to give him a drink of
water, that's my savior. He cast out demons Yet he himself
was tempted of Satan. He was made of a woman, and yet
he made her. In him was life, yet he died. I can't explain that. I just
know it's so. In him was life, and yet he died. And the Roman centurion As he
watched the Lord Jesus down the cross and he saw the earthquake
and the darkness, he said, truly, this man was the Son of God. And he is. And he is. What's the second
line here? Great is the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. He was justified in the Spirit. What's that word justified mean?
Vindicated. He was vindicated. All the claims
of Christ and all the works of Christ have been vindicated of
the Holy Spirit and proven to be true. All of them. The scripture
says, you know what scripture says about The scripture says
that every word be established by the mouth of two or three
witnesses. Don't take the word of one single
voice. Every word must be proved and
vindicated by two or three witnesses. That's the reason our Lord said,
if I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true either.
If I have no other witness, but he has. Oh yes, two or three
of the most outstanding. Turn to 1st John. 1st John chapter
5 verse 6. 1st John chapter 5 verse 6. This, you got it? 1st John 5
verse 6. This is He that came by water
and blood, even Jesus Christ. Not by water only. but by water
and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth
witness, because the Spirit is true. For there are three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
and these three are one. There are three that bear witness
in earth. Spirit, the water, the blood. And these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of
me, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God,
which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the
Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not,
God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record God
gave of his Son. And this is the record that God
hath given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. God
was manifest in the flesh and justified, vindicated, proven
by the Spirit, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. What's the third? Here in our text, God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of the angels at
his birth. You know, a lot of things going
on in religion today, buildings, telethons, all this sort of thing,
but there's no witness from heaven that God's interested in any
of it. There's no witness. There's no evidence. And yet
when our Lord came at his birth, the angels of God, the angels
saw the heaven-born child in human flesh arrayed. The Son
of God, the Son of Man was in a manger laid. And the angels
cried, peace on earth, praise to God. Yet they stood amazed
at such a birth. gave witness who he is. And then in the wilderness, in
the wilderness of temptation, when he was tempted of the devil,
God sent the angels to minister to him. At the tomb, when the
women came to the tomb, the angels of God appeared and they said
this, he's not here, he's risen. And then at his ascension, the
angels of God proclaimed This same Jesus, which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you have
seen Him go. Our Lord manifest in the flesh,
justified by all the witnesses of God, and seen and ministered
to by heavenly angels. You know what John wrote? He
said this, I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne, The number of them was 10,000 times 10,000. And all
of them cried with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is
the Lamb to receive the sevenfold blessing. Power, riches, wisdom,
strength, honor, glory, and blessings. Worthy is the Lamb. That's the
message from heaven. That's the word of the angels.
Worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb. All right,
watch the next one. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of the angels. Priest to the
Gentiles. Is this a mystery? Is this a
mystery that the gospel of Christ should be preached to the heathen?
To the Gentiles? It certainly is. It certainly
is. Yes sir, God said so. For 4,000 years the nearest thing
to Christ was an angel and the furthest thing from Christ was
a Gentile. That's exactly, that's where
even Paul said this. What a miracle, what a mystery
that Christ Jesus should be preached to the Gentiles. Peter didn't
even want to go see him. He didn't want to preach to them.
And the Father said to him, what I've called clean, don't you
call anything else but what I've called clean. You don't call
it unclean. Yes, sir. Turn with me. You know one person said this
one time. In the Old Testament, the people
of Israel were eating the Passover. At the same time, the Gentiles
were eating each other. devouring each other. That's
our record. But turn to Ephesians 2. Let
me show you a couple of scriptures here. A mystery, a miracle that
Jesus Christ should be preached to the Gentiles, to you and me. Look here at Ephesians chapter
2 verse 11. Listen to this. Wherefore remember,
remember that ye being in times past Gentiles in your flesh called
uncircumcision by that which is called a circumcision in the
flesh made by hands at that time you were without Christ you didn't
have any covenant you didn't have any hope you didn't have
any gospel you didn't have any law you didn't have any sacrifices
you didn't have a tabernacle you didn't have a prophet Aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel. Strangers from the covenant. Without God in this world. But now, oh listen, now in Christ
Jesus, you there were sometimes far off, made nigh by the blood
of Christ. Mystery. God manifest in the
flesh. Justified in the spirit. Scene
of the angel. Let me show you another one.
Turn to Colossians. Colossians chapter 1 verse 25. Colossians 1 verse 25. Listen
to this. Paul says this. Colossians 1
verse 25. Whereof I made a minister according
to the stewardship or dispensation of God which is given to me for
you. you Gentiles, to fulfill the
word of God, even the mystery which hath been hid from ages
and from generations, but now is made manifest. What mystery?
Read that next verse. To whom God would make known
what is the riches of the glory of this mystery to you Gentiles,
which is Christ in you. Oh, I tell you, thank God he
included us. Thank God he included us. Well,
let's go back to that text again. In 1 Timothy chapter 3, God was
manifest in the flesh, justified, vindicated in the spirit, seen
of the angels, priest of the Gentiles, what says, and believed
on. and believed on in this world. Is this a mystery? That Christ
should be believed? The fact that Jesus Christ should
be believed on in this world, is that a mystery? Is that a
miracle? Yes, that's a miracle. My Father
is omnipotent, and that you can't deny. He's a God of might and
miracle. It's written in the sky. It took
a miracle to put the stars in place. It took a miracle to put
the moon in place and the sun. But when He saved my soul, cleansed
and made me whole, that took a miracle of His love and grace. When the Son of God became the
Son of Man, miracle. But I'm telling you this, when
one of you sons of man becomes the Son of God, that does take
a miracle. Behold what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called sons
of God. Don't take that lightly. It's a miracle. It's a mystery
of God. Behold what manner of love God
hath bestowed upon us that we should be called sons of God. Here's my testimony. Here's my
testimony to you. And may I speak for you. Being
your spokesman right now, let me speak for you. I believe,
I believe that Jesus Christ came into this world and he died for
us on the cross of Calvary to redeem us from sin. I believe
this more than I believe anything else in this world. I believe
this. Don't you? Secondly, I believe
that no fact in human history is more certain than the fact
that Christ was made sin for us, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. I believe that. And I believe
the Word of God more than I believe any other person. I hear people
say, so and so said this, it doesn't matter, I believe God. Because by nature all men are
liars, but God is truth. God is truth. I believe the word
of God more than I believe any person on this earth. And I'm
as sure, I'm as sure of the promises of this precious book as I am
that I'm talking to you right now. You believe that don't you?
I do. And I have no way to explain
this, that I have this faith and you have this faith, except
to say, it's the gift of God. It's the gift of God. Write it
down now. This is the gift of God. This is the record. God has given
us eternal life, this life. It's the gift of God. And the
Lord will save whom he will, People are religious by nature
and saved by grace. I've never seen God. I'm continuing
my testimony and I'm speaking for you. I've never seen God,
have you? I hear preachers say, God appeared to me. I don't believe
that. God said this to me. I don't
believe that. God says through the word. I've
never seen God except in creation. I see him out here in in the
things He's made. I've seen Him in beautiful nature
out there, the things that God has made. I see Him in the love
and kindness of His people. I see Him in you. I see other folks, I don't see
Him in them, but I see Him in you, His people. I do. I do. I see Him in the love of
a mother for a child. son for a daughter, a woman for
a son. I see Him in my friends. I see Him in my brothers and
sisters. I see God in them. I hear God
in them. They speak to me the words of
God. I've never heard God speak. Have you? Except in His words. I do hear
Him in His Word. I have the words of the Bible
which indeed speak to me. They speak to my heart. They
speak to my spirit. They speak to my soul. I hear
God speaking through His Word. This is not just words. It's
His Word. And I have no signs. Sometimes
I wish God would give me some. But that's His business. I have no signs except the miracle
of grace. That actually transforms, actually transforms a child of
the devil into a child of God. That actually transforms a wicked
man to a believer, a blasphemer to a man who praises God. I see
it in you Chris. Jim Dodson, Lionel, I see God
transforming you into His child. It's a miracle of God. Child
of the King, that's who you are. Daughters of the King, that's
who you are. And I see God in you. I hear
God speak in you. I had a friend, brother, I remember things a long time
ago. I forget my friend's name sometimes. But I have a friend
that gave an illustration one time. About an old coal miner
up in West Virginia. A big guy. Six foot four, five. Mean as a snake. Like Ernie Ford
said, one fist of iron, another of steel. Left one don't get
you, the right one will, you know. That's Old Big Mike. Everybody
call him Old Big Mike. Hard as a nail. Mean as a snake. Worked in the coal mine. Pushed
those old buggies, you know, to take the coal to the temple.
The Lord saved that guy. God in mercy. And it took God
in mercy to change the life of that rebel. Old Big Mike became
Mike, the person that loved Christ. Just changed him over. He's changed
him completely. And people started ridiculing
him. They would poke at him, trying
to get him to curse or swear or hit somebody in the mouth
or do something. Do something. Just do something. They wanted to see him lose his
religion. But old Big Mike didn't. But
they kept on agitating him. And one day a bunch of those
men there in the coal mine put the rocks in the way of his buggy,
pushing the coal, kept falling off the rails, falling off the
rails. And he'd stop, walk around, pick the rocks up and put them
back in those platters, snickering, you know, snickering. Keep on. They did it one time too many.
His face, he pulled himself up to his full height. His face
was red as a beet. His fists were double up. And he lifted those fists to
the sky. And he began to sing, I need
thee every hour, most gracious Lord. Temptations lose their
power when thou art near. I need thee. Believe it or not,
those fellas hush. They start singing with him.
I need thee. Oh, I need thee. Bless me now,
my Savior. I come to thee. That happens. God changes a man. He does. He changes. And then here's my last point.
He said, God was manifest in the flesh, seen of the angels,
justified in the spirit, preached to the Gentiles, believed on
the world, received up into glory. Turn to John 14, where Brother
Todd was preaching last time. John 14 verse 1, and he says
these words, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God,
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many
mansions, many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you,
and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. and receive you unto myself,
that while I am there you may be also. And whither I go you
know, and the way you know." And Thomas said, Lord, we know
not whither thou goest. How can we know the way? And
Jesus said, Thomas, I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. No man cometh for the Father
but by me. What a miracle. What a mystery. What a savior. What a gospel. What a wonderful congregation.
Thank God for you.