The Mystery of Godliness

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

1 Timothy 3:16 describes the mystery of godliness as God manifesting in the flesh, justified by the Spirit, and received up into glory. 1 Timothy 3:16 presents a profound declaration of the Christian faith, encapsulating the mystery of godliness. It states, 'God was manifest in the flesh,' highlighting the incarnation of Jesus Christ, where the eternal God took on human form. This verse continues by affirming that He was 'justified in the spirit,' signifying that the Holy Spirit confirmed and vindicated Christ's divine mission and identity. The passage underscores a deep theological truth—Christ's life, death, and resurrection are grounded in His dual nature as fully God and fully man. Furthermore, it notes that He was 'seen of angels,' acknowledging the heavenly witnesses to His ministry and His eventual ascension into glory. Together, these elements proclaim the entirety of the gospel message.

Q: How do we know that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh?

The Bible affirms Jesus as God manifest in the flesh through prophecies and the fulfillment of His work, as seen in 1 Timothy 3:16. The truth that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh is firmly rooted in Scripture. Prophecies such as Isaiah 7:14, which speaks of a virgin bearing a son called Immanuel (God with us), anticipate the incarnation. 1 Timothy 3:16 explicitly states that 'God was manifest in the flesh,' confirming Christ's identity as God incarnate. Furthermore, the New Testament consistently aligns Jesus' actions—His miracles, teachings, and ultimately His resurrection—with divine authority. The witness of the Holy Spirit, as noted in the same verse, corroborates this by validating His claims through miraculous signs and the fulfillment of God's promises.

Q: Why is glorifying God important for Christians?

'The chief end of man is to glorify God,' as stated in the Reformed catechisms, which underscores our primary purpose. Glorifying God is paramount for Christians as it aligns with the very purpose of humanity. As articulated in the Westminster Shorter Catechism, 'The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.' This foundational truth highlights that our existence is inherently tied to God's glory. Jesus Himself modeled this during His earthly ministry, as seen in His prayer in Gethsemane, where He sought to glorify the Father through His sacrifice. By glorifying God, believers fulfill their created purpose, which not only brings honor to God but also aligns the believer's heart and life toward worship and service, fostering deeper faith and community among Christians.

Q: What is meant by sincerity in preaching?

Sincerity in preaching involves genuinely conveying God's truth for His glory, as noted in 2 Corinthians 2:17. Sincerity in preaching is a crucial aspect of delivering God's Word effectively. According to 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul emphasizes that true ministers should not handle the Word of God deceitfully but must speak in sincerity as from God. This means that the preacher's motivation should be genuine, seeking to communicate God’s truth without distortion to please men or gain personal advantage. Sincerity engages the heart of the listener; it demonstrates authenticity and faithfulness to God's message. When a preacher is sincere, it fosters trust and receptivity among the congregation, making the preached Word impactful as it aligns with the character of God who desires truth in the inward parts.

Q: How is faith in Christ a mystery?

Faith in Christ is a mystery as it is a divine gift that transcends human understanding and is not based on mere intellectual agreement. The nature of faith in Christ is a profound mystery, as described in the sermon. Saving faith is not just a mental assent but a transformative belief that results from God's gracious initiative. The mystery lies in how the Holy Spirit works within an individual, enabling them to believe in Christ amidst a world of superstition and various religious beliefs. Ephesians 2:8 emphasizes that faith is a gift from God, signifying that we cannot originate this faith in ourselves; rather, it is a divine work that unveils the truth of Christ to the believer's heart. This relationship goes beyond mere knowledge, encompassing a lived experience of trust and salvation.

Now, in 1 Timothy chapter 3,
my text is 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. I have always felt that those
who preach the gospel should do so with four things in mind. I believe any man who stands
here and preaches or anywhere in the name of God
ought to have four things in mind and heart. One, he should
be here and be speaking solely and wholly and completely for
the glory of God. If he cannot do this for the
glory of God, then he ought not attempt it. This is what our
Lord prayed in Gethsemane's garden. before he went to Calvary, he
said, Father, glorify me that I may glorify Thee. That's the
end of all of this. That's the purpose of all of
this, is to glorify the Father, glorify God. The chief end of
man is to glorify God. That's what the old writers and
the old catechisms and creeds of the of the churches back through
the centuries, all contended that man's cheap end is to glorify
God. Our Lord said that to Pharaoh.
He said, for this purpose I raised you up, that I might make my
power and glory known in and through you. And Paul wrote, whatever you
do, whether in word or deed, do it for the glory of God. Even
whatever you eat and drink, for the glory of God. So that's the
first and primary purpose of what we're doing,
is to glorify God. Secondly, this ought to be in
our minds, and that is the truth of the And our Lord said this
in his prayer in Gethsemane's garden, he said, sanctify them
through thy truth, thy word is truth. Paul wrote, study to show thyself
approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth. Preach the truth. If we impress men, fine. We still
preach the truth. If men appreciate us, fine. If they don't, we still must
preach the truth. If it brings joy or if it brings
sadness, we must preach the truth. We have no right to change the
Word of God to suit anyone's ideas or desires or fancies. What saith the Word of God? I sincerely believe that when
I prepare a message for this congregation, there's one thought
in my mind, not who's going to be here, not what effect will it have,
not what will the results be, but what saith the word of God?
What does this mean? What is this saying? Not a question
of getting a job or losing one. It's not a question of making
a friend or losing one. That has nothing to do with it.
It's true. I've never been able to understand
anyone letting up because of offense. That's not our right. That's
not our position or our purpose. Preach the Word. Be instant,
in season or out of season. There's no season for preaching
the Word. And the third thing that ought
to be in my mind and every person's mind who represents or says he
represents God, God's glory, God's truth, and sincerity. Sincerity. And you know, a person's
true motive, whether it's Mike singing, Becky and Martha playing
the instruments, Ronnie doing his work, me preaching or the
teachers. A person's true motive in whatever
he does is known only to two people, himself and God. That's all that matters, if it's
the right motive. If it's the right motive, If
it's a correct motive, if he knows why he's here, and he is
preaching and teaching the truth of God for the glory of God in
sincerity, that's all that matters. That's what Paul said. Turn for
a moment to 2 Corinthians 2. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 17. Listen to what Paul said here. 2 Corinthians 2, 17. Well, he
says, we're not as many. 2 Corinthians 2, 17, and oh, the
many today. We're not as many. Oh, the many,
the many, the many, which corrupt the Word of God, deal deceitfully
with the Word of God, use That's what's happening today
on your television screens and happening in your town, where
men are using religion, using God for their own purposes, for
their own gain, for their own glory, out of covetousness and
whatever reason. They corrupt the Word of God,
they twist the Word of God, they deal deceitfully with the Word
of God. Paul says we're not like that, we're not like them. We're
not as many which corrupt, deal deceitfully with the Word of
God, use the Word of God for their own purposes, but as of
sincerity, but as of sincerity, but as of
God, in sincerity, led by God, inspired by God, as of God, in
the sight of God, speak we of Christ. That word in is of Christ. Glory of God. If it's not for
that reason, fold up our tents and go home and wait on the judgment. If we're not going to tell the
truth, fold up the tent. What's the use of telling anything
else? The truth sets men free. You'll
know the truth and the truth sets you free. If we don't have a sincerity
of purpose, God help us. And then fourthly,
and this is what I want to look at this morning, the fourth word,
simplicity. Simplicity. You know, you can't
make people believe what you preach, but you can make it plain. You can't make folks accept truth
But you can make them understand what you're saying. You can teach
and preach in everyday words and language that people generally
use. Just as we're not heard by God
for our much speaking or eloquence, we're not heard by men. because
of our much speaking and eloquence. Paul said, when I came to you
with the gospel, I didn't come to you with wisdom of words,
lest the cross of Christ be made of non-effect, but with simplicity,
simplicity. One other verse, turn to 2 Corinthians
1. This is what he's talking about
here, 2 Corinthians 1.12. 2 Corinthians 1.12. It says here, for our rejoicing
is this, 2 Corinthians 1.12, our rejoicing
is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity,
with godless sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace
of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly
to you would. See my two words? The Apostle
Paul claims those very words I'm using today. And believe
me, before I found this verse, I wrote down these words. With
sincerity, godly sincerity, and simplicity, he said, that's my
rejoicing. And I would say this to everybody
here. These four rules will apply to
all that a person does, not only in spiritual matters, but in
all things. Wouldn't this be a good guide
for all of us in whatever we do? Do it for the glory of God.
Tell the truth. Speak the truth. Preach the truth. Teach the truth. And do it with
sincerity. and do it in simplicity. Oh,
at this verse I've chosen as a text, 1 Corinthians 3. This
single verse does just that, glorifies God, declares the truth
of God in simplicity. One old writer called this verse,
1 Timothy 3.16, one old writer called this verse the summary
of true religion. We can use that today, can't
we? What is true? We've got religion. What's true
religion? He called this the summary of
true religion. Paul called it the mystery of
godliness. The mystery of godliness. Let's
read it carefully. Verse 16 again. Each word is
weighty and lofty. It says in verse 16, 1 Timothy
3, and without debate, without controversy, without argument, great is the mystery of godliness. Great is the mystery of God,
the mystery of godliness, the mystery of the gospel. It's a
mystery, has to be revealed. God was manifest in the flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. God became a man in the flesh. Mystery. God, the God-man, this
man was justified by the Spirit. That word, in, is by the Spirit. God, the God-man, this man who
came to earth, this God-man was seen of angels. What does that
This man, this God-man was preached to the Gentiles. That's a mystery. Fifthly, this God-man, this man
was believed on in the world. People actually believed him. And in the sixth place, this
man, this God-man was received up into glory. Is that a miracle? It's as great a miracle that
there should be a man in glory as a God in the flesh. Now think about that. You say,
the mystery of God dwelling on the earth? Tell you another mystery. You and I dwelling in glory. You figure out how God can become
a man, you'll figure out how a man can become like God. Just
as great a mystery, see. Just as great. Now I tell you,
all of this is either the most amazing truth ever spoken in
a human language. This right here is the greatest,
most amazing truth ever declared. Most amazing revelation. Or this
is the greatest deception and con game ever organized and
put over on the human race. That's right, this mystery. And
I cannot afford to be indifferent on this subject. That's what
I said, this is either, and that's Paul. the mystery of God, the
mystery of Godliness. What we're about to look at is
either the most amazing or most amazing revelation, truth. God becomes a man, and man becomes
like God. That's either the most amazing
thing ever presented are the greatest deception. There's been
a lot of con games, and this is the greatest, if it's not
true. I can't afford to be wrong on this. All right, let's look
at these six statements, just one at a time, briefly. First
of all, this is the mystery of godliness. Number one, God was
manifest in the flesh. God became a man. God, whom the heavens cannot
contain, was contained in a human body for a while. Now, that's
what this Bible declares Old and New Testament. God said in
Isaiah 7, 14, Behold, God himself will give you a sign. A virgin
shall be with child. Bring forth a son, call his name
Immanuel, God with us, that manger in Bethlehem. holds the glorious
God in human form. That carpenter shop in Nazareth
is the workshop of God for a season. God was building chairs and tables. He's higher than the heavens
and yet made lower than the angels. He's the Son of God and yet a
man of solace. who being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation, took upon himself the form of a servant, was made
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Great is the mystery of godliness. unto us a child is born, a son
is given, and the government is on his shoulders, and his
name is Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. And I'm saying what he did, what
he did, depends entirely on who he is. If Jesus Christ is no more than
a normal man, then he's no more than Mohammed or Confucius or
any of the rest of the so-called messiahs, and no more to be worshipped,
and no more to be believed, and no more to be depended on. What
he did depends entirely on who he is, and that's what this says,
God was manifest in the flesh. God was justified in the Spirit,
right in the margin of your Bible, the word vindicated, that's what
justified here means, vindicated, vindicated. He was vindicated,
this God-man, God in human flesh was vindicated by the Holy Spirit. Now what Spirit is this? It's the Holy Spirit. As I said,
everything that Jesus Christ did depends on who he is. And
the Holy Spirit of God vindicated his claims and justified his
claims. That's right. I want you to turn
in your Bibles for just a moment to John 5. This is important
here, John chapter 5. And the Lord said this in John
chapter 5. He says, in verse 31 of John
5. Now, let's read it and look at
it. John 5, 31. Here's the man, Jesus Christ,
speaking. He says, If I bear witness of
myself, my witness is not true. You see, every word has to be
established by two or three witnesses. And Jesus Christ said, if I'm
the only witness, if I tell you who I am, and I'm the only one
that tells you that, don't you believe it. But he says in verse
32, there's another that beareth witness of me. And I know that
the witness which he witnesses is true. You sent to John, he
beareth witness of the truth, John the Baptist. Verse 36. But I have greater witness than
that of John, for the works that the Father hath given me to finish,
the same works I do, they bear witness of me, that the Father
hath sent me." What kind of works? Gave sight to the blind, hearing
to the deaf, speech to the dumb, life to the dead. No man can
do that. Thirdly, verse 37, "...and the
Father himself which hath sent me, he hath borne witness of
me." He spoke from heaven, said, this is my beloved son. Verse
39, search the scriptures, in them you think you have eternal
life, they are there which bear witness of me. The scriptures
tell you who Christ is. Moses wrote of me, Abraham saw
my death. This Bible from Genesis to Revelation
has one message, and that is Jesus is the Christ. That's it. Well, now, what he's saying here
in our text, look back at the text, 1 Timothy 3.16, God was
manifest in the flesh and vindicated by the Holy Spirit. Not only
did John the Baptist bear witness of him and the works that he
did, and the Father and the Word, but the Holy Spirit. He was formed
in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit. The angel said to Mary,
she said, I can't have a son, I don't know a man. And the angel
said, the Holy Ghost shall come upon you. The Holy Ghost shall
come upon you. He was conceived in the womb
of the Holy Ghost. Secondly, at his baptism, the
Holy Spirit came down. That's what it said. He was raised
from the dead by the Holy Spirit. When he ascended back to heaven,
he sent his disciples to Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit. And then he said, when you go
preach, the Holy Spirit shall take the things of mine and show
them to you. He shall not speak of himself,
but he'll glorify me. Let me tell you something. All
of this charismatic religion and all of this showmanship and
preachers who preach constantly on the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost,
the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, indicate by their very message
that God didn't send them. Because the Holy Spirit, Christ
said, will not speak of himself. He shall take the things of mine
and show them to you." The Holy Spirit glorifies Christ. The
man whom God sent preaches Christ by the Holy Spirit. Now that's
right, the Holy Spirit vindicated Christ. All right, the third
statement. Look here at 1 Timothy 3. God
was manifest in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen of angels.
scene of angels. I know it's occurred to you,
but think about this for a moment. There's a lot of religious doings
in the world today. This world is religious. There's
a lot of doings, goings, actions, activities. But all these religious
doings promoted by men are not honored or recognized by heaven. No, that's right. What most religious
organizations do today, they promote themselves. That's right. It doesn't glorify God, and they
promote themselves. You take a telethon. A person
doing God's work ought never have to ask for a dime. If you put on a telethon, like
what's going on in our town right now, Sell things, give away things,
sell bricks and all this, you're saying aloud, God's not in this,
He's totally silent, we're going to have to raise the money ourselves.
What God does, God honors. What God does, God supplies.
What God does, Heaven recognizes. When Jesus Christ came into this
world, the angels of God announced it. First of all, they announced
His birth to Mary. And then they announced his birth
to Joseph. And then they announced his birth
to the shepherds on the hillside. And then in the wilderness of
temptation, the scripture says the angels ministered to him.
And at his tomb, when the women came to the tomb, and the angels
were sitting there beside the tomb, and they said, why are
you seeking the living among the dead? He's not here, he's
risen. The angels announced his resurrection. And the angels
came down when he ascended to heaven and said, This same Jesus
which is taken up from you shall so come in like manner as you
seen him go. If God's in it, God will own
it. And that's a good test for anyone
here or wherever or whomever. It's a test for anything that
you say, well, boy, the Lord's blessing them. Is he or are they? Who did they tell? How did they
raise the money? It's not hard to raise money.
There was a fellow in Dallas, Texas. You read the paper some
time ago. He got to watching these preachers
on television, how people sent money in at such a rapid rate,
they had to put the money on conveyor belts down at the preacher's
offices, you know, to count it, with 14, 15 secretaries. And
this fellow thought, well, I'm going to try that. This is a
disc jockey in Dallas, Texas on the radio every morning from
6 o'clock to 9 o'clock. And he announced on the radio,
he said, send me $20. Everybody out there send me $20.
He didn't tell them why, he didn't tell them what for, he just told
them to send him $20. Do you remember reading this? In the next few days, he got
almost $300,000. They sent it, they came down
to the station, pushed it out of the door. Finally, they had
to plead with people to stop sending their money. And he had
to send it all back to them, those that he found out, you
know, the checks. He had a check, a name, or address,
or cash they gave to a charitable institution. But that happened. If God's in it, you don't have
to tell anybody but God. That's right. And if he's in
it, he'll own it. He'll support it and supply the
need. That's a good test, whether or not God's in it. The angels
announced Christ's coming. Fourthly, he was preached to
the Gentiles. Is this a mystery? Priest of
the Gentiles. If you go through the Old Testament,
it'll become even a greater miracle and mystery. Back in the Old
Testament, only Israel had the oracles of God. Israel had the
tabernacle, no other nation. The mercy seat, there was one
mercy seat. The Ten Commandments, Israel. The priest, the high priest,
Israel. The atonement, Israel. Somebody said back then, the
nearest thing to God is an angel. The farthest thing from God is
a Gentile dog. That's what they thought. Turn to Ephesians 2. This is
the miracle. The Apostle Paul points it out.
Peter had a hard time going to preach to Cornelius, a Gentile. John told the church, He said
Christ died for our sins, and not for our sins only, but the
world, not just the Jew. And here in Ephesians 2, it says
in verse 12, Paul says this, at that time you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. You were
Gentiles. You were strangers from the covenant
of promise, having no hope and without God in this world. The
pagan Gentile nations were without God. without God, without a priest,
without an atonement, without God. Thank God we're born when we
are, because Israel had the promise,
the oracles of God. But when our Lord gathered his
disciples about him, he said, you go into all the world, preach
the gospel to every Christian. Our Lord has a people of every
tribe, kindred, nation, tongue unto heaven. And Israel, Israel,
spiritual Israel is made up of believers. You're children of
Abraham by faith in Christ. He's not a Jew which is one outwardly,
but he is a Jew which is one inwardly by faith. All right,
the fifth thing, miracle mystery. God was manifest in the flesh,
vindicated by the Holy Spirit, seen of the angels, preached
to the Gentiles, the heathen, and believed on in the world.
God was believed. This mystery of the God-man is
believed. Your saving faith is a miracle.
It's a mystery. The same one who gave Christ
must give us faith in Christ. That's right. Now I know, now
listen to me a moment, don't leave me, listen just a moment.
I know that people of all races and cultures are religious. They're religious, they're superstitious. Religion is a part of our human
makeup just as much as hate or love or any other emotion. We're
superstitious. Superstitious. We're born superstitious. We're born religious. We're born
hoping there's something after this life. And so if we don't
have any facts about it, we make up something. Superstitious. Paul came to Corinth and Athens
and he said, you're superstitious. I walked through your cities
and you're very religious. You're very superstitious. Look
at all the religious ceremonies and rituals. Look at all the
traditions and customs. Look, weddings, something old,
something new, something borrowed, something blue. Always got to
follow these little trends and patterns and superstitions. I get over there and the bridegroom's
over there and all this going on over here and I say, is your
girlfriend here? He said, I don't think you're
not supposed to say her before the wedding. Who said you're not supposed
to say her? But that's our makeup, you know. Superstitious. I watch
a ball game and a manager will never step on a line, he'll step
over the line. All the different batters have
certain things they go through before they go through it. Everybody's
superstitious, that's right. I read about one fella that hadn't
changed his socks all year because every time they won he had these
socks on. Religion is superstition. That's
what religion is. It's superstition. What's the
ceremonies around the mass at Christmas and all these things?
All these uniforms and all these different things they do. You
got to bow right, stand right, turn right, do right, do all
these. You don't get out of the superstition. Superstition. Well, let me tell
you something. To be delivered, to be delivered
entirely from all this fate and luck and chance and superstition
and traditions and customs and pressures and to come to know
and believe and trust the living God who does everything on purpose
in simplicity for his glory and the good of his sheep through
the Lord Jesus Christ and not be motivated or directed or moved
or troubled or anxious by any of these looking down their noses
because you don't follow the superstition. That's a miracle. To find someone that's not swayed
or moved or brought into this bondage, that's a miracle. I believe God. I kind of like those ball players
that wear 13 on their back, you know. But that's the superstition
somebody told me. All right. Believe, don't. For the Lord Jesus Christ to
be believed. And I mean believed. This is not professed. This is
believed. This is belief. So that it influences
their attitude and walk. Oh, at the last one. Miracle. He's received up into glory.
Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 2. We're right across the page there.
Right across the page. 1 Timothy 2, verse 5. There's
one God and one mediator between God and men, and that's the man,
Christ Jesus. There's a man at the right hand
of God. A man. There's a man born of
a woman, like I am. A man who lived on this earth
in the flesh, like I do. A man who worked a carpenter,
and I've done that. There's a man born under God's
law, responsible to keep it, and he did. There's a man who
lay down and died. laid down his life and died,
as I will. It was a man whom they slipped
into a tomb, as I will be someday. And that
man arose to die no more and was taken
up, it says received up, received, literally welcomed, welcomed. That man was received up into
glory. There is a man of human flesh
in glory right now. Jesus Christ is a man at the
right hand of God. Oh, I know, I've always known
there are angels in heaven. And I've always known there are
seraphims and cherubims in heaven. But this says there's a man. A man. And he's been received
up in the glory. And because of that man, he's
the first born of every creature. He's the first begotten from
the dead. He's the first man that God raised from the grave,
took to glory in glorified flesh. And there's a whole bunch of
folks going to follow him because of him. And it's no greater miracle.
You talk about the miracle God was manifest in human flesh.
I admit, miracle of miracles. But I'll tell you another one.
There's a man received up in the glory. And that's the hope
of this man, is that man. He was the first. He's the basis. He's the foundation. He's the
door. He's the way, the truth, and
the life. And no man comes to the Father but by him. That's
it. People say, I would believe that
preacher. I do too. Someone else may say, well, I
don't. Well, what do you believe? If this is not true, what is?
What is? What's the message? Give it to
me and I'll preach it. That this is it. It's the truth. Now what do you do? Do you get
people to raise their hands? No, no you don't. You just preach
the truth and God applies it. God takes place in here. It doesn't take place out here.
It takes place in here. I believe. God help my unbelief.
Not between you and me, it's between you and Him. Not between
you and me at all. Not at all. between you and him. And that's where it's all settled. And it's not, it's not, I'll
tell you this too, it's not a, not just a decision, it's a state
of being. I have believed, I am believing,
God help me to keep on believing. I have repented, I am repenting,
I shall repent. I don't know when the Lord revealed
Christ to my heart, he's still revealing Christ to my heart.
I see this more now than I did then. I see it more now and believe
it more now than I did last week when I preached to you. A little
bit more, a little bit more, a little bit more. But I haven't,
I don't count myself, I don't count myself to have arrived,
not perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination in doctrine
or lie. But I believe Christ. I believe and I'm sure that he's
the Christ, the Son of the living God. And I hope by God's grace
to believe it more strongly as the days go by. Because you get
new revelations, you grow in grace and in the knowledge of
Christ. And I'm not even asking you to establish a time. What I'm trying to preach is
a person. A person. A person. You know, I stand here and I
marry young people. And I married many of you, some
of you, a long time ago. I believe you love each other
more now than you did when you stood here. I believe you do. I believe you know each other
better. I believe you love each other more. I believe that union's
grown stronger and that appreciation for one another's greater. After
30 years and you dated six months and married, you didn't know
much about each other. But as you've grown in knowledge
of one another, you appreciate one another more, you love one
another more, your relationship is deeper. And so that's the
way it is with Christ and the believer. When you first heard this gospel,
you said, that's wonderful. Yeah, but it's more wonderful
now. You loved him, but you love him more now. I believed him
then. I didn't believe him at all compared to now. Grow in
grace and in the knowledge of Christ. And if it's true love
and true faith, it will grow. It will grow. If it doesn't grow,
it's not true faith, not true love. That's just so. All right, Mike Leda sent a hymn,
number 62. This is a good one. I love crowning
with many crowns, number 62 in your hymn books. We'll stand
while we sing.

The Mystery of Godliness

What does the Bible say about the mystery of godliness?

How do we know that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh?

Why is glorifying God important for Christians?

What is meant by sincerity in preaching?

How is faith in Christ a mystery?

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The Mystery of Godliness

What does the Bible say about the mystery of godliness?

How do we know that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh?

Why is glorifying God important for Christians?

What is meant by sincerity in preaching?

How is faith in Christ a mystery?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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