During his third missionary journey, Paul visits the city of Ephesus (Acts 19:28). The temple of Artemis stands at its center—one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It houses an enormous image of Artemis. People travel from all over the Empire to worship at its feet. But, through Paul’s preaching, people are beginning to turn from their idolatry to worship the true and living God. As a result, the demand for silver images of Artemis is plummeting. Demetrius (a silversmith) is losing business. And so, he gathers a crowd, and tells them that Artemis will soon be counted as nothing. Upon hearing this, the people become enraged, crying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
I can’t help but wonder if Paul had that event in the back of his mind when he penned 1 Timothy 3:16, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness.”
There’s something great in our lives. What is it? What occupies our secret thoughts? What stirs our strongest emotions? Our answer to those questions is the greatest thing in our lives. Is it God, or is it pleasure, success, beauty, sex, approval, control, performance, sports, wealth, popularity, fame, acceptance, power? If it’s anything but God, we’re guilty of idolatry.
We can’t remove idols without replacing them. That’s why we need something greater (more real, substantial, meaningful, exciting, and exhilarating) than sports, money, clothes, I-Pods, sex, lust, success, alcohol, or video games. We need something greater than fame, acceptance, performance, control, power, or popularity.
In a word, we need Christ—“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness.”
(1) “He was manifested in the flesh”
That’s a reference to Christ’s incarnation: the eternal Son of God united Himself to human nature—body and soul. Is there a greater truth that staggers the human mind? “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty. It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?” (Job 11:7–8). Here, Zophar likens our inability to measure the universe to our inability to measure God. In the time it takes to snap my fingers, light circles the earth seven times. Traveling at that speed, it would take billions of years to reach the edge of the universe. We can’t measure the heavens. And we can’t measure God. He’s “the King of Ages, immortal, invisible” (1 Tim. 1:17). Here’s something great: He became a man.
(2) “He was vindicated by the Spirit”
Let’s imagine I’m wrongly accused of a crime. I claim to be innocent, but the authorities ignore my claims. Eventually, however, I’m able to prove my innocence. As a result, I’m vindicated. This verb vindicate comes from the Latin vindicare, meaning to claim or avenge. In other words, vindication is a form of vengeance. I avenge myself by proving my claim to be innocent. Paul says that Christ was vindicated by the Spirit. When? “[He] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). Christ claimed to be the Son of God. He performed signs to substantiate His claim. He healed the lame, blind, deaf, and dumb. He calmed the sea. He cast out demons. He raised the dead. We rejected His claim. And we murdered Him on a cross. But He, who was manifested in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit. His resurrection vindicated His claim to be the Son of God.
(3) “He was seen by angels”
In this statement, Paul seems to be stressing the fact that Christ appeared to the angels. He did so at the time of His triumphal ascension to His Father, who “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but in the one to come” (Eph. 1:20–21). At that time, Christ’s divine nature was exalted. All the mists, which clouded His deity, were removed. And, at that time, Christ’s human nature was exalted. All the weaknesses and infirmities, which marked His humanity, were removed.
(4) “He was proclaimed among the nations”
At the tower of Babel, the nations reject God. God abandons them to their sin, while continuing to shower His common grace upon them (Acts 14:16–17). Thereafter, God restricts His special revelation to the nation of Israel. With Christ’s advent, however, God turns once again to the nations. John declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). At the tower of Babel, God confused man’s language, dispersing the nations across the face of the earth. On the Day of Pentecost, when He poured out the gift of tongues upon the church, He united the nations in one house with Christ as its head. Paul can say, therefore, to the Romans, “Your faith is proclaimed in all the world” (Rom. 1:8).
(5) “He was believed on in the world”
What do we believe? We believe two great truths. (1) We believe that Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am foremost (1 Tim. 1:15). (2) We believe that there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all (1 Tim. 2:5). That’s the essence of the gospel (good news). In 1500, 92% of all Christians were European. By 1980, Christians from the southern hemisphere outnumbered Christians from the northern hemisphere. Today, Christianity expresses itself in 9,000 of the world’s 13,000 people groups.
(6) He was taken up in glory
At that time, the Father said to His Son, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Acts 2:34–35). As Stephen lay, dying, he cries out: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Christ is standing, not sitting. Why? He isn’t a make-believe monarch. He isn't an idle spectator. He isn't a passive bystander. He’s the supreme ruler of all, actively engaged in the affairs of men (1 Cor. 15:23–26).
Quotable: “For believers, Christ is, always has been, precious—the sun, the rock, the life, the bread of their souls—everything that is good, useful, amiable, desirable” (John Owen).
I can’t help but wonder if Paul had that event in the back of his mind when he penned 1 Timothy 3:16, “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness.”
There’s something great in our lives. What is it? What occupies our secret thoughts? What stirs our strongest emotions? Our answer to those questions is the greatest thing in our lives. Is it God, or is it pleasure, success, beauty, sex, approval, control, performance, sports, wealth, popularity, fame, acceptance, power? If it’s anything but God, we’re guilty of idolatry.
We can’t remove idols without replacing them. That’s why we need something greater (more real, substantial, meaningful, exciting, and exhilarating) than sports, money, clothes, I-Pods, sex, lust, success, alcohol, or video games. We need something greater than fame, acceptance, performance, control, power, or popularity.
In a word, we need Christ—“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness.”
(1) “He was manifested in the flesh”
That’s a reference to Christ’s incarnation: the eternal Son of God united Himself to human nature—body and soul. Is there a greater truth that staggers the human mind? “Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty. It is higher than heaven—what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?” (Job 11:7–8). Here, Zophar likens our inability to measure the universe to our inability to measure God. In the time it takes to snap my fingers, light circles the earth seven times. Traveling at that speed, it would take billions of years to reach the edge of the universe. We can’t measure the heavens. And we can’t measure God. He’s “the King of Ages, immortal, invisible” (1 Tim. 1:17). Here’s something great: He became a man.
(2) “He was vindicated by the Spirit”
Let’s imagine I’m wrongly accused of a crime. I claim to be innocent, but the authorities ignore my claims. Eventually, however, I’m able to prove my innocence. As a result, I’m vindicated. This verb vindicate comes from the Latin vindicare, meaning to claim or avenge. In other words, vindication is a form of vengeance. I avenge myself by proving my claim to be innocent. Paul says that Christ was vindicated by the Spirit. When? “[He] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4). Christ claimed to be the Son of God. He performed signs to substantiate His claim. He healed the lame, blind, deaf, and dumb. He calmed the sea. He cast out demons. He raised the dead. We rejected His claim. And we murdered Him on a cross. But He, who was manifested in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit. His resurrection vindicated His claim to be the Son of God.
(3) “He was seen by angels”
In this statement, Paul seems to be stressing the fact that Christ appeared to the angels. He did so at the time of His triumphal ascension to His Father, who “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but in the one to come” (Eph. 1:20–21). At that time, Christ’s divine nature was exalted. All the mists, which clouded His deity, were removed. And, at that time, Christ’s human nature was exalted. All the weaknesses and infirmities, which marked His humanity, were removed.
(4) “He was proclaimed among the nations”
At the tower of Babel, the nations reject God. God abandons them to their sin, while continuing to shower His common grace upon them (Acts 14:16–17). Thereafter, God restricts His special revelation to the nation of Israel. With Christ’s advent, however, God turns once again to the nations. John declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). At the tower of Babel, God confused man’s language, dispersing the nations across the face of the earth. On the Day of Pentecost, when He poured out the gift of tongues upon the church, He united the nations in one house with Christ as its head. Paul can say, therefore, to the Romans, “Your faith is proclaimed in all the world” (Rom. 1:8).
(5) “He was believed on in the world”
What do we believe? We believe two great truths. (1) We believe that Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am foremost (1 Tim. 1:15). (2) We believe that there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all (1 Tim. 2:5). That’s the essence of the gospel (good news). In 1500, 92% of all Christians were European. By 1980, Christians from the southern hemisphere outnumbered Christians from the northern hemisphere. Today, Christianity expresses itself in 9,000 of the world’s 13,000 people groups.
(6) He was taken up in glory
At that time, the Father said to His Son, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Acts 2:34–35). As Stephen lay, dying, he cries out: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Christ is standing, not sitting. Why? He isn’t a make-believe monarch. He isn't an idle spectator. He isn't a passive bystander. He’s the supreme ruler of all, actively engaged in the affairs of men (1 Cor. 15:23–26).
Quotable: “For believers, Christ is, always has been, precious—the sun, the rock, the life, the bread of their souls—everything that is good, useful, amiable, desirable” (John Owen).
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