1 Timothy 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
Question:
What is the mystery of godliness?
Answer:
The secret of being God-like. (First answer.)
The secret of having God-likeness while living in the flesh. (Second answer, explained in the next teaching.)
Explanation:
Godliness is often thought of as something that can be seen among people and considered holiness or godly living. All of which is judged by the flesh and usually seen as a lifestyle of not being worldly in the flesh. (No drinking, smoking, cussing, partying, etc.) But godliness is much more than what you see in the flesh. The only way to judge godliness is by the Spirit and what is seen beyond the flesh. The fact that Paul called godliness a mystery speaks to the point of it being hidden behind the curtain of what most would call it. Godliness is a secret, meaning you will have to be born of God to experience and understand it.
When revealed, the secret is that Jesus is God, which means you experience His God-likeness in the Spirit beyond the flesh.
Godliness is to be God-like or to have a God-like nature. That means it’s not outward but inward. (Remember, God is a Spirit, the WORD.) Your spirit has been born of God and is in His likeness, in His being. Your heart, mind, and soul are all in the likeness of God. Therefore you think, speak, and act like God from the inside out. You now act like the Spirit of God would act. It has nothing to do with perfecting your flesh. True godliness can only be seen when the veil has been removed, and you see beyond the flesh. Jesus is the best example of this. He was the Son of God, not in the flesh but in Spirit and nature. His origin came from God, not from being born in the flesh.
Jesus was God manifested in the flesh and was justified (vindicated) by the Spirit, not the flesh. If wisdom is justified of her children, then God is justified of His as well. That’s godliness!
Jesus proved that God existed and that His way was the right way to live. We must also take on this same godliness as Jesus did. That means to be God-like is to perceive that we are of God and from Him. Our existence in the Spirit must vindicate God because we are of Him and like Him. We will also be seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
We aren’t just following His word anymore; we have become His word, made in His image and likeness. This image is not the physical body; it’s the new man that is created after the image of the Son of God.
So again, what is godliness? To be a Christ and live in the Spirit as Jesus did.
What to do:
Be born of God! Focus your learning towards God as a Spirit and receive the sayings of Jesus. You will find all the instruction you need to become God-like in them. The day you experience Jesus as the true “I Am’ you will know exactly what I’m talking about.
Lastly, Peter also gives us a perfect witness of receiving godliness; he says it’s by God’s divine power.
2 Peter 1:3–4 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
Scriptural references:
2 Corinthians 3; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 4:6-8, 2 Peter 1:3–4
Comments