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:
1 The secret to being God-like in nature. (Explained in the last teaching.)
2 The secret to having God-likeness while living in the flesh.
Explanation:
In the first answer, we learned that godliness is to be God-like within. In the second answer, we will learn that godliness is how Jesus lived in the flesh without sin. Godliness made Him God-like within and without. The idea is simple, Jesus was the Son of God; therefore, it was easy for Him to act like the Son of God.
Godliness makes it easy to live in the flesh and be godly, not because of what you do, but because of who you are.
Romans 14 teaches us that sin is how you think, not how you act. Therefore, whatever is not of faith is sin. Faith is an inward work of God. Like godliness, faith is a word from God that you receive and live by, but it’s also how you think of yourself. By faith, godliness has the power to manifest the works of God.
That’s why Jesus succeeded in the flesh; He was the essence of God-likeness. In the flesh, it often appeared that He broke all the rules of godliness, and yet He was perfect in His representation of God because His God-likeness was judged by the origin of His birth and the oath He received of His Father. He was the Son of God, so to see Him meant you’ve seen God. (Of course, those who saw His godliness saw it through the eyes of the Spirit. The mystery of who He was, was revealed to them.)
Godliness is not just about the earthly life you live now; it’s also about the one to come. Flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God, but godliness will.
In Godliness you have a promise of the life that now is and of what is to come. This fulfills the mystery of godliness, in that you are God-Like in your nature, even in the life of the flesh, the life that now is and the one to come. Overcoming sin while living in the flesh has been a great mystery to humanity. Understanding the mystery of godliness makes it possible to accomplish a sin-free life. In the flesh, there is a promise of godliness, but you have to train yourself in godliness by God’s divine power and your divine nature. It’s your God-like nature that lives free from sin, so you must be cleansed within to accomplish godliness outwardly.
Men and women have continually tried to be godly with little success. The reason is that you will fail when you try to be godly in the works of the flesh. To be godly is to be God-like, holy, and righteous like God. The flesh doesn’t have that kind of power. Godliness can only come from heaven down to earth, and then when it is finished, it will return to heaven. That’s why Jesus is the true example of God manifested in the flesh, or another way to say it is He is the mystery of godliness manifested in the flesh.
What to do:
First, the mystery of who you are must be revealed to you. You must see your godliness as you stand before the true God. Once seen, you will need to train yourself in the words of faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed so that godliness begins to be your manifestation in the flesh.
1 Timothy 4:6-8 If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and the good doctrine you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Scriptural references:
1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 4:6-8
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