Mystery of Godliness and Paul’s hope to be released from prison.

1 Timothy 3:14-16

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” 1 Timothy 3:14-15

Paul wrote this letter from prison and had always hoped that he would be released to come to Timothy and other Believers. While Paul was in prison, he gave hope that he would be released, but never said that his release would definitely happen. As we know from reading the book of Acts, his release never came and he was eventually executed during his imprisonment in Rome. Paul was imprisoned twice, but was never released between prison times. The first time he was put in prison was in Caesarea, where he was kept for a little over two years, as described in the post on Acts 24:26-27. The second time he was placed in prison was in Rome, where he stayed for another two years, as described in the post on Acts 28:30-31. Where was Paul between his first and second imprisonment? He was sailing, under the guard of Roman soldiers, from the prison in Caesarea to a prison in Rome. The journey from Caesarea to Rome took over three months because of stormy weather, and a seasonal stay on the island of Malta. That is described in the posts on Acts 27 through Acts 28:16.

In the previous post on 1 Timothy 3:1-13, the Holy Spirit speaks through Paul to describe how we should conduct ourselves within the manmade churches. The manmade churches were established as the Church of the Living God, to be a lampstand holding the candle of the Light of the world, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is the pillar and ground of truth. Today, the beast that has power over physiology has infiltrated the churches by giving people what to speak, do, think, and feel. The churches have abandoned the Gospel of Jesus Christ to partner with the values of the community of the beast. Our Lord Jesus speaks these words to the churches, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” Revelations 2:5

The fallen condition of the churches is the reason the Seven Seals have started opening in these present days, as described in the post on Revelations 4. Our Lord Jesus has began opening those Seven Seals, as described in the post on Revelations 5. The opening of the first six seals is described in the post on Revelations 6.

“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16

Paul was saying to Timothy that without-a-doubt the mystery of Godliness is a great one in light of how different it is compared to serving God through the laws of Judaism.

God was manifested in the flesh: Jesus Christ was the word made flesh, meaning that not only did He embody the Old Testament laws and prophets, but He was the embodiment of the New Covenant. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

Jesus Christ was justified in the Spirit. The righteousness of Jesus did not come by living according to the laws of Judaism but by living in the Spirit of God. Jesus came to teach that we serve God by faith in Him not by serving the letter of the written laws, “...who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6

Jesus was seen by angels. This refers to our Lord Jesus being known by the angels of Heaven in a face-to-face sort of way. Jesus has existed since the beginning of time as part of the Holy Trinity: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Genesis 1:26 The “Our” in that verse is the Trinity.

Jesus has been preached among the Gentiles. The Gentiles include every non-Jewish person in every city around the world. Jesus Christ was preached as the way to live for God, with no need to follow the requirements of the laws of Judaism. In fact, the New Testament that we read today was written in Greek, a Gentile language. That required the Jewish people, who spoke Hebrew, to learn Greek if they wanted to read the Gospels and letters written by the Apostles and other writers of the New Testament. That wasn’t done to necessarily exclude the Jewish culture but to include the rest of the world.

Jesus has been believed on in the world. If only Paul could see what those Holy Spirit spoken words mean today! How could Paul have ever known that the world consisted of seven continents far beyond the continent he was living on when he wrote to Timothy. The seven continents were discovered between the 1950’s and 1970’s. Today, the Gospel of Jesus Christ has reached all seven continents with Believers on each one.

Jesus has been received up into glory. Jesus ascended into Heaven, as described in Luke 24:50-53, where He lives eternally today. We often refer to Jesus as living within our heart and soul, but He lives in us through the Holy Spirit. When Jesus was resurrected, He showed Himself in His resurrected body, being flesh and bones [Luke 24:36-39], as an example of the eternal body we will have when we are resurrected.

“…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26-27

---

“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1