Introduction:
A. One Sunday a young child was “acting up” during the morning worship service and the child’s parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew, but they were losing the battle.
1. Finally, the mother took the little fellow by the hand and walked sternly up the aisle.
2. On his way out, the little guy called loudly to the congregation, “Pray for me!”
3. All children have to be taught and trained how to behave in church, right? But so do adults!
B. Here’s a humorous list of unwritten rules for proper behavior in church:
1. Never ask an usher for change for a $20.
2. Don’t make origami animals out of dollar bills and put them in the offering.
3. During youth group activities, never bungee jump off the church roof.
4. Never do a cannonball in the baptismal tank.
5. Never hold a church business meeting on Super Bowl Sunday.
6. If you invite someone for Friends Day, you probably shouldn’t skip church that day.
7. Never sit in someone else’s usual seat.
8. And if worship starts at 11 o'clock, you probably should arrive before 11:30, just sayin’.
C. We might get a chuckle from those unwritten rules for proper behavior in church, but learning to behave properly in the church is a serious matter.
1. Today in our sermon series from 1 Timothy, we have arrived at the last three verses of chapter three where we see that Paul tells Timothy the reason that he wrote this letter.
2. Paul wrote: 14 I write these things to you, hoping to come to you soon. 15 But if I should be delayed, I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.
3. Why is it so important that we strive to live in accordance with God’s commands for our lives and for ministry in the local church?
4. Paul gives two powerful reasons in today’s section:
a. First, we should behave because of what the church is.
b. Second, we should because of who the Savior of the church is.
5. We live in a world where the church has taken a back seat to the individual.
a. Many people think they can be a Christian apart from the local church.
b. This is a symptom of the self-centeredness that permeates our culture.
c. Christianity is not supposed to be about the individual Christian, rather it is supposed to be about the Savior and about the church community as a whole.
D. Paul had wished that he could be there with Timothy to personally deliver these truths, but they are of such great importance to the church that he could not take the chance that these truths would not arrive simply because he couldn’t arrive.
1. So Paul wrote and sent the letter to Timothy.
2. Paul opened the letter dealing with false doctrine and the misuse of the law, but reminded Timothy that the goal of our instruction comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.
3. Next Paul reminded Timothy of the genuine Gospel, the one that had such an amazing power that it could even save the worst sinner in the world, namely Paul himself.
4. Then Paul addressed the need for the church to pray and for whom the church is to pray.
5. Next Paul touched on the issue of the role relationship between men and women in the church.
6. Then, Paul established what kind of men should be leading the church as elders and deacons.
7. All of these things are vital for the church to be functioning correctly and to have the right reputation it should have in the world.
8. For the church to be all that it can be and should be, and to accomplish what God wants the church to accomplish, each individual Christian must conduct himself or herself appropriately, and when the church is gathered together and working together there are certain ways things should be done.
9. And let me again remind us of the reason why disciples should have proper conduct:
a. First, because of what the church is.
b. Second, because of who the Savior of the church is.
10. Let’s look at how these two truths can be drawn from 1 Timothy 3:14-16.
I. Disciples should behave because of what the church is.
A. Paul used three designations or illustrations to describe what the church is.
1. First, He called it God’s Household – God’s Family.
2. Second, He called it the Church of the Living God.
3. Third, He called it the Pillar and Foundation of the Truth.
4. This truth and this reality about what the church is should have great effect on our identity and our behavior.
5. Paul could have worded the verse this way: “I have written so that you will know how people ought to conduct themselves as disciples.”
a. Or “how people ought to conduct themselves in the church.”
b. Either of those ways would have been right and helpful, but that’s not what Paul did – that’s not how he worded things.
6. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul emphasized the importance of good conduct by pointing to the importance of what the church really is.
7. Let’s try to appreciate the significance of each of those three descriptions.
B. First of all, the church is the household or family of God.
1. This is one of my favorite ways of thinking of the church.
2. We are born into the family of God through the new birth (Jn. 3:3, 5) and we are added to the family of God through the adoption (Eph. 1:5).
a. In the family of God, God is our Father, and Jesus is our elder brother, and we are all brothers and sisters – how’s that for a profound truth?!
b. God loves us and we belong to God’s family, God’s community.
3. As in all families, there are those who are in authority and there are house rules.
a. We must respect God as our Father and obey His rules in order to receive His approval.
4. And some of those household rules have to do with how we treat each other in God’s family.
a. God expects that we will love Him and that we will love each other.
b. God expects that we will make Him a priority and that we will also make each other a priority.
c. If we make God and God’s family our priority then it will impact how regular we are in worship and in fellowship with each other, right?
5. And as in all families, how close we are to each other depends on the time and effort we put into communication and relationship building.
a. The same is true with our relationship with God and our relationship with God’s people.
b. We can’t expect to feel close or be close with God or God’s family if we isolate ourselves from God and God’s people.
6. So Paul’s first point is that we should behave ourselves in the church because the church is the household and family of God.
a. Praise God that we are His family!
C. Second, the church is the church of the living God.
1. The word for church in the Greek is ekklesia which means an assembly of people and it is actually a non-religious word for a group of people called together for a purpose.
2. When applied to God’s assembly of people it refers to those people who are called together to serve the Lord.
3. Paul often called the church “the church of Christ” or “the church of God,” but in our text for today, Paul added a qualifier “living” – we are the church of the Living God.
4. Perhaps Paul was trying to contrast God with the lifeless images worshiped in the pagan world.
5. God was often called the “Living God” in the OT to emphasize the difference between the pagan religions and Judaism.
6. The young shepherd David said this about Goliath the giant: “Who is the uncircumcised Philistine that he defies the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26).
7. Christians and Jews worshiped the Living God while other people worshiped dead idols.
8. When we understand that we are the church of the Living God, we realize that our God is alive and that we belong to Him.
9. We also can appreciate the fact that our Living God is living in us and is working through us.
10. Whatever the church does and accomplishes it is because the Living God is guiding and empowering us in ways that no other god can.
11. Praise God that the church is the family of God and also that it is the church of the living God.
D. Paul’s last description of the church is that it is the pillar and foundation of the truth.
1. All of us can appreciate these construction terms – we know what foundations and pillars are and what they do.
2. The people of Paul’s day could also appreciate these construction terms.
a. The Roman people were surrounded by great buildings and temples with massive foundations and pillars.
b. Timothy was living in Ephesus which had the temple of Artemis (also called the Temple of Diana) which had more than 100 pillars holding up the massive marble roof.
3. We, the church, have an important role in maintaining and spreading God’s truths.
a. The truth Paul had in mind likely included all of the doctrinal and moral truths of Christianity.
b. Jesus said that God’s word is truth (Jn. 17:17).
c. But Jesus also said that He is the truth (Jn. 14:6).
d. And I think it is the truth about Jesus that Paul mainly had in mind here as we will see from verse 16 that we will get to in a minute.
4. Foundations and pillars had different functions.
a. We might think of the foundation as holding the truth firm and unshaken, while we might think of the pillar as holding the truth high so that all might see and admire it.
b. To put it another way, the foundation is a function of protection and preservation, while the pillar is a function of propagation and proclamation.
5. The church is called to serve the truth – to hold it fast and to make it known.
a. In a world where the truth is relative, the church must preserve and proclaim the truth that never changes.
b. God’s Word never changes and Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8).
c. This is also what Jesus meant when He declared that His disciples are the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13-16).
6. It is so important that we understand and embrace what the church is, what we are – we are the family of God, we are the church of the Living God, we are the foundation and pillar of the truth.
a. Because that is our identity don’t you think we should behave accordingly?
II. Disciples should behave because of who the Savior is.
A. Paul said it this way: And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (3:16)
1. What Paul gives us here is a six-line poem or hymn about the mystery and truth of Jesus.
a. Paul may have written himself with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, or he may have been led by the Spirit to quote an ancient Christian hymn that was circulating in the church.
2. Before we look at the content of the poem or hymn, let’s look at the phrase that introduces it.
a. Paul wrote: And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great.
b. The phrase “and most certainly” could be translated “by common confession” or “a matter on which there is general agreement.”
c. The phrase is similar in meaning to Paul’s “This saying is trustworthy” (3:1).
3. So, on what did Christians agree and what did they believe was trustworthy? Paul’s answer is: “The mystery of godliness is great.”
a. When Paul uses the word “mystery” he is not talking about something that is unknown and unknowable.
b. Rather, by “mystery” Paul means the truth that God has graciously made known in Christ.
c. In Colossians 1:27, Paul declared: God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
d. Christ is our hope of glory, Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life, and Christ is living in us!!
e. Jesus is the secret (mystery) to living the Christian life (godliness) and upholding the truth about Jesus is the reason that we must behave ourselves in the church and in the world – to represent Him well.
B. So, in order to illustrate what he meant that the mystery of godliness is great, Paul gave a concise summary of Jesus’ life and ministry in six lines.
1. The six lines can be approached in a variety of ways, but the simplest way is to look at them chronologically – going from His incarnation (revealed in the flesh) to His ascension (taken up in glory).
2. The one challenge approaching it chronologically is that the taken up into glory should be in the fourth position and then be followed by the lines “preached among the nations” and “believed on in the world.”
3. But regardless of what the meaning of the order reveals, each of these six individual truths about Jesus point to how wonderful and powerful and important He is.
a. He is the great example of what godliness is and what it looks like.
4. And the more we appreciate how glorious and special our Savior is the easier it will be for us to overcome temptation and follow His lead in our lives.
5. And the greatness of Jesus should cause us to trust Him, believing we can do all thing through Christ, and that nothing we face is too big for Him to handle.
C. I like the labels that commentator David Roper gave to each of these six truths about Jesus.
1. Jesus Arrived – “He was manifested in the flesh.”
a. Although Jesus pre-existed as God eternally with the Father and Holy Spirit, He came to this earth and took on flesh – the word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (Jn. 1:1, 14)
b. When Paul wrote to the Philippians, he added the fact that it took humility for Jesus to take on flesh - who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. (Phil. 2:6-8)
2. Jesus was Approved – “vindicated in the Spirit.”
a. Vindicated means “proved to be right.”
b. During Jesus’ life and ministry he made many audacious claims; including calling Himself “the Son of God,” claiming that He existed before Abraham, claiming that if you have seen him you have seen the Father – just to name a few.
c. But over and over, we see that the Spirit proved that Jesus’ claims were true.
d. When Jesus was a baby, the Spirit spoke through Simeon, testifying that Jesus was the Messiah (Lk. 2:25-35).
e. When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descended on Him as a sign (Jn. 1:29-34).
f. During Jesus’ ministry the Spirit empowered Him to overcome temptation and to perform miracles.
g. But the ultimate vindication came when the Spirit was instrumental in raising Jesus from the dead (Rom. 8:11).
3. Jesus was Adored – “seen by angels.”
a. The word “seen” means to fix one’s gaze on and can also include the idea of taking care of something, as in “see to” this or that.
b. It expresses both intense interest and deep concern in something.
c. Angels have always been interested in the unfolding of God’s plan of redemption.
d. It’s not hard to imagine their keen interest in Jesus as he left heaven and came to earth.
e. His birth was announced by angels (Lk. 2:8-14) and after His temptation, angels ministered to Him (Mt. 4:11).
f. In the garden of Gethsemane and angel strengthened Him (Lk. 22:43) and 12 legions of angels could have rescued Him (Mt. 26:53).
g. After the resurrection, an angel rolled the stone away from His tomb (Mt. 28:2) and angels appeared in the tomb, and proclaimed the news “He is not here, He has arisen” (Mt. 28:6).
h. As Jesus ascended back into heaven, angels told the disciples that someday Jesus would return the same way.
4. Jesus was Acclaimed – “preached among the nations.”
a. Jesus has been proclaimed throughout the world for the last 2000 years.
b. This proclamation is needed in every generation – it is our continued mission.
5. Jesus was Accepted – “believed on in the world.”
a. Not everyone has believed in Jesus, but praise God in every generation there have been those who have put their faith in Jesus.
b. Those of us in the church today are among those who have fulfilled that truth.
6. Jesus Has Ascended – “taken up in glory.”
a. Jesus ascended before the eyes of the disciples and He returned to heaven and took His rightful seat at the right hand of God the Father (Mk. 16:19).
b. Jesus had left the glory of heaven to be manifested in the flesh, and He returned to the glory of heaven when He was taken up in glory.
c. Paul depicted the glory of Jesus’ homecoming in Philippians 2 like this: For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (2:9-11)
Conclusion:
A. Praise God for these three power-packed and powerful verses about the church and about Christ!
1. Paul wrote this letter so that we would know how we should behave.
B. And why should we behave a certain way as Christians? Because of what the church is and who our Savior is.
1. The church is the family of God, the church of the Living God, and the foundation and pillar of the truth.
2. The mystery of godliness is great – Jesus arrived, was approved, adored, acclaimed, accepted, and has ascended.
a. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life – He is our hope of glory – and we can do all things through the strength He gives us.
3. Let’s conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of what the church is and who Christ is – let’s reflect His glory and goodness for all to see.
4. Let’s be the light of the world and the salt of the earth so that others can be saved.
5. This is our mission and our calling, let’s not drop the ball.
6. Let’s give God permission to change our hearts and lives so that we will be more like Christ in all godliness.
Resources:
• 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, Commentary by David Roper, Truth For Today Commentary
• The Mystery of Godliness, Sermon by Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III, https://fpcjackson.org/resource-library/sermons/the-mystery-of-godliness/
• The Mystery of Godliness is Great, Sermon by Brian Evans, https://gccwaverly.net/2015/10/11/sermon-the-mystery-of-godliness-1-timothy-314-16/
