Godliness to Us

1 Timothy 3:14-16

¹⁴ I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; ¹⁵ but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. ¹⁶ By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

   He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory. 

 In this passage, Paul divulges the thesis statement of his essay, the point of his message, the purpose of the letter, which answers the question, How am I supposed to behave in the house of God? 

First, Paul must define what he means when he uses the phrase, the household of God. The word Church in the Greek refers to a group of people who come out of their personal dwellings to gather with others. One cannot be the Church in isolation, a Church is a social phenomenon.

In addition, the Church plays a role. The Church is to be the Pillar and Support of the Truth. That is not to say that without the Church, God would be up the creek without a paddle. However, God has entrusted His testimony to mankind (See Matthew 28) and has charged the Church with the Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Corinthians). This Ministry of Reconciliation involves both Evangelism and Discipleship which, when boiled down to it's essence, it a declaration of the Truth. We are to bear witness of the Light which has illuminated our hearts.

Further, we have this common confession as pronounced in verse 16; it is Truth Condensed. This portion was probably an early creed, used by early Christians to keep the faith when there were no manuscripts or pamphlets written on "Assembly Distinctives." And what is it? The message of the Immanuel, God with us. 

Godliness was manifested before our very eyes. Let us follow Him. It's not really that simple when it comes to practice, but the goal is certainly very simple. He has given us much, we should learn how to behave as his representatives.