The Bible is characterized by the summation of eternal, great truths in short paragraphs. We make the mistake of reading these verses without giving thought to the astounding truths found in them. One of these passages is the summation of the life of Jesus in six short phrases and written by Paul to Timothy (1 Tim. 3:16).
The passage begins with these words, “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness…” The evidence is such that to honest observers it is beyond doubt. It then continues with these words about Jesus, “God was…”
“Manifested in the flesh…” Jesus was there in the beginning (John 1:1) and deity emptied Himself and was made into a mortal man. He was Immanuel and dwelt among us and was a visible manifestation of the glory of God (Phil. 2:6-8; Matt. 1:23; John 1:14).
“Justified in the Spirit…” Not justified as we are for He had no sin. He was justified, vindicated by the Holy Spirit who raised Him from the dead (Rom. 8:11). He claimed to be the Son of God, and they called Him, “Beelzebub.” The Holy Spirit vindicated Him by empowering the Son of God to cast out demonic spirits. His words on that day were, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matt. 12:28). Every miracle He performed vindicated His claim of being the Son of God.
“Seen by angels…” While this may have reference to the angels who from heaven desired to understand what the prophets foretold about His coming (1 Pet. 1:12), it more likely refers to the emphasis found in the New Testament. The word angels simply means messengers and is also applied to men (Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:24; James 2:25). The New Testament places great emphasis on those apostles and early Christians who saw the resurrected Lord and told others about it (Luke 24:48; Acts 1:8; 2:32; etc.).
“Preached among the Gentiles…” The mystery of God centers around the inclusion of the Gentiles (Eph. 3:6), and His messengers carried the gospel to every creature on earth (Col. 1:23).
“Believed on in the world…” The message was not only preached, it was believed—not by just a few in a limited isolated places. The New Testament world saw His believers.
“Received up in glory…” The life of Jesus does not end at Golgotha’s cross. He was raised, and the witnesses saw Him ascend into glory. The message of Pentecost and throughout the world to every creature was God raised Him from the dead to reign (Acts 2:32-33) until the last enemy is destroyed.
Take time to think about His life in these six “words.”