1st Timothy chapter 3 and again I want to welcome those who are able to tune in to the live live feed whether you're listening on sermon audio or YouTube or Facebook And if you're local to the Brunswick, Georgia area, invite you to our regular, regular services, whether on Sunday morning or Tuesday evening. So Sunday morning, we meet at 10 o'clock and Tuesday evening we meet at 630. Although tonight we were a little bit later getting on, getting started. 1 Timothy 3, beginning at verse 14, and going down to verse 16. 1 Timothy 3, verse 14, says this, I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you soon. 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. And by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was manifested in the flesh was vindicated in the spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. Our text tonight is on verse 16. I want to take some time this evening and just kind of look at this verse. Charles Spurgeon called this the summary of true religion, the summary of true religion, the outline of the Christian faith. It's all about Christ. Beloved, if your, if your religion is all about you, all about what you desire, all about your preferences and wants, hopes and dreams, you have the wrong religion. If you've received a gospel that is not the gospel of Jesus Christ, you've received another gospel. And the Bible tells us very, very plainly that this is, there's no hope there. In fact, over in Galatians, you don't have to turn there, but when Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia, He very clearly told them. Galatians 1 verse 6, he said, I marvel that you're so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, which is really not another. Only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so say I again now, if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed." Very, very plainly, he says here to those churches that the gospel must be right. You need to be sure tonight that you're resting on the true foundation, that is, on Jesus Christ. Anything else is sinking sand. And when we look at this text, in our text verse there in 1 Timothy 3 and verse 16, he says, By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was manifested in the flesh was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. As I look over my notes for this sermon, for this text, this is the third time in my ministry that I've preached on this text. I enjoy preaching it. I enjoy preaching it this time of year because Paul writes to Timothy and he's talking about the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Jesus manifested in the flesh. First time I preached it, I preached it from the King James Bible. Second time I preached it, I preached it from the New King James Bible. And this time I'm preaching it from the Legacy Standard Bible. And let me tell you, each time, the sermon doesn't change. The reality is that the Bible, the truth of it is found so richly in all of these. Whether your Bible says by common confession or without controversy, it's the same. It's the same. The meaning is the same. And he writes and he says, great is the mystery of godliness. The great is the mystery of godliness. This was a mystery in a great way. To the Old Testament saints, it was a mystery. And this is a mystery that can only be known by revelation from God. It can only be received by faith. The great truth that was previously unknown that is unknown in the world has been made known by the actual incarnation, the life, the death, the resurrection, glorification of God in man. As Paul writes to the younger Timothy, He was a man who was deeply concerned with the basics, the fundamentals, if you will, of the faith. Always, often going back to the basics. And that is precisely what he does here in this text. As you may know, and as you may remember and recall, Those of you who are Bible scholars, Bible readers, studiers of the text, you know that the Ephesian church, and I say the Ephesian church because as we were talking just a few minutes ago, Timothy was involved with the Ephesian church. Paul had been involved with the Ephesian church. This was a focus here, and the Ephesian church had wandered away from true doctrine. The Ephesian church had wandered into ungodliness and sin, and Paul takes them back. Paul reminds Timothy to go back, back to the basics. Back to the basics. Remember when I was young, believe it or not, I was young once. And also, believe it or not, I can remember that when I still had hair and before I could grow a beard. when the color of it was still reddish-brown. An old preacher told me, he said, David, you'll never go wrong preaching Christ. When you get up in front of the people, don't ever think you don't have anything to preach. For as long as you've got Christ, preach Him. Certainly, certainly that's the truth. And we find Paul, as he wrote his letters and as he preached, that's what he did. He preached, he wrote, he talked about Jesus. And here, here we are in a season, a season known as Christmas. in the hustle and bustle of the season, many people have, well, they say that they're celebrating Christmas. They're celebrating Christ. That's what they tell us. But many of them, many of them are too busy for Christ. Many of them have gone away from Christ. Indeed, so it is in many churches. got so many ministries going on, so many things happening in their churches that they have forgotten to get back to the basics. Sometimes it's good to be reminded the foundational fundamentals of the faith. So first of all, we noticed from our text, by common confession. Great is the mystery of godliness. First of all, he who was manifested in the flesh. In this, Paul manifests not only to our Lord's birth, that is certainly a big part of what he's talking about, but also to his life here on earth. This is something to be reminded of, not just now, not just in this season, not just in December, but to be reminded of all year long. It's good to be reminded that our Savior was born of a virgin in Bethlehem some 2000 years ago. It's good to remember, and not only to remember, but to celebrate the incarnation. Turn with me, if you will, to Matthew chapter one. Matthew chapter one We give verse 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows I When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the one who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now, all this took place in order that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. There it is, Josiah. They shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means God with us. Joseph got up from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife But kept her as a virgin Until she gave birth to a son and he called his name Jesus Having completed the genealogy Matthew Started with here in in in in in the gospel according to Matthew beginning chapter 1 and verse 1 and going down Now Matthew writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wishes to give a detail concerning the one star of the book Jesus Christ, he's the one that he is writing about The reason why he's writing at all the reason why you and I are meeting here tonight This birth was not like any other, wasn't like anybody else's. 41 generations prior were born as every other person had been born and since. A man fathers his son and so on and so forth in the biological normal pattern. The birth of Jesus did not happen like that. This verse in this phrase now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows Indicates that there's something different in this text and indeed there was Jesus Jesus was born differently Verse 20 it here says that that The one who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit Had to be that way Jesus was born of the Virgin Christ birth was different than any other who would come before or after and He didn't inherit the sin nature that we did. So I suppose that we could say that his birth was like any other birth insofar as that coming out of the birth canal and so on and so forth, that was similar as any other birth, but it's his conception that was different. And that made all the difference in the world. Luke chapter 1 in verse 35 the angel It says there It says the angel answered and said to her the Holy Spirit will come upon you the power of the Most High Will overshadow you and for that reason the Holy Child Shall be called the Son of God Jesus was fully man and fully God and but understand Christ's human nature was only in the likeness of sinful man. His conception and his birth protected his nature from defilement with depravity. She will bear a son. and you'll call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Jesus, the Savior, to save His people from their sins. Not that He might, not that He hopefully can. Now to Joseph and those around him, they might have thought, well, He's going to save the nation Israel. But oh, how much more it meant. Jews and Gentiles alike we must not think about when we read this passage and when we look at our text he who was manifested in the flesh We must not think of Jesus becoming a man in the same way that the water was turned into wine. Oh, what a miracle that was, but it's not the same. God above became babe in a manger, but He never ceased to be God, not even for an instant. Not when He was in the womb. Not when He was born. Not when He was learning carpentry from Joseph. Not as He grew up. Not when He went to the cross. Not as He died there. Not when He was buried. Rose again. No, none of that. He who was manifested in the flesh God Manifested in the flesh. He was abundantly manifest among the Gentiles and before his disciples Charles Spurgeon said During the latter part of his life, he was God in miracles most plenteous, but he was man in sufferings most pitiable. He was the son of the highest, nevertheless a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He trod the billows of the obedient sea, and yet he owned not a foot of land in all Judea. He fed thousands by his power, and yet all faint and weary, he sat upon a well and cried, give me to drink. He cast out devils, but was himself tempted of the devil. He healed all men of diseases and was himself exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Winds and waves obeyed him. Every element acknowledged the august presence of deity, and yet he was tempted in all points like as we are. Our Lord's manhood was no myth, no mere appearance in human shape. Beyond all doubt, the word was made flesh, dwelt among us. Handle me and see, saith he. A spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. Reach hither thy finger, behold my hands. Reach hither thy hand, thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. Yet with equal certainty, God was manifest in him. As the light streams through the lantern, so the glory of the Godhead flamed through the flesh of Jesus. Those who were his nearest companions bear witness. Quote, we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. I fear sometimes that human tongue can't speak enough of the glories of our God. Yes, God was manifest in the flesh and it became even more extraordinary when our Lord the creator of heaven and earth condescended to be put to death by his own creatures. He was given a mock trial and condemned as guilty of the greatest of crimes, hung on a cruel cross. This is a great mystery to consider as he hung there. But the pain and suffering he received from man was nothing, nothing. As terrible as it was, it was nothing compared to the three hours of darkness when the father turned off the lights of this old world and he cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? For it was there that he suffered the hell of his people, the hell that you and I deserve. 2 Corinthians chapter five and verse 21 says, he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. At the cross, Jesus took our sins. He knew no sin. He was sinless, but he took our sins so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. None of this, none of this would have been possible were it not for the fact that Jesus was born of a virgin that day some 30 years earlier. Back to our text there in first Timothy chapter three, first Timothy chapter three and verse 16. By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. First of all, he was manifested in the flesh. Secondly, was vindicated in the spirit. He was vindicated in the spirit. Some translations say he was justified in the spirit. The Holy Spirit bore witness of Christ through all his life here on the earth. We find that in his birth. We read a little bit about that in his birth but in Luke chapter 1 in verse 35 the angel Answered and said to her the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High Will overshadow you for that reason the Holy Child shall be called the Son of God But not only as at his birth, but also at his baptism. Whoa What what a very important thing that is that Jesus was born in? but also that he was baptized by John. In Matthew chapter three, Matthew chapter three, verse 17. Sorry, verse 16 and 17. After being baptized Jesus came up immediately from the water and behold the heavens were open They saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him Behold, there was a voice out of the heavens saying this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased Praise God that when he was baptized The Spirit of God descended like a dove there And a voice from out of the heaven said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. We see the spirit there. In Matthew chapter four and verse one, we find the spirit leading him there. It says, then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. So he was led by the spirit to his temptation. Matthew chapter 17 we see the spirit in his transfiguration Yes, yes we see the Spirit of God There and no wonder that As Paul wrote under the inspiration of spirit, he says there, he was manifested in flesh, vindicated in the spirit. And in fact, 40 days after he was ascended back up into heaven, the church that Jesus started was gathered together there in that upper room. where he told them to be. And there was a great manifestation of the Holy Spirit as had been promised, and 3,000, 3,000 were saved as the Holy Spirit bore witness with signs, miracles, and gifts. 1 Timothy chapter Three, in verse 16, by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. Number one, he was manifested in the flesh. Number two, he was vindicated in the spirit. Number three, he was seen of angels. Through the veil of his flesh, they saw, those angels did, saw the infinite and eternal God and they recognized him. over in Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1. Verse 26, now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, greetings favored one, the Lord is with you. She was very perplexed at his statement and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. And the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and there will be no end of his kingdom And so we see He was seen of angels. He was seen of angels. We see Gabriel there and and certainly Certainly what a blessing that is and when and how true it is what we find there in his birth Not only that but at his temptation in Matthew chapter 4 Matthew chapter 4 in Beginning at verse 8 Matthew chapter 4 and beginning at verse 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said unto him, all these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him, go Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Then the devil left him and behold, angels came and began to minister to him. So he was seen of angels and we see that there, but we see that also in his all the way through, even to his ascension when he ascended up into heaven in Acts chapter one, Acts chapter one. I love this text. We find the angels there at the Ascension. It says, and after he had said these things, speaking of Jesus, he was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received him out of their sight as they were gazing intently into the sky while he was going. Behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking toward heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come in just the same way as you have watched him go into heaven. We see the angels. He was seen of angels. What a glad promise is given that Jesus who ascended up is someday coming back. He may be coming back soon. And yes, although Christ did not die for them, although there's no redemption for the angels, the Bible tells us that even still, even still, The angels are desirous to look into the things that we look into because in first Peter chapter 1 First first Peter chapter 1 In verse 12, it says, it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, and these things which now have been declared to you through those who proclaim the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. And I can't help but wonder if maybe, maybe this is something that is Perhaps even a reference of why Paul, when he wrote about the woman's head covering in 1 Corinthians 11, in 1 Corinthians 11, in verse 10, he says, therefore, the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head because of the angels. The angels are in attendance. when we gather to worship. And certainly we find those references there. He is seen of angels, seen of angels. Fourthly, Fourthly here as we look at this text and we see this outline that is given by common confession Great is the mystery of godliness. He who was manifested in the flesh was vindicated in the spirit seen by angels proclaimed among The nation's he is proclaimed among the nation some translations have that as preached unto the Gentiles What a good reminder that this gospel of Jesus Christ, though it originated in Israel, though Jesus in his birth, he was a Jew, no question of it, This was not limited to the Jews, that the message of Jesus, even in his lifetime here on the earth, this message of Jesus Christ passed beyond the Jewish nation to others. Mark chapter seven and verse 26 being one example of that being the truth. And so in Mark chapter seven, Mark chapter seven, verse 26 Y'all may remember this from from our studies in the gospel of Mark, but Mark chapter 7 in verse 26 The Bible tells us now the woman was a Greek of Syro Phoenician descent and she kept asking him to cast out the demon Cast cast the demon out of her daughter and so the message of Jesus is came beyond the borders of Israel, even during his earthly ministry, being proclaimed among the nations. And in Mark chapter 16 and verse 15, he said to them, go into all the world, go into all the world, go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. This was a message. He charged them to preach the gospel everywhere. The church is to take the message beyond the borders. Take it out. And Christ is our message. Certainly. Certainly we have a message to take beyond the four walls of the church building. We have a message that needed to be taken out beyond the borders of Jerusalem. We have a message that needs to go out into the world and that is, that is how great we are? No, no, that's not it. How terrible everybody else is? No, that's not it either. The message that we're to take is the message of Jesus Christ. That's the message. We're to take the message. By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was manifested in the flesh was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations. The message for the nations is about Jesus Christ. This is the message. And I thank God that that message reached the nations. You and I stand here today or sit here today as a testimony of that because we are not of Jewish descent. We come from the Gentiles. And certainly, certainly had it not been the case, where would we be? Praise God it was believed on he was believed on in the world Believed on in the world in Ephesians chapter 2 Ephesians chapter 2 So the message went and people believed Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 5 Even when we were dead and our transgressions made us alive together with Christ, by grace, you've been saved. We are saved by grace. That message has gone out to the nations and believed on, believed on in the world. Praise God. Praise God. So we find by common confession great is the mystery of godliness. He was he who was manifested in the flesh Was vindicated in the spirit seen by angels proclaimed among the Gentiles believed on in the world and then lastly number six taken up in glory taken up in glory Romans chapter 8 Romans chapter 8 verse 34. Who is the one who condemns Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Jesus is not just some man that we can study from history. If we think about the season that it is, Some people think of Him as being a baby in a manger. He's not that. You won't find Him in a crib somewhere. He grew up. But if you look for Him hanging on a cross, you won't find Him there either. He's not on a cross. Though some imagine that too, that He's still there. He's not. If you were to go and look for Him in the tomb, you'll not find the body or bones of Jesus Christ. Nowhere. Jesus rose again. He's alive. But if you search this world over, you'll not find Jesus in the flesh because He ascended. He ascended back on up into glory. As the Bible tells us there, he was taken up in glory, seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for his people. And one day, one day he's coming back here again. Great. is the mystery of godliness. What is the conclusion here of all this? As I said, this is the outline of the Christian faith. In these six points, it's all about Christ. It's not about how great I am or how great you are. Not even how great the church is. If your faith depends on you or me or the church, you've got a faith that will never save. But at the same time, if your faith is in Jesus, who is nothing more than a baby in a manger, and you put him away with the Christmas decorations until you can bring him back out of the attic next year, you've also got a weak faith, a faith that won't save, a weak faith, a useless faith. Jesus wasn't born for a holiday. He didn't come for you to think about once or twice a year and then be done with him. My common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. It was a mystery to the Old Testament saints. They saw types and shadows and figures, but it wasn't clear. But now it's not a mystery, is it? is indicative that these truths aren't just words on a page. They are transforming truths which produce holiness in those that are saved. Not our holiness, not our godliness, not our righteousness, but rather the manifestation of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. It's good to know the historical facts about Jesus, but do you know Jesus? There's lots of people out there who have a lot of head knowledge about Jesus, but what as important is, do you know Jesus? Without controversy or by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness He who was manifested in the flesh was vindicated in the spirit seen by angels Proclaimed among the nations believed on in the world taken up in glory very simple fundamental Truths here As simple as it is it ought to encourage you Who are here If you're a believer, it ought to encourage you as a believer, but if not, it ought to encourage you to receive it. Have you received the message of Jesus Christ? Repent and believe the gospel as it is preached. And for those of us who are saved, great is the mystery of godliness. God says, be holy for I am holy. Let's not look to men as our standards, but to the God-man, Jesus Christ. As long as we're alive, let us be encouraged to spread the gospel. You don't need to be a theologian, a college graduate, a pastor. You don't need to be those things. But this glad day, this happy season, tell the story. God was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus has come to seek and to save those who are lost. May God add the blessing to the preaching of his word. Isaiah, I'm glad you made it. Will you pray for us?