Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world, taken up in glory.” (1 Timothy 3:16 (ESV)
Systematic and Biblical Theology is the systemized and biblically contained doctrine or teachings of the Christian faith. Christology is the biblical doctrine of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Within the New Testament, there are several Christological passages containing important and fundamental truths believers in Christ confess (Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 1:1-4).
Today’s text is an early church creedal confession, containing three couplets, by the Apostle Paul setting forth the person and work of Jesus Christ as the core truth of the Gospel. These were truths Paul’s young protégé, Timothy, needed to know and preach as the pastor of the church in Ephesus. These truths are what every evangelical pastor needs to know and preach to the congregations they shepherd.
Paul began this doctrinal discourse with the following introductory statement: “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:” As previously noted, these nine words contain an important perspective for the church; then and now. This brings us to the following six statements referring to Jesus Christ:
He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
Paul used a literary structural format known as a Chiastic Arrangement. A chiasm is a literary device where the first part of a phrase or sentence is repeated in the second part, but in reverse order. The pattern is A-B, B-A, A-B. This format emphasizes contrast, balance and a central idea. Regarding this particular text from I Timothy, the chiastic pattern is as follows, reading them left to right. The A statements in the text parallel each other in their focus on the earthly, while the B statements focus on the heavenly.
He was manifested in the flesh, – A. vindicated by the Spirit, – B.
seen by angels, – B. proclaimed among the nations, – A.
believed on in the world, – A. taken up in glory. -B
“By drawing connecting-lines between the words which indicate realities that belong to the same realm, flesh, nations, and world are linked; and so are Spirit, angels, and glory. Thus, the X—which is the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet and is called chi—is drawn twice. We may say, therefore, that the six lines are arranged chi-astically.”[1]
“The six lines of this Hymn in Adoration of the Christ begin with a line about Christ’s lowly birth and end with a reference to his glorious ascension. It is clear that if in such a humiliation-to-exaltation hymn the chiastic thought-movement is to be maintained, there must be not less than six lines.”[2]
“The contrasts are clearly drawn:
Weak flesh (line 1) contrasted with strength-imparting Spirit (line 2)
Heavenly angels (line 3) over against earthly nations (line 4)
The world below (line 5) over against glory above (line 6).”
“Yet, the beauty of it is this, that though the hymn pictures these regional contrasts, the thought is throughout that of glory and adoration. To be sure, the word flesh in line 1 indicates Christ’s humiliation; but the expression “manifested in the flesh” (“veiled in flesh the Godhead see”) points to his exalted, glorious nature. His glory is also indicated by the expressions “vindicated by the Spirit,” “seen (with adoration) by angels,” “heralded (joyfully) among the nations,” “believed in (unto salvation) by the world,” and “taken up (for exaltation) in glory.” Hence what we have in these six lines is not antithetic parallelism (in the sense in which that term is usually employed), but chiastic, cumulative parallelism.”[3]
“Paul gives the standard of faith his readers were to uphold in the form of a creed or hymn (which Timothy probably already knows). If “taken up in glory” refers to Jesus’ return (cf. Dan 7:13–14) rather than to his ascension, then the lines are in chronological order; but not all scholars think this proposal likely. “Justified” or “vindicated” in the Spirit refers to the resurrection, God’s acquittal after the human judicial condemnation of the cross.”[4]
Next time, we will separately examine the meaning of each of the six lines of this hymn. May the Lord’s truth and grace be found here. Have a blessed day in the Lord.
Soli deo Gloria!
[1] William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles, vol. 4, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 139.
[2] Ibid, 139.
[3] Ibid, 139.
[4] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 1 Ti 3:16.
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