1 Timothy 3:16

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness;

He who was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen of angels, Preached among the nations, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

The widely held opinion that this is from some earlier hymn in current use among the earliest Christians is totally without foundation. The supposition is based upon the rather indefinite word which is here rendered "he," but which is also sometimes rendered "which" or "who." Any way it is translated the meaning is exactly the same, namely, that of the KJV which rendered the passage "God was manifested in the flesh," which is exactly what the passage SAYS. "He who" refers to "God" mentioned twice in the preceding verse, and "which" or "who" would also have the same reference to "God." And, of course, it is fully consonant with everything else in the New Testament. God was manifested in the flesh in the person of Christ. In support of the hymn theory, it is frequently pointed out that there are rhythm and balance, etc.; but many of Paul's statements have the same qualities, notably in the salutation of Romans 1:1-7, which see in my Commentary on Romans. This writer accepted the hymn theory regarding this passage in "The Mystery of Redemption," written several years ago, but more mature studies have raised serious misgivings about the various "hymns" said to have been quoted by Paul. Anyway, even if it is a hymn, the odds are overwhelmingly in favor of the proposition that Paul himself was the author of it.

Great is the mystery of godliness ... The New Testament refers to these mysteries:

The mystery of Christ and his church (Ephesians 5:32).

The mystery of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:7).

The mystery of the seven stars and the seven candlesticks (Revelation 1:20).

The mystery of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51).

The mystery of the hardening of Israel (Romans 11:25).

The mystery of the harlot church (Revelation 17:7).

The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 13:11).

The mystery in view in this clause, however, is the "great" mystery, much more comprehensive than those mentioned above, and in a sense containing all of them. Frequent references to it in the New Testament designate it as:

The mystery (Romans 16:25).

The mystery of his will (Ephesians 1:9).

The mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:4).

The mystery of the gospel (Ephesians 6:19).

The mystery of God (Colossians 2:2).

The mystery of the faith (1 Timothy 3:9).

The mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16).

There is nothing simplistic about this mystery. It has many facets and complexities; and for an extended treatise on the theology of mystery unfolded in the New Testament, reference is again made to The Mystery of Redemption.[39]

Christ himself is the mystery as revealed by this verse, but the close relation of Christ to all phases of the mystery is at once evident.

God was manifested in the flesh ... This is a statement of the Incarnation, however translated, referring to the visitation of the Dayspring from on high. Only of Almighty God, or of the second Person in the godhead, might it be properly said that he "was manifested in the flesh."

Justified in the Spirit ... Christ was justified in the Spirit, because God's Spirit, "without measure," dwelt in him, testified to his deity upon the occasion of his baptism, and was sent by Christ upon the day of Pentecost. In the most superlative degree, all the fruits of the Holy Spirit were exhibited in the life of Christ. He was justified in the Spirit.

Seen of angels ... The implication here is that angels were extremely solicitous for our Lord's welfare, ever ready to do his will, and importantly identified with his earthly ministry. Angels announced his birth, warned Joseph to flee into Egypt, ministered to him in the wilderness, strengthened him in Gethsemane, rolled away the stone from his grave, announced his resurrection, escorted him to glory and prophesied his return in the Second Advent. Twelve legions of angels stood ready to rescue him during the Passion, and ten thousand of his holy angels will accompany him in the Second Coming. Yes, he was seen of angels.

Preached among the nations ... The alternate reading of this is "Preached among the Gentiles," which in context is far better (see the American Standard Version margin). Paul mentioned again and again the fact that the inclusion of Gentiles was an essential part of the mystery (Romans 16:26; Ephesians 3:6), and thus it would be better to understand this as "preached among the Gentiles." In this also is the fact of the preaching itself, not merely those receiving the preaching, being a vital element of the mystery. "It pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Corinthians 1:21). The great need of this age is preaching the word of God. Evil forces have battered down the outer doors and are assaulting the inner citadel of faith itself. No such crisis in a millennium has confronted the church; the hour of her mortal decision is upon her. She must forsake the evil philosophies of men and return to the faithful proclamation of what the word of God declares, if she is either to be saved herself or have the power to save others. Let the church ring out the message "preached among the nations."

Believed on in the world ... This is a continuing mystery. Contrary to every evil, in spite of what appears to be every good reason against it, the word of God still falls in honest and good hearts; and God continues to reap his precious harvest of souls from the earth. In spite of a roaring tornado of wickedness on every side, God's faithful continue to love him rather than darkness. Countless thousands, or millions, no one knows how many, Continue to live by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; and every passing decade sees more buildings erected in the name of Christ and dedicated to his service than were ever built and dedicated to any earthly ruler in all history. Yes, our Lord is believed on in the world!

Received up in glory ... This has been construed as "received up into glory," and so it may be understood; but as the text stands, it appears rather as a reference to the glorious nature of his ascension. Three great [Greek: parabola] passages of the New Testament deal with this, namely, Philippians 2:5-9; Eph. 4:8,9,2 Corinthians 8:9. The doctrine of the ascension of Christ is in view here, as well as in the other passages cited. The Scriptural accounts of the ascension, or of the "going up" of Christ, seem to have been preliminary to the actual ascension into the spiritual realm above, leading to the unfortunate view that such accounts are contradictory, which, of course, they are not. Christ apparently "went up" from his disciples more than once; and it may be doubted if the actual ascension itself was witnessed by mortal eyes. Like the resurrection, it was announced by angels; and their testimony verified the fact; but the actual ascent was probably too glorious for mortal eyes to have endured the sight of it. The ascension is very properly included among the elements of the great mystery, for there are certainly corollaries of it that shall never be known by men until the saints are caught up to meet the Lord in the air.