Written by Paul J Bucknell on April, 13, 2022

1 Timothy 3:14-16 The Church’s Confession of Faith

A Bible Exposition on 1 Timothy 3:14-16

An accurate understanding of the Gospel in our cultural context protects and strengthens our faith. Bible study included.
 

1 Timothy 3:14-16 Bible verses (NASB)

“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” (1 Timothy 3:14-16 NASB).

Our understanding of the church dramatically affects our Christian convictions. Unfortunately, many of our views on the church are gained from experience or the world. The Apostle Paul, knowing the importance of the church, shapes our understanding by providing a remarkably accurate perspective of the church.

The Apostle Paul, in 1 Timothy 3:14-16, leads the church forward against her worst enemies; let’s hang on for the ride.

1. Care for the Church (1 Tim 3:14)

“¹⁴ I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long ¹⁵ but in case I am delayed, I write…”

The Apostle Paul was commissioned by Jesus to establish His church in the Gentile countries around the Mediterranean Sea. He suffered many trials in fulfilling this work. He cared for the church by visiting or writing as necessary. Paul writes the letter of 1 Timothy to Timothy, the pastor/evangelist at the church in Ephesus.

“⁸ And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:8-10).

Paul had a particular fondness for the Ephesian church, having spent so much time there. “I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long” (1 Tim 3:14). Probably through prophetic words, Paul knew of the impending danger coming to the church. Even after spending several years teaching believers at Ephesus daily, the enemy would, like wolves, enter among the sheep and bring them harm.

²⁹ I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; ³⁰ and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. (Acts 20:29-31)

He was trying to visit and strengthen the strategic Ephesus church. He wrote to strengthen Timothy’s faith and knowledge if delayed. Ministry, including teaching, is done best in person. Paul wanted to visit and teach them, more deeply establishing mutual trust and firming up ongoing commitments. Books are good; websites are of great help; even Zoom helps, but these have limitations. We need the community to live out Christ’s love. Paul still plans to visit Timothy, his “true child in the faith” (1 Tim 1:2).

We see Paul’s great concern for the church through these costly measures (How much did it cost to deliver a letter?) to encourage and fortify Timothy and the church at Ephesus. The church can withstand the fiercest attacks, but would she?

The Apostle Paul tells us why he is writing—not just these verses, but the whole book of 1 Timothy. I perfectly understand Paul’s purpose in writing to Timothy. Accurate, timely knowledge can keep significant problems from happening. False teachers/members had already begun to sow disturbing or false teachings in the church.

As a teacher, I always find myself limited by time. So, I ask myself, “What are the most important things to teach on a particular topic within the given parameters? I sense Paul did the same when condensing his apologetic defense in verse 16 with six short lines.

Like towering pillars with impenetrable walls, truth statements keep out dangerous false beliefs.

Paul succinctly summarized this statement of faith to protect them from false teachings and teachers. Even as predicted in the Book of Acts, the church would face many problems. Every church is a target of the evil one. The devil plots how he can take each local congregation down. Only the truth keeps her strong during these fierce attacks.

2. Conduct in the Church (1 Tim 3:15)

“How one ought to conduct himself”

Let me comment on what might appear to be a disconnection. Paul says, “I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God” (1 Tim 3:15). Later, when we look more carefully at what Paul says, we will observe confessional statements. Don’t be confused.

Our beliefs are an outworking of who we are. In this statement, Paul includes all the issues he addressed throughout this letter, whether it be praying for government leaders, how to behave in the church, how to care for widows, etc.

What is the church?

Paul unabashedly describes the church as “the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Paul uses three key phrases to describe the church. When we think of “the church” what comes to mind? We usually think about a building. That is not “the church” The people of God, whether assembled or scattered, are “the church.” We will describe each term.

“Household of God” (1 Tim 2:15)

The term ‘household’ helps us think of the church as a huge family with their responsibilities, concerns, or problems. A little boy might have a toothache; there might be a bill due the next day. God is the Father watching over the church—every last detail of what goes on. We can trust Him to care for us even when the church seems vulnerable.

“Church of the living God” (1 Tim 2:15)

In Hebrew or Greek, the term ‘church,’ means the same thing—an assembly—God’s people gathered together. The word ‘church’ signifies all the people of God, not just a personal spiritual renewal, though they are essential. In light of the former phrase, God thinks about all His children. The “Living God” indeed reminds us that God is involved in what happens on earth, exercising His will. When we pray in Jesus’ Name, He hears. He is alive!

“Pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim 2:15)

The last phrase, “as a pillar and support of the truth,” leads us into the confession given in verse 16. Fellowship is integral to a strong church. We need to go one or more levels down to the structure, especially when the evil one is attacking her—just as he is doing to the church today. (I find the virus prohibitions to be a form of hostility toward the church, in the sense that she often can’t meet together.) Every building has pillars and supports; the church supports the truth. Paul says that no matter how fierce the conflict, the truth will keep the church in good shape.

Application

Let’s pause here for a moment. Just think, what do you think of the church? Do you eagerly invite others to join you? Do you find joy or bitterness in your heart when you think about going to church?

3. Confession of the Church (1 Tim 3:16)

“By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness” (1 Tim 3:16)

We don’t understand the need to have a confession of faith because we already have reliable confessions. The Westminister and Heidelberg Confessions are two famous confessional statements. Most churches have a statement of faith that they require members to agree. Saints of the past, who have weathered severe attacks, have done the hard work.

This is not the case at Ephesus. Regular daily teaching is wonderful—even two years’ worth. But note that Paul sensed the need to further identify the essential truths, especially in the areas where the church’s enemies were attacking her.

If an army started attacking the east side of the walled city, where would you send your defense forces? The east side, of course. We can expect a general collection of truths to act as pillars; their particular focus exposes the false teachings, and in this case, the denial of Christ the Savior becoming human.

Paul didn’t rehash the Ten Commandments or the Sermon on the Mount, as vital as they are, but targets the truths that protect the Gospel. This is the revelation (i.e., mystery revealed) God has given in the Gospel.

Truth in Our world

Here is an example from the present. When I was ordained back in 1985, I had to produce and defend an elongated statement of faith. If I had to write a statement today, I would have to add several sections to it. Do you know why? If you think that the Gospel and our world are facing different faith challenges today, you are right.

For example, I, or others, could never have imagined that people would question the truth of two genders, male and female, as God teaches and Jesus confirms (Gen 1:27). “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27). Jesus said the same when quoting, “And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female” (Mat 19:4).

And yet, a powerful blinding force has come over the world that people are convinced that there are more than two genders. The US just issued US passports to include an “X” gender. Today, my job is not to defend this teaching of two genders but to clarify the confession Paul set before us.

I must remind you that false teachings give rise to unimaginable conclusions, consistently producing abusive or horrible thoughts and actions. Racism comes from evolution, not the Bible. Human rights are no longer respected and so baby killing is defended even after birth! And so it goes on and on. False teaching leads to gross, mistaken ideas, which become treacherous tools in the hands of evil men to bring further pain and trouble to mankind.

I’m still amazed at the pillars pounded deeply into the ground for tall structures. The powerful ‘slammer,’ slam after slam, drives the pilings deep into the ground to provide a firm foundation. The eternal design and plan for the church of God have its pillars written deeply into God’s eternal plan, even before creation. We need not fear. This is the reason Jesus says, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Mat 16:18). This is the first time the word ‘church’ is used in the New Testament. Jesus makes this strong statement about the church; nothing can shake it, despite the attacks thrown at her.

By common confession

Due to false teachings making inroads, Paul writes out the essential truths that need to be pinpointed to keep the believers straight with the genuine Gospel of Christ. Our beliefs matter; if our beliefs are incorrect, our lives will slowly take on ungodly characteristics.

A statement of faith is like a home address. If I give you the wrong address, you will face problems finding it. But doctrines(truths), the pillars, form a reliable foundation for faith. The Holy Scriptures pass on reliable, accurate perspectives of faith and life.

The Pillars in verses 14-16 go deep into the spiritual world, reminding us that the church is eternal—and by implication, that there is no genuine threat to the church of God.

The Gospel is a combination of essential truths that provide knowledge for salvation. They set out key teachings that preserve the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and so protect us from many false understandings.

Basic Gospel Teaching

We should examine our own beliefs against the Scriptures. Accuracy of thought protects, comforts, and guides, but error misleads and causes much pain.

At different historical eras, the church faced different truth battles. The first big heresy didn’t have to do with man’s nature, like today, but Jesus’ nature.

“²⁰ O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— ²¹ which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith” (1 Tim 6:20).

The theme for 1 Timothy 3:16’s confession is God’s redemptive involvement through God becoming man in the person of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at 1 Timothy as a whole. We see that the Apostle is careful to use both Christ and Jesus interchangeably (13 times) throughout the epistle—Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, again indicating the divine and human merger.

Paul pens a six-line hymn or poem that summarizes the Gospel truth. Let’s examine them line by line. Remember, we write today’s doctrinal statements to better articulate Biblical teaching in our context. Some statements from Paul might not appear to be of great relevance today because false teaching zooms in on other thoughts.

(1) God-incarnate: “He who was revealed in the flesh.”

(2) Spirit-filled: “Was vindicated in the Spirit”

(3) Miraculously observed: “Seen by angels”

(4) Christ proclaimed: “Proclaimed among the nations”

(5) Christ-centered people of God: “Believed on in the world”

(6) Jesus’ ascension: “Taken up in glory”

Let’s look at them, line by line, pinpointing Paul’s targeted truth—God’s incarnation in the person of Jesus Christ.

1) Christ: the incarnation of God: “He who was revealed in the flesh.”

God took upon Himself human form (lit. the flesh: Gr: sarx). The incarnation is an essential truth, though it’s not often challenged today. Have you ever had a dispute about whether or not Jesus Christ was human? Probably not. We face debates about whether or not Christ was divine. But back when Paul wrote this letter, the humanness of Jesus Christ was greatly contested.

False teaching, known as Gnosticism, mixed Greek notions with the Bible, and would escalate over two centuries. They presumed that the human body was evil and falsely concluded that God’s Son, the Christ, could never take on a human body. The Spirit doesn’t mix with the flesh. There were several variants; one claimed Christ’s spirit came upon Jesus the human but left before Jesus the human died on the cross.

This truth that God became man is critical. Otherwise, we would teach that a sinful man died for sinful ones. In other words, there would be no salvation. We should note that both proper Hinduism and Buddhism have a similar understanding of the flesh.

John addresses this same topic in 1 John 5 by insisting on the critical nature of Christ’s blood. He genuinely bled because he possessed a human body; therefore, Christ was genuinely human.

“⁶ This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 6 For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement” (1 John 5:6-8).

Paul strengthened the Ephesians’ faith by presenting numerous statements proving that Jesus was indeed Christ the Savior. The hymn’s following lines also support this first main statement on Jesus’ humanity.

(2) Spirit-filled/anointed: “Was vindicated in the Spirit”

Jesus Christ’s life demonstrated Spirit-empowered conversations and miracles, establishing that God’s Holy Spirit was upon Him.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed” (Luke 4:18; Isaiah 61:1).

If you look at various Bible versions, you will note that there are two suggested translations:

(1) “justified in (by) the Spirit”

(2) “vindicated in the Spirit”

Clearly, “justified” is the more common translation—declared or proven righteous, but many confuse this word ‘to justify’ with the teaching on justification by faith. Perhaps to avoid this confusion, other translations use “vindicated,” but the words have a similar meaning of acquitted, or declared innocent.

Both translations are acceptable, but, more importantly, why does Jesus need to be vindicated?

The Gnostics presumed that human flesh was evil. Their bias made it impossible for the Holy God, who is Spirit, to dwell in a human flesh. “If God took on human flesh, then this Gospel is unspiritual, I want nothing of it.” The opposite, however, was true. Christ became flesh.

Paul affirms this by the phrase, “vindicated by the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit undeniably anointed Jesus. The Spirit of God filled and powerfully used Him wherever He went.

The Holy Spirit was present at Jesus’ baptism, powerfully displayed through His miracles and casting out demons, proving the Spirit of God’s presence. Since no one disputed His miracles, Paul forced them to reason backward and make room for Jesus’ divine birth as a human. The Holy Spirit’s presence proves Jesus Christ wasn’t unrighteous but holy. This Spirit factor “justified” or “vindicated” Jesus as righteous.

Was Paul only speaking of Jesus’ virgin birth, born of the Spirit (Mat 1:18)? Maybe, but the conclusion is the same. The Spirit of God was upon Jesus Christ. Though Christians acknowledge human beings born of Adam are innately sinful, the Holy Spirit mysteriously came upon Mary, as a virgin. She did not know man intimately, not even Joseph, at Christ’s birth. So Jesus was not tainted with sin. The Gnostics, however, did not did not debate mankind’s sin nature but whether a fleshly human nature could be holy.

The following line equally sustains the holiness of Jesus Christ, and if holy, acceptable to God.

(3) Miraculously-observed: “Seen by angels”

Angels played a huge part in the Gnostic world; they greatly respected the angels who lived in God’s holy presence. The word “seen” emphasizes their experiential role in these sightings. It might be thought of in one of two ways.
“And did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive” (Luke 24:23)

1. If the angels “saw” Jesus, He must have been visible as a human with a body. They could see Him walking, talking, and healing others. Otherwise, they would not be able to see Him.
2. It also could refer more generally that the angels, in a God-approving way, affirmed Jesus’ humanity, His flesh. These holy beings visited and assisted Christ Jesus at significant points in His life and ministry: His birth (Luke 2:15); Temptation (Mat 4:6,11); Miracles (John 1;51; 5:4; 12:29); Crucifixion (Lu 22:43), Coronation (Luke 24:23; John 20:12 when raised from the dead). “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels” (Mat 16:27).

Although each interpretation comes from a slightly different vantage point, it’s still true that angels, living in God’s holy presence, testified to God’s powerful work in Jesus’ life at each significant stage of His life. If God sent His holy angels to work with Christ, then Jesus Christ, even with a human body, is most holy.

(4) Christ proclaimed: “Proclaimed among the nations”

This truth statement, “Proclaimed among the nations,” provides the powerful fuel to generate an incredible worldwide mission movement. There is but one Gospel, and Jesus’ apostles/disciples proclaimed this message to all–not just to Jews.

Interestingly, these lines do not mention the cross, Jesus’ death. Indeed, His death and resurrection and all His words became the very message proclaimed among the nations. My reasoning for the hymn not mentioning the cross is that it wasn’t disputed.

The more important truth is that people everywhere acknowledge God’s message. Jesus did not only preach to a favorite Jewish people but to all the world, thus showing the power of the Gospel truth.

(5) Christ-centered people of God: “Believed on in the world”

This is the church; the people of God, which Paul highlighted above. Being the church of the living God, they have a special mission from God as the “pillar and support of the truth” (15).

So the truth went out, and we who believe are the church. Our faith shapes our participation and future. And now, each country has a multitude of believers, acknowledging the glory of Christ. Jesus does save!

(6) Jesus’ ascension: “Taken up in glory”

Undoubtedly, this last phrase includes both the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Paul uses the word "ascended" in Ephesians 4:7-8 as a sign of victory. Jesus rose from the dead but also ascended to heaven where He now rules.

“⁹ And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them. ¹¹ They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? 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” (Acts 1:9-11).

Of course, if God receives Jesus Christ into heaven, then everyone ought to consider the human body can be transformed in such a way to dwell in the heavenly realm, where Jesus Christ sits in glory at the right hand of the Father.

Summary

Paul had many excellent descriptions of God, like: 1 Timothy 1:17, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” But the Apostle had a particular focus on emphasizing Jesus Christ’s humanity. He was not sure that he would be able to visit Ephesus. These truths Timothy and the congregations would find reliable and trustworthy. They need not be bothered by the influence of Greek philosophy on some who twisted the Gospel. Staying firm in the truth, they could safely remain on course.

Bible Study Questions on 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” (1 Timothy 3:14-16 NASB).

1. Why did Paul write this letter to Timothy (14)?
2. Give evidence for the Apostle Paul’s general care for the church?
3. Why did Paul have a special concern for those believers in Ephesus, where Timothy was?
4. What are the three terms that Paul uses for the church in 3:15? What does each mean?
5. What is the key truth that Paul voices and defends through these six poetic lines in 1 Timothy 3:16?
6. Why did these early Gnostic believers find trouble with the Gospel?
7. What was Jesus Christ vindicated of?
8. Name three areas where unbelievers around you have wrong ideas about the Gospel? How do you respond to each one?
9. Discuss any doubts you have about the Gospel or the Word of God.

Other References by Paul J. Bucknell on related topics to 1 Timothy 3:14-16

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