Lessons

The Mystery of Godliness. In 1 Timothy 3:16, Paul acknowledged that without controversy, great is the Mystery of Godliness. The lesson on January 28, 2007 looked at the six conditions of this mystery. First, God was manifested in the flesh. God became a sinless man to save man from sin. Second, He was justified in the spirit. The greek word for Justified is “dikaioo” which means to set forth as righteous, to justify. Christ does just that for everyone who accepts Him as savior. Third, He was seen of Angles. Angels were actively part of Israel’s history, and they witnessed and aided the Lord as He was here in the flesh. Fourth, He was preached unto the Gentiles. This was a major issue in the New Testament because the preaching of Christ to the Gentiles (or Nations) was not permitted throughout the Gospels (Matt 10:5-6, 15:22-27) and up until Acts 9. This is when Gentiles were preached salvation along with faithful Abraham as foretold in the Song of Moses (Deut. 32:21). It wasn’t until Acts 28:28 however, that the Gentiles would be addressed apart from any national calling of Israel when Paul then delivered a new revelation called “The Mystery” (Ephesians 3:9). Fifth, He was believed on in the world. This belief was done individually… not nationally! Individual Jews and Gentiles believed on Christ as Savior but Israel as a nation did not. Israel will believe in the future when Elijah returns and restores all things (Malachi 4:5-6). In the mean time, every person, irrespective of nationality (Col 3:11), has access to eternal life by believing on Christ Jesus as Savior. And finally, the Sixth item listed is that He was raised up into Glory. Christ Jesus is located far above all principalities and powers in the heavens where He sits as mediator between God and man. Have you accepted Him as your mediator? Click here to listen now. You may also want to download the handout as well.