The “mystery of godliness”

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. —1 TIMOTHY 3:16,

This verse contains part of an early church hymn. It’s uniformity, rhythm, and parallel as in the original language indicates this. Its six lines form a concise summary of the truth of the gospel. The “mystery of godliness” simply looks at Jesus Christ. The mystery is something that was hidden in the Old Testament age but is now revealed in the New Testament. And the greatest of mysteries was the mystery of God in human flesh, the mystery of Jesus Christ, the glorious reality of the Incarnation. That becomes the theme for this early church hymn. God was manifested in human flesh through the virgin birth. He was righteous in His Spirit—perfectly righteous, perfectly holy. Angels holy and fallen acknowledged Him. He was preached among the nations. He was believed on by people in Galilee and Judea. After His resurrection, there were over 500 believers in Galilee. And when the church was founded on the Day of Pentecost, 3,000 believed on Him. At His ascension, He was received up into glory and seated at the right hand of the Father. So you have in that one verse a summation of the wonderful life of Jesus.