“I have not departed from the commands of God’s lips; I have TREASURED THE WORDS OF HIS MOUTH More than my necessary food.” (Job 23:12)
Paul (who also treasured God’s Word) writes to Timothy about the importance of God’s instructions, “I write so that you may know how you ought to CONDUCT YOURSELF in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy GREAT IS THE MYSTERY (mustērion: a hidden or secret thing) OF GODLINESS (eusebeia: to be devoted, or godly in character) 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 3:15-16)
- Manifested in the flesh: “…the WORD BECAME FLESH and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory…” (John 1:14)
- Justified in the Spirit: “It is God WHO JUSTIFIES. IT IS CHRIST WHO DIED, and furthermore is ALSO RISEN, who is even at the RIGHT HAND OF GOD, who also makes intercession for us.” (Romans 8:33-34)
- Seen by angels: “Jesus said, “Away with you, Satan! Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and MINISTERED TO HIM.” (Matthew 4:10-11)
- Preached among the Gentiles: “…an angel of God said, “Cornelius!” And he said, “What is it, lord?”, “Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send for Simon whose surname is Peter.” (Acts 10:3-5) So, Peter came to the home of a gentile, preached and all the gentiles were saved and filled with the Holy Spirit.
- Believed on in the world: When looking for facts about the history of the life of Jesus Christ, the idea of multiple confirmation is important. Multiple confirmation means that a Biblical passage or a bit of historical information about Jesus that appears in two or more sources which are independent from one another is likely to be authentic. So, if, for example, a Biblical passage claims that Jesus enabled a blind man to see, and the same incident is documented by a non-Biblical figure such as Flavius Josephus, in Roman history, then the incident is believed to be true.
- Received up in glory: Jesus’ final words, “…you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was TAKEN UP, AND A CLOUD RECEIVED HIM out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven AS HE WENT UP, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so COME IN LIKE MANNER as you saw Him GO INTO HEAVEN.” (Acts 1:8-11)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham