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Acts Review: The Mystery of Godliness

Since we have been away from the study of Acts for some time, I wanted to set your thinking back in the
right direction by considering together what God has done for us in Christ. Our approach will be from the
book of First Timothy – that’s Paul’s first letter that we have, to that young pastor. Turn to chapter 3.

Paul wrote of several mysteries in his letters to the churches, and to individuals. In the NT, a mystery is a
sacred thing which is hidden or secret and cannot be known by natural human reasoning, but which is
made known by the revelation of God. So a mystery is a truth that God has revealed.

[1 Timothy 3:16]

Paul was saying that, truly, great is the mystery of godliness. In the Greek, “godliness” literally means
well-directed reverence; but it is speaking of an externalized devotion. In this particular context, it refers to
holy living; godliness is holy living, emanating from a HOLY LIFE.

Without a doubt, great is the mystery of this HOLY LIFE that we have been given to live – a life set apart to
God, consecrated for His purposes. That mystery has been revealed through the Holy Spirit, and so it need
no longer be a mystery to us – but it is still a great wonder. This morning, I want you to look upon, with
wonder, what God has done for you in Christ - that in Christ, you have been given a HOLY LIFE.

What is at the basis of this HOLY LIFE that you have, in Christ? What is its foundation? As Paul writes in
the preceding verse (v. 15), it is the living God – the pillar and ground of the truth. It is Jesus Christ
Himself – who He is, and what He has done – even what He is now doing.

Paul then went on to reveal the mystery of godliness – of this HOLY LIFE. He says first that God was
manifest in the flesh. Now, what is Paul referring to? To the incarnation of God the Son – as Jesus, coming
to the earth in a body of flesh.

Now, why did God the Son take on a body of flesh? He did so in order to become capable of dying - with
the intention that He would die, for the sake of mankind. Through His body of flesh, the Son would make
Himself the sacrifice for the sin of mankind. He made the decision to do this long, long ago - when? In
eternity past. Peter wrote that the sacrifice of Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world (1
Pet 1:20); that would mean that God planned it before mankind was ever created.

The sacrifice of Christ was the key to the plan of God to have a creation of mankind in His image, after His
likeness - as His born-again sons (Eph 1:3-6, Rom 8:28-30), with whom He can share His love (Jn 17:23,
26). We’re going to go back to Genesis chapter 1, and look at where God began, with that creation of
mankind.

God created and fashioned the heavens and the earth, and brought forth the plants and the animals from the
waters and the earth (Gen 1:11, 20, 24). Then on the sixth day, God created man.

[Genesis 1:26, 27] “Let us” – Father, Son and Spirit – “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness”.
In the counsel of the eternal Godhead, it was determined to make mankind in the image of God – note that
in verse 27, God created them, male and female. Details of the creation of mankind are found in Genesis
2:7.

[Genesis 2:7] Both the plants and the animals derived their existence entirely from the earth, or the waters
of the earth (Gen 1:11, 20, 24). But the creation of mankind was a unique act of God.
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The man’s body was formed by God Himself of the dust of the ground – an earthen vessel, of earthly
origin; earthy (1 Cor 15:47). And into that earthen vessel, God breathed the breath of life. Mankind is
unique, exceptional as compared to all other created beings in that man’s creation was the personal act of
God. It is even marked by the introduction of God’s personal name - LORD, Jehovah - to the account.

Just what did God breathe into the man? God breathed in personal being - soul and spirit. This spirit is not
the Holy Spirit, but the spirit of man, which is the life of his soul (Prov 20:27). The soul is man’s mind,
emotions, will; his consciousness; his person; himself. It was in this way - by God breathing spirit and soul
into the body - that man became a living being – literally, a soul of life; a soul of spirit-life.

Spirit and soul are the immaterial aspects of man; his inner man. Through his soul, man has awareness of
the world around him – and can have knowledge of earthly realities. In his spirit, the very being of man,
man has awareness of God – and can have understanding of spiritual realities.

How can man have this understanding – of spiritual realities? We know that God is spirit (John 4:24) – He
is a Spirit Being of Deity. And we can see that God created man as a spirit being - a spirit being of
humanity. This enables man to commune with God – spirit being to Spirit Being.

And it is specifically the Spirit of God – the Holy Spirit – who shines the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God into the hearts of men (Job 32:8, 2 Cor 4:6), so that they can have understanding of the things
of God, in the very spirit of their being.

The creation of the first man was the initiation of God’s plan to have men in His image, after His likeness –
sons of God, for His kingdom. But it was only the beginning. God had breathed spirit-life into the soul of
man – a quality of life that is not subject to time. So what does that mean? That the soul will live forever.

The NT bears witness to the continuance of the soul after death – the story of Lazarus and the rich man as
told by Jesus is a good example (Luke 16:19-31).

But the body of man was formed of the dust of the ground; of the earth, earthy (First Corinthians 15:47).
Man is housed in a clay vessel, that by its very substance, communicates the idea that it is temporary;
designed for life here on earth, and no more. But - if God purposed to have men in His image, after His
likeness – sons, for His kingdom, forever – why did He create the first man, the progenitor of the human
race, in a temporary clay vessel?

The answer to this has to do with the heart of man, and the heart of God.

God is love; and Love cannot and will not force His purposes and desires upon the object of His love. So
God created mankind with a will, giving him the freedom to make choices – so that man could freely
choose, of his own volition, whether he would become a son of His kingdom – holy and without blame
before God, in love (Eph 1:4) - which is what God desires, and what God has purposed, for man.

But in giving mankind freedom of choice, man now had the ability to exercise his own will instead of doing
the will of God. And what is that – having one’s will over the will of God? Sin; an offense against man’s
Creator, God.

God fully knew the heart of this creation of mankind that He had made. He knew that man would use the
freedom of choice given him as license to sin. The heart of man is lawless, because of its inclination for
self-love. So as created, man would always choose to have his own will, over the will of God.
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The commandment which God gave to the first man in the garden of Eden – to not eat of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:16-17) – was designed to prove the heart of man – but to who? Not to
God, but to man – so that man would recognize the lawlessness in his own heart, and understand his need to
be made righteous.

God indicated that sin - transgression of the commandment He gave to the first man - would bring death;
meaning death of the body. Man needed to understand that a just God cannot overlook sin; that it is an
offense against holy God; and that it results in judgment and condemnation (Rom 5:18).

Sin separates man from God; and the result of sin, death, will separate man from God forever (Rev 20:12-
15). So by this, we can see that sin – lawlessness – will not permit the fulfillment of God’s purpose for
man – to become a son of God, righteous and holy. And the prospect of death, which will bring about the
dissolution of man’s clay vessel, drives home to man his need for a forever-living body.

In order to become a son of God, and live a HOLY LIFE set apart to God, who is perfectly righteous, man
must become righteous. So unless and until man becomes righteous, he cannot dwell with holy God – and
because of this, God did not create man in a forever living body, that will fit him for life, with God.

First, man must become righteous; and this is not something that man can do, for himself or in himself.
Why? Because of the lawlessness in him.

That’s why, when God purposed to make man in His image, according to His likeness, God always knew
that His first man was only the beginning. It would take a second Man (1 Cor 15:47) in order for God’s
purposes for mankind to be accomplished.

That’s the heart of God – to send His Son, Jesus - to impart to mankind the HOLY LIFE that man would
need, to dwell with God, in righteousness. The sending of the Son was foreordained before the foundation
of the world (1 Pet 1:20); God had always planned to send Him.

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “The first man Adam became a living being”. “The last Adam” –
that’s our Lord, Jesus Christ – “a life-giving spirit” (1 Cor 15:45).

Jesus is the Last Adam, because He is the fulfillment of what God had purposed, beginning with Adam – to
have sons, for His kingdom. The Son of God accomplished this by putting away sin (Heb 9:26), and
bringing eternal life and immortality to light, for men (2 Tim 1:10). Jesus offered mankind a HOLY LIFE;
His own.

The first man, Adam, was of the earth, earthy. The Second Man is the Lord from heaven (1 Cor 15:47).
God the Son would come to the earth in a body that God prepared for Him (Heb 10:5); He would be
conceived of the Holy Spirit (Mt 1:20). All the fullness of the Godhead would be pleased to dwell in that
body (Col 2:9). In that body, God the Son would live a life of perfect obedience; then He would lay down
that life, a sacrifice for the sin of mankind.

Turn to John chapter 12. Just days before He was to go to the cross, Jesus spoke of the purpose of His
death.

[John 12:23-24]

v. 23 Jesus was speaking here of being glorified through His death and resurrection.
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v. 24 Jesus was using a picture from nature to explain His purpose in coming to the earth. Within the
seed-coat of a grain of wheat is the wheat germ - the life of the seed - which possesses the power for the
seed to reproduce itself.

But unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground, and that seed-coat splits open in death, the life of the
seed – and its power to reproduce itself - will never be released. The grain of wheat will just remain a grain
of wheat – with life in itself.

Jesus was likening this to His purpose in coming to the earth. The body of Jesus was like that seed-coat of
the grain of wheat. Unless God the Son had been incarnated upon the earth - taken on a body of flesh - and
died in the stead of all mankind, He would just have abided alone – with Life in Himself (Jn 5:26) - the
HOLY LIFE that mankind needed.

But in dying, that seed-coat that was the body of Jesus released the Life that was contained inside it –
eternal life – in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, in a glorified body. In this way, the glorified Jesus
became the incorruptible Seed, with the power to reproduce His Life - eternal Life - in all who receive
Him, by faith. It was in this way that Jesus brought forth much fruit - many sons of God.

And one of those sons was you. You were born a son of Adam; a son of disobedience; a sinner. When you
believed into Jesus, His shed blood loosed you, the sinner, from your sin. Now you are now no longer a
sinner, but a saint – a consecrated one; set apart to God for His holy purposes, as His son.

At the same time, you received the Life that Jesus brought forth from His death - eternal life for the body.
And you can live that life here and now in your body - a HOLY LIFE, for holy living - godliness in you, the
believer.

But that’s just the beginning of your HOLY LIFE. The end will be when the life of Christ within you bears
the fruit of an ever-living body, like your Lord’s - the absolutely certain hope that the believer has, of being
glorified.

The Holy Spirit, who has been given to every believer, is the guarantee that your body will be raised up a
body of glory (Eph 1:13-14). Then you will be holy and without blame before God, dwelling in His
presence, in His love - forever.

What we see, then, is that the purpose of the first man was the generation of living souls, in earthen vessels
– sons of men – who come into this world by natural birth. It was necessary for the Second Man, the Lord
from heaven to come in a body of flesh, in order to realize God’s full purpose for mankind – the generation
of sons of God, in bodies of glory – the regeneration of mankind.

This regeneration is realized through being born again; born of the Spirit. And what is it that is born again,
of the Spirit? You – in a body of glory. That which is born of the flesh is flesh - a flesh body. That which
is born of the spirit is spirit - a body of spirit-life (Jn 3:6). Born again, you are now fitted to enter the
kingdom of God (Jn 3:3-5).

As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Cor 15:49). That
good work which He has begun in you, He will complete – until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6).
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God, who is outside of time, already sees you as complete; it’s as good as done. For us, we can live as
though we are complete – living this HOLY LIFE that Jesus died to give us – right here and now, in these
earthen bodies. We simply need to reckon ourselves dead to the sin, and alive unto God (Rm 6:11); yield
ourselves unto God, the members of our body as instruments of righteousness (Rm 6:13). He died, to give
you this Life. Submit to Him, so you can live it.

So that is why God was manifest in the flesh –

so that God the Son might live a HOLY LIFE (He did no sin);

so that He could be made sin for us, dying in our stead;

by which He brought forth eternal life for the body, for mankind;

that we might partake of that Life and share in His righteousness through the union of faith;

so that we who believe in Him, and live by Him, might manifest that righteousness, and live a HOLY LIFE.

All is to the glory of God - as His purposes are realized, for man to be holy as God is holy (1 Pet 1:15).

So now, you have been initiated into the mystery of godliness - of this HOLY LIFE. Let’s return to First
Timothy, where Paul revealed the rest of the mystery. Here’s a hint – it’s all about Jesus.

[1 Timothy 3:16] So we understand that the basis of our HOLY LIFE is first, that God was manifest in the
flesh; Jesus came to the earth, in order to be that grain of wheat, that would die to bring forth much fruit.

Paul went on to write that Jesus was “justified in the Spirit”. Now, what did Paul mean by “justified”?
Well, we know Paul didn’t mean that Jesus was freed from all charges of sin and guilt – because Jesus never
sinned.

In this context, the word “justified” means “proven to be righteous; vindicated”. How was Jesus
vindicated? Well, Jesus had been betrayed to His enemies, who had orchestrated His death by the lawless
hands of the Romans; He was crucified and slain (Acts 2:23), as an imposter.

But what did God do? God raised Jesus up (Acts 2:24). The heavenly court overturned the verdict of the
court of wicked men on earth, through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It was in this way that God
vindicated Jesus, showing Him to be righteous; that Jesus is in fact just who He said He was - the Messiah,
the Savior.
What Paul meant here is that when Jesus rose from the dead in a body of spirit-life, that proved that God
had overruled the judgment of men. Jesus was justified - proven righteous - in the Spirit - the spirit of life.

And, having been raised from the dead, Jesus was “seen by angels”. God sent His heavenly witnesses to
testify to believers of the resurrection of Jesus, to affirm their eyewitness testimony to the risen Lord. His
disciples would then become His witnesses, on the earth.

Why the witnesses? Because now that Jesus had accomplished the redemption of mankind, through His
death and resurrection, the world needed to know about it – so that all men could enter into that
redemption, and be saved from condemnation; so that all men could partake of eternal life, and have the
mystery of godliness revealed to them, and in them – so that they, too, could live a HOLY LIFE. The
witness to Jesus would be fundamental to this work – the work of reconciliation – reconciling men to God.
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Jesus had finished His work of redemption; but this work, the work of reconciliation, would take a new
creation. Why? Because it was a greater work (Jn 14:12); not greater in magnitude, but greater in scope.

When God was manifest in the flesh, He limited Himself to a body – one single body – and as such, He
could not communicate His message of reconciliation to all men throughout the entire world. That would
take many bodies – all of whom had God’s mind on things – all of whom were willing, and able, to do the
will of God.

Such a coordinated effort would require that these many would operate as one; with one mind, and one
heart. And that is exactly what God had in mind – when He created the Body of Christ – the true church.

Turn to John chapter 20. On the night of His resurrection, Jesus came to His disciples in the upper room –
to the men and women who had believed into Him.

[John 20:19-22]

v. 19-20 So despite the fact that the door was locked, Jesus suddenly appeared in the midst of His
disciples, extending the customary greeting of peace to them. Luke’s account tells us that the disciples
were initially terrified, thinking Jesus was a spirit – a ghost. Between His sudden appearance, and the fact
that the disciples had seen Jesus crucified three days earlier, is it any wonder that they did not initially
believe it was really Him?

But Jesus patiently gave them convincing proofs; He showed them His hands and His side; Luke adds that
He showed them His feet as well, all of which were pierced when He was crucified. And Jesus said to
them, “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; handle Me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and
bones, as you see Me have” (Lk 24:39).

Still the disciples wondered; and so Jesus ate some food in their presence, something which people believed
spirits could not do (they had ghost stories back then, too!) Now convinced, the disciples rejoiced – for
they saw the Lord – and He was alive, forevermore!

v. 21 Again Jesus extend His peace to them – it was more than the customary greeting, wasn’t it? For He
had made peace for them through the blood of His cross (Col 1:20).

Then Jesus spoke of sending out His disciples – as He had been sent by His Father. Now, why had the
Father sent Jesus? He sent Him, that the world through Him might be saved (Jn 3:17). The Father
delegated His authority to Jesus, to give Life to whom He will (Jn 5:26, Jn 17:2). Through the redemption
Jesus wrought, Jesus brought forth eternal life for men.

Now Jesus was dispatching His disciples under His own authority, sending them out for the same purpose –
that the world through Christ might be saved.

The disciples would go into all the world and tell of the redemption that Jesus had accomplished - the good
news of a Savior - through whom men could have peace with God. In this way, the disciples would be
bringing men to God, so that they might receive the eternal life that Jesus brought forth out of His death.

But Jesus would be returning to heaven – how would the disciples know specifically what Jesus wanted
them to do, where they were to go, who they were to speak with – and how would they have the power to
accomplish His purposes? Clearly, they could not accomplish this greater work in their own strength!
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v. 22 Here, we see Jesus did something quite unique. He breathed on His disciples – as a collective group
– and then said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.

Now, each one of the disciples had already believed into Jesus, and been born again, born of the Spirit; each
one had received eternal life from Jesus, as well as the Holy Spirit, to dwell in them, and lead them in that
Life. So in what way were they now receiving the Holy Spirit?

They were receiving the Spirit collectively – as a new creation in Christ Jesus. As the LORD God had
breathed into the first man Adam, giving his body life, so now Jesus breathed on His body of believers,
uniting them to Him in the Spirit – they, the Body; He, the Head - and uniting them to one another in the
Spirit, so that the members could function together, collectively, as one Body – the Body of Christ.

Having received the Holy Spirit, the members of Christ’s Body now collectively had Light; and then Jesus
was opened up their understanding to the Scriptures, to show how He had fulfilled all the OT prophecies
concerning Messiah in His first coming. The disciples were to be His witnesses, preaching repentance and
remission of sins among all nations (Lk 24:44-48).

But the disciples were not to do this right away. Jesus told them that they were to wait in Jerusalem. What
were they waiting for? For the promise of the Father – the baptism in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). In
Luke’s gospel, Jesus said they were to wait until they were clothed with power from on high (Lk 24:49).

The Body of Christ was to be collectively baptized in the Holy Spirit, by which the disciples would be
filled with the power to fulfill their ministry – to reconcile men to God. The Spirit would empower the
witness of the members of Christ’s Body, so that they would preach the gospel with boldness and wisdom,
their words confirmed by the miracles that the Spirit would do through them (Mk 16:20). And that witness
would go out to all the earth.

Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, His disciples witnessed Jesus ascending back into heaven, to the right
hand of His Father, the place of glory and honor and authority. Ten days later – fifty days after His
resurrection, on the feast of Pentecost – Jesus poured out His Spirit upon His Body on earth, anointing them
for their ministry, clothing them with power from on high – the baptism in the Holy Spirit.

And their ministry began immediately, as the disciples began to speak in other tongues – known foreign
languages – the wonderful works of God, speaking no doubt about the work of God through Jesus.

Pilgrims who had come up to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost – foreign Jews and proselytes – heard of
these works in their own languages, miraculously spoken by these Galilean disciples. That miracle grasped
their attention, long enough to hear Peter boldly preach the gospel; and that day, the Lord added three
thousand souls to the true church; a harvest of souls, in fulfillment of the feast of Pentecost.

To Peter, the Lord had given the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 16:19). The keys to the kingdom of
heaven are the blessed truths of the gospel.

Peter was privileged by the Lord to be the one to open the door to the kingdom of heaven; to the Jews first,
and later to the Gentiles. Peter would be the first to preach the gospel to both peoples – for the Lord would
have that none should perish – but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9).

The gospel would then be preached by others among the Gentiles, to the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts
1:8). And as the gospel was heard, and believed, the Lord would add to His church daily those who were
being saved.
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When the Lord completes His house, built of these two peoples - the church of the living God - He will
receive them up in glory - as His glorious Bride - of His flesh and of His bone - one, with God. And that
completes the mystery of godliness which Paul has revealed.

Notice that Paul spoke of the catching up of the church in past tense also, as a done deed - “Received up in
glory” - for with God, it is as good as done. It is absolutely assured that each member of Christ’s Body will
be received by their Father, in heaven - for each is His true son, in possession of His HOLY LIFE.

Next time, we’ll complete our review of the reception of the gospel by the Gentiles. Paul wrote of this also
being a mystery - the mystery of Christ - that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs with the Jews, and of the
same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel (Eph 3:3-6).

Readingc: 2 Cor 5:17-21; Col 1:24-27; Eph 3:1-7; Eph 5:22-32; Gen 2:18-24; Ps 139; Lev 23:9-21.