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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - 1 Timothy 3:14 - 3:16
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 1Ti_3:14-16
14I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15but 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. 16By 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.
1Ti_3:14-15 Paul plans to visit Timothy in Ephesus. The Spirit directed that he write so that God's will expressed in 1 Timothy might bless and direct His church throughout time.
These verses confirm the interpretive context of chapters 1-3 as relating to public worship (as do 1 Corinthians 11-14). I also think that these chapters are reactions to and qualifications based on the presence of the false teachers. This is not a neutral setting!
This same theological situation is seen in Leviticus. The book is not a collection of hygienic laws or customs so much as a reaction to Canaanite culture. Just as many of the specific laws were written to keep Canaanites and Israelites as far apart socially and religiously as possible, these passages separate the Pastoral Letters and the Jewish/Gnostic false teachers.
1Ti_3:15 "in case I am delayed" This is a third class conditional sentence, which means potential action.
▣ "in the household of God" Paul uses many powerful corporate metaphors to describe the church, such as "body," but the family/household is one of the most insightful (God as Father, Jesus as Son, believers as children).
▣ "church" Ekklesia is a compound Greek word from "out of" and "to call." This was used in Koine Greek to describe any kind of assembly, such as a town assembly (cf. Act_19:32). The early Jewish Church chose this term because it was used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the OT, written as early as 250 b.c. for the library at Alexandria, Egypt. This term translated the Hebrew term qahal, which was used in the phrase "the assembly of Israel" (Exodus; Num_20:4). The NT writers asserted that they were the "divinely called out ones" who were the People of God of their day. The early Jewish believers saw no radical break between the OT People of God and themselves, the NT People of God. Believers, therefore, assert that the Church of Jesus Christ, not modern rabbinical Judaism, is the true heir to the OT Scriptures. See Special Topic at 1Ti_3:5.
▣ "of the living God" The OT asserts that there is one and only one God (see hyperlink at 1Ti_2:5, cf. Exo_8:10; Exo_9:14; Deu_4:35; Deu_4:39; Deu_6:4; Deu_32:39; 1Sa_2:2; Isa_40:10-13; Isa_44:6-8; Isa_45:5-7). The adjective "living" comes from the covenant name (cf. 1Ti_4:10) for God, YHWH, which is from the Hebrew verb "to be" (cf. Exo_3:14; see hyperlink at 2Ti_1:2).
▣ "the pillar and support of the truth" This may be an allusion to Isa_28:16, God's foundation is Jesus the cornerstone, which is also alluded to in 2Ti_2:19. This is the third in a series of descriptive phrases linking God and the church.
1. "household of God" (1Ti_3:15)
2. "the church of the living God" (1Ti_3:15)
3. "the pillar and support of the truth" (1Ti_3:15)
The term truth (alçtheia) is very common in Paul's writings (and John's). It usually refers to gospel content (cf. Rom_1:18; Rom_1:25; Rom_2:2; Rom_2:8; Rom_3:7; Rom_15:8; 1Co_13:6; 2Co_4:2; 2Co_6:7; 2Co_7:14; 2Co_13:8; Gal_2:5; Gal_2:14; Gal_5:7; Eph_1:13; Eph_4:21; Eph_5:9; Php_1:18; Col_1:5-6; 2Th_2:10; 2Th_2:12-13; 1Ti_3:15; 1Ti_4:3; 1Ti_6:5; 2Ti_2:15; 2Ti_2:18; 2Ti_2:25; 2Ti_3:7-8; 2Ti_4:4; Tit_1:1; Tit_1:14). See Special Topic: Truth in Paul's Writings at 1Ti_2:4.
1Ti_3:16
NASB "by common confession"
NKJV "without controversy"
NRSV, NJB "without any doubt"
TEV "no one can deny"
This is the Greek term usually used for one's profession or confession of faith (see hyperlink at 1Ti_6:12). It is a literary marker that the following lines are an early creedal affirmation.
▣ "great is the mystery of godliness" "Mystery" in Paul's writings often refers to the Gentile mission (cf. Eph_2:11 to Eph_3:13), which may be a key to 1Ti_3:16. See Special Topic at 1Ti_3:9. For "godliness" see Special Topic at 1Ti_4:7.
This introduces an early confessional statement or a Christian hymn. Another of these is found in 2Ti_2:11-13. The structural pattern might be
1. A B C D E F (revealed truths about Christ)
2. AB, BA, AB (contrast between earth and heaven or humiliation and exaltation)
3. ABC, ABC (revealed truths about Christ and His church)
Chiastic Patterns within the Bible are becoming more apparent to modern scholarship. The Companion Bible published by Kregel in 1990 and Kenneth E. Bailey's Poet and Peasant use this approach extensively.
Paul seems to quote one verse of an early hymn or possibly church liturgy. This verse emphasizes Jesus' humanity and His world-wide ministry. It does not contain Paul's three major theological emphases: (1) the cross; (2) the resurrection; and (3) the Second Coming. Paul quotes several sources in I, 2 Timothy and Titus which explain the unique vocabulary and distinct use of theological terms used differently in either Pauline writing.
NASB "He who was revealed in the flesh"
NKJV "God was manifested in the flesh"
NRSV "He was revealed in flesh"
TEV "He appeared in human form"
NJB "He was made visible in the flesh"
This speaks of the Incarnation (birth) of Jesus Christ at Bethlehem: His life, teachings, death, and resurrection, which fully reveal the Father (cf. Joh_1:14-18). There is also the strong inference of His pre-existence (cf. Joh_1:1-5; Joh_8:57-58; 2Co_8:4; Php_2:6; Col_1:17). This is the central truth of the Gospels about Jesus Christ, that He was fully God and fully human (cf. Joh_1:14; Php_2:6-8; Col_1:14-16; 1Jn_4:1-6).
There is a later Greek manuscript variant in which the relative pronoun hos (MSS à , A, C, F, G; UBS4 gives this an "A" rating [certain]) is changed to theos. This later change may have occurred
1. with the confusion over OC (the abbreviations in uncial Greek for who) read as H C (the abbreviation in uncial Greek for "God") or
2. as a purposeful theological change by later scribes (cf. MSS à c, Ac, C2, and D2) wanting to make the text more specific against the adoptionist heresies (cf. Bart D. Ehrman, The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, pp. 77-78)
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NASB "Was vindicated in the Spirit"
NKJV, NJB "Justified in the Spirit"
NRSV "vindicated in spirit"
TEV "was shown to be right by the Spirit"
This phrase has been understood in several ways.
1. Does it mean vindicated or justified (i.e., shown to be just)?
2. Does this mean that the Holy Spirit was active in Jesus' ministry (NASB)?]
3. Does it mean that Jesus' spirit was affirmed by the Father (cf. Mat_3:17; Mat_17:5) while Jesus lived as a human being (NRSV)?
Some theologians see "Spirit" as referring to Jesus' divinity, which was vindicated by His resurrection (cf. Rom_1:4; 1Pe_3:18).
▣ "Seen by angels" The angels longed to know what God was doing with fallen mankind (cf. 1Co_4:9; Eph_2:7; Eph_3:10; 1Pe_1:12). However, it may refer to the angels' ministering to Jesus, either at His temptation experience (cf. Mat_4:11; Mar_1:13), in the Garden of Gethsemane (cf. Luk_22:43, which is a questionable text), or immediately after the resurrection (cf. Luk_24:4; Luk_24:23; Joh_20:12).
This phrase is so short and ambiguous that several theories have been offered by commentators and all are merely speculation:
1. angels ministering to Jesus (above)
2. angels beholding His ascension (godly angels and/or fallen angels cf. 1Pe_3:19-20; 1Pe_3:22)
3. angels beholding His exalted heavenly enthronement
▣ "Proclaimed among the nations" This is the worldwide preaching of the gospel (cf. Luk_24:46-47) which would have been extremely shocking to the Jews of the first century, but this is really the whole point (cf. Mat_28:18-20). This is the mystery of godliness (cf. Eph_2:11 to Eph_3:13).
NASB, NKJV "Believed on in the world"
NRSV, TEV,
NJB "believed in throughout the world"
Not only was it a universal message, but there was a universal response, and now the Church is made up of both Jew and Gentile (cf. Eph_2:11 to Eph_3:13). This has always been God's plan. The one true God has fulfilled His promise of Gen_3:15. Personal repentance and faith (see Special Topic at 1Ti_1:16) in the gospel now, in this life, opens heaven for "whosoever" (cf. Joh_1:12; Joh_3:16; Rom_10:9-13). See Special Topic: Paul's Use of Kosmos at 1Ti_1:16.
▣ "Taken up in glory" This seems to refer to His ascension. It is surprising that Jesus' death, resurrection, and return are left out, but if this was a Christian hymn, quoted possibly only in part, then it is understandable. Also, exactly which rhythmic (chiastic) pattern is followed determines one's interpretation (cf. 1Ti_3:16). This hymn/creed linked to the opening statement would powerfully refute Gnosticism. The man Jesus was glorified (cf. chiastic pattern #2)! However, following the NRSV the last three lines may refer to the Church (cf. chiastic pattern #3). For a fuller note on "glory" see 1Ti_1:17.
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