1 Timothy 3:14-16 — The Church: What It Is, How It Behaves, What It Believes
Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Timothy 3.
We're going to look at a very short couple of verses tonight but they are loaded with meaning and loaded with things that need to be explained. If you've ever read through the book of First Timothy, and I hope you have, these are verses that sort of jump out. They use very weighty words, very unique words.
And people have argued that these are the central verses of the whole book of 1 Timothy. Now they're definitely central in that they're in the very middle of the book, but that's not what they mean. They mean that these verses explain the whole theme of the book of 1 Timothy. They are verses about what the church is, how the church behaves, and what the church believes.
There are all kinds of churches out there. Just in our town we have mega churches that have a very contemporary feel, that are charismatic, where the walls are black and there's a rock band on stage. We have very traditional churches that make a big deal about liturgy, where they call their pastor a priest. We have several traditional Pentecostal churches that are very big on dress standards and very big on this sort of experience of the Holy Ghost. We probably have a dozen or so kind of generic evangelical churches that aren't very big. It seems like every year there's one or two of those that are closing. We even have three different Independent Baptist churches and every one of our Independent Baptist churches is very different than the other ones.
I love Brother Butler. I love Brother Haifley. But you're going to have a very different experience at Maranatha Baptist or at Word of Life Baptist than you are at Bible Baptist. I'm not saying that's better or worse. I'm just saying that our churches are different.
We have, it seems, unlimited choices when it comes to where we go to church. Because of that it's sort of devolved into marketing, where we have people that choose their church based on:
- the music that they like
- the style of clothing that everybody wears
- the number of activities that they have for their kids
Maybe there are even people that choose a church because they can network with other professionals there, or they choose a church because they have a nice gym for their kids to play in.
And all of this completely misses the point. It is very important that we get church right. It is very important that we understand what a church is and what our role in a church is, and that we as a church represent God in the way he wants to be represented.
These verses in 1 Timothy 3 talk about that. Let's read them real quick.
[14] These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
[15] But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
[16] And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
*> 1 Timothy 3:14-16 (KJV)
Paul starts off this little section by just saying, "I hope to come see you soon but if I can't, I want you to know something. I want you to know how to behave yourself in the house of God, and it is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." And then he gives this beautiful poetic recital of things about the Lord Jesus Christ.
As I've studied this passage, this is what I've come to think that God is trying to tell us here.
The church is important, and it matters how the church behaves and what the church believes.
I'm gonna break that down into three points:
- We're gonna talk about the church being important.
- We're gonna talk about it mattering how we behave.
- We're going to talk about it mattering what we believe.
Let's pray and we'll get into that.
1. The Church Is Important
In these verses Paul gives us three different names for the church and all of them are big and all of them are important.
The first thing he says is we need to know how we behave ourselves in the house of God. So the first name we're going to consider is:
The House of God
That word house (oikos in Greek) is not referring to a building. It's not referring to the domicile where you sleep. It is a word that means "household." Sometimes it's translated as family.
The Church is the Family of God. That's what Paul is saying here. We are God's family.
And in a family, at least theoretically, the father sets the rules and sets the course for the family and how the family is going to behave. You know, in my family I have my wife Amanda and I have Audrey and Molly and Noah and Darcy and Addie. At least theoretically, the way that we behave around the dinner table, the way that we behave around our house, the way that we behave in public — all of it is a reflection of my values as the father. It's my family and how I act should be reflected in them. They should act and behave in a way that represents me.
So what Paul is saying here is that God is the Father. God is the paterfamilias of the family of God. We need to behave in a way that represents that we're part of the family of God.
I don't know if your mother or father ever had this conversation with you. I know that my mom and my stepdad had this conversation with me. I've had this conversation at times with my own kids when they're about to go somewhere — when they're about to maybe go out with their friends or they're about to go to camp or something like that. We sit down and we say, "Listen, you are a Hayden. The way that you act represents our family, so please act in a way that represents our family well."
And what Paul is saying here is: you are a member of the family of God. You need to behave in a way that represents your Heavenly Father well.
The Church of the Living God
In the Old Testament, God liked to refer to himself as the "Living God." He's the living God because all other gods are not alive. All of them are dead. And so the Living God became a favorite name for God the Father.
And in the Old Testament, there was always a place that represented the home of the Living God. It was the Tabernacle, and then it was the Temple. The city of Jerusalem — the city of the Living God. But all of that ends in the New Testament. In the New Testament, the home of the Living God is the Church. The living God lives in us and through us.
The word "church" is a word that referred to the political assemblies of every town and village. It means "the called-out ones." The church is not the building. This is not Bible Baptist Church. The church is the people that God has called out in our local assembly.
Now, as individuals, we have the Lord living in us. But there is something special and important about us when we come together as the church. Someone said, "Listening to the Word of God by yourself is important. Singing to God by yourself is important. But singing to God together and hearing His Word preached together is better. Our hearing and our singing intensify when we are with brothers and sisters in Christ in whom God dwells."
Most of us at this point have probably seen a drone, right? One of those little copters that flies around. And they're kind of neat by themselves, aren't they? But you know that when hundreds of drones fly together and flash their lights in a coordinated way, that is something that's truly impressive. In fact, a lot of places are replacing firework shows with drone shows.
As individuals, children of God — that's important. But as the church, as we come together, it is even more powerful.
Listen, TV church is no replacement for this. Online church, while I'm thankful for online church, is no replacement for this — for being together with God's people, worshiping together with God's people, hearing the word of God together, hearing the preaching of God's word together. There is power in that together, because we're the church of the living God.
The Pillar and Ground of the Truth
Remember, Paul is writing to Timothy, who is in Ephesus. And in Ephesus, they had this building that was one of the wonders of the world. It was the Temple of Diana, a massive temple to their false goddess Diana. What that temple was known for is it had these giant columns. These columns were something like 30 meters tall — about 100 feet tall — and they held up this giant marble roof. It was so impressive; each of the columns was intricately carved. This is what their city was known for. It would be like if you were in New York City, your city would be known for the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. If you're in Chicago, your city is known for the Sears Tower. Being part of Ephesus, your city was known for the Temple of Diana.
And I think Paul is making a reference to this when he says that the church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. The pillar is referring to the columns that hold up the roof. They make the structure of the building. And the ground, or the buttress, is the foundation that all of this is built on.
So what does it mean that the church is the pillar and ground of the truth? I think there are two things it's saying here — two responsibilities that we have as God's people.
The first is preserving the truth. That's the ground part. We are here today, in part, because the Church of yesterday preserved the truth. They passed on the truth to the next generation. We are standing, if you will, on their foundation.
And that means that we have a responsibility to pass on the truth to the next generation — to the church of 50 years from now. We must give them the truth. We must give them the Word of God. We can't mess with it. We've got to give them the truth. That is our responsibility. We're the ground of the truth.
But we're also the pillar of the truth. We're the columns. And columns are meant to display. We display the truth to the lost world. We are the light of the world. We are a city set on a hill. And lost people look at us and they see the truth.
We are the ground of the truth — we have to hold the truth firm. We are the pillar of the truth — we have to hold the truth high.
Now, let's read verse 15 again. Important verse.
[15] But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
*> 1 Timothy 3:15 (KJV)
So the church is important, and because it's important, it's really important that we know how to behave as the church.
2. Because the Church Is Important, It Matters How We Behave
And that's really what this whole book of First Timothy is about — how a local church is supposed to behave. You think about it: you go back to chapter 1, chapter 2, it's talking about praying and living a holy life as a church without contention. Keep reading, it talks about modesty and wearing modest apparel, having the church ordered in a way that is appropriate. You keep studying, and it talks about having godly leaders in the church — godly elders and godly deacons. When we turn to the next chapter, we're going to get into more about how the church behaves.
It really matters to God that this church — this group of people that he has called out, his family here on this earth, the pillar and ground of the truth — behave the way that God wants us to.
God wants his family to represent him in holiness. The church should be a place that represents God the Father well. Our behavior in the church matters. What the church does matters.
Look at chapter 2 verses 3-4 again:
[3] For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
[4] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
*> 1 Timothy 2:3-4 (KJV)
How the church behaves affects our witness. When the church represents God well, more people come to the knowledge of the truth. More people come to Christ.
If you think about it, if the church is just like the world, how is the church going to attract anybody? If the church is just a bunch of weirdos doing weird things, well, that's not gonna attract anybody either. What's attractive is God in us — God changing us, us living a truly holy, God-centered, Bible-centered life as believers.
So, how we behave matters as the Church.
3. Because the Church Is Important, It Matters What We Believe
Look again at verse 16.
[16] And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
*> 1 Timothy 3:16 (KJV)
Paul said, "Great is the mystery of godliness."
Whenever Paul uses the word "mystery," he doesn't use it like we use the word "mystery." When we think of "mystery," we think of maybe mystery novels — this question mark that we're trying to figure out. That's not how Paul uses the word "mystery." Every time Paul uses the word "mystery," he's referring to something that used to be unknown but is now known. It was not revealed, and now it is revealed.
The mystery of godliness that Paul is talking about here is the gospel — the truth of Jesus Christ and how Jesus Christ came to save the world. If you look back at the Old Testament, they had no idea what was coming. The Jewish people had no idea of the plans that God had to send the Messiah to be the Savior of the world. Now we can look back and we can see all the signs that pointed there. It's kind of like when you watch a thriller twice — the second time you watch it, you think, "Oh, man, the ending was so obvious," but it wasn't obvious the first time.
We have the wonderful privilege of being on the other side of this great mystery of Jesus Christ. And it matters a lot, because the church is important. It matters what we say about Jesus Christ.
Paul quotes what was probably an old creedal hymn:
- God was manifest in the flesh
- justified in the Spirit
- seen of angels
- preached unto the Gentiles
- believed on in the world
- received up into glory
You know what strikes me about the New Testament? More than any other subject, the New Testament is about Jesus.
Think about the book of Romans for a second. The Book of Romans is this classic book that explains salvation to the early church. Written to Christians in Rome — this very pagan and great city, the city that was the center of the world. You know what the Book of Romans doesn't try to do? It doesn't try to change all of the minute things that the Roman people were doing.
It's not a to-do list book. Paul doesn't say, "You Romans, you need to stop dressing this way, and you need to come to church at this specific time, and you need to do this and this and that and that." The vast majority of the book of Romans is on the subject of Jesus Christ.
And at the end of the doctrinal section of the book, before Paul moves on to practical matters, there's one verse that always stood out to me: Romans 11:36.
[36] For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
*> Romans 11:36 (KJV)
You know what Paul is saying? The same thing he's saying here in 1 Timothy 3. It's all about Jesus. The key to our faith is not what we do, but what Christ has done.
The other day my wife and I were having a heart-to-heart discussion and we both kind of said, "I feel so tired. I feel like I'm barely holding it together, like a failure in all these different areas of my life." Where did my mind go? My mind went to Jesus. Because the glorious thing about being a Christian is it's not about having your act together. It's not about dotting every I and crossing every T. It's about resting in Jesus and what Jesus has done for us.
The most important thing for you as a believer is not what you do. It's what you do with Jesus.
Paul quotes this hymn, and the hymn confirms several very important things about Jesus.
God was manifest in the flesh
This refers to the incarnation of Jesus. We believe that God came in the flesh. God came as a man in the person of Jesus Christ. God came through the virgin birth and lived among us.
As the Christmas song says:
How low was our Redeemer broughtThe Lord the worlds obeyedWould stumble as He learned to walkUpon the ground He'd madeThe One the angels bowed beforeWould kneel to wash our feetAnd be at home among the poorThough He owned everything
We believe that the God of the universe came here as a man and humbled Himself.
Justified in the Spirit
The second phrase, "justified in the Spirit," refers to the Resurrection of Christ. Jesus died on the cross for our sins and was buried, and rose again by the power of the Holy Spirit — which is a sign that God accepted His sacrifice.
Do you know that if you go to a non-Bible-believing church, the two things that almost always are attacked are the virgin birth and the resurrection of Christ? Because if you remove those two things, we have a powerless religion and a pointless gospel.
It matters what we believe.
The last four phrases speak about Christ's ongoing work in the world.
Seen of angels
This phrase is easy to skip over, but it's actually profound. The angels watched the entire story of Jesus unfold — His birth, His temptation, His agony in Gethsemane, His resurrection. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:12 that the angels "desire to look into" the things of salvation. The redemption of mankind through Jesus Christ is so magnificent that even the heavenly hosts are in awe of it. What we sometimes take for granted on a Sunday morning, the angels find breathtaking.
Preached unto the Gentiles
This was the scandal of the first-century church. The gospel wasn't just for the Jews — it was for everybody. The Roman. The Greek. The barbarian. And by extension, the American. The good news of Jesus Christ crossed every border, every language, every culture. That's still happening today, and we are part of it every time we share the gospel.
Believed on in the world
Jesus is being believed on right now. In China, in Iran, in places where believing can cost you your life — people are trusting Christ. The church in the hardest places on earth is often the fastest growing. This little creed that Paul quotes is still proving true two thousand years later.
Received up into glory
This is the bookend to "God was manifest in the flesh." He came down — and He went back up. But notice He didn't go back empty-handed. He ascended with a resurrection body, having accomplished everything the Father sent Him to do. And He sits at the right hand of the Father right now, interceding for you and me. The story isn't over. The same Jesus who stumbled as a toddler on the ground He made now reigns over all of it.
Conclusion
So here's what Paul is saying in these three verses. The church matters. It's not a social club, it's not a concert venue, it's not a networking event. It is the house of God — His family. It is the church of the living God — His dwelling place on earth. It is the pillar and ground of the truth — His display case to a watching world.
And because the church matters, how we behave matters. We represent the Father. What we do and how we live either draws people toward the truth or pushes them away from it.
And because the church matters, what we believe matters. We believe that God came down. We believe He died and rose again. We believe that right now He is seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for His people, while His church takes the gospel to every corner of the world.
That's what we're doing here. Every Sunday that we gather, every time we open this Book, every time someone in this room trusts Christ — we are part of the greatest story ever told. We are the pillar. We are holding the truth high.
So don't choose your church based on the music or the gym or the dress code. Find a church that takes the family of God seriously. Find a church where the living God is present and active. Find a church that holds the truth firm and holds it high.
And if you're here tonight and you've never settled the most important question — not what you are doing, but what you're doing with Jesus — I want to give you that opportunity right now.
