1Ti 3:16  Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

 

 

                I was spending time thinking about what I means to be "vindicated be the Spirit" this word took my attention and I proceeded to look it up. In the Webster's dictionary it says literally this. "To prove or to be just or valid."  The Spirit proved that Jesus He is just and valid. This was an interesting note to me. But what is the mystery? The mystery to me is this, If Jesus did this in godliness, how do you become godly? All throughout 1 Timothy chapter 3 it talks about the qualifications of bishops and deacons. It lists practical things like "don't be given over to much wine" and "speak with integrity". But the root of all these things is godliness. And godliness the exactly what Jesus demonstrated in his time on earth. And all that verse 16 talks about is the amazing things that Jesus accomplished. And why he was proven true by the Spirit. It was through godliness. As followers of Christ we should follow the model that Jesus sets before us and as doers of the word we must do as Paul instructed the deacons. What are deacons? Servants. Who are the servants? Us. So this means all those things Paul mentions will be the side effects of being godly people. But the mystery is still there. How do I become godly? The key to this mystery is stated in the verse of Titus 1:1. It says

" Tit_1:1  This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. "

 

            All the way in the beginning of the verse it says "a SLAVE". This is the beginning of finding the key. This is a huge part that describes godliness almost perfectly. But God had shown me one more verse that made me discover the key to godliness.

               

        Rom 12:1  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

 

                Worshipers. Those are the godly. The ones that in every moment present their bodies as living sacrifices are the ones who God deems as godly. In a similar way to a slave or bondservant gives themselves to their master, that’s who we are. Furthermore we can now look at how verse 16 describes Jesus and finally make the connection. Jesus was a worshiper of God, to the point of death even. And as Christ followers, we must be worshipers as well. And now this all makes sense with the rest of the chapter. The whole chapter talks about all the practical things bishops, overseers and deacons should do. But really Paul is just giving us a guideline that we can look at to see the side effects of those around us. If they line up with those practical things Paul mentioned than they have a godly way of living.

So in conclusion,,, I have a responsibility that God has given me. Diakonos is the greek word for deacon, but also it is translated as "servant". What was Jesus? Exactly that. So this is not only talking about those who are in a place of leadership in an established congregation, but also to me who is just trying to a servant like the lord was. And the key is to be a living sacrifice for God.

 

----------          APPLICATION          ----------

 

 

                For my application I am going to share all that God just showed me to the guys tonight.