TEXT [Commentary]

  I.   The Truths of Our Faith (3:14-16)

14 I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith[*]:

Christ[*] was revealed in a human body

and vindicated by the Spirit.[*]

He was seen by angels

and announced to the nations.

He was believed in throughout the world

and taken to heaven in glory.

NOTES

3:14 I am writing these things to you now. Paul uses a standard first-century letter convention to conclude the main body of the letter in restating the reason for writing and announcing upcoming travel plans.

even though I hope. This is one possible way to understand the Greek participle. Another possibility is its common temporal sense of “while I hope.” In the latter case, Paul would be saying that he is writing in case of delay but at the same time hoping to come to visit them soon.

to be with you soon. Talk of a forthcoming visit (or reasons for not traveling) is a typical feature of the first-century letter. It is also a typical feature of Paul’s letters.

3:15 if I am delayed. Ean + the subjunctive [TG1437, ZG1569] is a kind of conditional that expresses contingency: Paul may be delayed, or he may come soon. It is sometimes incorrectly assumed that Paul is saying that he is not coming. For this to be the case, ei plus the imperfect indicative followed by an plus the subjunctive (contrary to fact) would have been used: “if I were able to come, I would do it soon” with the implication that he can’t and so he won’t.

which is the pillar and foundation of the truth. The genitive “of the truth” is probably objective: “which [church] is a firmly-founded pillar for the truth.” A “pillar” (stulos [TG4769, ZG5146]) was a free-standing column built to honor the accomplishments of a person of renown. The word “foundation” translates a word (hedraiōma [TG1477, ZG1613]) not found elsewhere in the NT. Cognates have the meaning “stay,” “support,” “base,” “seat” (see LSJ).

3:16 Without question, this is the great mystery. Letters in the earliest Greek manuscripts were capitalized and without word divisions. This means that the Greek term could be understood as a verb + comparative + adjective: “we confess how great” (homologoumen ōs mega [TG3670/5613, ZG3933/6055]; verb/comparative), or it could be understood as an adverb + adjective: “how confessedly great” (homologoumenōs mega [TG3672, ZG3935]). As noted earlier at v. 9, the word “mystery” can denote either something unfathomable or something hidden in the past that has now been revealed. Paul typically used the term in the latter sense.

of our faith. The NLT mg rendering “godliness” is to be preferred to “faith.” Godly living (eusebeia [TG2150, ZG2354]) flows from faith but is not to be equated with it. Paul already used it in 2:2 of the need for believers to lead a peaceful and quiet life marked by “godliness” (NLT) and dignity. It should be translated the same way here. The pronoun our [faith] is inserted. But, since Paul proceeds to talk about Christ’s godliness, it would be best to delete it.

Christ. The NLT makes the pronoun “who” explicit. Some manuscripts have the contraction ϴϹ (theos, “God”) instead of the pronoun ΟϹ (who). The theological difference is significant. “God was revealed in the flesh” would be a strong statement about Christ’s deity and early support for Trinitarian theologizing. But because this change is the hand of a corrector, it is likely that ΟϹ was read as ϴϹ to supply a noun for the clause. Western manuscripts and versions have the neuter pronoun Ο (which). This most likely is a grammatical correction introduced early on to accord with the preceding neuter noun “mystery” (to musterion).

was revealed. Each line of the hymn begins with an aorist passive indicative: “was revealed . . . was vindicated . . . was seen . . . was announced . . . was believed . . . was taken up to heaven.” God is the implied agent of each passive verb. “Was revealed” is not to say that Christ always had a body that was previously hidden but now revealed. Though Christ has always existed, he did not exist in bodily form prior to the incarnation.

in a human body. Lit., “in flesh.” It is important to note that the NLT’s rendering is not supporting the dualist perception that the body was merely a convenient vessel for God to make his entrance on the human scene.

vindicated by the Spirit. This could also be rendered “vindicated in Spirit” It would then parallel “revealed in flesh.” “In Spirit” would be hymnic shorthand for “in the realm of the Spirit.” See Zerwick 1996 on this verse.

He was seen by angels. This is better rendered as “he appeared to angels” (see BAGD 578); the Greek verb ōpthē [TG3708A, ZG3972] followed by the dative angelois [TG32, ZG34].

announced to the nations. “Announced among the nations” is the correct translation of the Greek en plus a plural dative. The verb “announced” is a translation of the Greek word kērussō [TG2784, ZG3062] (“proclaim” [the Gospel]).

COMMENTARY [Text]

As is typical at this point in his letters, Paul repeats his reason for writing and announces an upcoming visit: “I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God” (3:14-15). Recalling the reason(s) for writing is a standard first-century way of coming full circle in the body of the letter whereby the writer hoped his readers would move from mere listening to concrete action. Paul was no exception. He hoped that the prospect of his coming and the ensuing on-site inspection would motivate Timothy and the Ephesian church to do some needed housecleaning. However, in case Paul was delayed, this letter was his pep talk to get them at least back on track with behavior that befits “God’s household.” Some have concluded from Paul’s household language that his aim was to provide Timothy, his stand-in, with a manual on church order. There is some truth to this. One does not have to go very far in the letter before running across leadership concerns. But the leadership concerns are set in the context of cleaning up a 10- year-old church that had received its instructions years before.

The passage is rich in household language—the basic social unit of the Roman world. The Roman household went beyond the typical Western one in that it included masters and slaves, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, relatives, nannies, hired hands, guests, and patron idols. In the Roman household everyone had their station with attendant responsibilities and codes of behavior. Social boundaries were established for each relationship in the household. Government scrutiny was ever present to ensure that these boundaries were enforced. By contrast, God’s household includes no distinctions of ethnicity, social status, or marital status (cf. Gal 3:28). The only exception is God himself. He is the household’s master: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (2 Cor 6:16).

Paul described the Christian household master as “living,” as opposed to Roman household idols, which were dead. The thought is not that God fought and conquered other divine contenders, who now lay dead at his feet. God alone lives. Others are merely a figment of the human imagination and have no real existence. A “living” God also means that the building is made up of living stones—a familiar image in both the Pauline and Petrine letters (1 Cor 3:16; 1 Pet 2:5). Paul depicted these living stones as forming a “pillar.” In Roman times this would be a free-standing structure that recognized the personal accomplishments of someone of renown. It was similar to the Washington Monument, which draws sightseers as one of the tallest masonry structures in the world. There is also a “foundation”—the base supporting the weight of the pillar. “Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets” (Eph 2:20)—that “base” of firm support on which the “pillar” is thrust upward to steady the truth against the storms of heterodoxy and pagan idolatry. The job of every local congregation is to be that unshakable monument for the “truth”—to “Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore His sacred Name” (George W. Kitchin).

Paul expanded on the content of this truth in the form of a hymn six lines in length (v. 16). The singing of hymns is found throughout Paul’s congregations: “When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret” (1 Cor 14:26); “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts” (Eph 5:19); “sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col 3:16). First Timothy 3:16 could well be one of those hymns.

Because of the hymn’s compact nature, exalted language, and strophic character, it is more difficult to interpret with exactness than prose. Like the Old Testament Psalms, there is a preface or introductory statement: “Without question, this is the great mystery of our godliness.” The NLT mg rendering “of godliness” is to be preferred to “of our faith.” Paul’s concern was with “godly living” that flows from faith (see note on 3:16). In the culture of that day, godly living involved carrying out one’s religious obligations such as concern for orphans, widows, the needy, and strangers. The term “godliness” is distinctive to the Pastorals. Eleven of thirteen occurrences are found in these letters. Paul already used the word in 2:2 of the need for believers to lead a peaceful and quiet life marked by “godliness” (eusebeia [TG2150, ZG2354]) and dignity.

The first strophe of the hymn is a statement about the Incarnation: “[He] was revealed in a human body.” Christ’s existence prior to the incarnation is assumed. John’s Gospel begins in a similar way: “In the beginning was the Word, . . . and the Word was God, . . . The Word became human” (John 1:1, 14a, NLT). The Son gave up his divine privileges and took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being (Phil 2:6-7). Christ “was revealed in a human body” or literally “enfleshed.” It was not a guise or costume that he could put on and off at will. This was very God of very God and very man of very man (cf. the Chalcedonian Creed). Nor was his humanity something hidden in the past but now revealed (1 Pet 1:20). It is more the idea that at a specific point in history God sent his Son to be born of a woman (“when the right time came,” Gal 4:4).

The theological pendulum swings in the next strophe from the Incarnation to the Resurrection, as is indicated by the expression, “vindicated by the Spirit” (or “vindicated in the realm of the Spirit”; see note). In Romans 1:3-4, Paul tells his readers that the Son of God was born into King David’s family line in his earthly life (“revealed in a human body”) but was then shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit (or, “vindicated in the realm of the Spirit”, Rom 1:3-4).

The third strophe is translated as “he was seen by angels,” but it is better rendered as “he appeared to angels” (see note on 3:16). A similar idea is found in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, where, “having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col 2:15, NIV ).

The fourth strophe is “announced to the nations,” which has in mind Jesus’ mandate to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19). Israel was to be God’s light to the nations. When it failed to do so, the church took up the task.

The fifth strophe is “he was believed in throughout the world.” This sums up the final stage of Jesus’ mandate, “you will be my witnesses . . . in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It includes the end result of making disciples of all nations, that is, a global kingdom.

The sixth and final stanza, “taken to heaven in glory,” pictures Christ’s elevation to God’s right hand. The key word is “glory.” The hymn begins with a divesting of the honor and status due the Son of God and ends with Christ’s reinvestment—ascended to the right hand and made Lord and Christ (Acts 2:33). It is a thought that appears in Philippians: “God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:9-11). It also surfaces in Ephesians: “[God] raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms” (Eph 1:20). His heavenly enthronement is with a view to “fill[ing] the entire universe with himself” (Eph 4:10).