In 1 Timothy 3:16 Paul goes on to say, “Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory.”
Christ, God manifested in the flesh, was “justified in the Spirit.” The Greek word rendered “justified” also means “vindicated.” The incarnated Christ in His human living was not only justified as the Son of God by the Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17; Rom. 1:3-4) but was also vindicated, proved, and approved as right and righteous by the Spirit (Matt. 3:15-16; 4:1). He was manifested in the flesh but was vindicated and justified in the Spirit. He appeared in the flesh, but He lived in the Spirit (Luke 4:1, 14; Matt. 12:28) and offered Himself to God through the Spirit (Heb. 9:14). His transfiguration (Matt. 17:2) and His resurrection are both justifications in the Spirit. Furthermore, in resurrection He even became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17) to dwell and live in us (Rom. 8:9-10) for the manifestation of God in the flesh as the mystery of godliness. Hence, now we know Him and His members no longer according to the flesh but according to the Spirit (2 Cor. 5:16). Since the manifestation of God in the flesh is justified in the Spirit, and the Spirit is one with our spirit (Rom. 8:16), we must live and behave in our spirit that this justification may be accomplished.
The church as the mystery of godliness is justified in the spirit. To be justified in the Spirit, we must walk and live in our regenerated human spirit (Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 25). If we walk and live in our spirit, we will have a justified life, that is, a life that can be justified by God. God is manifested in the flesh of those who are the mystery of godliness. However, we should not live by our flesh. Instead, we should live by our spirit. Through our living by our spirit, God will be manifested in our flesh. Although we are in the flesh, we should live by the spirit. We must walk, live, and do things by the spirit. In this way God becomes our living in our spirit and is manifested in our flesh. Such a living will be justified in the Spirit.
In verse 16 Paul also says, “Seen by angels.” Angels saw the incarnation, human living, and ascension of Christ (Luke 2:9-14; Matt. 4:11; Acts 1:10-11; Rev. 5:6, 11-12). When the Lord Jesus was born, a host of angels praised God (Luke 2:10-14). If the angels rejoiced at the birth of the Lord Jesus in Bethlehem, the city of David, will they not also rejoice to see God manifested in the church, which is Christ’s increase and enlargement? Furthermore, when the Lord Jesus, living out God and manifesting Him on earth, confronted the demons, they cried out. In at least one case they begged the Lord Jesus not to order them to depart into the abyss (8:31). If the demons trembled at the presence of the Lord Jesus, will they not also tremble at the manifestation of the living God in the church? No doubt when the church is living out God and manifesting Him, the demons and the evil angels will be terrified. Every local church must be a place where Christ is born anew in the saints. Furthermore, every local church must live out God in such a way that the devil’s time is shortened. When the churches come up to God’s standard, the angels will sing and rejoice, and the demons and the evil angels will tremble.
In the church life we are expressing God. Human beings may not realize this adequately, but the angels recognize it and appreciate it. All the angels are spectators who are looking at the universal man, Christ and the church, living in the spirit to manifest God in the flesh (Eph. 3:10). On the one hand, the good angels rejoice when they behold the expression of God in the church. On the other hand, the evil angels and the demons tremble in fear. They realize that eventually those in the church life will condemn them to the lake of fire.
Christ was also preached among the nations. Christ as God’s manifestation in the flesh has been preached as the gospel among the nations, including the nation of Israel, from the day of Pentecost (Rom. 16:26; Eph. 3:8). Furthermore, Christ has been “believed on in the world” (1 Tim. 3:16). Christ as the embodiment of God in the flesh has been believed on, received as Savior and life, by people in the world (Acts 13:48).
Through our living in the spirit that manifests God in the flesh, God in Christ as the Spirit is being preached among the nations and is being believed on in the world. The real gospel preaching takes place when we live in the spirit to manifest God. Such a living can be not only seen by the angels but also preached to the uttermost part of the earth (1:8). When this gospel is preached, other human beings will see what we are living and then receive what we are living. This is not a preaching merely by word but a preaching mainly by life, a preaching by living. We must live out what we preach. Our message should be our life, our living. Although we may sometimes preach the gospel with words, we preach mainly by living a life that manifests God. Our living is our preaching. Regardless of how much believers preach by speaking, what eventually causes sinners to believe is the testimony of the believers’ living. We must have a living that is in the spirit to manifest God. This kind of living is our preaching, and our preaching must be this kind of living.