In 1 Timothy 3:16 Paul said, “Confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory.” In this verse the manifestation of God in the flesh refers not only to Christ Himself but also to the church. Christ was taken up in glory in His ascension before He was preached among the nations and believed on in the world. Because “taken up in glory” is listed last in verse 16, it must refer not only to Christ’s ascension but also to the church’s rapture. This is a strong indication that the manifestation of God in the flesh, the great mystery of godliness, includes both Christ and the church.
The manifestation of God in the flesh includes both Christ and the church because Christ is the Head and the church is His Body. If the Head is the manifestation of God, the Body must also be the manifestation of God. Theologians may argue that only Christ is the manifestation of God, but this is illogical, for a person’s body has the same life and nature as the head. Based on this definite principle, it is clear that just as Christ, the Head, is the manifestation of God, so also the church, the Body of Christ, is the manifestation of God. This is logical.
First Timothy 3:15-16 reveals that the church is not only the house of the living God and the pillar and base of the truth but also the mystery of godliness, that is, the manifestation of God in the flesh. Although we are human beings in the flesh, God dwells in us. Therefore, when we are meeting together, we are the manifestation of God. First Corinthians 14:24-25 says that if the church is meeting properly, an unbeliever who comes into the meeting will say, “Indeed God is among you.” This indicates that God is manifested in the flesh in the church. Christ manifested God in the flesh as a man on the earth individually, but today God is manifested in the church corporately. This is a great mystery, the mystery of godliness.
The definition of godliness is God manifest in the flesh. Some have recently taught the young people that to always go to the Lord’s Day morning meeting is to be religious and that they should feel free to do something else on the Lord’s Day morning. Rather than being concerned about whether this teaching is right or wrong, we should simply consider whether going to do something else on the Lord’s Day morning is godliness. The two Epistles to Timothy were written at a time when the church was in degradation to instruct Timothy how to conduct himself in the house of God. These Epistles do not say that we need to do what is right; rather, they say that we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness (1 Tim. 4:7). Going to an event other than the church meeting on the Lord’s Day morning is not godliness. Playing basketball on the Lord’s Day morning is not a testimony of godliness to others. This is not a matter of right or wrong; it is a matter of fact. If the young people saw an elder playing basketball during the Lord’s Day morning meeting, they would be stumbled and perhaps feel free to begin to live in a loose way. If what we do is an expression of godliness, it will edify the saints and minister life to them. My heart was grieved when I heard that such things were being taught to the young people. This is not an opinion or an insignificant matter; it is a subtle teaching creeping in to lower the standard of God’s testimony in the churches and corrupt the young people. Another governing principle that we must follow to properly conduct ourselves in the church is to exercise ourselves unto godliness.
Paul said, “Bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things” (v. 8). He was fair, for he did not say that bodily exercise profits nothing. Yes, bodily exercise is profitable, but its profit is very small compared to the profit of exercising ourselves unto godliness. The way to conduct ourselves in the church life is to exercise ourselves unto godliness. We should not do anything that is not a proper testimony of godliness to others. We do not need to consider whether or not something is legal or right but whether it is an expression of godliness, God manifested in the flesh.
Let us consider another illustration. Some brothers may go to bars to drink beer. They may tell the other saints that they have been liberated from all bondage and that in the church life there should be no legalities. All the saints need to learn the truths, discern such speaking, and rise up to practice the truth. All the saints should reply, “No, in the church life we do not accept this kind of speaking.” We must be discerning and strong, not to cause division but to keep the church in the right lane to manifest our God. Our living should be godly, not loose. We should all bring this matter to the Lord. I do not condemn or accuse those who hold such concepts, but I hope that they will bring these things to the Lord, praying, “Lord, do You want me to be such a person in Your recovery?”
In our daily lives we should not live by regulations, but we should have one governing principle, that is, godliness. In deciding whether or not to wear a certain article of clothing, we should consider whether or not it expresses godliness. We should not care for any outward forms, but we need to take care of the facts. Whatever we say and do and wherever we go, we need to consider whether it is godliness. If we testify concerning the Lord’s recovery to our neighbors, some of whom may be Christians, yet one day they see us going into a movie theater, we will lose our testimony. Even though we may be going to see an educational movie, this is not godliness. Moreover, bringing our children to a movie theater, even if it is to see the best educational movie, will create a lust within our children to see movies. We will corrupt our children. The theaters are full of spiritual germs. The conscience of parents who exercise themselves unto godliness would not allow them to take their children into a movie theater. This is not a matter of what is right or wrong, legal or illegal. We should care only for the facts of what is a testimony of godliness to others. Godliness is another governing principle that we need to take care of in order to properly conduct ourselves in the church life.