Second Timothy 3:5 says, “Having an outward form of godliness, though denying its power; from these also turn away.” We need to see the difference between the growth of life and the form of godliness spoken of in this verse. Again I say, we need to learn two lessons. One lesson is to know the reality of these truths, and the other is to learn how to present what we know in a clear way that is easy for people to apprehend and understand. Briefly speaking, godliness means God-likeness. To be godly means to be like God. First Timothy 3:16a says, “And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh.” The mystery of godliness is God manifested in the flesh, in a human being. Therefore, godliness is the likeness of God, to be like God. This is a great subject. Man was created in the image of God, according to God’s likeness, with the intention that he may be like God. It is God’s intention that we be like Him, that we have His image and His likeness. Second Timothy 3:5, however, speaks of the outward form of godliness without its power. To deny the power of godliness is to not have its living reality, to have the form without the life.
The form of godliness is only the outward appearance, the outward likeness, of godliness. God is holy, so we may try to be holy as God is. God is separated from the common things, so we too may try to separate ourselves from the common things. God is love, so we may try to be like God and show love to others. In addition, God is light, so we too may try to be in light, avoiding everything of darkness. This is only the form, the outward appearance, of godliness, of God-likeness. In today’s Christianity we can easily see many forms of godliness, especially when we come into a church “service.” Many think that in order to show that they are godly, they must pick up their Bible on the Lord’s Day morning and walk in a certain way. Then when they come into the church building, they take a seat quietly. When I was young, I was influenced to learn these things. This is the form of godliness, as is practiced by many in Christianity today. That is not the growth of life.
In the four Gospels the Lord Jesus was a living person. He was truly holy. He was the real love and light. This was the living reality, not the form. What the Pharisees had was only a form, but what the Lord Jesus was, was the living reality of godliness.
Several centuries ago there was a certain man of God, a truly holy man. Once he was invited to another city in order to minister. Since he was famous, on the day of his arrival the people in that city were excited to welcome him. He anticipated that, so before he arrived, he disappeared from the public view and went to a little park to play on a seesaw with the children. At the scheduled time for his arrival, the people could not find him. They looked throughout the town and eventually saw him playing with the children. In that age especially, people thought that a man of God must appear holy, like a priest with a long robe. That brother knew that if he would come into the city in this way, they would all admire him. Instead, the people asked, “What kind of person is this? Is this a servant of God? Is this a man of God that first goes to the park to play with the children?” In doing this he was trying to break their natural concept of godliness and to help them to realize what real godliness is.
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