Many people consider the two Epistles to Timothy and the one to Titus to be the “pastoral” Epistles, the books intended to teach certain ones how to “pastor” a church. These books do tell us something about how to take care of a church, but if we spend the time to get into their depths, we will see that this isnot their basic thought. The basic thought of these three books is the exercise unto godliness. First Timothy 4:7 and 8 say, “The profane and old-womanish myths refuse, and exercise yourself unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the present life and of that which is to come.” Godliness is a key word in these books (2:2; 3:16; 6:3, 5, 6, 11; 2Tim. 3:5; Titus 1:1). The word exercise in Greek corresponds to the English word gymnastics. Just as people exercise in gymnastics for the sake of their body, we need to exercise ourselves unto godliness. Therefore, the Spirit in 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus is the Spirit for the exercise unto godliness.
First Timothy 3:16 says, “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 the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, the Spirit is mentioned for the first time in this verse, a verse related to godliness. Godliness is God manifested in the flesh, that is, God expressed in human beings. That the man Jesus was God manifested in the flesh was justified, proved, and vindicated only in the Spirit. The Spirit constantly vindicated that Jesus was not an ordinary man but one in whom God was manifested (Matt. 3:16-17; 12:28; Rom. 1:3-4). In the same principle, whenever we are not doing things in a way that expresses God, the Spirit condemns, but when we exercise ourselves unto godliness to walk and live in a way that expresses God, the Spirit justifies, vindicates, that we have godliness. This vindication is not only within ourselves but in the hearts of those who observe our saintly walk and life of godliness.
There is no need to proclaim that we manifest God in the flesh or to try to prove that our life and walk is one of godliness. The Spirit justifies, vindicates, and proves this for us. We may do things that are very good, but they are not God Himself. We may love people or show patience, but our love and patience may not be God; they may only be good. On the other hand, we may have a love that is not merely good but isGod Himself. Likewise, our patience may give people the impression not merely that we are good but that we are living out God. We cannot explain how we know this, but within us there is something that vindicates, justifies, or proves. The sense and realization that we have by the vindicating Spirit within tell us whether someone’s love is good or whether it isGod Himself. Sometimes when a brother loves us, we have the deep sense that this love is not merely something good. Rather, this brother’s love is the expression, the manifestation, of God. The brother is a human being in the flesh, but his love is the expression of God; it is in godliness, God manifested in the flesh.
It is the same with humility. The submission that a sister shows to her husband may seem good, but in actuality it may be with a poor attitude. In such a case, the Spirit indicates that this submission is of herself and not the expression of God. We cannot explain with mere words how we sense that something good is actually poor and out of ourselves. This can be compared to our sense of taste, by which we know what is sweet and what is salty. The Spirit within us is the vindicating Spirit, always vindicating whether or not we live in godliness. By this Spirit we can realize whether or not our love, humility, submission, patience, and goodness are God Himself. This is the meaning of “justified in the Spirit.” The Spirit is constantly vindicating what is of God and what is merely out of ourselves.
We may come to a brother to say something good to him, but deep within us we will have the sense that our words are simply from our self; they are not the expression of Christ or the manifestation of God. In this case we do not have godliness but merely a kind of human, sinful morality. The vindicating Spirit proves whether or not we are exercising unto godliness. If we are, the vindicating Spirit will confirm that we are right; otherwise, the Spirit will condemn and protest that we are acting, living, and doing things to express ourselves.
When we love others or submit to them, we may love and submit only for our own glory. No one can tell us this; only the Spirit can vindicate. Brother Watchman Nee once told me, “People can deceive us, but they can never deceive the Spirit.” If we are not persons in the Spirit, we can be cheated by others, but if we have the Spirit and are in the Spirit, we cannot be cheated. The more someone loves us, the more we may realize that this love is not godliness, the manifestation and expression of God. Rather, we may sense a wrong motive in this kind of love. The searching Spirit vindicates whether or not we are persons living in the Spirit. In the matter of godliness, He vindicates what is within us, and He vindicates what is in others.