Christian Confessions

“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

He was manifested in the flesh,

vindicated by the Spirit,

seen by angels,

proclaimed among the nations,

believed on in the world,

taken up in glory.” – 1 Timothy 3:16

Right in the middle of Paul’s first letter to Timothy, we come across a verse that forms the very basis of our Christian faith; and reveals who Jesus is and His ministry as a whole. Christians over the years have had various confessions of faith deeply steeped in the Bible that we affirm and believe. Such confessions include the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Westminster Divines, etc. Paul here emphasizes the importance of what we confess: “…great indeed, we confess…” he says. Historically, Christian confessions span the 1st Century Church till now. The essence of confessionalism, an important aspect of our way of worship, is to ensure distortions against truth are corrected. They are also to build a solid defence for what we believe. It is a tragedy to believe what you cannot defend.

In our opening passage, Paul says that what we confess “is the mystery of godliness.” This simply means that what already existed is no longer hidden but has now come to light. This suggests that the person we are confessing existed, was kept secret (or not fully revealed), and is now made known to us. The confession Paul is referring to is more of a Person than anything else, referring to none other than Jesus, who is God and is the uncreated, formerly hidden, and now revealed. This is a confession in defence of the deity of Christ Jesus as God (His person) and His ministry (His work). This is the very foundation of our Christian faith.

What is this mystery of godliness? “He was manifested in the flesh…” Clearly, this alludes to the incarnation, or the act of God taking on human form and living among us. John the Apostle clarifies this when he wrote, ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.’ Throughout the ages, false teachers have attempted to cast doubt on Christ Jesus’ divinity. According to the Gnostics, anything made of flesh is evil, so God cannot indwell flesh. Others contend that Jesus cannot be both God and God’s equal. Simply put, without the incarnation of Christ Jesus—God taking on human form—there is no Christianity. Every Christian should thoroughly grapple with and understand this fundamental truth to defend their confession whenever needed. In the Apostle’s Creed we affirm that ‘He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.’ 

The second confessional statement in this verse, Paul writes, “…vindicated by the Spirit…” In other words, the innocence of Jesus was affirmed by the Spirit. What does it mean to be vindicated? This speaks to the fact that all the wrongful accusations that sinful men libelled him with in order to have him crucified and buried were proved false by the Spirit. In other words, by being raised again from death by the Spirit, he was exonerated from all the fraudulent charges brought against him. Thus, His resurrection proves His innocence, Hallelujah! And so, the Apostles’ Creed rightly affirms, “He was crucified and buried; on the third day, he rose again from the dead.’ Our Saviour did not remain in the grave; the Holy Spirit vindicated him by resurrecting Him from the dead.

Thirdly, Paul writes that Jesus was “seen by angels.” The day of his resurrection is implied here, when the angels appeared to the early believers and confirmed Jesus’ resurrection. We can also connect this to the moment of Jesus’ ascension when angels reassured the disciples that he would return to judge the living and the dead. The Christian confession of Jesus as having risen from the dead was corroborated by angels who testified and worship him eternally.

Fourthly, Jesus is “proclaimed among the nations.” Christians all over the world preach Christ as the central figure in salvation since the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit entered God’s Church, up until the present. The message of salvation is Jesus; the gospel of good news revolves around Jesus. That is the only message we have for the world. It is the duty of everyone who professes to be a Christian to spread the Word about Jesus and make him known. Paul says “we have been entrusted with the message of reconciliation, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:19-20). There is no other message of hope and salvation than that of Jesus; He is the Savior of the world.

Fifthly, we accept that with our hearts we believe, and with our mouths, confession in the finished work of Christ Jesus is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9-10). Jesus is “believed on in the world.” He is the solution to human depravity. The act of placing our faith in Christ Jesus moves a person from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Beloved Son of God. We acknowledge that we believe in God the Father as well as “in Jesus Christ His Son.”  It is believing in Christ Jesus that transforms and makes one a Christian.

 Finally, Christians believe that not only did Jesus resurrect from the grave, but he was “taken up in glory.” We affirm in the Apostles’ Creed that when He resurrected from the dead, ‘He ascended into heaven. And is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty…” This proves that all authority in heaven and on earth resides with Him. Jesus’ glorification confirms his authority over all.

In conclusion, confessions are a significant part of our worship and the defence of our beliefs. It behoves every Christian to rejoice in these truths and be prepared to make a defence whenever the occasion arises. Amen!