1 Timothy 3:16– Seen, heralded and believed

And avowedly great is the secret of devoutness, “which was manifested in flesh, justified in spirit, seen by messengers, heralded among the nations, believed in the world, taken up in glory”.

Of the Christ is confessed that He (1) was manifested in the flesh and (2) was justified in the spirit. The first began at his birth as a descendant of David’s dynasty. The second refers to his resurrection from the dead. The other four stanzas also speak of key moments in salvation history. Everything strictly chronological.

After his resurrection, Christ then ascended into heaven and sat bodily above all principality and power in the heavenly places (Eph. 1:21; Col. 2:15). And while He is seen by the heavenly ones above, He is hidden on earth (Col.3:1-4). That is characteristic of Christ’s position to this day. Since He was officially rejected as the resurrected Messiah by His people Israel, God has called Paul as an apostle to herald Him among the nations (2:7). Although Christ is not seen among the nations, his cry is heard through the word that Paul heralded and recorded. And there, “among the nations” and “in the world” faith is also found. No, certainly not yet believed by the world, but already “believed in the world”. In “the ecclesia of the living God”.

Delen: