CONDUCT AND CONFESSION 1 Timothy 3:14-16 December 9, 2012 Providence INTRODUCTION: Christmas music started showing up before Thanksgiving this year. TV specials, seasonal CDs by recording artists, radio stations, shopping malls...all are inundating us with Christmas and holiday music. Here at church, we also bring out the songs of Christmas. This weekend we present the gospel message of Christmas in music. Scores of musicians and technical crews are working together to unite all their efforts in songs that tell the story of the Savior. But what if all of the effort is ruined by one thing that was overlooked? What if the musicians were not in tune with each other? The strings must be in tune with trumpets that must be in tune with the piano which must be in tune with the woodwinds, guitars, etc! Who sets the standard? All must tune to one standard to be in tune with each other. A. W. Tozer: Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become unity conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. [Excerpt From: R. Kent Hughes & Bryan Chapell. 1-2 Timothy and Titus. Crossway, 2012. ibooks.] How will we be in tune with each other in the body of Christ? The only true standard for us is Jesus Christ. For us to be in tune with one another, we must each be in tune with Him to think of Him rightly, to love Him fully and to love what He loves and in the case of this passage, to love the church. THESIS: What you think and believe about Jesus Christ is the most important thing about you and impacts everything about who you are and what you do. In this passage, Paul speaks to Timothy about two issues that must be on the hearts of every believer every church member every church. He speaks of what is loved by Christ. He speaks of both our conduct and confession our behavior and beliefs. I. KNOWING HOW TO CONDUCT OURSELVES AS THE CHURCH --The church of Jesus Christ holds His affections at the deepest level as He loves His chosen Bride. --Therefore, He has strong convictions about how His Bride should behave herself in this most intimate relationship with her eternal Bridegroom and Savior. NOTE: Paul was deeply committed to personal relationships, face-to-face opportunities to invest in the lives of others. It is clearly his intention to come see Timothy and the Ephesians as soon as the Lord allows. Life in Christ is never intended to consist of isolated beliefs but of integrated beliefs and behavior in the context of relationships. Paul loved the church but he also loved Timothy and Priscilla and Aquila and Onesiphorus and so on! The church consists of people to be loved, cared for, served, prayed for things that cannot happen when we remove ourselves from its warm fellowship and friendships. Martin Luther wrote, At home in my own house there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through. (Chapell/Hughes, p. 97) For those who want to substitute TV or Cyber-church, there is no substitute for loving others in the context of a redeemed people learning how to grow up together to maturity in Christ! 1Tim. 3:14-15 I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long; 15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the household (oi[kw/) of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
2 --Up to this point in this letter, Paul has given instruction about how the church should conduct itself as he --Affirms spiritual, biblical authority (1:1; 2:1-2) --Confronts unsound doctrine (1:6-7) --Names specific sins (1:9-10) --Talks about church and state (2:1-2) --Addresses role of women (2:11-12) --Lays out criteria for leadership character (3:1-13) --Now he goes on to explain why this is so important to Timothy and should be for the church and its leaders in every age. A. THE HOUSEHOLD OF GOD: We Are Family! --When Paul talks about the church, he calls it the household of God, which is simply another way of referring to the church as the family of God called together by God. God is our Father Christ is our Brother Members are our brothers and sisters --The concept of belonging, of being together as family, ranks very high in Paul s estimation of what and who the church is understood to be. Note: In a fallen world, many folks these days have not found family to be a positive experience broken marriages, abusive relationships, dysfunctional connections all contribute to the negative images that arise in the minds of many when they think of family. But the Lord calls us to His family still having to sort out the sibling relationships but having no issues with God our Father and Christ our Brother! We are to cultivate a new, healthy, vibrant view of what it means to be the household of God as we learn how to live together in harmony, in tune with each others, as we each commit to life together in tune with Christ! --Does your view of the church match God s? Is your relationship with the household of faith a vibrant, dynamic growing one? B. THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH: We Are Alive! --The church is to be alive, dynamic and vibrant because we are the church of the living God! --Our God is the living God and for eternity has been alive as the only One who has no beginning and no end Jesus Christ showing the power of that life by triumphing over death and the grave through the resurrection. --He lives not as some abstract religious concept or philosophical worldview but He personally and eternally lives and reigns over all things. --Therefore, the church is alive because it is composed of those made alive together with Christ and together with each other they are the church. 1Pet. 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house (oi\ko") --Something about the household of God must be pulsating with the life of Jesus Christ in us things so supernaturally wonderful that they cannot be explained by the human or natural element but must be attributed to God alone! --When people walk in the doors of this place where the church gathers, they should be struck by the lively nature of the people and place because Christ is here working through His Spirit in a dynamic, vibrant way!
3 ILLUS. One of the greatest things we can hear when people visit us here is that from the moment they walked in the door, they could sense that this place is alive! They could sense that God was making His presence known through the loving, living people who have been made alive together with Him! C. THE BEARERS OF THE TRUTH: We Are Witnesses! --The church is called to be more than just a living, dynamic family of people whose lives are joined together through Christ, but we have a responsibility to uphold all that is true about Christ and His Word. --The church is expected to be the pillar and support of the truth so that our foundation and what arises from that foundation give testimony the God s eternal truth in the Inspired Word and the Incarnate Word. --The weight of the truth is carried by the church who else would be expected to hold it high if not those who are being transformed from death to life by its powerful words? --Likewise, if the church abandons the truth and gives up its calling to proclaim, defend and hold high the very words of God, surely we must understand that no one else will!! II. KNOWING WHAT WE CONFESS AS THE TRUTH --Once we know what our conduct should be as a living household of God, responsible for upholding and bearing the unchanging truth of God s Word from generation to generation, Paul ends this section by addressing in a succinct way our confession of truth. A. CONSENSUS OF OUR CONFESSION --Paul refers to the common confession of non-negotiable certainties about who Jesus Christ is, what the church in unity believes about Him. --Unless there is at least this common confession, there is no fellowship together as the household of faith because apart from these essentials, no one can legitimately claim to be the church of Jesus Christ. ILLUS. With first one group and then another making claims to be the true church, there must be some standard of what people believe that justifies their claim to be the household of faith, the church of the living God! Whether it is the claim of Jehovah s Witnesses or Mormons that they can lay claim to be the church (although neither affirm the unique deity of Christ and humanity of Christ as Paul speaks of it), or whether it is the claim of many Liberal Protestant churches that they are the church when they deny the resurrection, the miracles, some even the deity of Christ. Stating that you are the church but believing things that directly contradict the truth about Jesus Christ takes you out of the common confession unique to those who believe and live according to the truth of God about Jesus Christ. Many are tuning to a different frequency and the discord prohibits unity, even any shared identity and shared claims to be the church of Jesus Christ. The only tuning standard given by God is the eternal truth of His Word! That is the basis for our common confession. B. MYSTERY OF GODLINESS --Throughout the New Testament, the mystery typically refers to the gospel message long anticipated but only and finally in Jesus Christ revealed. --The wonder of God s grace had been hidden behind the curtain of the Law and few even had a clue about the brilliant fullness of a plan for our salvation that was to be received by faith.
4 Rom. 16:25-27 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. --The sweet revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ made it known that all the nations are invited to belong to the household of God through faith in Him! C. AFFIRMATIONS OF DEITY --In six brief lines, Paul provides a succinct summary of the nature of Jesus Christ that outlined the truth essential to the life of the church and salvation of sinners all over the world. --Many suggest that these lines were from an early hymn of the church sung by newly formed congregations as a way to express their confident beliefs about their Savior and King. --The six lines fall into three couplets which show the nature of Christ in a series of contrasts equally affirming that He is Lord of all! 1Tim. 3:16 And by common confession great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 1. Incarnation/Deity He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit a. The Incarnation John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. b. The Deity --Taking on human flesh, Jesus Christ became one with us in our humanity in order to demonstrate the perfect love of God for us. --The testimony has been proven Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and in the incarnation never ceased to be fully God. --He fulfilled all righteousness in that He never sinned and remained perfect in holiness from first to last while here on the earth. --Therefore, He could function as our great High Priest, not according to human parentage and lineage, but according to the power of an indestructible life (Heb 7:16). --The resurrection vindicated once for all that His identity would be confirmed forever as God Most High! Acts 17:31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. --Therefore, His identity as God the Son was vindicated, completely justifying every claim to His Deity while affirming equally His humanity.fully Man and fully God! 2. Hosts of Angels/People of the Nations
5 beheld by angels, proclaimed among the nations --Just as opposite as deity and humanity, Paul points next to the contrast of the realm of the angels and the realm of the Gentiles (nations/peoples). --Christ was beheld by angels blessed occupants of a higher sphere; and proclaimed to the nations the more corrupt and debased inhabitants of this lower world (Patrick Fairbairn, p. 165, 1874; Scottish pastor and scholar) --From the loftiest realms of the angels above to the lowliest dregs of human society, the name of Jesus has been seen and made known! 3. World/Heaven believed on in the world, taken up in glory. --Again, stark contrasts appear to highlight the perfect sufficiency of Jesus Christ to be Savior and Lord of heaven and earth! --The celestial and pure place of glory (heaven) contrasted with the mean and decadent place of darkness Christ has been declared and recognized to be Sovereign Lord in both! a. In the World --Although this world is fallen and failing, moving swiftly to its destruction, in it there is hope offered to all who would believe on the matchless name of Jesus and be saved by His redeeming grace! --A devastated people in a dying world may yet believe in Jesus and enter into eternal life by faith in Him! b. In Glory Taken up as He ascended to His throne in glory, Jesus took up His rightful place to rule and reign over all He created and receive the worship due His name! Phil. 2:9-11 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. -- These are the things we believe and for that reason, this is the way we behave. -- This is our confession therefore, this must be our conduct! CONCLUSION: The sweet and harmonious sound of the voices of praise sounding from the lips and visible in the lives of the household of God begins and ends with Jesus Christ. What you think and believe about Jesus Christ is the most important thing about you and impacts everything about who you are and what you do. The authenticity of your testimony as the body of Christ The vitality of your behavior as the household of God The steadfastness of your beliefs as the pillar and foundation of Truth All these will rise or fall on what we think and believe about Jesus Christ and how that impacts the way we live. God the Father loves His church. Jesus Christ died for His church. The Spirit abides in His church. What will be your affection and attitude toward His church? How will your profession of love for the Lord be demonstrated in your love for His church? It will be revealed in the soundness of the confession of your faith and in the holiness of the conduct of your life!
6 The note sounded by the Lord to which we must each tune our lives is the sound of the matchless name of Jesus! December 9, 2012 Providence Baptist Church David Horner, 2012 Sermon outlines are copyrighted in the event of future publication. They may be used for preaching and teaching purposes but may not be published or sold.