God Manifest in the Flesh, in Christ & in the Church
The church today and New Jerusalem in eternity are two steps of the fulfillment of God’s purpose in creating man in His image for His expression.
First Timothy 3:16 declares, “And 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.” Surely this refers to Jesus Christ who is God 
manifested in flesh.
In addition, this verse refers to the church. First, “and” at the beginning of 3:16 ties God manifest in the flesh to “the house of God, the church of the living God” in 3:15.
Second, “the mystery of godliness” in 3:16 is presented in six stages. Regarding Jesus Christ Himself, the last stage, “Taken up in glory” came before the fourth and fifth stages. But regarding the church, the sixth stage does come after the fourth and fifth stages.
These facts indicate that the manifestation of God in the flesh is both Jesus Christ individually and Jesus Christ manifested through the church. When the Lord returns, the church will be taken up in glory and the manifestation will continue in New Jerusalem for eternity. This will fully satisfy God’s purpose in creating man in His image.
Posted by Don on December 3, 2021
