Great is the Mystery of Godliness (3)
The great mystery is not only that God was manifested in the individual Jesus but that God is also manifested today in “the house of God, the church of the living God” (1 Tim. 3:15)
Philippians 1:20-21 says, “with all boldness, as always, even now Christ will be magnified in my body, whether through life or through death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Christ magnified in Paul is God manifest in the flesh.
Christ was also magnified in Stephen. When he was brought to the Jewish leaders for judgement, they “saw his face as though it were the face of an angel.” (Acts 6:15). Also, God “manifests the savor of the knowledge of Him through us in every place” (2 Cor. 2:14).
Second Corinthians 4:10 says we are “Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” The “life of Jesus” shining forth through us is also a manifestation of God in the flesh. In Philippians 2:12-14 we cooperate with God’s life in us; then, we “shine as luminaries in the world” (v. 15). This shining is also a manifestation of God.
The consummate shining is the glory of God in New Jerusalem, a very bright display of today’s lesser display of God in humanity.
Posted by Don on March 29, 2024
https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/03/29/great-is-the-mystery-of-godliness-3/
