“Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.” — 1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)
Have you ever had to crack a hard riddle before? Something true, yet profound. This exact same thing is what the Apostle Paul was trying to portray in the anchor text (1 Timothy 3:16). God appearing in the flesh is almost inconceivable to the human mind; the creator had to take on the form of the creature? Indeed, this mystery is great.
Prior to the birth of Jesus, no one could lay claim to seeing God in a bodily form. But when Jesus appeared on the scene, it was recorded that God’s glory dwelt in Him bodily (John 1:14, Colossians 2:9).
One of the factors that differentiates our faith in the Lord Jesus from every other religion is the fulfillment of prophecies. Different people who existed at different times in history talked with such unanimous precision about the details of one person’s life (Hebrews 1:1). Everything was prophesied, from His birth, to His sufferings, death and resurrection.
After Jesus’ resurrection, He met some disciples on the road to Emmaus and showed them all that had been prophesied in the scriptures concerning Himself (Luke 24:27). Everything about why he came to the earth was foretold!
Conversations about kingdoms and kings in the Bible have always been about political influence and power. While the children of Israel were in exile in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a prophetic figure (Daniel 2:36-45). Daniel’s interpretation of this dream tells us about the reign of different kingdoms, but there was a particular one that God himself set up that will never be destroyed and it will stand forever (Daniel 2:44).
Also, God promised David that his throne and kingdom will last forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13). It is clear that no such physical kingdom exists today, but this prophecy points to Jesus who is the newborn king to reign forever (Luke 1:32-33, Isaiah 9:6-7).
Interestingly, the people of Jesus’ day thought the Messiah would be preoccupied with political power and deliver them from the authority of the Roman government. However, the Kingdom Jesus came to establish does not come by observation, but is established in the hearts of men (Luke 17:20-21).
When the disciples asked Jesus when a physical Kingdom would be restored to Israel after his resurrection, Jesus’ response was centered on them receiving the power of the Holy Spirit and spreading the spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men (Acts 1:6-8).
Jesus is the newborn King for God’s eternal reign in the hearts of men and the glory of God in the face of Jesus has been revealed to all mankind (2 Corinthians 4:6). We bask in this glory today and we point men to the same! Indeed, our eyes have seen the glory of God!
*We have rounded off our Bible Reading Plan for the year. If you are yet to finish, take the rest of the year to catch up. We are cheering you on!*