By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:

He who was revealed in the flesh,

Was vindicated in the Spirit,

Seen by angels,

Proclaimed among the nations,

Believed on in the world,

Taken up in glory.

- 1 Timothy 3:16

Paul writes to Timothy about “the mystery of godliness,” which Paul expresses in 6 statements. Godliness does not mean “to be like God;” however, it means having your focus set on God or having a God-ward attitude. To have an attitude focused on God, we need to understand what Paul describes to us in 1 Timothy 3:16.

"He who was revealed in the flesh” refers to Christ coming in the flesh to the world (John 1:14; 1 Peter 1:20). Jesus is both fully God and fully man in the incarnation so that he could end the hostility between God and man due to sin. (1 John 3:5, 8) Without this sacrifice by Christ, we would not be able to be godly in the first place.

“Was vindicated in the Spirit” refers to Christ’s fulfillment of everything in the Law and Prophets. He came to allow us to be justified before God, which had been promised by God as far back as the Garden (Gen. 3:15). It is in Jesus that we have been justified, and it is our faith in him and the love of God that has been poured out to us in the Spirit that we are justified. (Rom. 5:1-5)

“Seen by angels” attests that at the beginning and end of Jesus’ life in the flesh on this earth, angels witnessed him to men. In Luke 2:13-16 angels appeared to shepherds announcing the birth of Jesus, who would bring peace between men and God. In Luke 24:1-7 we see angels announcing Jesus’ resurrection, never to die again. 

“Proclaimed among the nations” has come to pass and continues to happen today. Jesus commanded the Apostles to go into all the world. We, too, go into the world proclaiming the good news of Christ because we understand that there is no other path to God. (1 Cor. 5:9-11)

“Believed on in the world” flows from the previous point but results from the proclamation among the nations. It is through belief in Christ that we come to know how we are saved. As James wrote, faith alone is worthless, but faith proven by obedience is true faith like that of Abraham. (James 2:14-26)

“Taken up in glory” is the most critical part of the mystery of having a God-ward attitude. Christ, after being raised, did not remain on the earth. He left to return to the Father. He took his place at the right hand of God to reign as our High Priest and King. (Heb. 6-10) He promised his disciples that once he left, he would return from the Father (John 14:1-6).

He has gone through the veil to sit at the Father’s side, and one day he will return. If we build our lives around the mystery of godliness, we can be ready for him when he returns. Build your life on the foundation of Christ, his teaching attested to by the Spirit, on the testimony of those who witnessed him in the flesh and resurrected, and if you believe, keep your hope focused on his return. These things will help you keep Christ and God the focus of your life until you receive the reward.