I Timothy 3:14-16
We’ve only got three verses today – but they’re powerful!
… I am writing these things to you so that … you may know how one ought to behave in the … church of the living God… (vv. 14-15) It’s always helpful for me to edit out incidental phrases in Paul’s letters so that I can see exactly what he is saying. And here, although it’s a bit late in the letter (already the end of the third chapter) Paul finally tells Timothy the intent behind his writing to him. As I have noted before, Timothy is in Ephesus, a very pagan city, and the new converts are probably somewhat familiar with pagan worship. Naturally, Christian worship would be very different, as Paul proclaims Jesus’ majesty in the closing verse to this chapter:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory. (v. 16b)
These “poetic” lines are a bit confusing – they are not chronological for Jesus’ life. They make more sense if we move the last line two lines up, since He ascended well after His resurrection (… seen by angels).