Scripture:

1 Tim. 3:16　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.

I. The mystery of God:

  1. The Creator of the universe is God. God is hidden, so God is mysterious.
  2. God’s being hidden does not disprove His existence. Actually, God’s being hidden serves only to prove His existence. The greater a person is, the more he is hidden. The more common a person is, the more he is seen. You see the average people on the street every day, but you hardly ever see a head of state personally. God is hidden because He is the Head of the universe.

II. God’s manifestation:

  1. An important person often manifests himself in a different form. Although he is semi-hidden or hidden in a different form, he nevertheless is manifested through it.
  2. God was manifested in such a semi-hidden way in a person called Jesus of Nazareth. When men looked upon Jesus, they saw Him as a man and as God. If you say that He is a man, He is not just a man. If you say that He is God, He also appears as a man. He is God incarnated, and He is God’s manifestation.

III.  The purpose of God’s manifestation:

  1. God wants to be one with man.
  2. God created man so that man might become His container to contain God Himself.
  3. Man without God as the content is an empty and meaningless vessel.
  4. God “manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:6) means that God put on the flesh so that through that one body He might eventually be able to put Himself into thousands upon thousands of bodies. Through this process God can be one with man.
  5. Man has sinned and is separated from God. Before God can become one with man, He must accomplish redemption for man.
  6. He accomplished redemption by His death and resurrection. His death abolished man’s sins, and His resurrection imparts His life into man.
  7. When man receives His life, he is one with Him.

IV. How to partake of the precious blood of Christ:

  1. Confess that you and your life are empty, without a center and without reality.
  2. Confess that God is the reality and the meaning of your living.
  3. Confess that God was incarnated in the flesh and that He died and resurrected to accomplish redemption for us.
  4. Receive Jesus, the One who was God manifested in the flesh, as your Savior.