1 Timothy 3.14-16

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.  Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:

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.

 Verse 16 captures in a song or poem the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Paul is writing to Timothy and has charged him to build up the church of the “living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.”  The song that follows the charge is a summary of the true gospel.

The first three and last lines are covered in the Apostles’ Creed and the fourth and fifth lines are the continuing outworking of the Great Commission.

“The word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1.13).  Jesus, wholly God and wholly man,  was crucified, dead, and buried but then rose from the dead on the third day. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.  The kingdom continues to grow as witnesses proclaim what they have learned and the Holy Spirit moves to provide a second birth to the elect.

The song is like 1 Corinthians 15.3-8 in that it is a very early creed / psalm / song, most likely used by the church within the first few years after Jesus’ death.  The tune is lost but the words ring clearly 2000 years later.