Sanctification's Mystery (LD 33; 1 Timothy 3:16)

We think that Godliness is easily measured.  All you really need to do is look at the Lord’s law, measure the result, and we can tell how quickly we have grown.  In fact, it becomes a lot easier to set goals when we approach godliness this way.  It is very easy just to have more grit.

However, Paul says that Godliness is a mystery.  This is not us trying to have more grit and conforming better to the Lord’s standards.  There is a whole factor to Godliness that we forget.  Our Belgic Confession says that the preaching of the gospel is a mark of the church.  It is not the preaching of the word, but the preaching of the gospel (Article 29).

Paul is challenging the notion that Godliness, conforming to the Lord,  can be achieved through mere determination to obey moral standards. We need to have a godly sorrow for sin, we have to hate sin, and this is only done in the power of the Holy Spirit. To merely say we know the Gospel and therefore we don’t need to hear the Gospel again will rob Christ of his Glory.

The mystery of the faith is the revelation of Christ’s ministry, manifesting in his incarnation, resurrection, and ascension. This mystery is not about human effort to attain God but about Christ entering history to attain and secure his people. The Christian life is about living in faith, conforming to God’s law, and doing good works for his glory.  This is impossible to truly do by mere human exertion.  We can only do this in the power of the Holy Spirit.

The apostle Paul is calling us to see that we pursue Christ in faith.  This faith is given to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are not living the Christian life to prove our worthiness.  We live the Christian life because Christ has done the work the Father has given him, and he has applied that work to us in the Spirit.  Christ has made explicit what was a mystery prior to his arrival.

Let us continue to pursue our savior.  Let us conform to our Lord because he has made us alive.