1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
This remarkable little confession of faith shows how the risen Lord Jesus bridges heaven and earth. By his incarnation on earth he has been revealed in the flesh, proclaimed among the nations, and believed in throughout the world. By his bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven he has also been vindicated
by God’s Spirit, seen by the angels, and taken up in glory before the Father. The mystery that the church confesses therefore reaches up bodily from earth to heaven out to the angels, down to the nations, out to believers all over the world, and back to heaven. Christ has come from the Father to bring people from all over the world back with him into the glory of the Father. Significantly, this poem emphasizes the proclamation of Christ’s presence “among the nations” and their faith in Him. People on earth have access to that cosmic mystery by the preaching of Christ and faith in him, faith that is produced by God through his word. Thus the mystery of Christ is cosmic in its extent, for it unites the physical human body
with God’s Spirit, the angels, with people from all nations, and believers on earth with God in heaven. (John Kleinig)
Because salvation is a mystery it must be proclaimed and preached and taught. One of the things that we should not do is try to explain the mystery away. There is a mysterious thing that happens when we receive Christ in the sacrament. There is a mysterious thing that happens when we suffer and identify with Christ. And there is a mysterious thing that happens when we watch as our loved ones die. Mission therefore have an imperative to proclaim the mystery. We dare not rationalize it or try and explain it away but proclaim it.
Every time the Pastor preaches he should be saying with the Apostle Paul, “Behold I tell you a mystery”.
