It is hard to completely wrap one’s mind around the transformative truth of Jesus Christ revealed in 1 Timothy 3:16. God wants us to know that it is certain, supreme, clear and relevant to our lives, so He emphasizes six pivotal elements about Jesus Christ and His plan for us, including the great incarnation, the great vindication, the great exaltation, the great proclamation and the great salvation. These do not appear to be arranged chronologically but rather thematically, which leads to His climax.
Sixth, Paul emphasizes the great GLORIFICATION: “He was taken up in glory.”
Paul begins with the truth that “God was manifested in the flesh.” Jesus came down from heaven (John 6:33, 38), having been sent by God (John 5:36), and He “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). After living in the flesh, it was time for Him to be received back again into heaven. What can we learn?
First, the glorification of Christ upon His ascension emphasizes the accomplishment of the will of God on earth. Jesus came, as He stated, “to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (John 4:34; 6:38). On the night before He died, Jesus prayed to the Father, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4). Then, in His dying breath, He confirmed, “It is finished” (John 19:30). His mission on earth was completed, and He was “received up into heaven” (Mark 16:19).
Second, the glorification of Christ upon His ascension emphasizes His authority and all things being made subject to Him. At His ascension into glory, Jesus affirmed, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). When Christ ascended, He was “seated” at the “right hand” of God, “far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named,” and “all things” were put “under His feet” (Eph. 1:20-23). Christ is reigning right now (1 Cor. 15:20-27) in His heavenly glory (Dan. 7:13-14).
Third, the glorification of Christ upon His ascension emphasizes the reverent adoration due unto Him as the majestic Lord. After humbling Himself “to the point of death” (Phil. 2:8), “God also has highly exalted Him,” so that “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:9-11). Truly, we must “Give to the Lord the glory due His name” (1 Chron. 16:28-29).
The truth of Jesus is indisputable and ought to transform our lives toward godliness! As the church, we are “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). We must know it! We must teach it! We must defend it! We must live it!