The Church, the Pillar of Truth; the Great Mystery of Godliness (1 Timothy 3:14–16)

Here St. Paul first gives instructions: A) concerning proper pastorship in general—teaching, edification, and guidance, primarily from the perspective of how the shepherd should prepare himself for this and, as it were, form himself (1 Tim. 3:14–16, 4:1–16); and then he indicates: B) how to teach and guide those shepherded, according to their various conditions (1 Tim. 5, 6:1–19).

a) In general—concerning proper pastorship

We shall not indicate the particular subdivisions of this section beforehand, but shall mark them as we follow the course of the Apostle’s word.

A) The sole guide for the teacher of truth—the holy Church (1 Tim. 3:14–16)

In the first place the holy Apostle indicates that the sole guide for the teacher of truth in the truth is the holy Church, and that the first truth of his teaching is: “God was manifested in the flesh.” — But before this he sends forth a certain consolation to his beloved disciple, so recently orphaned by his departure.

1 Tim. 3:14. These things I write to you, hoping to come to you soon.

“These things I write”—not only what precedes, but also what follows, this epistle I write, “hoping to come to you soon.” These last words did not suggest to St. Timothy the thought that St. Paul was writing only certain things suitable for the time until he came, and that when he came he would communicate something more important and complete. For the Epistle contains important and detailed instructions. On the contrary, these words were meant to serve as consolation in the sorrow that this very fullness and detail of the instructions might have cast upon him. Seeing this, St. Timothy might have thought: surely my dear father and beloved teacher will not return—and having thought this, might have begun to grieve. To forestall such a thought and such sorrow, the Apostle assures him: “these things I write”—not as a farewell testament, but I hope to return to you soon myself. St. Chrysostom says: “So as not to plunge the disciple into sorrow by giving him instruction on such subjects, the Apostle says: I write this not because I shall no longer come to you; on the contrary, I will come. However, if it should happen that I am delayed, do not grieve over this. Thus he writes this to Timothy with the aim of relieving his sorrow; as for the rest (the Ephesians who were to read the Epistle, this served) to rouse them from inactivity and make them more zealous. For his presence, even if only promised, could do much.”

1 Tim. 3:15. But if I delay, I write so that you may know how one ought to conduct oneself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and buttress of the truth.

What I am giving as detailed instruction is for the case that I am delayed. You need to know how you should live and act among the faithful, as chief shepherd. About this I am writing to you in detail. Though you know almost everything, having seen how we together ordered the Churches of God; yet you too need a reminder, so that, refreshing in thought how everything in the Church is done decently, you may act more confidently in accordance with that, not falling into confusion at the entanglement of circumstances and not being turned thereby from the proper path. But more than you, others need this—so that they may see that you have received the commandment to act precisely thus and not otherwise, and are not acting according to your own arbitrary will.

“In the words: ‘I hope to come… but if I am delayed’—the Apostle reveals ignorance; because this is how one speaks who does not know” (St. Chrysostom). St. Paul, like all the Apostles, acted zealously and tirelessly in carrying out the work laid upon him: he made plans, deliberated on means. But at the same time the course of affairs and success in them he committed to the will of God, appending to every intended step: if it be God’s will, I shall prosper. He committed everything to the guidance of God, which might give his movement quite a different direction than he thought to have—as he had already experienced more than once. “Therefore, since he was guided in all things by the Spirit and by his own will did none of the things he did, he also spoke in such an undecided way” (St. Chrysostom). Blessed Theodoret writes: “Neither the divine Prophets nor the God-wise Apostles foreknew everything. What served for benefit—that the grace of the Spirit revealed to them. This is also indicated by the ignorance expressed in the present words of the Apostle. For, having said: ‘I hope to come,’ he added: ‘but if I am delayed.’ For some necessity (or communication from above) would often detain him. Therefore he says: I write this, teaching how those to whom the care of others has been entrusted ought to conduct themselves; for the assembly of the faithful is what he called ‘the house of God and Church.’”

“How one ought to conduct oneself,” αναστρεφεσθαι,—to behave, to hold oneself and to relate to others and act upon them, “in the house of God”—in the Church or community of the faithful. The shepherd shepherds. A shepherd who does not shepherd—what kind of shepherd is he? His work is to be among those he shepherds and to act: to teach, edify, correct, console, sober, protect—“to order the Church” (Ambrosiaster), or the flock of the faithful. To this the Apostle’s instructions are now directed. What was said before this is as it were a preface to the instructions that follow.

“The house of God, the Church of the living God,” is the community of the faithful. God is everywhere, but in the Church He is present in a special manner—He is within each of the faithful, and thereby also in the entire company of them—not outwardly but inwardly, quickening, animating, and uniting them all, both with one another and all with Himself. God the Father promised: “I will dwell in them and walk among them” (2 Cor. 6:16). God the Son assured: “behold, I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). Concerning the Holy Spirit witness has been given: “you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). The Triune God—living and creative—dwells in the company of the faithful, in the body of the Church. The Saviour revealed this mystery, saying: “I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (Jn. 14:20)—let us add from other places: by the grace and action of the Holy Spirit. “Do not say that people assembled the Church. It is the work of God—the living and awesome God, not the dead and powerless (gods), such as are the gods of the Greeks” (blessed Theophylact). “It is ordered by God, consecrated to God, and has God dwelling in it” (Oecumenius).

But the Church too has God dwelling in her in a special manner—not as a material house has its owner. The house is not in union with the one dwelling in it and does not feel how he lives. But the Church, quickened by the God who dwells in her, is joined to Him in a living union and feels Him dwelling in her, feels also that she lives by Him—and that therefore she is all the more His house. God makes for Himself a house from souls, turning them toward Himself, purifying, sanctifying, and filling them to the full, and, filling all with Himself, joins all into one—both the living and the departed—and holds all in a living unity with one another.

This Church is the pillar and buttress of the truth. For she is the Church of the living God, Who is the God of truth—or truth itself. Therefore all in her is true: true is the confession of faith, true is the sanctification through the mysteries, true is the bestowal of grace, true is the life according to God, built by God in her, true is God’s help, true are the promises that quicken those who labor in the house of God—all is true in her; and nowhere else seek the truth. There are certain likenesses of truth outside her; but the true truth is only in her. Rejoice and bless God, Who is truthful in the Church and has made you a sharer in His truth and a fellow-initiate into it!

The words “pillar and buttress” express the firmness, immutability, and unchangeableness of the truth. But the Church is an assembly of human beings, who are customarily changeable: how then is she the pillar and fortress of truth? The Church is such as the house of the living God, the sole truth-giver, and as a union of deified human beings. The true children of the Church are human beings, but not as human beings. All human beings are not true human beings—as a result of the fall; but those who enter the Church are made true human beings by the grace of God. Truth is established in their entire being. Therefore from them only truth must proceed. All this is accomplished by the living and true God who dwells in them. The Church is the pillar of truth, as standing firm and unshaken in the truth and preserving it—she is the buttress (of truth), as the steadier of minds when they have been disturbed by an intrusive falsehood. Therefore it is obligatory to count as true what the whole Church holds, and to resolve arising perplexities by the voice of the Church, expressed in the council of the shepherds.

Our commentators, among other things, carry through here the thought that the holy Christian Church is the truth in relation to the Old Testament Church, in which everything was its shadow. — Blessed Theophylact writes: “The Church is the containing of truth. For all that is accomplished in her is true and not shadowy (allegorical, prefigurative), not figurative, as was that which was in the Church under the Law: instead of bells—the brilliantly resplendent preaching; instead of the costly adornments of the (sacred) vestments—a most glorious life, rich in inward fruits; the high priest in her—the Son of God; the great sacrifice—His divine body” (condensed from St. Chrysostom and Oecumenius).

1 Tim. 3:16. And confessedly great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the Spirit, appeared to angels, was proclaimed among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

Behold what truth the Church is the pillar and buttress of: “God was manifested in the flesh!” This truth the holy Church proclaims and confirms by her very existence. For she is a building whose foundation is Christ the Lord (1 Cor. 3:11); she is a body whose Head is He also—God the Word, who became flesh. Just as one who sees a living body has in this very fact an assurance concerning the head, and one who sees a solid building has an assurance concerning the foundation: so one who sees the Church is assured that beyond all doubt “God was manifested in the flesh.”

In mentioning this, the Apostle had in mind to bring to attention that this truth is not such as hides in some obscure corner, but is a truth that is everywhere, proclaimed and acknowledged everywhere—in heaven among the Angels, on earth among all peoples—throughout all creation it is preached, believed, glorified. This needed to be set forth so as to imprint in the mind of St. Timothy the non-negotiable requirement: this is the truth—hold to it! By it measure every teaching and reject all that is inconsistent with it.

But before this he considered it necessary to point out that what is everywhere proclaimed is not something trivial, presenting no difficulty for its acceptance, but on the contrary is a mystery—and a great mystery: by which he also aroused strong attention to it, taught one to treasure it, and gave one to understand that nothing greater could anyone else open up or show.

“And confessedly great is the mystery of godliness.” — By “godliness” the Apostle named our Christian faith (Oecumenius); and by the “mystery of godliness”—the fact that the essence of our faith is hidden, both because of its incomprehensibility and because of the hiddenness of its operation in us. It was conceived in the mystery of the Triune God before the ages, and was brought to fulfillment in a manner most incomprehensible to all created minds, and is appropriated—or makes the faithful partakers of itself—also in a hidden manner: for as “the wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from or where it goes: so is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (Jn. 3:8). Hidden also is that in which such a beginning of new birth finds its completion—namely, living communion with God through the Lord Saviour by the grace of the Holy Spirit, a communion in which “God is the one who works all in all” (1 Cor. 12:6), yet without violating freedom and without taking away the value and dignity of its acts.

“Great” is this “mystery” of our “godliness”—both by reason of the Person who arranged it, and by reason of the powers and means employed for its appropriation, and above all by reason of the end with which its action will be consummated—that is, the renewal of heaven and earth and the dawning of the blessed Kingdom of God—and great “confessedly;” for as soon as anyone comes to know of it and surveys with the eye of the mind all that it proclaims and promises, he cannot restrain himself from crying out: great is the mystery! Its greatness is uncontradictedly and irresistibly confessed by all. Even the very unbelievers, though they do not acknowledge the truth of our faith, cannot but acknowledge that its content is supercelestial, lofty—higher and more majestic than anything the greatest, angelic minds could devise.

Or—great is the mystery as a mystery, in that it is deeply mysterious and incomprehensible—and this is “confessedly” so: that is, it is uncontradictedly acknowledged by all to be incomprehensible, inconceivable, unsearchable, “not subject to scrutiny”—as St. Chrysostom says. Gazing upon it as it has been revealed, marvel—as did all the saints who rose to such contemplation—confessing at the same time both its greatness and its impenetrable mysteriousness. But do not attempt to penetrate to its depths and do not strain your small mind, lest you lose even it.

“God was manifested in the flesh… was taken up in glory.” The Apostle describes—or depicts—this mystery not from the side of its essence, but from the side of its manifestation; he presents the entire course of that manifestation. God moved from heaven and, descending to earth, took upon Himself human fleshly nature, performed great signs and miracles, even in death itself, that compelled belief that He is truly God; He ascended into heaven, met, accompanied, confessed, and glorified by Angels; from thence He sent down the Divine Spirit, by Whom the Apostles—enlightened, strengthened, and inspired—traversed the whole earth and proclaimed to all peoples this wondrous event—the manifestation of God in the flesh—and everywhere planted faith in the world; and this planting gave birth to the Church, “which is the pillar and ground of this truth.” In these few words the Apostle compressed the entire confession of our faith.

“God was manifested in the flesh”—not such a manifestation as He showed to the forefathers, but one in which “the Word,” who is God, “became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14)—He lived with human beings as a human being, having taken our fleshly nature into His hypostasis, in order to accomplish the incarnate economy of our salvation and thereafter to remain forever as God not unclothed and as man not merely a man, so as always to intercede for us. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The one who is God and the Son of God, having an invisible nature, when He became man, became visible to all. The Apostle clearly taught us of the two natures, saying that the divine nature appeared in the flesh.” “This is truly a ‘great mystery,’” says holy Chrysostom, “for man became God, God became man.” All saw a man, yet could not but confess that He is God. So irresistibly did He impress upon everyone’s consciousness that “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

“Therefore immediately after this the Apostle says: ‘was justified in the Spirit.’ It was acknowledged that He truly—or rightly—is what He called Himself, namely the Son of God and God. He openly told all that He is the Son of God, equal to God the Father. In this His word He ‘was justified.’ How? ‘In the Spirit’—through manifestations of divine omnipotence, omniscience, and holiness—by authority over visible nature and over invisible spirits. The word ‘was justified’ cannot in any way be applied to the incarnate God in the same sense as it is applied to human beings being justified. “With what righteousness is Righteousness itself “justified”—the “Sun of righteousness,” as Malachi calls Him (Mal 4:2)—which signifies the most manifest and purest righteousness? As such, He does not receive justification but gives it. Therefore the Prophet also said of Him: ‘Who “did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth’” (Is 53:9)” (Oecumenius). — ‘Was justified in the Spirit’ means that He performed miracles by the Spirit of God, as He Himself says: ‘But if I… by the Spirit… cast out demons’ (Matt. 12:28). By miracles it was proved and made manifest that Christ is the true God and Son of God. Thus also the centurion at the cross, seeing that the earth shook and the universe was filled with darkness, cried out: ‘Truly this Man was the Son of God’ (Mk 15:39)” (blessed Theodoret). Therefore holy John testifies: “and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father” (Jn. 1:14). How this came about in all people, holy Paul speaks of in another place—affirming that He who was of the seed of David according to the flesh was declared—acknowledged by all—to be the Son of God “in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:4).

“Was seen by Angels.” — “Was seen,” ωφθη,—He was beheld. For Angels too do not see the divine nature as it is, but only in its manifestations. The Saviour’s words, “Angels… always see the face of My heavenly Father” (Matt. 18:10), point to an intellectual vision of God, or to seeing Him in what He is pleased to manifest to them of His invisible presence. But in the Lord Saviour they beheld Him more tangibly. In the eyes the soul is seen. In the eyes of the God-man God can be beheld to such a degree as the eyes looking upon Him are capable of receiving the rays of the radiance of the Godhead. Holy Chrysostom says: “Consequently, Angels together with us saw the Son of God, having not seen Him before. Truly a great mystery!” — Blessed Theodoret writes the same: “The invisible divine nature was not seen even by Angels, but they saw what was incarnate.” For from the very birth of God in the flesh until the Ascension they were present with Him; at the Ascension they accompanied Him; and after the Ascension they surround His throne. Blessed Theophylact writes: “O mystery! Together with us even Angels saw the Son of God, not having seen Him before. For the Gospel says, ‘Behold, Angels came and ministered to Him’ (Matt. 4:11). And not here only, but from His very birth until the Ascension they ministered to Him. At His birth Angels sing a hymn to Him and bring the good news to the shepherds; and at the Ascension they likewise minister to Him.”

Or perhaps holy Paul here means some special manifestation of the Lord Saviour to the angelic world after the Ascension—a manifestation in which they beheld the God-manhood in all its supra-heavenly glory. That something of this sort very likely occurred in heaven is indicated by the words of the Apostle Paul: “And again, when He brings the Firstborn into the world, He says: ‘And let all the Angels of God worship Him’” (Hebr. 1:6)—which was appropriate to occur only after the state of humiliation had passed and He had entered into the glory that was had “before the world was” (Jn. 17:5)—and by the words of the Apostle Peter: “who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, with Angels and authorities and powers made subject to Him” (1Pet. 3:22). — Such a thought is found in Ambrosiaster: “was seen by Angels”—no longer in a humbled form, but in the majesty of power and authority. For He had been seen until then in a humble appearance on account of the flesh, until, having conquered death, He rose from the dead—and the majesty of the One who, having been born as a man, was not wholly a man, was beheld. And the Angels, having come to know the mystery formerly hidden and now manifested in the flesh, bowed the knee before Him as before God, offering thanksgiving.

“Was preached among the Gentiles”—by the Apostles, who were given the command to “teach all nations” (Matt. 28:19) and who, “going out, preached” everywhere, “the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the signs that followed” (Mk. 16:20). By the time this Epistle was written, scarcely a people remained that had not heard the good news of the Gospel. The nations—somehow cast aside and brought to despair, a non-people—were called into the people and, alongside that people, enriched with all the treasures hidden in the incarnate economy, which through this is revealed as the blessing of all humanity.

“Was believed on in the world.” “Throughout the whole universe they heard of Him and believed in Him. The Prophet points to this when he says: ‘Their sound went out into all the earth’ (Ps. 18:5)” (holy Chrysostom). “He was not only ‘preached’ but believed in; and from those who believed He receives divine worship” (blessed Theodoret). “Which is a great sign of the power of the One proclaimed and of the truth of the proclamation” (blessed Theophylact).

“Was taken up in glory.” “Although this happened before the preaching; yet the Apostle placed it at the end, teaching that faith in the proclamation was well-founded, because the One who commanded to preach is in heaven and is seated at the right hand” (blessed Theodoret). But in what glory was He taken up? Although “the very act of ascending is most glorious” (Oecumenius), one must suppose that the Lord’s Ascension was accompanied by some special glory not seen by human beings but beheld by Angels and sung in their doxology. At the moment of the Ascension, Angels are seen to be present; they announced to the Apostles only the future coming of the Lord in glory, while they themselves, of course, were both beholding it and singing it at that very moment. They were drawn away for an instant from the celebration that was taking place in the angelic world at that moment. That it did take place is suggested by all the passages speaking of the Lord’s glorification after the resurrection and ascension. The angelic world was now receiving a new order and was celebrating His entry into it. The Spirit of God revealed this to the Apostles—and they declared it to us.

Such is the great mystery of our godliness and at the same time the power of the incarnate economy, proclaimed, confessed, and wondrously at work throughout the breadth of the universe. It is the foundation of the Church, which by virtue of this mystery entrusted to it is the pillar and ground of truth. It is the foundation of the salvation of every believer. Salvation begins with its reception, matures under its influence, and is completed by the saved person’s entry into its very heart. A believer ought to call it to mind more often than he draws breath. This will bathe both his life and all that exists in supra-heavenly light; from this comes inspiration, from this comes moral strength, from this comes hope that gives wings. But, as holy Chrysostom notes, believers—not to their credit—are not altogether faithful in this regard. “Note,” he says, “that holy Paul everywhere calls God’s providential care for us (in the incarnate economy) a mystery—and rightly so. For it was not known; it was not even revealed to Angels; it was declared only through the Church. — Let us then live in a manner worthy of the dignity of this mystery. Those to whom mysteries are entrusted are in a certain sense great people. If a king were to entrust us with some secret, tell me—would we not regard this as a mark of his great favour toward us? Yet now God entrusts us with His mystery—and we, as if no great benefaction had been done for us, remain ungrateful to our Benefactor. Let us tremble at our remaining insensible to this benefaction!”

The Apostle reminded holy Timothy of this mystery, pointing him to it as an inexhaustible subject for conversations with the faithful and at the same time a powerful instrument for their moral guidance. But from the flow of the discourse it is also evident that he needed to mention it in order to give his representative a norm of truth—as a measure for evaluating teachings that would come in—saying as it were: everything incompatible with it, in whatever respect, reject without mercy as falsehood or an admixture of falsehood. That such was holy Paul’s intention can be surmised from the fact that immediately after this he foretells the false teaching that was to appear.

B) On the false teaching (1 Tim. 4:1–6)

In foretelling this, the Apostle: aa) characterizes the false teachers (1 Tim. 4:1, 2); bb) indicates certain subjects of the false teaching (verse 3); and: cc) having exposed its groundlessness (verses 3–5), dd) lays upon holy Timothy the duty of arming the faithful against such future false teaching through the explanation of these matters (verse 6).

Aa) Characterization of the false teachers (1 Tim. 4:1, 2)