Good morning to everyone. 

We're gonna be studying in 1st Timothy again this morning, chapter 3. Really an important passage of scripture. It's perhaps the center, the most important words of the entire epistle. Here we find Paul's main theme for Timothy in the church in Ephesus. In verse 15, he says, "I write you these things so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God." 

This epistle is all about how things should be organized, how they should be run, who has what roles, and what kind of doctrine and behavior is consistent with God's will in the church. The words before us are going to bring us familiar teachings, but no deeper truths are found anywhere in the scriptures. These words, these truths encompass for us the purpose and the plan for the church. 

I feel as though we should preach several messages on this text in order to do it justice, but we're going to do our best and trust the Lord to really make the importance of the meaning of these words clear to us, that they might have the impact that they should for our edification and effectiveness as a local body of believers. 

I'd like to begin this morning with a bit of an illustration to set the main idea of our passage this morning. We are living in a truly crazy, bewildering time. One of the premier examples of this right now in America is the industrial food system. The whole system seems to be falling apart, and there's a lot of concern about that. One of the main effects of this is that the farmers cannot get their products processed and delivered to consumers. 

I'll give you one small example of what is happening now on a national scale. In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, there's a Smithfield pork processing plant. When they are running at full capacity, they process 30,000 hogs a day. That's 18 million servings of pork per day. There are 500 independent farmers that supply that system, each one providing about 70, 300-pound hogs each and every day on average. When that plant shut down, those farmers had nowhere to go with these animals. 

Each farm has 70 hogs ready today, 70 hogs tomorrow, 70 hogs the next day, all the way back for six months. You may have seen pictures of hundreds of 300-pound butcher-ready pigs in piles hundreds of feet long. They are killing and composting or, in some places, chipping those carcasses because there's no one who can process them. 

Big is fragile, my friends. We've been experiencing a great demand on our farm the past couple of months, and it's been a bit overwhelming at times. We're struggling to keep up with the production side. Some of those industrial farms in the Midwest, including in northern Minnesota and downstate in Wisconsin, are trying to sell truckloads of those pigs at cheap prices so they don't have to waste them and maybe to recover a little bit of their money. So several people have called us and asked us why we don't buy some of these very cheap hogs and butcher them and resell them. 

Here's where I would like to make an illustration. Each organization must have a set of guiding principles, values by which it operates. The purpose, the mission of an organization formed by its beliefs, dictates its behavior. We could buy hogs ready to butcher right now by the truckload at about $50 a head. It costs us about $300 to raise a pig to that weight. And we have tremendous demand, so we could sell a lot of hogs, and we could make a lot of money. 

So why not? The reason is that our values, our beliefs, and our purpose lead us to raise animals in a way that patterns God's creation. Hogs are out in the pasture in the woodlots, soaking up sunshine, rooting in the dirt, eating all kinds of roots and bugs and leaves and grasses, as well as grain. They're allowed to express their pig-ness as they were designed by God to do. We don't use antibiotics and hormones to cause our pigs to grow; we use natural, locally produced feeds and we love on our hogs all the time. 

This is a quality life for a pig, and it produces a healthy, quality, tasty product for our customers, which in turn fosters their health and well-being. These are the principles, these are the truths that we believe in that form our convictions and values, and therefore they dictate what we do. Paul said, "Whether you eat or drink, do all things to the glory of God." To buy these industrial hogs and all that has been— all that they've been through would directly contradict our beliefs, our convictions, and our entire mission. 

You may not understand this, but for Bobby and me, it would be immoral to buy industrial hogs and turn around and sell them to our customers. It would undermine everything that we have established as our practices and the heart of our purpose. Now, if this is true in the temporal, the farming practices and how we raise our food, how much more should this be true in the eternal realm and the mission and the purpose of the church? 

What is it that we believe? What is it that forms our convictions and our values? What is our mission, our purpose? And by what means are we to accomplish this purpose? This is what our text is all about this morning, my brothers and sisters, how we should conduct ourselves in the house of God, the church, and what truths undergird our convictions and how those convictions guide our practice. 

It's a wonderful text; it's a vital text for our understanding, and it guides us in what we will and will not do in the living God's house. Let's dig into our text together in 1st Timothy 3 at verse 14. 

1st Timothy 3:14 says, "These things I write to you though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the ground of the truth." And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. 

I have four points for you on our outline this morning. First, we're going to look at fitting conduct. Second, the foundation of the truth. Third, the fleshly manifestation. And fourth, the foremost purpose. 

First, in our text, we see fitting conduct: "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God." This entire epistle is about how we should conduct ourselves in God's house. The church in Ephesus had some serious problems; we've seen that already. 

This is really amazing when you think about the history there because Paul had come there, preaching the gospel, as we see in the book of Acts. He established a church there. We see that when he left, he left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus when he was headed to Jerusalem to keep his vow. Apollos was also there speaking mightily, preaching the gospel. And then in Acts 19, we see Paul in Ephesus again.

In Acts 20, we learned some important details about the founding of that church and all that they had received in way of teaching. Acts 20:17 says, "From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church." And when they had come to him, he said to them, "You know from the first day that I came to Asia and what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 

And see now, I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 

Indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which he purchased with his own blood. 

For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch and remember that for three years, I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 

We see that Paul spent three years night and day teaching in Ephesus. Ponder that for a moment. How would you like to have the Apostle Paul found your church, preach the gospel, set it up, and then spend three years preaching and teaching night and day to build and equip the saints? What a blessing! An amazing time in Ephesus. 

And yet, as Paul leaves them, he warns them, stating clearly that they would be in danger of savage wolves coming in from the outside and rising up from the inside. Paul said, "For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God." He gave them all the truth of the Word of God, and yet he knows that if this consistent teaching of the truth is not continued, they will fall away.

They will be led astray, drawn away from their purpose and their mission by false teachers and savage wolves. These are the stark warnings that Paul gave this beloved church with tears. 

And here's the point we need to take from this warning: We need the truth. We need consistent preaching of the Word of God, the simplicity that is in Christ, the gospel message over and over, in order to build us up, to protect us from error, and cause us to grow and to be fruitful. 

And we have the evidence of what happens when this clear, consistent focus of teaching is compromised. We have this in the words of this very epistle of 1st Timothy. It's not been long since Paul left. He left Timothy in Ephesus because shortly after his departure, the doctrine, the principles, the convictions, the teaching started to slip. 

Slip into legalism, as we saw in chapter 1, other doctrines than the truth of the gospel of grace by faith. The leadership was failing, becoming drawn away. There was rebellion in the church, some trying to usurp the proper authority. They had lost their focus and they had even begun to teach false things about who Jesus is and what he has accomplished at the cross. 

For three years, the great Apostle Paul taught and equipped them. He leaves, and in a short time later, they're in a mess, and their conduct was showing their lack of focus, convictions, and teaching. And so Paul had to get a man back in there, a man who could write the ship, bring the focus and teaching back to Christ, and this letter is meant to bolster young Timothy, give him a boost and support among the church to set the course right and tell them how they ought to conduct themselves in the house of God. 

In verse 15, Paul says "You"—I write these things so that you might know how to conduct yourself. The "you" here is singular; he is speaking to Timothy, encouraging him to make sure his focus is right. You, Timothy, must know and be convinced of these things. 

Now later in the epistle, in chapter 4, verse 11, we'll see these words, "These things command and teach." The man of God, the leaders, the pastors must first know and believe the truths about Jesus, about who he is and what he has done. They must hold tenaciously to these truths, and these things must form their convictions as to the purpose and mission of the church. 

They first must know, then they must command and teach these things. This is a job of the pastor-teacher: to take heed to himself and to the doctrine, and then to command and teach these things. What a message about how we should conduct ourselves in the house of God! The great doctrines we are about to study in these words before us are to form our beliefs, our convictions, which are to undergird our understanding of the purpose and the mission of the local church, as well as our message, so that we might be focused on how we should conduct ourselves in order to accomplish that mission. 

So first, we see fitting conduct. The second, we see foundation of the truth. "I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." This is so vitally important for us to understand, my friends. 

The church, the body of believers, the local fellowship here in Winchester, Wisconsin, is the ground, the foundation, and the pillar of the truth. This is most likely a picture that Paul wants to draw in the minds of the believers in Ephesus who saw every day that great temple to Diana with its massive foundation and 127 pillars of solid marble holding up that great edifice. 

That foundation and those pillars held up the doctrines and worship of that pagan, defiled system. And Paul says here the church is the ground and the pillar of the truth. The church is to hold up the truth in this world. My brothers and sisters, if the local church does not hold up, support, put forth the truth of the person and work of Jesus Christ, the gift of salvation, the grace of God by faith, then who will? 

The church, through the word of God, holds the truth. And it is our central purpose to make that truth known in the world. We speak the truth into every situation. We must know it, we must study it, we must agonize over it, believe it, preach it in the church, preach it to ourselves, meditate on it, and make it known to the world. 

Only the church has the truth, and it's only found in the word of God. If we do not make our central focus holding up that truth, then all is lost. As I was studying this passage this week, I was thinking about how we sometimes get confused over how we should approach issues, circumstances, what to do about this or that. But it's really quite simple. 

When we remember our purpose, our mission, and the means by which we are to accomplish it—preach the word. Speak the truth and love into every situation. Be so immersed in the word of God. Be so focused on his truth that it oozes out of you in every situation that we see each and every circumstance in our lives, in this world, the way God sees it, and we speak his truth into it. 

Many of us have been completely and totally immersed in this COVID situation for weeks now, reading the news about it every day, watching the briefing, seeing it in social media, concerned, worried, agonizing over it. We are immersed in it, and therefore what do we talk about? COVID, the implications, what the government is doing about it, fears concerning it. 

What if we were so immersed in God's truth, constantly reading, studying it, meditating on it, and talking about it? What would be the state of our minds then? What would the words of our mouth speak? How would our heart, our motive, be made manifest to the world? The church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. 

We have the truth. God has revealed it to us through this book and given us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and empower us to speak it. Only the church can bring the saving message to a lost world. What else matters in this world? 

And let me ask you this: What happens if the church leaves the truth, the preaching and teaching of the doctrines of Christ, who he is and what he has done, verse by exposition of the Word of God, the truths that God has given to us to know, believe, and preach? What happens then? 

Well, we see what has happened to the evangelical church in these last days. A lack of focus, a lack of emphasis on truth teaching—preaching the Word of God, verse by verse, book by book—and exhorting men to believe and apply these things to give themselves entirely to them. 

And this lack of focus, this failure to hold fast to the truths of who Jesus is and what he has done, a steady preaching of no other doctrine, as Paul writes in chapter 1, causes a drifting away in values and convictions and eventually in practice. The church is worldly; the church is in all kinds of things other than what it is supposed to be doing. The church, by and large, has left the simplicity that is in Christ, has turned to worldly philosophy and wisdom of men in marketing, in style, in counseling, and as a result has lost its way. And the people are starving. The people lack growth and discernment and are being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, just as was beginning to happen in Ephesus. 

And this is why Paul wrote to Timothy: "I have left you there to command them to teach no other doctrine." Listen to Paul's words to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6: "If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." 

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance. "For to this end, we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe. These things command and teach. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word and conduct, in love and spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you which was given to you by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things. Give yourself entirely to them that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you." 

And the familiar words from the second epistle, in chapter 3: "But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured. And out of them all, the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 

All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead that is appearing in his kingdom: preach the word. Be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry." 

The message is clear. The pastor-teacher must know and believe and have a laser focus on preaching and teaching Jesus Christ. The simplicity that is in Christ; no other doctrine but the grace of God found in Christ through faith. Because this truth must overwhelm us, encompass us— the church is the pillar and the ground of the truth. It is our job to hold that truth up, to preach that truth, to bring the good news message to the world. 

And we need the truth every day from God's word to hear it, study it, hide it in our hearts so that we might be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in us to any man who asks. 

So we see fitting conduct, we see foundation of the truth, and next we see fleshly manifestation. Paul writes, "And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness." God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up in glory. 

Each of these truths relate to the saving work of Jesus Christ. The mystery of godliness is God's means to bring righteousness to men in justification and in sanctification. These truths are the gospel, are the way to life, and the way of life. First, we see that God was manifested in the flesh. This is the great doctrinal truth that God became a man. John 1 says, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him, nothing was made that was made." 

And in verse 14, it says, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Colossians 1 and Hebrews 1 also affirm that Jesus is God in the flesh. 

Perhaps the clearest passage concerning the necessity of God the Son becoming a man, coming in flesh in order to accomplish our salvation, is in Hebrews chapter 2. Turn over to Hebrews chapter 2 with me, at verse 8. 

Hebrews 2:8 says, "You have put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him." This is speaking of man, of Adam. Things are not as God intended. Things are not right in this world. Everything is upside down. 

Verse 9 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings." 

"For both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 'I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will sing praise to you.' And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, 'Here am I and the children whom God has given me.' And as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." 

For indeed, he does not give aid to the angels, but he does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things, he had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to aid those who are tempted. 

Jesus took on flesh, became a man, and dwelt among us, and died a death he did not deserve for the express purpose of making propitiation for the sins of the people, to accomplish our salvation. Paul writes, "Without controversy," or we could translate it, "Everyone in the church, every believer agrees," the word is homo legeo, "same speak." There is no disagreement to the great truth that God was manifested in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ.

Well, next we see that Jesus was justified in the spirit. The word justified has the idea of declaring to be righteous. Flesh and spirit are set in opposition here. Jesus, in his spirit or deity, was perfectly righteous before time began. He is justified, or proved to be righteous, proved to be deity in his time on this earth as a man, in his works, in his wisdom, in his love manifest on the mount of transfiguration. All of his life and works proved justified who he is—God of gods, very God in the flesh.

The incarnation of the Son of God was a spectacle to the angelic realm, Paul says. At his birth, the angels sang, guided the shepherds. We see angels throughout his life—watchers. They ministered to him in his temptation, in his agony in the garden, in his death, burial, and resurrection, at his ascension. Angels were watching this manifestation of God in the flesh. They desired to look into this salvation accomplished by God through Christ, Peter said. 

Jesus, God, took on flesh, became a man that he might taste death for every man, that he might make propitiation for the sins of the people—a full, satisfactory payment. One doctrine we must have straight, without controversy, is that Jesus, man in the flesh, is fully God and by himself has accomplished our salvation. 

Next, Paul says he was preached among the Gentiles. This is God's means of bringing this salvation Jesus accomplished to the world, to the nations—the preaching of the gospel. Knowing all of this truth, believing the gospel and affirming the saving work of Christ does no real good in the world if we do not preach it to others. This is what Paul and all the apostles and evangelists did—they preached Christ. They preached these truths about who he is and what he has done. 

And this is why there was so much fruit in their lives—so many converts and churches formed because they went about preaching Jesus Christ. From Pentecost on, the followers of Christ have preached Christ and his glorious saving gospel. And he was believed on in the world. It reminds me of Paul when he'd go into a town and go to the Jews and go to the synagogue and reason with them, and they would reject their Messiah, and he would say, "I will turn to the Gentiles," for they will receive it. He was believed on in the world. And next, we see that Jesus was received up into glory. 

The Shekinah glory cloud came down at the ascension and received Jesus up into the heavens to be seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. Jesus took on flesh, became a man, lived a sinless life, and died the cruel death of the cross in our place, making full payment for our sins. He was buried, and he rose again the third day, declared to be the Son of God with power, claiming victory over sin, Satan, death, and hell. He is our living Savior. He is our sufficiency, our promise, our hope, and our peace. 

Paul is telling Timothy that these core truths are what really matters. These facts about who Jesus is and what he has done, the person and work of Jesus Christ, are what we need to keep continually teaching, hearing preached, studying, meditating on, and preaching to the world. This is how the church will grow, will keep its focus, and will be fruitful. 

This is our foremost purpose—to hold up the truth, the word of God concerning who Jesus is and what he has done. This is what we are to be doing. Think about it this way as we close: What is God's will for us, for his church? We know that he has saved us to be witnesses, ambassadors for him, to preach the gospel to every creature. This is our mission, our co-mission. 

And we know that the local church is the place of teaching, equipping, preparing, and encouraging to do this very thing. So how do we keep focused on preaching the gospel? We need to keep affirming the gospel, preaching the gospel to ourselves. We need to hear it explained, expanded by the word of God, such as Paul does through the book of Romans. We never get past the gospel, my friends. 

And we know that God saved us to live a new kind of life, a holy life that is a witness to men, that brings glory to him. How do we do this? How do we experience sanctification? Jesus said, "Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is true." Amazing, clear, simple. 

And we know that God's will for us is to bear fruit for his glory. How can we bear fruit consistently? Jesus says in John 15 that our life is like that of a branch abiding in the vine, that we just need to remain, to abide in him, for without him we can do nothing. It's an abiding, trusting in, looking to Jesus life that will produce fruit. 

Paul's words here clearly point us to Jesus—who he is and what he has done. It is the person and work of Jesus Christ that we need to be looking to, studying, memorizing, and proclaiming. This is our message. This is our mission. And this is our means of growth and fruitfulness in the church. 

I pray the Lord that we at Living Hope Church will never forget this monumental truth and that we will always abide in, focus on Jesus, and preach Christ crucified so that we might grow and men might believe and be saved. 

Because without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up in glory. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we're so thankful for your word, your truth, the truth of the gospel of who Jesus is, what he has done. We thank you for the salvation that you've given to us freely as a gift by faith in him. And Father, I just pray that you would help us to understand our need, our dependence on Jesus, our need to be renewing our first love, to be preaching the gospel to ourselves, to remembering our purpose, and know that it's by your word that we can grow, that we can become more like Christ, that we can be fruitful, and help our church to be focused on these things and then going out and proclaiming these truths about Jesus. 

Father, we thank you that you're faithful. Thank you for your grace, for the Holy Spirit living in us. Thank you for the gifts that you've given to us to minister to one another. Help us just to know that we can trust you to work out all the details in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen.