Marjoribanks (T.), The Fulness of the Godhead, 30.
Martin (S.), Fifty Sermons, 73.
Martjn (H. J.), For Christ and the Truth, 139.
Milne (W.), Looking unto Jesus, 11.
Plummer (A.), The Pastoral Epistles (Expositor's Bible), 130.
Sanday (W.), Inspiration, 1.
Swann (N. E.), New Lights on the Old Faith, 40.
Tyndall (C. H.), Electricity and its Similitudes, 17.
Vaughan (J.), Sermons (Brighton Pulpit), xx. (1881), No. 1185.
Wilberforce (B.), The Secret of the Quiet Mind, 13.
Cambridge Review, xii. Supplement No. 303 (A. Norris).
Christian World Pulpit, xlvii. 75 (L. Abbott).
Church of England Pulpit, lix. 176 (W. E. Barnes).
Churchman's Pulpit : Christmas Day, ii. 284 (W. L. Mackenzie), 286
(H. P. Liddon) ; Ascension Day, viii. 491 (W. M. Macgregor), 509
(G. Wray). Twentieth Century Pastor, xxx. (1911) 77 (W. S. Lewis).
The Mystery of Godliness.
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness ; He who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, received up in glory.— i Tim. iii. i6.
The sudden ascension of thought expressed in the text takes us by surprise. A moment before we were occupied with the bishop and the deacon, and were entering with minute attention into their qualifications, the possible faults of their characters, and the proper state of their families ; and now we are in the midst of the mystery of godliness, and by a close and sudden condensation of its history, have seen at a glance the whole course of its revela- tion. Yet the transition of thought is natural in itself, and especially natural with him who makes it. One great part of the Divine instruction afforded us through the mind of St. Paul lies in the close connexion which he felt between the great facts of revelation and all common thoughts and duties, whereby practical life is elevated and irradiated by the constant presence of the glorious objects of faith. Here indeed the association of thought is obvious to all. I have (he seems to say) been speaking to you of your conduct in all these points of detail ; they are no trifles, they are part of your behaviour in the " house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." Not only the interests of persons, but also the interests of truth are involved in your guidance of these matters ; for the Church exists to support that truth in the world, and to hold it up before the eyes of men. It is an institution for that end, and it is needed for that end. The truth is lodged in the world, but it finds there no sure resting-place ; it will sink and settle in the yielding soil till it has partly or wholly disappeared from view, unless some substructures are laid, fitted for its permanent support ; a pillar must bear it on high, a pavement must sustain its weight. These ofi&ces the Church is ordained to fulfil. In reference to
102 THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS
God it is His house, in reference to the truth it is its pillar and its ground. Hence arises a grave responsibility for the rulers and guides of the Church, for it lies with them to see to the maintenance of this substructure in its intended state, and to keep it sound and serviceable for its appointed purpose.
1, Why does St. Paul speak of " the mystery of godliness " ? In order to express both the Divine and the human aspect of the Christian faith. On the Divine side the Gospel is a mystery, a disclosed secret. It is a body of truth originally hidden from man's knowledge, to which man by his own unaided reason and abilities would never be able to find the way. In one word it is a revelation : a communication by God to men of truth which they could not have discovered for themselves. "Mystery" is one of those words which Christianity has borrowed from pagan- ism, but has consecrated to new uses by gloriously transfiguring its meaning. The heathen mystery was something always kept hidden from the bulk of mankind; a secret to which only a privileged few were admitted. It encouraged, in the very centre of religion itself, selfishness and exclusiveness. The Christian mystery, on the other hand, once hidden, is now made known, not to a select few, but to all. The term therefore involves a splendid paradox: it is a secret revealed to every one. In St. Paul's own words to the Eomans, " the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the Eternal God, is made known unto all the nations." He rarely uses the word " mystery " without com- bining with it some other word signifying to reveal, manifest, or make known.
^ There is a modern and popular use of the word mystery, in which it means something inscrutably dark and perplexing — something hopelessly baffling to the powers of the human mind — an absolute riddle or enigma ; and this modern and popular sense of the word is often enough carried back into the Scriptures and applied to the word as found there, in such a way as to hide the meaning of it. It is a very favourite word with some theologians, who are fond of shortening up an argument, when it begins to be troublesome, by saying of one subject or another, " Oh, that is a mystery ! " — as if this word were the end of all questioning.