Here It Is Again, That Doctrine of Godliness.

160 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 1Ti 6:3,4 “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions,” (1 Tim 6:3,4) There it is again! The reference to the “doctrine which accords with godliness.” We have seen this reference often in this letter to Timothy. It first showed up in the credal statement of 1 Tim 3:16 and bears repeating because the Holy Spirit keeps repeating it! The mistake we make when thinking about the “doctrine of godliness, “ is we associate godliness with our own lifestyle. We think in terms of what we must do to be considered “godly.” But the doctrine of godliness is not about us , it's all about Jesus! It is about what we must believe about Jesus, and that's why it's been included in the creeds of the Christian church from the very beginning! Here it is again as stated in 1 Tim 3:16, “And without controversy (no room for argument here) 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.” To paraphrase this creed: Jesus is God in the flesh, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified and died, and was buried, and then justified by the Holy Spirit by His resurrection from the dead which was witness by angels (His Apostles, and over 500 others, by the way) He then instructed His Apostles to go and preach this Good news to the Gentiles, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Many would believe their message and come to faith. He then ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty from where He will one day return and judge the living and the dead. This is the doctrine of godliness! It's what we believe about Jesus. If you want to live a godly life, then believe this about Jesus, receiving Him, as your Lord and Savior. Then you will pay close attention to the first part of this verse and seek to live according to the wholesome (health giving) words of Jesus as found in Gen 1:1 through Rev 22:21!