The Mystery of Godliness
Godliness is the direct and exclusive consequence of God's activity in man, not something we can achieve through our own efforts.
Major Ian Thomas explores the profound mystery of godliness, emphasizing that true godliness is not merely imitation of God but the result of God's active presence within us. He argues that understanding this mystery is crucial, as it distinguishes genuine godliness from superficial attempts to emulate divine qualities. Thomas warns against the dangers of redefining godliness based on personal choice, which leads to a lack of absolute truth. Instead, he calls for a deep relationship with God, recognizing that only He can instill true godliness in our lives. Ultimately, we are created for God, and our lives should reflect His nature through His work in us.
Text
Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16).
Godliness is a mystery! Fail to grasp this fact and you will never understand the nature of godliness.
God did not create you to have just an ape-like capacity to imitate God. There would be no mystery in that, nor would this lift you morally much above the status of a monkey or a parrot! The capacity to imitate is vested in the one who imitates, and does not derive from, nor necessarily share the motives of the person being imitated, who remains passive and impersonal to the act of imitation.
In direct contrast to this, godliness or Godlikeness is the direct and exclusive consequence of God's activity in man. Not the consequence of your capacity to imitate God, but the consequence of God's capacity to reproduce Himself in you! This is the nature of the mystery!
Remove the mystery or try to explain it away, and the result must inevitably be disastrous, for you will no longer be anchored to anything absolute; you will be at liberty to choose your own God the object of your own imitation; and your "godliness" will be the measure of your conformity to the object of your choice.
The moment you come to realize that only God can make a man godly, you are left with no option but to find God, and to know God, and to let God be God in and through you, whoever He may be and this will leave you with no margin for picking and choosing for there is only one God, and He is absolute, and He made you expressly for Himself!
From: The Mystery of Godliness. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House. ©1964.
Sermon Outline
- The Nature of Godliness
- The Consequences of Removing the Mystery
- The Necessity of Finding and Knowing God
- No option but to find God
- No margin for picking and choosing
- God is absolute and made man for Himself
Key Quotes
“God did not create you to have just an ape-like capacity to imitate God.” — Major Ian Thomas
“Godliness is the direct and exclusive consequence of God's activity in man.” — Major Ian Thomas
“The moment you come to realize that only God can make a man godly, you are left with no option but to find God, and to know God, and to let God be God in and through you, whoever He may be.” — Major Ian Thomas
Application Points
- We must recognize that godliness is a mystery that can only be understood through God's activity in us.
- We must find and know God in order to be anchored to the absolute God who made us for Himself.
- We must let God be God in and through us, rather than trying to choose our own God and conform to our own object.