Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20120513.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
1 Timothy: God's Ministry Roles For Church Leaders And The Local Church
Part XIII: Understanding The Local Church's Doctrinal Content Of The Truth
(1 Timothy 3:15-16)
  1. Introduction
    1. Church leaders and subordinates alike who comprise the local church are God's vehicle of being the pillar and foundation of God's truth on earth in a world of great spiritual darkness, cf. 1 Timothy 3:15.
    2. Thus, all in the local church must know the content of truth God wants them to hold that they might be the light God wants them to be in the world, and that content is given in 1 Timothy 3:16 (as follows):
  2. Understanding The Local Church's Doctrinal Content Of The Truth, 1 Timothy 3:15-16.
    1. Paul had written in 1 Timothy 3:15 that the local church was the pillar and foundation of God's truth, its essential function being that of a conservatory of truth before a world lost in great spiritual darkness.
    2. Moving from this claim about the local church, Paul summarized the content of the truth the local church upholds, clarifying that content in 1 Timothy 3:16 in likely quoting from an Early Church hymn as follows ( Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 739):
      1. The local church is to uphold the truth that Christ is God manifested in the flesh, 1 Tim. 3:16a:
        1. Though the best manuscript reading for 1 Timothy 3:16a reads "Who was manifested" and not "God was manifested" as do some of the manuscripts (Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek N. T. , 1971, p. 641), external and internal factors relative to the text indicate the reading should most likely be "Who" and not "God."
        2. Nevertheless, John 1:1-14 clearly teaches that Christ is God come in the flesh, so the doctrine of the incarnation is meant by the 1 Timothy 3:16a phrase, and the local church is to uphold it as the truth!
      2. The local church is to uphold the truth that Christ was vindicated by the Holy Spirit as God manifest in the flesh in His earthly life, 1 Timothy 3:16b:
        1. Christ was "vindicated by the Spirit" when John the Baptizer testified that he saw the Spirit descend on Jesus at His baptism to demonstrate that He was God's Son, John 1:32-34.
        2. Jesus was vindicated by the Spirit as God's Son in performing miracles in His ministry, Matt. 12:28.
        3. Christ's resurrection by the Spirit's power vindicated Jesus' claim to be the Son of God, Romans 1:4. (Wm. Hendriksen, Exposition of the Pastoral Epistles (NTC), 1974, p. 140)
      3. The local church is to uphold the truth that Christ was exalted before the heavenly realm once He had ascended to heaven, meaning He was enthroned as Messiah in the heavens, 1 Timothy 3:16c:
        1. Daniel 7:13-14 predicted the Son of Man would ascend in the clouds of heaven from the earth to the Ancient of Days, the Father, and would be enthroned over the world.
        2. Christ's ascension and enthronement before the angels is thus a truth the local church is to uphold.
      4. The local church is to uphold the truth that Christ was preached among the nations, 1 Timothy 3:16d: the Matthew 28:18-20 Great Commission directive of Christ to the local church to preach the Gospel and disciple the nations is to be upheld by the local church, implying evangelism and full discipling (including missionary support and outreach, 3 John 5-8) are to be its focuses.
      5. The local church is to uphold the truth that Christ was believed on in the world, that He disciples all nations in the current dispensation, 1 Timothy 3:16e. In other words, the ministry of applying the local church's doctrine to belief and life among all peoples is to be a focus of the local church.
      6. The local church is to uphold the truth that Christ was taken up in glory, thus enthroned by the Father to rule all men on the earth, 1 Timothy 3:16f. This fulfills Daniel 7:13-14, and as the Daniel 7:14 kingdom is the earthly one predicted in Daniel 2:44-45, 1 Timothy 3:16f suggests Christ's literal earthly reign as in dispensationalism. The local church is to hold to dispensational truth!
Lesson: The local church is to hold forth the truth of the Incarnation, Christ's vindication by the Spirit as God Incarnate, Christ's exaltation in heaven, His program of discipling men on earth and His ascension and coming reign on the earth as clarified by the dispensational view of Scripture.

Application: May we who comprise God's pillar and foundation of the truth on earth hold these truths!