Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:
Summary: Paul is pointing us to a ‘mystery’ that only God understands the answer to. For our part, it is enough to see and believe.
It must be a challenge, even for God, to communicate with us. After all, God is an eternal being (Psalm 90:4). His ‘living memory’ spans all of time. He created everything there is (Genesis 1:1), which means that even our highest form of math and the farthest reaches of our science barely scratch the surface of God’s knowledge.
For an eternal being, the supreme eternal being who created all things, his thoughts are necessarily more complete, comprehensive, and accurate than anything even the most brilliant human being could hope to achieve during our puny lifetimes (Isaiah 55:9).
What seems obvious to God is a mystery to us. And yet, God continues to find ways of helping us understand the truth. The Bible is a collection of writings that explain the truth in hundreds, and perhaps thousands of different ways. All we have to do is accept that God is smarter than we are and believe what he tells us.
Where does ‘true godliness’ come from?
For anyone who loves God above all else, this is an important question. If we love God, we want to honor and respect him. If we love him, we want to be like him. To fail at any of these things is painful because we not only bring shame upon ourselves but also upon our Father as well.
The answer to this question is simply this: Jesus. (The rest of this verse is all about Jesus!)
If we let Jesus into our lives, the Holy Spirit fills us with hope and transformation (Romans 12:2). We begin to change. True godliness becomes part of who we are. Godliness is a seed that takes root and grows. The ‘fruit of the Spirit’ is what we see happening on the outside (Galatians 5:22-23).
Which brings us to another question: If the ‘secret’ to true godliness isn’t really a ’secret’ at all, why does the Bible seem so complicated?
The answer to that question has to do with human nature. As long as we live in the flesh, we are bound to struggle with sin (Romans 7:21-25). If we are not constantly keeping our eyes on God, we are in danger of falling away (Matthew 13:21). This is why Jesus and the Bible speak with unusual clarity.
Application: Read God’s Word, believe, and act accordingly.
Food for Thought: Why does the Bible have so many warnings about ‘falling away?’
God, in His grace, warns people about the effect sin has on their relationship with Him. He has done this all through the Old and New Testament. When we talk about why people “fall away” I believe the Bible speaks to every possible scenario: love of the world, tribulation, shallow faith, unrepentant sin, false teachings, and fear. But the Bible also speaks to perseverance. That is to say, walking with Jesus through all of that in faith. Persevering in faith; a heart resolved to obey God, a heart that desires a relationship with God. A heart resolved to live the truth of His Word. That we are not alone in our walk, and that through Jesus, through our faith in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, He will walk us to a righteous relationship with the Father. He will keep our paths straight.
1 John 2:15
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Luke 8:13
13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
1 Timothy 4:1
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
Hebrews 3:12
12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.
On a final note, we have been given the Word of God so that it transforms our life. If we “hear it” but we don’t allow it to transform us, we don’t “pay attention” to it, we will fall away from it.
Hebrews 2:1
2 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Thank you, Chris!
I’m glad you pointed us to Hebrews 2:1. That combines both a warning and a path to follow.
Why does the Bible have so many warnings about ‘falling away?’
Human beings are spiritual beings confined within physical bodies. This duality of human kind creates an environment of conflict in the life of all believers.
Galatians 5:17, For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
Romans 7:18, For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
The Holy Spirit brings the spiritual power, stability, and righteousness, into the life of each believer. Whether or not we submit to His will over our own will determine our future. Some of little faith may fall away, while those with strong faith will remain in Christ and grow spiritually.
2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Galatians 5:16, So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Thank you, Ron!
Great verses! The Holy Spirit is indeed our guide and our friend.