1 Timothy 3:16

without controversy We may render, And confessedly mighty is that holy truth revealed, the very grain and fibre of a reverent Christian life, which counts all as -holy ground," for Christ is -all in all."

God was manifest in the flesh The controversy is well known which has so long prevailed as to the original reading; whether the passage should begin -God" or -who": the Greek abbreviated form of writing -God" being very like the Greek for -who," ΘΣ and οσ. Since the minute inspection of the Alexandrine ms. by Bps Lightfoot, Ellicott, and others, there is no doubt of its original reading being -who," as is also the reading of א, and all the Versions older than the 7th century, of Origen, Epiphanius, Jerome, Theodore, and Cyril. The neuter relative is indeed found in one uncial ms. (D 1) in the It. and Vulg. and in all the Latin Fathers except Jerome, a correction apparently to make it agree with the neuter word mustêrion. The support of mss., Versions and Fathers is comparatively weak for -God": while -it is a most significant fact that in the Arian controversy, no one of the Catholic champions except Gregory of Nyssa produces this passage, though it would have been their strong weapon." All the evidence preponderates in favour of a relative masc. or neut., and it seems incredible that θσ should have been altered into οσ because of the difficulty of the reading. Moreover it is difficult to understand how it could be said that Godwas justified in spirit or seen of angels or received up in glory. We take the reading -who" unhesitatingly, and refer it to -an omitted though easily recognised antecedent, viz. Christ." The Person is implied in the Mystery. In Colossians 1:27, He is expressly called -this mystery among the Gentiles." In order to bring out the personal reference contained in the word -mystery" as followed by the masculine relative, we must render in English with R.V. the mystery of godliness; He who. The abruptness and the rhythmical parallelism of the passage have been very probably accounted for by supposing it to be part of one of the earliest of the Christian creeds or hymns; as in Ephesians 5:14, -Wherefore hesaith "Awake thou that sleepest" " where the words cannot be referred to any known passages of Holy Scripture. Westcott and Hort in their new critical edition of the Greek Testament have arranged the lines in both places according to this explanation; here in two divisions, the first two clauses in each pointing to earthly, the third to heavenlyrelation:

-He Who was manifested in the flesh,

Was justified in His spirit,

Was shewn to the angels,

Was proclaimed among the nations,

Was believed on in the world,

Was taken up in glory."

The clauses have been however divided by Fairbairn and others into pairs; the first pair describing Christ's human nature in fleshmanifested as true man, in spiritjudged or approved as sinless man -fulfilling all righteousness"; the second pair recording the revelation of Himself by sight to the angels, by preaching to the Gentiles the highest and the lowest of His subjects; the third pair closing with the acceptance of Himself by faith below, by ascension into glory above. We may shew something perhaps of the rhythmical effect thus for modern ears:

-Who in fleshwas manifested,

Pure in spiritwas attested;

By angels" vision witnessèd,

Among the nations heralded;

By faith accepted here,

Received in glory there!"

-Manifested in the flesh" is the first part of the statement of the Incarnation; -an historical appearance of One Who had previously existed but had been kept from the knowledge of the world"; the flesh, the material part of Christ's human nature being the sphere of His manifestation. -Justified in the spirit" is the second part; His spirit, the highest portion of the immaterial part of His human nature, is the sphere of His justification; the challenge which He made to the Jews, -Which of you convicteth Me of sin" was one which He could make to His own conscience. He was justifiedwhen it spake and clear when it judged (Romans 3:4; Psalms 51:4). See Dr Plummer, Pastoral Epistles, pp. 135 sqq.

On the perfection of Christ's human nature, body, soul and spirit, see Appendix, A.