“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”
There are many controversial issues among believers and unbelievers, one of which is the question: Can God die?
There are many mysteries in the Word of God: the mystery of the Kingdom of God, the mystery of iniquity, and the mystery of godliness. The mystery of godliness neutralizes every mystery that contradicts the Word of God and confirms everything that aligns with it.
Some religions build their doctrines on the belief that the death of the Son of God made Him lesser than God. They reject the divinity of Jesus Christ because of His death. However, those who believe in His death and resurrection receive the power of God unto salvation.
Godliness is a mystery because many people wonder how the Creator of death and Hades could experience death Himself. Because of this, they reject the divinity and deity of Christ, reducing Him to the status of a servant or merely one of the prophets.
It is to those who believe that the power to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God is given. This is the mystery that establishes God’s Kingdom on earth, and whoever does not have faith in it does not belong to that Kingdom.
It is within the Kingdom of God that the mystery of godliness is revealed to those who believe in Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” If you know Him, you know the Father. He also said that whoever does the will of God shall know whether His doctrine is from God.
I was once discussing with a Christian who said that Jesus Christ is only the Son of God but not God Himself. I told her that she would not understand unless she belonged to the Kingdom. Satan has blinded the eyes of unbelievers from knowing this truth. Until that veil is removed and Satan’s chains are broken, people will remain in darkness and will not see a way forward spiritually.
Jesus said, “Unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” The person who remains outside the light stays in darkness and cannot understand what is happening in the light. Only when he steps into the light will he clearly see what has been hidden from his eyes.
Those who have not yet come to the knowledge of God continue to argue about the mystery of godliness because they remain in darkness, and the light of God has not yet penetrated and quickened their spiritual understanding.
God came in the flesh and lived among men, was justified in the Spirit, seen and confirmed by angels at His birth, preached in the world, and received up into glory. The real question should be: Why would God do all these things for humanity, a people who hated Him so deeply?
Man was created in the image and likeness of God, but through sin, the curse was activated against him. From that point onward, the generations of mankind would be at war with the seed of the serpent. Humanity would experience death in every dimension—spiritually, physically, and materially—and would come under the control of an enemy far beneath what they were originally created to rule.
Their dominion was stripped from them. They bowed before powers that were meant to be under their feet and to be trampled upon.
The curse issued by God could not be neutralized by anyone. Even the blood of goats and rams could only cover sin temporarily; it could not remove its consequences or its guilt.
Who then was able to do it?
All human blood had been contaminated through Adam. No one was righteous—not even one. Humanity had gone astray from the presence of God. A person who needs saving cannot save himself, much less another sinner. No amount of wealth or gold could provide redemption. Humanity was dying and heading toward everlasting judgment.
A call went forth in heaven: “Who is worthy to open the book and loose its seals?”
No one stood up because no one was found worthy. But then a Lamb stood in the midst of the throne and took the book from the hand of Him who sat upon the throne.
This caused the twenty-four elders to fall down and worship the Lamb, for He alone was worthy to take the book and open its seals. The title deed of the earth, which had been lost by the sons of Adam, was restored through the sacrificial offering made at Calvary.
If not for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, where would you and I be today? The powers of darkness would have turned the earth into a wilderness, just as darkness covered it after Satan’s fall, until God spoke light into existence.
No other blood could pay the price. No human being could make another person pure or break the power of sin. Only the unpolluted blood of the Son of God could cleanse humanity, revoke the power of sin, and permanently remove its guilt.
He died bearing the sins of all mankind—from Adam to the last person who will ever live upon the earth. He rose again as the glorified Son of God, offering victory to all who come to Him and look to Him for salvation. He took upon Himself humanity’s cursed condition and offered His life at Calvary so that mankind could become ambassadors of heaven, empowered to trample upon the forces of darkness.
If you cannot understand the immeasurable love of God, you will never understand the mystery of godliness:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
This is the mystery of godliness: God became man so that man might be transformed into the image of God, bearing fruits worthy of repentance and reflecting His likeness through good works.
No one can be truly godly without believing in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Without Him, a person remains fallen and can never attain the purpose for which he was created.
Human beings often take on the character of the spiritual influences that dwell within them, manifesting the works of darkness. But through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, humanity can be transformed from corruption to incorruption, from ungodliness to godliness.
A single sin makes a person incomplete before God, but in Christ we are made complete.
Prayer: My father and my God, make me complete in you, for without you Iam nothing, in Jesus name amen.
