The Savior According to St. Paul: a Theological Exegesis of the Christological Hymn of 1 Timothy
by Sal Ciresi
Introduction
The Apostle Paul is considered one of the greatest theologians in the early days of Christendom. Indeed, the bulk of the Apostle’s inspired letters comprise a large portion of the New Testament canon, bearing witness to Paul’s place of prominence. Whether one chooses to study the topic of "justification" in the book of Romans, or the concept of "ecclesiology" in the book of Ephesians, it soon becomes evident that Paul’s theological genius cannot be taken lightly. Whichever topic of Paul’s writing is utilized for study, one immediately notices that the person and work of Jesus Christ is always at the center of the Apostle’s thought. This Christ-centered outlook can be seen in the collection of "Christological hymns" such as Ephesians 2:14-16; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-20; and 1 Timothy 3:16. Our brief study shall focus on the latter passage, 1 Timothy 3:16, which in the Pauline corpus is one of the books known as the "Pastoral Epistles" (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus). This passage of 1 Timothy 3:16, although concise, provides a wealth of information for study and meditation.
For clarity, prior to our exegesis of 1 Timothy 3:16, we should define the literary genre of "Christological hymn." Found in Sacred Scripture, this type of hymn can be defined as "a song in praise of the Lord’s unique majesty as revealed in nature and history, especially in the history of Israel, and sometimes also in praise of his kingship" (L. Hartman, ed., Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1963, p. 1044). The grammatical structure of this type of hymn is usually flexible, beginning with praise given to God and proceeding to the divine perfections and heavenly works seen throughout Sacred History. This literary description of hymn is precisely what lies before us when examining the word construction of 1 Timothy 3:16.
Following the poetic verse form found in modern day Bible translations such as the Jerusalem Bible and the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, we shall also present our passage in poetic verse form:
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated in the Spirit,
seen by angels,
preached among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory (1 Tim. 3:16).
Christological Confession
We begin our theological analysis of the above passage by examining its opening phrase: "Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion." The truth discovered by the exegete, at the very beginning of this great Christological hymn, is that Paul shows the need for public testimony to the glories of Jesus Christ. This is proven by the term "confess" (Greek: homologeo), which in its adverbial form, used here in 1 Timothy 3:16, can mean "confessedly, assuredly, admittedly, by a common consent." The words of Our Lord and Savior come to mind: "So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven" (Mt. 10:32). The very next passage, from the lips of Christ Himself, should put the fear of God in anyone who professes to be a Christian: "But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven" (Mt. 10:33).
In his epistle to the Romans, Paul continues this concept of professing the Faith: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16). Catholics would do well to follow this wonderful example revealed in the Sacra Pagina. One of the causes of the present day crisis in the Catholic Church is the apathy of Catholics to evangelize and convert their non-Catholic neighbors. The early Church knew nothing of this shame when it came to converting the masses to Christ and His Church (cf. Acts 4:5-12). We should hope and pray that God gives us the same grace and courage to be just as bold in proclaiming Jesus Christ today.
The term "mystery" (Greek: mysterion) has a common usage in the Pauline writings (cf. Rom. 11:25; 1 Cor. 4:1; Eph. 1:9; Col. 1:26; 2 Thess. 2:7) and refers to "a profound reality, inexpressible; it reveals a glimpse of the infinite." As we shall soon see, the truths concerning 1 Timothy 3:16, in reference to Jesus Christ, are certainly profound. The Incarnation
The next portion of 1 Timothy 3:16 states: "He was manifested in the flesh." Some manuscripts read "God" or "Which" in lieu of "He." Nevertheless, these textual variants do not distort the meaning of the verse, as it is plain this section refers to the Incarnation of the Son of God: the turning point in world history. At this special moment in time, prior to Our Lady’s consent to God to be Theotokos (cf. Lk. 1:38), correctly did the angel Gabriel wonderfully proclaim to the glorious Blessed Virgin Mary:
He will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end … The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God (Lk. 2:32-34).
For the Christian, the Incarnation, which is meditated upon every liturgical season of Advent and Christmas, should fill one with great joy and good cheer. St. Athanasius tells us: "Accordingly, the Son of God became Son of Man, so that the sons of man, that is, of Adam, might become sons of God." (W. Jurgens, The Faith of the Early Fathers, Vol. I, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1970, p. 340). The importance of the Incarnation was not skimmed over lightly by Paul, as he tells the church at Galatia: "But when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4-5). This emphasis on the Incarnation and its significance is also implied in the epistle to the Hebrews, where we read: "In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in the last days He has spoken to us by a Son" (Heb. 1:1-2).
This portion of our hymn also alludes to the humanity of Christ. Christians should never lose sight of the fact that although the Lord Jesus was truly God (cf. Jn. 10:30; Tit. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1), He was also truly man (cf. 2 Cor. 8:9; Phil. 2:7; Heb. 2:17.) In the early Church, the Council of Chalcedon in A. D. 451 addressed this issue of the relationship between the divinity and humanity of Christ, explicitly stating:
We declare that he is perfect both in his divinity and in his humanity, truly God and truly man composed of body and rational soul; that he is consubstantial with the Father in his divinity, consubstantial with us in his humanity … We declare that the one selfsame Christ, only-begotten Son and Lord, must be acknowledged in two natures without any commingling or change or division or separation … We declare that he is not split or divided into two persons, but that there is one selfsame only-begotten Son, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ (J. Clarkson, et al, The Church Teaches, Rockford: Tan Books, 1973, p. 172.).
This fourth ecumenical council of the Church was clarifying earlier Counciliar statements (e.g. Nicea A. D. 325, Constantinople A. D. 381, Ephesus A. D. 431), and giving the proper interpretation and understanding in regards to the person of Jesus Christ, and who He really is in relation to the Father and Holy Spirit. Coincidentally, these Council documents bear witness to the authority of the Catholic Church; an authority which can be seen throughout the pages of the New Testament (cf. Mt. 18:15-18; Acts 15:1-20; 1 Tim. 3:15). Godly Justification
The next portion of our hymn states "vindicated in the Spirit." An alternative reading has "justified" in lieu of "vindicated." Commenting on this phrase, the sometimes dependable Jerusalem Bible states: " ‘attested (lit. ‘justified’) by the Spirit’: the holiness and divinity of Christ were proved by the fact that he rose in glory, cf. Rm 1:4+. ‘Taken up in glory’, i.e. at the ascension." (A. Jones, ed., The Jerusalem Bible, Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1966, p. 361). This insight links together every phrase contained in the Christological hymn: He was incarnate, He was acknowledged, He was viewed, He was proclaimed, He was trusted, He was ascended. This grouping of truths, condensed together, is an excellent catechetical aid for examining the salvific action in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some of the glorious fruits derived from this vindication by the Spirit, as it pertains to Our Lord, can be seen in the epistle to the Hebrews:
For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb. 9:13-14).
We read further, from the writing of the beloved disciple John: "And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. There are tree witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree" (1 Jn. 5:7-8). The work of the Holy Spirit goes hand-in-hand with the work of the Redeemer (cf. Is. 11:2-3; Mt. 3:16; Rom. 1:3-4). This is so because the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, along with the Godhead, form three Divine Persons; co-equal and co-eternal. The older "Preface for Sundays," taken from the 1962 Roman Missal, reveals this truth in a beautiful prayer: "For that which, according to Thy revelation, we believe of Thy glory, the same we believe of Thy Son, the same of the Holy Ghost … distinctness in persons, oneness in essence, and equality in majesty." (F. Lasance, The New Roman Missal, Palmdale: Christian Book Club of America, 1993 reprint, pp. 773-774). This work of the Holy Spirit is also crucial in the life of the Christian (cf. Acts 2:1-4; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Gal 5:16-24). The Third Person of the Blessed Trinity should play an important role in our devotional life; especially as we attempt to put the Lord Jesus Christ at the center of our earthly existence (cf. Mk. 12:29-31; Rom. 12:2; Phil. 4:13). Celestial Testimony
Continuing our study of 1 Timothy 3:16, we read that the King of kings was "seen by angels." This is an interesting phrase; for the fact that it appears to allude to the role that angelic beings play in God’s plan of salvation, which is evident throughout the pages of God’s written word. The angels (Greek: angelos) or "messengers" are getting much publicity in our day; in both television and in the print media. We would profit by examining what the Catholic Church actually teaches concerning these heavenly beings. Fr. John Hardon writes: "An angel is a pure spirit because he has no body and does not depend for his existence or activity on matter … They differ in perfection of nature and grace. Each is an individual person." (J. Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary, Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1980, p. 25). This brief explanation helps clear away the vast amount of misinformation, in our day, concerning these heavenly messengers.
Returning to the concept of angels in Sacred Scripture, we discover the angels are prominent in both the Old and New Testament. The angels are created by God
Himself (cf. Neh. 9:6; Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16) to be His servants (Job 4:18; Ps. 103:20; Mt. 26:53). These messengers sent by God (cf. Gen. 24:7; 1 Chr. 21:15; Lk. 1:19) are called holy ones of God (cf. Job 5:1; Ps. 89:7; Dan. 4:13) and sons of God (cf. Gen. 6:4; Deut. 32:8; Ps. 29:1). The Holy Bible even gives specific names to certain angels: Raphael (cf. Tob. 3:17), Gabriel (cf. Lk. 1:26), and Michael (cf. Rev. 12:7). In relation to the work of Jesus Christ, the angels will serve an important function in the Second Coming (cf. Mt. 24:29-31; 1 Thess. 4:16-17 ). The Gospel of Mark, in one of the most haunting passages concerning Christ’s Second Coming, says:
But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send out His angels, and gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven (Mk. 13:24-27).
Divine Proclamation
The next phrase under examination in our Christological hymn is "preached among the nations." This line of 1 Timothy 3:16 gets to the heart of an important dimension in the life of the Catholic Church: the role of evangelization. The Savior Himself, in His last earthly command to His apostles, stated in no uncertain terms: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation" (Mk. 16:15). The Gospel of Matthew echoes this same command in a parallel passage: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you …" (Mt. 28:19-20). Although these passages were addressed to the Apostles almost 2000 years ago, they are still applicable to the laity of today. Evangelization is not a duty limited to the clergy alone. Following this concept regarding the role of the laity in evangelization, the 1964 Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium states:
These faithful are by baptism made one body with Christ and are constituted among the people of God; they are in their own way made sharers in the priestly, prophetical, and kingly functions of Christ; and they carry out for their own part the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world (n. 31).
Lay Catholics, who take their role in evangelization seriously, are simply following the examples given in the Sacred Scriptures, made mention in 1 Timothy 3:16. The New Testament shows the importance placed on the conversion of the world to Christianity. Why this great emphasis on conversion to Christ? The first Pope tells us: "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Paul states: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). The God-man Himself proclaims: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me" (Jn. 14:6). These verses are explicit is stating that the only Savior in the world is the Second Person of the Triune Godhead: the Lord Jesus Christ. This should give each and every one of us plenty of incentive for converting people to Christ and the Catholic Church.
Another reason for this urgency in evangelization is to imitate the example of the merciful benevolence of God for mankind, which is a common theme found throughout the Holy Bible. Although Divine Revelation is clear that many people will suffer eternal damnation for their sins (cf. Mt. 7:13-14; Rom. 2:9-10; Jas. 2:14-26), there is also sufficient Biblical evidence that shows God also cares for the unjust who are not yet converted (cf. Ez. 18:23; Mt. 23:37; Lk. 6:35). One of the most quoted passages from God’s written word is John 3:16, where we read: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but will have eternal life." The redemption, the act whereby the Lord Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind, shows the tremendous love towards the world by the heavenly Father (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Cor. 5:15; 2 Pet. 3:9). The first epistle of John says: "And He is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2). Those who suffer eternal punishment are in hell precisely because they have chosen to be there; through a rejection of God’s saving grace and by refusing communion with the Thrice Holy Godhead (cf. 2 Cor. 6:1; Heb. 6:4-6; 2 Pet. 2:20-21). Universal Faith
Proceeding in our exegesis of 1 Timothy 3:16, we read: "believed on in the world." "Believed" (Greek: episteuthe) is a common term with abundant New Testament usage (cf. Mt. 8:13; Acts 4:4; 1 Cor. 3:5; Heb. 4:3; Jas. 2:23; 1 Pet. 2:7; 1 Jn. 3:10). It is directly related to the theological virtue of "faith." A proper Biblical understanding of faith, according to Sacred Scripture, involves several categories: a belief in God’s promises (cf. Rom. 4:3), intellectual assent to divine truth (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13), obedience to His commands (cf. Rom. 1:5), and faith working in love (cf. Gal. 5:6). Here in 1 Timothy 3:16, Paul echoes his similar words he wrote to the Thessalonians, reminding the local church to maintain belief during hardships, and to remember that persecutors of righteousness will eventually fall under God’s justice:
They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might, when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints, and to be marveled at in all who have believed [episteuthe], because our testimony to you was believed [episteuthe] (2 Thess. 1:9-10).
Concerning 1 Timothy 3:16 and its relation to "belief," Paul stresses that the Gospel of Jesus Christ focuses on belief in the person of the Savior: the metaphysical reality of the God-man Himself. The mysteries of Christ, mentioned in this Christological hymn, count belief side-by-side with Christ’s manifestation, vindication, observance, preaching, and glorification. This is why Our Lord’s first utterance in the Gospel of Mark is as follows: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mk. 1:15).
This sense of urgency to proclaim the message of Christ throughout the entire world is a common desire of Paul, found frequently in his writings (cf. Rom. 11:13-15; Eph. 3:7-11; Col. 1:3-6 ). The last book of the New Testament, the book of Revelation, hints at this universal appeal and "catholicity" of the Gospel proclamation:
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb’ (Rev. 7:9-10).
This passage of the heavenly worship shows the world-wide appeal of the New Covenant, and the inclusivity of the Catholic Church as an entity that goes beyond all limits; be they ethnical or geographical. Ascension in Glory
Our final phrase of 1 Timothy 3:16 is: "taken up in glory." The eschatological overtones are obvious, as this passage alludes to Our Lord’s glorious ascension into heaven. "Taken up" corresponds to the "ascension" (Greek: anabaino), as found in John 3:13; Acts 2:34; and Ephesians 2:10. The historical and literal ascension of Our Lord, bodily into heaven, is explicit. We read in Luke 24:50: "Then He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them. While He blessed them, He parted from them, and was carried up into heaven." Commenting on Our Lord’s ascension, alluded to in the final words of 1 Timothy 3:16, the Navarre Bible states:
The last words profess faith in the glorification of Christ at the extremes of creation—earth and heaven. On earth he is glorified because faith in him implies recognizing him as God; and he is glorified in heaven because the Ascension … is the definitive glorious revelation of his Person …(J. Gavigan, et al, The Navarre Bible, Thessalonians and Pastoral Epistles, Dublin: Four Court Press, 1991, p. 112).
This comment is noteworthy, in that it links the attribute of "glorification" to the person of Jesus Christ. This is a consistent theme in Sacred Scripture (cf. Dan. 7:14; Mt. 24:30; 1 Pet. 1:11).
What is the "glorified Christ" now doing in heaven? He continues to show His loving concern, for those on earth, via His powerful intercessory prayer, acting as the "eternal high priest" before the throne of God (cf. Rom. 8:34; Heb. 4:14; 1 Jn. 2:1). One of the most profound passages in the New Testament, Hebrews 7:25, powerfully illustrates this truth: "Consequently He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through Him, since he always lives to make intercession for them." The Biblical scholar Fr. Albert Vanhoye states: "Close to God, he remains close to us. He is our high priest. What wonderment we experience in delving into this reality!" (A. Vanhoye, Our Priest is Christ, Rome: P. I. B., 1977, p. 31).
It is also noteworthy that believers will also have some share, to a certain degree, in this glory possessed by Christ Jesus (cf. Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Jn .3:2). We read in Colossians 3:4: "When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." These are comforting words to the present-day disciples of the Lord. Conclusion
Concluding our study of 1 Timothy 3:16, we see a number of truths pertaining to the Redeemer, outlined in this Christological hymn: His Incarnation in time, His justification by the Spirit, His observation by celestial beings, His proclamation to the world, His belief among Christians, and His ascension to heaven. Following Paul, may we too exclaim: "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2).
Ciresi serves on the faculty at the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College and is the Director of the St. Jerome Biblical Guild.
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