1Tim. 3:16 “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.”
Christianity is “incarnational,” not “imitational.” This wonderful truth is revealed to us in the nativity, and life of Jesus. Jesus was indwelt by God via The Holy Spirit; and even though He was never anything less than God, He laid down His right to act out of His diety, and lived His life on earth as a man through whom God lived, by The Holy Spirit. This is the doctrine of the “Kenosis.” Jesus didn’t just come to die for us; He also came to live for us; showing us how to live a life of utter, dependent faith. The verse in 1 Tim. Reveals to us, by the life of Christ, the “mystery of godliness,” which is God revealed in human flesh.
It truly is a common confession, that living a godly life seems to be a mystery that can’t be figured out, but the incarnation tells us it isn’t a mystery at all. You see most Christians live their Christianity trying their very best to “imitate” the life of Christ, and therefore become Christlike. The problem is the harder you try the harder you seem to fall. The Christian life is a supernatural life, and therefore cannot be lived by imitation. It can only be lived participation in the very life of an indwelling Christ. Just as The Holy Spirit came to live in him, and live through Him the life of the Father; The Holy Spirit has come to live in us, and to live through us The life of Jesus. Godliness, it’s not difficult for the Holy Spirit. It is no mystery to Him to live a holy life. This is one of the great messages of Christmas, and the Nativity.