Christmas 2025: THE GREAT MYSTERY MADE VISIBLE
“And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16).
Paul does not argue this truth; he announces it. Without controversy—as though the Church, from her earliest breath, stood in awe and said together, This is the center of everything.
Christianity does not begin with an ethic, a philosophy, or a moral ladder to climb; it begins with a Person who came down. God was manifested in the flesh—not explained, not softened, not reduced, but manifested. The invisible stepped into visibility; eternity wrapped itself in time; holiness walked our dusty roads.
Here is the wonder: Jesus did not merely visit humanity—He joined it. Bone of our bone, breath of our breath; weary at wells, asleep in storms, touched by grief, yet without sin.
And in that flesh He was justified in the Spirit—vindicated by resurrection power, declared righteous not by human courts but by the Spirit who raised Him from the dead. The cross did not defeat Him; it unveiled Him.
He was seen by angels—those blazing servants who watched Him leave heaven, guarded His cradle, strengthened Him in Gethsemane, and stood astonished at the empty tomb.
Yet He was also preached among the Gentiles—to outsiders, sinners, idolaters, people like us. Heaven gazed; earth heard. Glory stooped low enough to be proclaimed in ordinary voices.
And still He is believed on in the world. Faith is born wherever Christ is lifted up—not faith in an idea, but trust in a living Savior. The mystery does not shrink when believed; it deepens. Each soul that rests in Him becomes another witness that the incarnation was not in vain.
Finally, He was received up in glory—not escaping humanity, but carrying it with Him. The Man Christ Jesus reigns. Our nature, once fallen, now sits enthroned. The mystery of godliness ends not in obscurity, but in glory—and it pulls us upward with hope.
This is Jesus: God made near; heaven made touchable; the mystery that saves.
Lord Jesus, mystery made flesh, anchor my faith again in who You are. Let wonder replace familiarity, and worship rise where words fail. Draw my heart upward to Your glory, and teach me to live daily in the light of Your incarnation. Amen.
BDD
