The Mystery of Godliness: A Song for My Church Family {New Music Monday}

The church doesn’t have a great reputation these days. Some churches are divided on current events, some are facing the moral failures of their leaders, and some have left the doctrines of Christianity far behind and replaced them with worldly wisdom. It can be challenging to find a church that still holds to basic biblical beliefs, such as the inerrancy of Scripture, the power of the gospel to save sinners and transform the world, and the sovereignty and immutability of God.

I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.

1 Timothy 3:14-16

1 Timothy 3:14-15 makes it clear, however, that despite the church’s shortcomings, being part of a Bible-believing church is essential to the life of every Christian. 1 Timothy 3:15 calls the church “a pillar and a buttress of truth.” 1 Timothy also refers to the church as “the church of the living God.” Elsewhere in Scripture, Paul exhorts the church not to neglect to meet together, but to encourage one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Hebrews 10:25, Colossians 3:16). The church provides her members with a family with which to share in joy and sorrow, prayer and support, and to sing the song of the truth of Scripture to any of her members who have forgotten the words. Jesus is the head of the church, the vine from which all branches grow, and he loves the church and protects her like a mother hen protects her brood (Matthew 23:37).

1 Timothy 3:16 is a confession of faith likely used by the early church. When my pastor preached on 1 Timothy 3:14-16 a few Sundays ago, he challenged those of us in the congregation who like to work with words to shorten the confession, the way it is in the Greek, and to turn the words into a hymn. I started writing this song after church that Sunday. It isn’t exacty a hymn, but it does summarize how I feel about my church family, which includes my actual church family, my Christian friends and family, and those brothers and sisters around the world that I don’t yet know, but will one day meet as we serve Jesus in eternity.

I hope this song encourages you to love the church just as Jesus does!

The Mystery of Godliness: A Song for My Church Family