<p>3:16 <i>And without controversy, great is the mystery of reverence towards God: He who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, received up in glory</i>- See on :9 <i>The mystery</i>.</p><p>1 Tim. 3:16 speaks of how Christ was:</p><ol start=1 type=1>    <li>God manifest in the flesh       on the cross</li>    <li>justified in the Spirit in       the resurrection- Rom. 1:4</li>    <li>seen of angels at the       resurrection</li>    <li>preached unto the Gentiles</li>    <li>believed on in the world</li>    <li>received up into glory the       ascension.</li></ol><p>It must have occurred to many expositors that this would be nicely chronological- were it not for stages 4 and 5. &ldquo;Preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world&rdquo; seems a clear reference to the great commission- to preach the Gospel of the resurrection to all the world, and whoever believes it will be saved. But the tenses are definitely past tense, not future. Indeed, the whole passage seems to have Mark&rsquo;s record of the resurrection, preaching commission and ascension specifically in mind not surprising if tradition is right in saying that this Gospel was learnt by heart by candidates for baptism in the early church. I would suggest that Paul is using a Hebraism although writing in Greek (and E.W. Bullinger provides scores of other examples of where Paul does this, in <i>Figures Of Speech Used In The Bible</i>). Paul is thinking in the Hebrew &lsquo;prophetic perfect&rsquo; tense, to describe something yet future as already past, so sure is it of fulfilment. He <i>is</i> referring to the great commission when he speaks of Christ as &ldquo;preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world&rdquo;; and he <i>is</i> giving a chronological account of the Lord&rsquo;s resurrection, with reference to Mark&rsquo;s Gospel record. But he sees the command to go and preach to the Gentiles, to make them believe, as so sure of being obeyed that he speaks of it in the past tense. The fact the Lord asked us to do this, for all the many reasons outlined in this study...this of itself is such a strong imperative to do it that Paul sees it as <i>already done</i>. And so the Lord&rsquo;s bidding should weigh as heavily with us. In fact, He had just the same idea when in Luke&rsquo;s record of the commission He says: &ldquo;Beginning at Jerusalem you <i>are </i>witnesses&rdquo; (Lk. 24:48 RVmg., cp. Acts 1:8). What He meant, according to Mark&rsquo;s version, is that &lsquo;You are to go world-wide and be witnesses&rsquo;. But He speaks as if they have already done this, as if He were saying: &lsquo;Go and be world-wide witnesses, you are witnesses, it&rsquo;s axiomatic to your experience of my resurrection that you will witness, so I see it as if its already being done, even as you stand here before me&rsquo;.<br />L.G. Sargent, quoting C. Spicq, tabulates the following parallels in <i>The Gospel Of The Son Of God</i> p. 210 (Birmingham: CMPA):</p><div align=center><table border=0 cellspacing=12 cellpadding=0 width=80%>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>            <b>Mark 16:9-19</b></p>            </td>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p><b>1   Tim.&nbsp; 3:16</b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>:12   appeared (i.e. was manifested) in another form</p>            </td>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>manifest   in flesh</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>:15   preach the gospel</p>            </td>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>preached   unto the Gentiles</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>:15   into all the world&hellip;:16 he that believeth</p>            </td>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>believed   on in the world</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>:19 was   received up into heaven</p>            </td>            <td width=575 valign=top>            <p>received   up, into glory</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table></div><p>1 Tim. 3:16 seems to have been a well-known confessional formula in the first century church; perhaps it was recited by the candidate in the water before being baptized. It can be read as a chronological description of the Lord's death and resurrection: <br />1. &quot;God was manifested in the flesh&quot; in the Lord's <i>crucifixion</i>, not just His <i>life</i>. The manifestation of the Son was supremely in His death (s.w. 1 Jn. 3:5,8; 4:9 cp. Jn. 3:16; Heb. 9:26 Gk.; Jn. 17:6 cp. 26).<br />2. &quot;Justified in the Spirit&quot; - the resurrection (Rom. 1:4)<br />3. &quot;Seen of Angels&quot; - at the tomb (Mt. 28:2)<br />4. &ldquo;Preached unto the Gentiles for belief in the world' (Gk.)- cp. Mk. 16:15,16<br />5. &quot;Received up into glory&quot; - what happened straight after the commission to preach the Gospel world-wide.</p><p>This chronological approach suggests that &quot;God was manifest in the flesh&quot; refers to the Father's especial manifestation in His Son's crucified human nature during those hours of final suffering- rather than just to His birth. There on Calvary, Almighty God Himself was supremely revealed. He, <i>God Himself</i>, was despised and rejected by men; <i>His</i> love and self-sacrifice were so cruelly spurned; <i>He</i> was spat upon and made the song of the drunkards (Ps. 69:12). The same word for &ldquo;manifest&quot; occurs in other passages which relate it to the crucifixion:<br />- Heb. 9:26: &ldquo;For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he <i>appeared</i> to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself&quot;.<br />- 1 Pet. 1:19-20: &ldquo;...But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world as the sacrificial lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Rev. 13:8, but was <i>manifest </i>in these last times for you&quot;.<br />- I Jn. 3:5-8: &ldquo;And ye know that he was <i>manifested</i> to take away our sins on the cross; and in him is no sin... For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil&quot;, which He did through His death (Heb. 2:14-18). <br />It may be added in passing that the same word is also used about the final manifesting of the Lord Jesus at His return (Col. 3:4; 1 Pet. 5:4; 1 Jn. 2:28; 3:2). This explains the link between the cross and His return; who He was then will be who He will be when He comes in judgment. And this explains why the breaking of bread, with its focus upon the cross, is a foretaste of our appearing before Him then.&nbsp; See on Jn. 1:14; 19:19.</p>