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1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
user, do you really think that the word, 'God' as you bolded in this verse was in the text before the 16th century at least. It was deliberately altered user to your way of thinking, only in
a few translations and you had to pick one of them. This is what you guys had to do in order to gain some type of foothold into scripture to make you mysterious doctrine somehow genuine.
Here's a better text of it:
(1Ti 3:16) 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. (ESV)
I will give you a decent commentary I compiled over a few years just on this particular verse. I want you to copy it all and keep it so next time you feel the urge to pull out a Trinity no-gotcha verse in the face of a non-trinitarian you might think about it more seriously and twice.
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The word ‘God’ was added into this verse deliberately in a
few translations to say that God was Jesus who was revealed in the flesh. The KJV lead the way.
Additionally, the passage does not read ‘in
the flesh. It says, ‘in flesh’ or as a human being. Some translation read “in a body.”
The word ‘eusebias’ translated as ‘godliness’ is the best translation into English, although still an incomplete thought in its translation.
Christ is that fleshly manifestation of His (God’s) mystery.
The oldest manuscripts do not have the word ‘God’ or in Greek, ‘theos’ in this verse. Fortunately, modern translators have completed omitted this most probable translators’ error.
Instead of God, they used the word ‘He,’ ‘Who’ or ‘Which’ instead.
NIV 1984 edition - “HE appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit...”
NASB 1995 edition - “HE WHO was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit...”
RSV - “HE was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit...”
ESV 2001 - “HE (R10) was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit...” Footnote 10 - Greek Who; some manuscripts God; others Which.
Holman Standard 2003 - “HE was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit”
ISV (International Standard Version) - “In flesh was HE revealed to sight, Kept righteous by the Spirit's might”
Catholic Douay-Rheims 1582 - “And evidently great is the mystery of godliness WHICH was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, appeared unto angels,”
Catholic Douay 1950 - "great is the mystery of godliness: WHICH was manifested in the flesh"
St. Joseph New American Bible 1970 - “HE was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit...”
Catholic New Jerusalem bible 1985 - “HE was made visible in the flesh, justified in the Spirit...”
Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 - "this mystery of piety, which was manifested in the flesh"
Another clear issue with using ‘God’ for the Greek word ‘euebias,’ is that if we just keep reading further into the verse, it says that God was justified in the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, and he was received into glory. This would be nonsense as Christ did all these things and not his Father. Unless one wants to use circular logic and say Jesus is God because God who is really Jesus did all these things in the verse, and not just the man and the anointed of God, is Son, Yahshua.
So, the best translated section of passage should read ‘…great is the mystery of godliness who was revealed in flesh…’ This interpretation says that the secret of Godly thoughts and plans, his word (and holiness, piety and godliness) for our salvation was revealed in a human being. His name is Jesus Christ or Yahshua, and not his Father of his (Holy) Spirit.
Paul tells us how the hidden truth of God’s word was his own kept secret until now, regarding the plan of our salvation and how he would bring this salvation to us. He revealed it though his created Son, Jesus Christ.
God’s truth and plan of salvation was revealed with his word of, and through a man called Jesus whom God himself created, as the last Adam.
Jesus was justified as the bearer of the truth and God’s holiness because he had the Spirit of God residing within him. He was no ordinary man because his human nature was spotless or sinless because the Spirit was always in him. He was born in God’s Spirit. God was always with him. The man was not God, although what was in him. it was his Father’s Spirit.
Jesus was seen by the angels and people heard him preach the great news about salvation to the nations. People believed in Jesus as the Son of God and his Father’s mission on earth. Jesus triumphed culminating by his Father raising him from death, into immortality. (Reference John 17)
Similarly, John 1:14 tells us that the word (messages and the voice of purpose) of God became part of performance of a human being, of the flesh (human body with (sinless) human nature). This Son of Man sacrificed himself for us without asking anything of us in return (grace) except, for us to believe in him and his Father who sent him. He represented his Father, and he was sent to complete the Father’s plan and mission of salvation for us. In so doing, he also carried the truth of God within him. We all saw this truth displayed as his glory (of holy works) as the glory only given to the one and only Son of God, Jesus Messiah.
Other references of the corruption of 1 Tim 3:16
Sourced from
Acts 17:11 and the noble Bereans
First we will look at a screenshot of a Greek interlinear of
1 Timothy 3:16 and can verify that the word "God" is not in here, but rather "who" instead.
Next, we can look at a Greek Lexicon of
1 Timothy 3:16, which verifies the Greek interlinear.
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