Mystery of Godliness
Preached by Apostle Aje Pelser, Harvester Reformational Church, Cape Town
To become a Harvester with Jesus, we need to understand the great mystery of godliness – to be more like God Our Father. Apostle Paul was given the understanding of the mysteries in the Gospel, and he listed the mysteries of godliness to his disciple, Timothy:

“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.” 1Tim. 3:16

Mysteries of Godliness revealed.
God manifested in the flesh:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
2Jn 1:6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
2Jn 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Justified in the Spirit
At Baptism – Mat 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
At Transfigiuration – Luk 9:35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”
On the Cross – Luk 23:45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
Luk 23:46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Luk 23:47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

Seen by Angels:
At Jesus’ Birth: Luk 2:10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
Luk 2:11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
After Jesus’ temptation in the Wilderness
Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.’ ”
Mat 4:11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Mat 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.
Mat 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
Mat 28:4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
Mat 28:5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
Mat 28:6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Preached among the Gentiles
Act 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
Act 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Believed on in the world
Act_4:4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Act_4:32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
Act_8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.
Act_8:13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
Act_9:42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.
Act_10:45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.
Act_11:17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”
Act_11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned to the Lord.
Act_13:12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.
Act_13:48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Act_14:1 Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed.
Act_14:23 So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Act_15:5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”
Act_16:1 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.
Act_16:34 Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.
Act_17:12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
Act_17:34 However, some men joined him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.
Act_18:8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

Received up in glory.
Act 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Act 1:9 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Act 1:10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,
Act 1:11 who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

At the stoning of Stephen the first Christian martyr:
Act 7:55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
Act 7:56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

In Paul’s letter to Ephesians
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Eph 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

In Revelation
Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Rev 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

And what happened after Jesus ascended?

He gave gifts to men.
Eph 4:10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)
Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
Eph 4:12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
Eph 4:13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

He gave His Holy Spirit of promise, the Helper who can continue the work.

The Helper our precious Holy Spirit
Joh_14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
Joh_14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
Joh_15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.
Joh_16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

The result?
Mar 16:19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.
Mar 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.
Act 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
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Application
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the mystery of Godliness to you. Let godliness be manifested, let God justify you by faith, experience angels and the supernatural, preach what you believe so others can also believe, be taken up in the glorious presence of the Lord daily!