Thursday: The Mystery of Godliness
Daily Lesson for Thursday 22nd of January 2026
A popular verse in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 8:2: “If anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (NKJV). There is no subject about which we know everything. We can always learn something more about anything. How much more true is that of eternal realities connected with the Godhead and the Incarnation? Paul frequently refers to Christ’s amazing condescension in becoming a human being. It’s a subject that even eternity will be inadequate to exhaust.
Read Romans 8:3, Hebrews 2:14-18, and Hebrews 4:15. What characterized Jesus’ condescension and His taking of human nature?
Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com
How was it possible for the eternal Son of God, through the operation of the Holy Spirit (see Luke 1:35), to become a divine-human being in Mary’s womb? It boggles the mind how the infinite and eternal could suddenly become a finite human being subject to death. That is the heart of what Paul calls “the mystery of godliness” (1 Timothy 3:16).
In the beautiful hymn of Philippians 2:1-30, Paul here elaborates on this condescension more fully in some respects than anywhere else in Scripture.
• “Being in the form of God” (Philippians 2:6). The word morphē (form) refers to His divine nature, that Jesus was equal to the Father (compare John 1:1).
• “Emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:7, NASB). The mysterious nature of Jesus emptying Himself of His divine prerogatives—so that He could become truly human and tempted as we are—is astonishing.
• “He humbled himself” (Philippians 2:8). In taking human nature, Jesus moved from universal supremacy to utter servanthood, the opposite of Lucifer’s aim.
• “Death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). There was no more ignominious way to die than the way Jesus chose, having planned it with the Father in the “counsel of peace” (Zechariah 6:13), illustrating it beforehand through Moses lifting up the serpent (Numbers 21:9, John 3:14), and thus becoming “sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
|
How can, and should, focusing on what Jesus did for us at the cross—seeing the Cross as our example of surrender and humility—make us more humble, as well as more submissive to God? |
The biblical assertion that God became human and died (Philippians 2:5–8; John 1:14) is one of greatest mystery of mysteries. This claim even confronts the fundamental understanding about God. For God is understood to be infinite, eternal, impassible (not subject to suffering) and omnipotent. Death cannot be associated with divinity, yet the Bible says that God died, not symbolically but truly. This sounds contradictory and paradoxical, even foolish to others, as Paul wrote.
“We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles” (1 Corinthians 1:23).
The question of incarnation is a mystery which only God knows and understands. As humans, we can only understand this mystery by faith. It does not make sense through human intellect. We do not seek to understand it in order to believe it, but we believe it order to understand it. Faith gives us a foothold to understanding this mystery. Jesus explicitly acknowledged the mystery.
“No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” (Matthew 11:27)
To understand the mystery better is to follow Jesus and embrace the cross. “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Me.”(Luke 9:23).
Divinity cannot die. The humanity that “The Word” (John 1) assumed died. I don’t think that we mere mortals can comprehend the Incarnation of Christ. It will probably take some time even in heaven before we begin to understand it.
Did God intend humanity to have some kind of understanding of the mystery of incarnation, or did He want it to be a complete mystery?
God intended the incarnation to be genuinely understood, but never to be exhausted. This is a revealed mystery and not an unknowable one. This is not a puzzle to be solved completely. God chose to reveal the mystery and not to conceal it. God made it known to mankind. It was previously hidden, but now it has been revealed by God and known by faith.
“Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh.”(1 Timothy 3:16).
God wanted humanity to know this mystery, otherwise, there is no point for revealing it.
“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us.”(Deuteronomy 29:29).
Finite minds cannot fully understand infinite realities.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways.”(Isaiah 55:8–9)
Hello Omwenga! There are many lessons to be learned by the incarnation of Christ. Possibly the greatest being found in John 3:16,17. In it’s totality though it’s like an ant trying to understand a human being. Possibly even greater than that. In reality though it’s greater than a human becoming an ant in order to save the ants. I agree that there are some things that we can possibly begin to understand about the Incarnation. However, the totality of it, I believe is beyond human comprehension.
I think we will all be able to get the answers that we all look for when we get to heaven. Then we can ask Jesus why our loved one weren’t there and why we thought they would be. We will be able to judge also, so yeah when we get to heaven maybe we’ll all understand the incarnation of Jesus Christ, which it says he has the keys to hell and to death.
As I see it, in order to understand the incarnation, we would have to be equal with God. We cannot comprehend infinity, and therefore we cannot comprehend the nature of God, which includes His incarnation.
I believe Christ promised to reveal as much as is necessary for salvation to those open to Him and His Spirit. He does that all the time. He did not promise full understanding/comprehension any more than He promised that we would be “as God,” which Satan falsely promised in Eden.
I also believe that we will understand more and more about God throughout eternity. But we will never be God, and therefore we will never comprehend all there is to know about God.
The idea of death on a cross sounds unthinkable for the Creator of the universe. Crucifixion was a brutal, shameful, and humiliating form of execution, reserved for those who had grievously violated the law. Yet Jesus-a man of peace endured it willingly, doing all that love could do to accomplish our salvation. Though He was equal with God, He did not cling to His status, but “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant” (Philippians 2:6–7).
He left the splendor and purity of heaven to enter our broken world and ultimately “became sin for us” (2 Corinthians 5:21). As Scripture declares, “He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). This is the greatest story ever told—the Holy One bearing our shame so that we might be restored. This is where the mystery of Godliness lies, the one that should fill our hearts with love, awe, and devotion, reminding us that no sacrifice we make and no humiliation we endure could ever compare to what our Savior bore for us.
In an age where humility is scorned and self-exaltation is praised, Christ calls us to a radically different path. “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant” (Mark 10:43), for even “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve” (Mark 10:45). God is still seeking those who will deny themselves, humble their hearts, and live for others. This is the form of godliness Christ modeled giving rather than receiving, obeying rather than dominating, and loving at great personal cost (Philippians 2:3–5).
How can, and should, focusing on what Jesus did for us at the cross–seeing the cross as our example of surrender and humility–make us more humble, as well as more submissive to God?
Knowing that for me to be saved,God had to give up His only son. His only begotten son had to become sin for us,and partake of death in cross so that me and you could be forgiven of our sins is a thought that should make us humble ourselves before God and be submissive to His perfect and loving will
Richard Dawkins:
Perhaps the problem with us Christians is that we try to take the mystery out of God by trying to explain him in theological language. Our language limits our view of God.
I remember visiting the Grand Canyon. I had read about it and had seen photographs of it; but to step up to the rim and see its extent in person, just after a snow storm: “Wow!”
And for a spiritual “Wow!”, read the Gospel of John right through. It’s the Grand Canyon of our spiritual landscape.
No wonder Atheists see our God as a piffling target. We are so often describing a tiny god in our image.
Amen….
The true victory is God defeating Sin not by His Power as God but by becoming a human not as a king but as a servant and defeating sin on the cross. He defeated sin as a human being, what excuse do we have?
Christ was victorious by the same power available to us, the power of God within. It’s not that Jesus did it in his own strength. He was fully committed and submitted to doing God’s Will. If humanity were as much we would see the same miracles, victories, and power of God revealed through us.
Let’s take a look at some high-brand slogans:
“Because you’re worth it.”
“Strive for perfection in everything you do.”
“Just do it.”
“Win from within.”
“Think different.”
“All for freedom. Freedom for all.”
The Few. The Proud.”
“Impossible is nothing.”
“Be more human.”
“Have it your way.”
“Never Hide.”
Would a slogan like “Be humble” be successful? Can I be humble before Christ every moment? Am I striving for humbleness?
It seems to me that humility suggests the polar opposite most of the slogans you listed. Most of the slogans focus on self. Humility, by contrast, focuses on service to God and others.
The Andrews Student Association early morning sermon 1/24/2026 at Pioneer Memorial has the slogan God wins. The student could have just as easy said Satan loses, when talking about chess. I do believe JC was giving an analogy of the self-centered people, as an illustration of what we should not do or become, in other wards who is at the helm of our life?
Knowledge is good if with have love for God and one another. Yet it is worthless without love for God. Love for God is expresed in loving one another, and your neighbor as yourself. Taking the Holy Spirit along with your study is vital also. The author left me something to talk about that he did not expound on . In 1 Corinthians 8:2, we find we don’t know fully of what Paul is talking about until we read verse 3. Yes the author very well used the text to explain the incompleteness of knowledge we have now. Yet Paul’s main point of his statement is found in verse 3. The Clear Word presents my thoughts so clearly.
“The most important thing in life is to love God. That’s even more important than being educated. God knows who loves Him and who doesn’t.” 1 Corinthians 8:3.
John tells us how to Love God 1 John 2:5.
Jude has similar admonition as Paul. Keep loving God. Jude 1:21.
Isaiah tells us that if we keep our minds on God. We have peace of mind. Certainly, that is loving God also. Isaiah 26:3.
In keeping with today lesson, the nature of Christ, keeping divinity, all the while taking on humanity by incarnation, is explained to my satisfaction today by the lesson and posts. I also like the authors description briefly of the plan of salvation. For those of you who like stories, there is a good book accessible in the app ‘EGW Writings 2’. The book is titled appropriately ‘The Story Of Redemption’
Something to remember, another reason to love God, is the fact that, He saw in us a potential for redemption. “In man, defiled and ruined by sin, He saw the possibilities of redemption.” Christ Object Lessons page 118.2. Okay, the Bible and the Bible only—We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19.
In commenting on Jesus’s death on the cross, the SDA Bible Commentary states that it was his human nature that died ; not his divine nature, that would be impossible.[SDA Bible Commentary 5:113. I agree that beyond the shadow of a doubt this side of heaven we would never understand ” this mystery of godliness”. However we are not left totally in the dark.
In the secular world, power is established by pride, arrogance, and self exultation. In the kingdom of God, we become powerful when we humble ourselves to the will of God and serve others. This is evident in God becoming like us and saving us from the bondage of sin. Jesus was effective in this rescue mission because He condescended to be human first,then clinged to divinity from heaven. This is what must be seen when we survey the wonderful cross.
I want to take a slightly different angle to comment on today’s lesson. The author asked: “What characterized Jesus’ condescension and His taking of human nature? I looked up ‘condescension’. It describes: ‘an attitude of patronizing superiority; disdain.’ [Oxford Languages] This seems to me to be an odd choice of word to use when describing/referring to the Love – Grace and Mercy – the Son of God expressed by His willingness to take on the form of man in order to save us.
I find this choice of word unfortunate. Does not ‘lowering oneself’ imply that one deems themselves higher/better than the other? Our Creator did not do that – John14:20. We are made in His Image. In the context of taking on the form of man, would it not be more prudent to just say: ‘He took on the form of man’? since it was done out of Love and Necessity to restore His Spirit within us?
Christ is not defined by taking on our body of flesh. Under the circumstances He humbled Himself, taking the only step possible when accepting that it would require His redeeming Love expressed in the body of flesh to restore the ‘spirit of righteousness’ in man.
Yes, man was given a body, was made a bit lower than the angels, but we were always called and destined to engage with our Creator in spiritual fellowship – Psalm 8:5; Heb.2:7. Jesus Christ saw to it that believers are no longer slaves to the spirit of this world in that He accepted us as sons and daughters of the Most High – 2Cor.6:18; Gal.3:26. Only His divine Love and Grace are able to offer aid to us in our weakness – 2Cor.12:8-10; Rom.8:26; Isaiah 40:29-31.
It is important that when this word was introduced into the biblical language it meant something entirely different. In the 14th to 18th century it meant:
It was later that the word became perjurative and remains so today.
I think you will agree that puts an entirely different spin on the word “condescension”.
Thank you, Maurice – Yes, it does! Though, in my thoughts, I went further than objecting to just the choice of a word.
EVERYTHING created and in existence is valued by our Creator as equal and as part of the ‘whole’. We do Him no good by ascribing the human quality of ‘lower’ to ourself and to Him the quality of ‘exalted’ or ‘lowering’ Himself, no matter how benign – to yield, agree, or graciously wave one’s privileges it is described as.
Because He is the Creator, He and His reasonings are above anything which is created. He established ‘ground zero’ regarding value and all standards – everything is equally valued by Him because He created it from and by Himself, unless HE changes this paradigm.
He cannot be assessed or compared to or by anything He created, because assigning a ‘value’ to something is a man made invention. 😊
I always understood that word to mean, “to descend (and be) with”
But thank you for bringing that perspective; using that word might not always translate well.
Brigitte, it is helpful to understand the function of dictionaries: Dictionaries record what meaning people ascribe to words at a specific point in time. That’s why older dictionaries will list different meanings for words than newer ones. Furthermore, just picking out a brief meaning doesn’t generally help you understand the full meaning. Consult a more comprehensive dictionary and read the full entry.
“Condescend” originated from the Latin “con” (with) and “descendare” (descend). When you put these words together, you get the meaning of descending/lowering oneself to be “with” another person, that is, lowering oneself to the same level. That is still one of its meanings.
Society changed to the point that no “higher” and “lower” classes were recognized. [That’s really not so, because people have simply re-arranged society so that now money, influence, media presence equate “higher” classes. But that’s another subject.]
So when society decided that classes no longer exist, then the word “condescend” came to mean the behavior of people who considered themselves to be of a “higher class.”
Christ “condescended”/lowered Himself in the original sense. He lowered Himself from being Lord of lords and King of kings to the position of the child of a relatively poor human family. He lowered Himself even further when He allowed Himself to be crucified to make the way for us to be glorified with Him.
See Phil. 2:4-7 ESV. Instead of “lowered Himself,” most translations use “humbled Himself,” which has approximately the same meaning. (“Condescend” has the meaning of someone of a higher class/order to come down to a lower class/order, and that’s what Christ did. To “humble” oneself, does not inherently imply a lowering onself to a lower class.)
Sr. Inge–So appreciate your using the ESV for this verse: Christ *emptied* himself–profound, with its depth of meaning!
Brigitte you also wrote
I am concerned that you echo the argument of Christ’s great enemy. Satan does not recognize the superiority of Christ and would doubtless be happier with the wording you suggest.
Being made in “the image of God” does not mean we were created equal with God. Equality of humanity with God is the teaching of spiritualism, which was introduced in Eden when the serpent said, “You shall be as gods.”
When one “deems oneself better,” it implies that one is not inherently superior. But our Creator is inherently superior.
The Son of God always knew that He was the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. In spite of that, He took the risk of eternal failure and loss to lower Himself to the level of poor humanity in order to save all who would avail themselves of the way of salvation made by His substitutionary life and death.
The true mystery of the Incarnation is not merely that God assumed human flesh, but that He willingly embraced all the liabilities of humanity. God did not come as humanity at its best, insulated from weakness; He came under the full weight of what it means to be human in a fallen world.
Scripture hints at this depth when it says, “He was made like His brethren in all things” (Heb. 2:17), and again, “He took upon Him the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). This was not a symbolic humility. It meant exposure to hunger, fatigue, misunderstanding, temptation, grief, rejection, and ultimately death. He accepted the vulnerability of dependence, the limitations of time and space, and the burden of bearing responsibility for a race not His own.
What makes this even more staggering is that these liabilities were chosen, not imposed. The eternal Son did not merely visit humanity; He entered into its consequences. Though sinless, He stood where sinners stand—under the law, under suffering, under the curse—so that He might redeem from within the human condition rather than from a distance (Gal. 4:4–5).
This reframes the Incarnation not simply as God becoming like us, but God becoming accountable for us. He assumed not only our nature, but our risks; not only our flesh, but our fate—so that humanity might be restored, not bypassed.
In that sense, the mystery is moral and relational as much as it is metaphysical: that God would so fully bind Himself to humanity that our liabilities became His burden, and our redemption required His obedience, suffering, and death.
1 Timothy 3:16 (MSG):
“This is the truth, plain and simple:
God appeared in human form,
was proved right by the invisible Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was proclaimed among all kinds of peoples,
was believed in all over the world,
was taken up into heavenly glory.”
Godliness is not something we achieve;
it is something we receive when Christ is revealed to us.Jesus Christ is the revealed mystery of God, and real godliness grows out of knowing Him.
Colossians 1:26-27 (MSG)
“This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it’s out in the open.The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory.”
The mystery is experienced personally by us; Christ now lives in us and transforming us,to producing true godliness.
True godliness is not self-effort; it is Christ living in us, shaping our thoughts, words, and actions.
We don’t need to strive to “be godly” to impress God.
Instead, invite Christ into our daily life, and let His Spirit work through us.
Every act of love, patience, and humility is a reflection of the “mystery of godliness” at work.