Bishop's Epistle: DEFENSE OF FIRST TIMOTHY 3:16 (Answering Objections to Modalism)

“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” —1 Timothy 3:16.

The Subordinationists View #1

A Subordinationist said to this writer: “For sure one of the pivotal words within this verse is manifest. I wondered about the deeper meaning of that word many years ago, and so searched for a deeper understanding. It can be taken either figuratively or literally. According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance “manifest” means: #G5319 phaneroo, fan-er-o'-o, from #G5318; to render apparent (literally or figuratively):...

“IF this verse was a stand alone verse (not having to take any other verses into consideration) it would seem to be clear... and your point (the reference is to yours truly) could be made. However, this is not a stand alone verse. There are many other verses that must be considered prior to forming a strong opinion.

“For me, I start with what God Almighty and His only begotten and beloved Son, Jesus, had to say, and I look at other verses from that point of view. This seems proper to me.

“When Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan, God Almighty said (sic): Luke 3:22: “And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."

“God Almighty cannot lie and so I acknowledged that He did not say, “This is me in the flesh, hear me.” Also, I must acknowledge that Jesus was “given” God’s Holy Spirit without measure ~ He did not already have it.

Jesus said:
John 20:17: “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

“Jesus made this powerful statement after He had been crucified and risen. He was not bound by the physical limitations any longer. He stated clearly... “My Father” and “My God.” Therefore Jesus has a God and His God IS His Father.

“This testimony is powerful and the proper beginning for looking at 1 Tim 3:16, in my opinion. In my summation I find that for Jesus to make His Father manifest is to be the perfect example ~ perfect execution, perfect declaration “of” His Father. He made His Father known to us. He fulfilled every work that His Father/His God “gave” Him to do.

“In conclusion ~ this is why (in part) I cannot embrace the man-made doctrine that Jesus is His Father. There is only one True God ~ and that is the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob ~ and Jesus.

John 17:3: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Modalism’s Response:

The Arian position is: “For sure one of the pivotal words within that verse is ‘manifest.’ I wondered about the deeper meaning of that word many years and so searched for a deeper understanding. It can be taken either figuratively or literally. According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance...”

Noticed that this Arian spokesperson said that he “searched for a deeper understanding.” Since a simple reading of the text would produce a literal understanding, it seems that, by the “search” this Arian is saying that he was looking for some way to escape the literalness of the text into the ether of a figurative application. He found that (we normally find what we look for) in the set of passages that speak of the humanity of Jesus. He then reasons that Jesus is a man, therefore, not God, so a figurative interpretation must apply.

It is my opinion that the Arian’s eisegesis type study of Scripture led to finding what he wanted to find. It must be acknowledged that he searched for, and found, a SPECIAL meaning for the text—his own words, more or less. But is his conclusion right, or wrong? I believe it is wrong; and I beg your permission to tell you why I feel that way.

First, there is the plain reading of the text: “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh.” Manifest: Strong’s #NT5319 phaneroō, to render apparent (literally or figuratively). Notice how the Holy Scripture uses the Greek ‘phaneroō’ in relation to Jesus: Phaneroō is the word used in Mark 16:12, 14 translated “appeared:” “After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country” (v12). Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen (v14).

Further places where phaneroō (as it relates to Christ) is translated “appear:” Colossians 3:4; Hebrews 9:26; 1 Peter 5:4; 1 John 2:28; 3:2;

Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
Hebrews 9:26 “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
1 John 3:2 “ Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

Phaneroō translated show or showed John 7:4; 21:1; 21:14:

John 7:4 “For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world” (NKJV).
John 21:1 “After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself: ...” (NKJV).
John 21:14 “This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead” (NKJV).

Phaneroō translated “manifest” John 1:31; 3:21; 9:3; 17:6; 1 Peter 1:20; 1 John 1:1-2; 1 John 3:5, 8:

John 1:31 “And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.”
John 3:21 “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
John 9:3 “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word” (NKJV).
1 Peter 1:20 “He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (NKJV).
1 John 1:1-2 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—” (NKJV).
1 John 3:5 “And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin” (NKJV).
1 John 3:8 “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (NKJV).

Therefore, phaneroō (manifest, in 1 Tim 3:16) is associated with the physical manifestation of Jesus. In this light it is only biblical to read 1 Timothy 3:16 with a literal rendering. Further, a literal reading is the only sense that makes “sense” of the rest of the verse. Thus:

God, was “phaneroō” (manifested, appeared, shown) in flesh.;
God was justified in the Spirit;
God was seen of angels;
God preached unto the Gentiles;
God was believed on in the world; and
God was received up into Glory.

A literal reading of this text is the only thing that stays within the context of what Paul and the other apostles taught about the relationship of Jesus with Father God.

That Jesus is God in flesh is in agreement with: Paul’s theology about Jesus,

Romans 9:5 “Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” (NIV).
2 Corinthians 5:19 “ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself ... .” (NKJV)
Colossians 1:15-17 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (NKJV)
Colossians 2:9 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (NASB “in bodily form”); 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (NKJV)
Titus 2:13 “while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” (NIV)

That Jesus is God in flesh is in agreement with: John’s theology of Jesus,

John 1:l, 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. ... 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” (NKJV).
1 John 5:20 “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (NIV).

“And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal” (AB).

That Jesus is God in flesh is in agreement with: Jude’s theology of Jesus.
Jude v25 “To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.”

That Jesus is God in flesh is in agreement with: Thomas’ theology of Jesus,
John 20:28 “My Lord and my God.”

That Jesus is God in flesh is in agreement with: Matthew’s theology of Jesus,
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (NKJV)

That Jesus is God in flesh is in agreement with: Jesus’ theology of Himself,

John 10:30 “I and my Father are one.”
John 8:58 “Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (NKJV)
John 14:9 Jesus said unto him, “Have I been so long a time with you, and yet have you not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (NKJV).
Revelation 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” (NKJV).
Revelation 21:6-7 “And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son” (NKJV).

The Subordinationists View #2

“Translators are divided on their opinion regarding 1 Timothy 3:16. One faction says, ‘God was manifest,’ while many others say, ‘He’ and the rest say, ‘Which’ and ‘Who.’ Is the Greek word Θεὸς Theos, ‘God,’ or ὅς hos, ‘who?’ It is now generally admitted that the faint line over the word ὅς in the Alexandrian manuscript has been ADDED by some later hand... making the reading ‘God.’ ... The Vulgate and the Syriac read it: ‘who,’ or ‘which.’

“Here, then, is the best translation of 1Timothy 3:16: ‘Beyond all question, great is the Mystery of Piety Who appeared in a body...’ (Biblia Christiana).”

Modalist’s Response

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.”

Greek	Transliteration	English
θεος	theos	God
φανεροω	phaneroō	manifest
εν	en	in
σαρξ	sarx	flesh

The true contest, here, is between the Alexandrian and the Sinaiticus codices. The vast majority of MSS contain the reading “God,” while only a handful omit it. Until the Sinaiticus was discovered by Constantin von Tischendorf in 1859, the Alexandrian Codex was considered the authority of Greek texts. The Sinaiticus was considered such a great find because of its age. However, there are serious textual omissions in the Sinaiticus, when compared to the revered Alexandrian. One of these is the word “God” in 1 Timothy 3:16. When Tischendorf examined both texts, he declared the Alexandrian to have been corrupted. This author has personally seen the text of the Alexandrian in question, and he must say that the word “God” is clearly in the text, and no tampering is obvious. Tischendorf was biased toward his own discovery, and his pride has caused great harm to the Lord’s Church, in this author’s opinion.

Since the Sinaiticus is older than the Alexandrian, it is argued that it should take the preeminence between the two. That most likely would be a mistake, for this reason: The Sinaiticus had fallen out of use, and lay neglected in a desert monastery until accidentally discovered by Tischendorf in 1859. Actually, it was not seen as anything important by the monks of St. Catherine, for they had it slated to be burned for kindling. It would seem natural for an inferior document to fall out of favor and disuse by the Lord’s church, as is the case with Tischendorf’s discovery.

The historical evidence of the Alexandrian and, consequently, the KJV rendering of 1 Timothy 3:16 is convincing. Tischendorf claimed that the Alexandrian had been corrupted by the word for “who” (ὅς) being changed to the abbreviation for God (Θεὸς) by having a line placed over the word. We think that is very unlikely, in that 1 Timothy 3:16 is recorded as having been quoted by churchmen from the first century onward. What follows is some of that evidence.

Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (A.D. 105-7), 1.58 “There is one Physician who is possessed both of flesh and spirit; both made and not made; God existing in flesh ... God Himself being manifested in human form for the renewal of eternal life” (Letter to the Ephesians 7:19). Ignatius is referencing 1 Timothy 3:16; which proves that the text as it appears in the Alexandrian Codex is the correct rendering.

Dionysius of Alexandria ( A.D. 190 - 265 )

Dionysius was bishop of Alexandria between 247/8 to 264/5. After Cyprian, he is called the most eminent bishop of the third century.

John William Burgon informs of a collection of Greek councils published by the Jesuits Philippe Ladde and Gabriel Cossart in 1671 (the full title of this work is Sacrosancta concilis ad regiam deitionem exacta), in which was found a letter from Bishop Dionysius to Paul of Samosata (a Monarchian who held an aboptionist view historically called Dynamic Monarchianism) which contains a quote of 1 Timothy 3:16 as: θεος γαρ εφανερωθη εν σαρκι, which is a literal quotation of the traditional reading of the text, except for the addition of the word γαρ: θεος φανεροω εν σαρξ. We give a copy of that letter with our apologies if it does not appear clearly:

Although the signature of Dionysius is doubted by some such as Philip Schaff, the date of the letter’s writing is not in doubt. It is the date of the quote of 1 Timothy 3:16 (not the one who quoted it) that is important to us.

In their Historical commentaries on the state of Christianity during the first three hundred and twenty years, Volume 2, Johann Lorenz Mosheim and James Murdock state: “Some very erudite men, and for reasons worthy of consideration, deny indeed, that this Epistle was written by Dionysius. The Epistle is unquestion-ably very ancient, and it was addressed to Paul by some bishop or presbyter, whose name being omitted in the early copy, some person, recollecting that Dionysius was an opposer of Paul, ascribed the Epistle to him.”

Terence Harvey Brown, who was the secretary of the TBS from 1958 - 1990 states: “It has been alleged that the letter to Paul of Samosata was not actually the work of Dionysius, but it cannot be denied that it belongs to the 3rd century and has ‘God.’”

Didymus of Alexandria, “De Trinitate”(A.D. 309/314 - 398)

Didymus was head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria in the 4th century. He quotes 1 Timothy 3:16 as we have in the traditional version in De Trinitate (On the Trinity) which was written after 379 according to the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia, while John Burgon thinks it might have been around 347 A.D. Didymus mentions Timothy by name and then gives the quote verbatim. Included above is a photocopy of this section of De Trinitate.

Gregory of Nyssa (A.D. 335 – probably 395)

According to John William Burgon, Gregory of Nyssa quoted 1 Timothy 3:16 twenty-two times. However, we feel that the following three citations are adequate for our purposes.

The first citation is Against Eunomius, Book XI, paragraph 2:

“Nay, I do not even think it necessary to bring forward in detail the utterances of Paul, since they are, as one may say, in all men's mouths, who gives the Lord the appellation not only of “God,” but of “great God” and “God over all,” saying to the Romans, “Whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, Who is over all, God blessed for ever,” and writing to his disciple Titus, “According to the appearing of Jesus Christ the great God and our Saviour,” and to Timothy, proclaims in plain terms, “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit.” Since then the fact has been demonstrated on every side that the Only-begotten God is God.”

The second is On the Faith:

“So that, since we recognize two things in Christ, one Divine, the other human (the Divine by nature, but the human in the Incarnation), we accordingly claim for the Godhead that which is eternal, and that which is created we ascribe to His human nature. For as, according to the prophet, He was formed in the womb as a servant, so also, according to Solomon, He was manifested in the flesh by means of this servile creation.”

The third and last one is The Great Catechism, Chapter XII:

“If a person requires proofs of God's having been manifested to us in the flesh, let him look at the Divine activities. On the same principle, as regards the manifestation of God in the flesh, we have established a satisfactory proof of that apparition of Deity, in those wonders of His operations.”

John Chrysostom (A.D. 347 - 407)

In 398, he was elevated to the See of Constantinople, the new capital of the Roman Empire, and became one of the greatest lights of the Church. He quotes 1 Timothy 3:16 literally in Homilies on the Gospel of John, Book XV, John 1:18: “And wonder not that Paul saith in another place, ‘God was manifested in the Flesh;’ because the manifestation took place by means of the flesh, not according to (His) Essence. Besides, Paul shows that He is invisible, not only to men, but also to the powers above, for after saying, ‘was manifested in the Flesh,’ he adds, ‘was seen of angels.’”

And he quotes it of course in his Homilies on 1 Timothy: “Since in his directions to the Priests he had required nothing like what is found in Leviticus he refers the whole matter to Another, saying, ‘God was manifest in the flesh.’ The Creator was seen incarnate.”

Theodoret of Cyrus (A.D. 393 – 457/466)

Theodoret was born at Antioch and was educated in the monastery of St. Euprepius, near Antioch, ordained a deacon by Bishop Porphyrius, and elected bishop of Cyrus in 420/423.

As a pupil of Diodorus of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, he joined, at the synod of Ephesus (431), the minority which disposed Cyril, but by the Synod of Ephesus (449) he was himself disposed and banished to the monastery of Aparnea. By the synod of Chalcedon, however (451), he was again restored to his see. He cites 1 Timothy 3:16 in his Dialogues. The “Eranistes” or “Poly-morphus” of the Blessed: “The divine apostle, writing to Timothy, also says ‘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.’”

Burgon mentions that Theodoret cites 1 Timothy 3:16 a total of four times in the traditional sense.

Conclusion

Dear readers, the historical evidence is overwhelmingly convincing that “God was manifest in flesh” is the accepted text of 1 Timothy 3:16. It may be that Sinaiticus is the oldest manuscript extant, but because of its historical absence it is highly likely that it was rejected by the early church as being an inferior reproduction to the Word of God. Let it be remembered that there is historical evidence of churchmen quoting the traditional version before the Sinaiticus was written (mid 4th century): Ignatius of Antioch (A.D. 105-7), and the third century letter that bears the name of Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria (A.D. 190 - 265). The testimony of the Church Fathers gives evidence that the Codex Alexandrian, and by extrapolation the King James Version, contain the original and anointed text of 1 Timothy 3:16.

Apostolically Speaking,
☩☩ Jerry L Hayes
(Mar David Ignatius)

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