God's Household

God's Household
Words of Faith 5-22-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><

1 Timothy 3
[14] Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, [15] if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. [16] Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

So how are we to behave if we are in God's household? Well, in a godly manner, of course. But what does that mean?
We get terribly confused about godliness. We think that godliness is something we do. Godliness is being good-- obeying rules, doing religious things, being extra nice, attaining a spiritual countenance, reading a lot of Bible, or listening to religious music. But none of this has anything to do with godliness. That is all humanness, not godliness. That is all just more religion. By definition, anything we do in our strength to try to be like God is nothing more than human pride, rebellion, and sin.
Paul says that godliness is a mystery. Godliness has everything to do with God and His power and nothing to do with human striving. A picture of godliness is simply a picture of Jesus. He appeared in a body. He was vindicated by the Spirit-- avenged and claimed as true. He was seen by angels at the beginning of time, at His birth, and every step of the way. He was preached among the nations and believed on in the world. People knew this was Godliness when they saw it. He was taken up in glory.
How can we be godly? We cannot. Only God can be godly in us. Only Jesus living in You can make the mystery of godliness a reality.

Lord, there is nothing I can do. I am helpless to make myself acceptable, much less godly. Come into me and live through me a life that is more and more like You. In Jesus' name. Amen.

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SUBSCRIPTIONS - To receive the Words of Faith devotion five days a week, send an e-mail message addressed to join-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. To stop receiving Words of Faith, send an e-mail message addressed to unsubscribe-words-of-faith@hub.xc.org. The daily devotion and archive are posted at https://www.faithfellowshipweb.com/blog
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.