1 Timothy 3:9
9 Holding [echo] the mystery [musterion] of the faith [pistis] in [en] a pure [katharos] conscience. [suneidesis] KJV-Interlinear
9 but holding
to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. NASB
Paul refers to the
mystery.But to what mystery is he
referring?
Most folks want to
relate this to the mystery doctrine of the Church Age, which was long held
secret throughout the Old Testament times and not revealed until Jesus made reference
to it during His First Advent.
However, this is not a
reference to that mystery.
The context which we
are studying of a deacon or servant, has to do with
their qualifications to serve.Deacons,
or service staff, have existed for many centuries, whether they were called
servants, employees, or slaves is irrelevant.
They would have been called by many other descriptions, but their function
of service has always been the same with respect to the many occupations that
require service staff.
But our context defines
mystery within the verse itself by using faith and a pure conscience
terminology.
But we have to start
with the word, holding, echo, which means to hold, to possess, to have
continuity, to have the ability of use.
So the mystery must be something that the believer must possess for his
very own use when applying it to his life.
Using something means using it in and for, your life.
Mystery, musterion, is that which, having been long hidden, is at length disclosed. The passive here means to initiate through
learning or instruction.Bible doctrine is
long hidden from you until you learn it.
To unbelievers it is foolishness, they do not understand it, and
therefore do not possess it.It is
foolishness.To believers, Bible
doctrine must be learned through instruction.
You cannot learn doctrine on your own.
Only the fool will disregard Gods mandate to learn through instruction.
Faith, pistis, refers
to belief, assurance, persuasion, moral conviction, reliance. And comes to mean reliance
on that belief, which you have learned (referring back to the word, holding.
With
a clear conscience. The conscience is a human faculty given by
God, which is designed to warn each person when they have violated moral law,
or whether they are in compliance with His law, Rom 2:14-15.
In unbelievers it is a
function of ones intuition, or common sense. They know right from wrong.
With believers their
conscience is related to their learned knowledge through doctrine. Believers have a clearer sight of life,
through doctrine and therefore have a better opportunity to maintain their
conscience.Your conscience helps you to
maintain an alertness to the sin in your life, to the
inaccuracies that exist in your life, to the inconsistencies with Gods mandates
that exist within your life, such that you can make the necessary corrections
in your life, and get yourself back on track.
The purity of
conscience, the cleanness, the clarity, comes from residence in fellowship,
through confession, which is where your spiritual life functions.
Therefore, the deacon,
the believer (every believer), must possess knowledge of Bible doctrine, by
learning it through instruction, such that they may keep themselves in
fellowship, and on the path that God wants them to live.
What you have not learned, is a mystery (an unknown) to you until you learn
and understand it.
Faith is the self
assurance that comes with understanding. You cannot trust that which you do not
know or understand.
The spiritual life is
based not on blindness, but on understanding.
And understanding comes only through learning, and learning through
instruction, and it all must occur on a daily basis, for Bible doctrine is the
food that nourishes the soul, and most folks eat everyday of their physical
satisfaction, therefore why not a daily diet of spiritual food.
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