I TIMOTHY 3:16

I Timothy 3:16

Paul begins this verse by stating, “Great indeed is the mystery of our religion.” He then follows it by what many scholars feel is a quotation from an early Christian hymn of a creedal nature. The first issue to discuss is that of the poem's organization.

Organization

NRSV renders the last part of I Timothy 3:16 as follows:

    “He was revealed in flesh

            vindicated in spirit (or 'by the Spirit')

                        seen by angels,

    proclaimed among Gentiles,

            believed in throughout the world,

                        taken up in glory.”

The above indentations show that the translators here divided it up into two stanzas of three lines each. Hanson and Lea (among others), following NIV, prefer a three-stanza division instead in which each pair of lines contains an earth-heaven contrast:

    a. “He was manifested in the flesh,      EARTH

        vindicated in the Spirit                     HEAVEN

    b. Seen by angels,                                HEAVEN

        preached among the nations            EARTH

    c. Believed on in the world,                 EARTH

        taken up in glory.”                           HEAVEN

Knight comments that if this arrangement is correct, the “first of the three couplets presents Christ's work accomplished, the second his work made known, and the third his work acknowledged.”

Towner says regarding these alternative understandings, “In the end we are left with the unsatisfying conclusion that while clearly being a poetic piece, in its present state the organization of its six lines cannot be reduced to either of the most popular schemes.” I would have to agree with that assessment, but would propose a third possibility instead:

Figure 1: Proposed Organization for I Timothy 3:16

        A. He was manifested in the flesh,

                B. In heaven

                        1. seen by angels

                        2. vindicated in the Spirit

                B'. On earth

                        1. preached among the nations

                        2. believed on in the world.

        A'. He was taken up in glory

Thus, rather than providing a purposeful contrast between heaven and earth in each pair of lines, the two poetic lines B and B' contain within each of them references to the same realm. In addition, this arrangement contrasts Christ coming down to earth (A) with His glorification as he was taken up again into heaven (A').

After formulating Figure 1, I was gratified to learn that Gundry parses the lines in the same basic manner.

Alternatively, Hanson points out that some prominent commentators feel that the first line dealing with Christ's manifestation in the flesh refers to His post-resurrection appearances. If so, then there would be more of a parallel than a contrast between A and A'.

Hanson's comment brings up another complicating factor in understanding this verse, namely the uncertainty regarding which exact events in Christ's life are being alluded to in each line. This ambiguity casts doubt on the additional schemes which Knight enumerates in his commentary on I Timothy, most of which rely on a chronological order to the six lines in the poem.

Thus, Donald Guthrie brings up some additional uncertainties which cast doubt on the “chronological” scheme: (1) “justified in the Spirit” may refer to God's declaration of Jesus as His Son at his baptism or to his vindication after his crucifixion, and (2) “preached in the world” may either refer to his earthly ministry or to the spread of the Word worldwide after Jesus' resurrection.

Context

Although these poetic lines stand out from the immediate context within I Timothy, Towner feels that 3:14-16 both look backwards to I Timothy 2:1-7 with its “universal thrust and the repetition of the term 'godliness,' which first appears in 2:2.” On the other hand, “The stress on Christ's humanity ('he appeared in a body'; lit. 'in flesh') may prepare for the engagement with the anti-marriage and anti-creation inclinations of the false teachers (4:1-5).”

That may be true, but the really important point is additionally brought out by Towner: “The Christ hymn (v. 16b) now introduced is the rhetorical and Christological high point of the letter.” My own analysis confirms Towner's contention, as seen below:

Figure 2: The Structure of I Timothy

I. Charges to Timothy (1:1-20)

II. Household Codes (2:1-3:13)

III. Instructions to Timothy (3:14-4:16)

A. Instructions (3:14-15)

B. Hymn (3:16)

A'. Instructions (4:1-16)

II'. Household Codes (5:1-22)

I'. Charges to Timothy (5:23-6:21)

Literary Quality

Besides the careful arrangement of the six poetic lines shown in Figure 1, there are other more subtle indications of the skill with which they were composed. Thus, Guthrie states, “The lyrical quality of this hymn is missed in the English translation, but is most impressive in the Greek.”

Ward elaborates on this thought and notes other poetic features present in these lines. “The six parts are balanced and rhymic and the ends of the Greek verbs are very much alike. The last syllables are identical and the penultimate ones are allied in sound. The verbs all come first in their strophe and the result is a pleasing assonance.”

The Original Source

Hanson says that one may debate whether these lines are taken from a preexisting hymn or a creed, but in either case Paul does appear to be citing from an earlier source. Some of the arguments he advances in favor of this opinion are the identical form of each line, its difference from what precedes and follows, and the liturgical content of the words.

Another tip-off that Paul has taken these words from elsewhere is the uncertainty as to how it begins. Is it with hos (“who”) or ho (“which”)? This point is brought up by most commentators on I Timothy.

Additionally, Guthrie notes the surprising, for Paul, lack of clear reference to Christ's death and resurrection. But this alone does not rule out Paul himself as the actual author of the hymn he is quoting since (1) at best it is an argument from silence, (2) “seen by angels” may refer to his descent into hell to be seen by the fallen angels, (3) “taken up in glory” could be a definite reference to Jesus' resurrection, and (4) he may have been citing only a portion of a much longer hymn which did contain the lacking references.

Parallel Passages

The likelihood of factor 4 above is strengthened by an observation by Hanson, who notes that there is a similar alternation between heaven and earth found in two other NT passages believed to have their origin in an early creedal formula:

            “his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and

             declared to be Son of God according to the spirit of holiness by resurrection from the dead.”                                                                                                                                 (Romans 1:3-4)

“He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.”                         (I Peter 3:18d)

Not only do both of these couplets contain the “missing” references to Jesus' death and resurrection, but they also have the same flesh-spirit opposition found in lines 1 and 2 of I Timothy 3:16b.

So could all three of these passages have been taken from the same original hymn, perhaps written by Paul himself? Fitzmyer doubts Pauline authorship in the case of Romans 1:3-4 since the mention of Jesus as the Son of David is not found elsewhere in Paul's writings except in II Timothy 2:8, and there are doubts, at least in liberal circles, as to whether Paul in fact wrote that letter at all.

I did run into one Bible scholar who felt that the Romans, I Timothy, and I Peter fragments were closely related. Commenting on I Peter 3:18, Goppelt states, “The antithesis of flesh and Spirit aided the anthropological interpretation of Jesus' death and resurrection already in the Palestinian formula in Rom. 1:3f, which has undergone fuller Hellenistic expansion in I Tim. 3:16.” I don't particularly agree with the historical scenario Goppelt proposes, but he certainly does feel that the three passages stem from a common source.

Eugene Boring is not as detailed in his analysis of I Peter 3:18 but merely states, “The author did not compose 3:18-22 ad hoc; it contains hymnic or creedal material familiar to his readers (but unfortunately not to us).”