Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:

He appeared in the flesh,
    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.

1 Timothy 3:16

Paul concludes a chapter on appointing church community leaders with the above poem, perhaps a hymn fragment. This is a bit of a jarring section to include at first glance. He bridges that topic with the idea of warning against false teachers and providing wholesome teaching.

That’s where the relevance lies. Between trying to do church correctly, and trying to teach right is the reason for both of those things! Without God, godliness is impossible and without Jesus, our ministry of spreading the word is meaningless.

We must try to do things right, but if we neglect for whom we are doing it, we have failed.

Ethan Kirl