June 8, 2015 (Monday)
Paul quoted some lines from an early hymn when he wrote a letter to encourage Timothy. Here are the portions quoted by Paul: “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” (1 Timothy 3:16 NIV). I have written a poem based on this verse:
Jesus The Mystery of Our Faith
He came in a body of flesh and blood,
Being born of a virgin as only He could,
Walking among us as a truly great man,
Teaching and helping as only He can.
He claimed to be God; we believed Him not.
Proving his claim, He healed on the spot,
But we chose to remain in the darkness of sin,
Refusing belief in the Savior of men.
He proved to the world that He was divine:
He died for our sins with no sign of a whine,
He rose from the dead for all to see,
His claims were all true, from death He was free.
A stone closed the tomb but away it was rolled,
Revealing a room so empty and cold.
An angel was there to let us all know
He lives to show He defeated the foe.
He’s alive! He saves! we let the world know
That we’re not alone, for He loves us so.
From one to another the story is told
To rich and to poor, to young and to old.
The nations in darkness have seen a great light
That shines from the Cross to expel the night
And now all people can joyously sing
That Jesus is Lord, and King of all kings.
One day as we watched He was taken on high.
We were amazed as we gazed at the sky.
Today He’s in Heaven, preparing a place
For all who believe and are saved by His grace.
Here it is again, with the addition of 1 Timothy 3:16, demonstrating in small print how it inspired the thoughts of each verse of my poem:
(Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great)
Jesus The Mystery of Our Faith
(He appeared in a body)
He came in a body of flesh and blood,
Being born of a virgin as only He could,
Walking among us as a truly great man,
Teaching and helping as only He can.
He claimed to be God; we believed Him not.
Proving his claim, He healed on the spot,
But we chose to remain in the darkness of sin,
Refusing belief in the Savior of men.(He was vindicated by the Spirit)
He proved to the world that He was divine:
He died for our sins with no sign of a whine,
He rose from the dead for all to see,
His claims were all true, from death He was free.(He was seen by angels)
A stone closed the tomb but away it was rolled,
Revealing a room so empty and cold.
An angel was there to let us all know
He lives to show He defeated the foe.(He was preached among the nations)
He’s alive! He saves! we let the world know
That we’re not alone, for He loves us so.
From one to another the story is told
To rich and to poor, to young and to old.(He was believed on in the world)
The nations in darkness have seen a great light
That shines from the Cross to expel the night
And now all people can joyously sing
That Jesus is Lord, and King of all kings.(He was taken up in glory)
One day as we watched He was taken on high.
We were amazed as we gazed at the sky.
Today He’s in Heaven, preparing a place
For all who believe and are saved by His grace.