¹⁴These things write I unto thee… ¹⁵… that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. ¹⁶And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:14–16, KJV)

This interpretation of 1 Timothy 3:16 is highly touted by Onenessians as a proof text that Jesus is a personal incarnation of God the Father. This chapter will address the many errors in the Oneness interpretation and respond with a view that is in harmony with the subject in the rest of the Bible.

The first thing we need to ask is, does this passage mean that, in some way, God was made into the human being named Jesus Christ, as Trinitarians and Onenessians believe? The biblical answer is a resounding no!

The first and most important thing we need to bring into focus is the context of this passage; namely, that Paul was writing to his disciple Timothy for the purpose of teaching people how they “ought to behave.” Paul’s stated purpose was not to teach that God became a man. Rather, his topic was that Jesus made known to us (which is what “manifested” means) a life of godliness that we could all see and pattern our lives upon. And Paul stressed that it was made sure because that godliness was revealed, justified, preached, believed, and received up in glory. Here’s how Paul explained this same concept elsewhere, as if to say, “in other words…” or, “it is written again”…

⁵For we don’t preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake; ⁶seeing it is God who said, ‘Light will shine out of darkness,’ who has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ⁷But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves… ¹⁰…that the life of Jesus may also be revealed (manifested) in our body. ¹¹For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be revealed (manifested) in our mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:5–11)

The word translated here as “revealed” is the same Greek word used for “manifested” in 1 Timothy 3:16. Is this passage saying that when we make Jesus known through us that it is evidence we are incarnations of Jesus Christ? Absolutely not! And yet that is what certain people read into 1 Timothy 3:16 as it applies to Christ. This is inconsistency and double-mindedness.

Rather, the point in this passage is simply that when we make the life of Jesus Christ manifest, we make him known or, we could say,“clearly understood.”

Thus, we see that an interpretation that imposes the idea of Christ as an incarnation on 1 Timothy 3:16 actually hides and replaces the original intent of what Christ “made known” to us, which is “godliness.” The simple truth is that Christ made God and godliness known in the exact same way that we are to turn and make Christ and his righteousness known to others through our “godliness.” This view is also totally in harmony with Paul’s stated context in 1 Timothy 3:14–15, where his purpose was to teach how we ought to behave.

Second, the word “godliness” (Greek eusebia) is about “behavior.” It means, “that piety which, characterized by a Godward attitude, does that which is well-pleasing to Him (God).” Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (Old Tappan, NJ: Thomas Nelson, 1985.

Did God need to be pious toward Himself? No. Did God need to be justified? No. Did God need to be received up into glory? No. However, in each case, the mystery of how mankind ought to behave in the sight of God certainly did need to be made known to us through the example of Christ and the teachings of the apostles. Otherwise it would still be a mystery to us. The way John put this in 1 John 1:2 was that Jesus manifested “the life” to us. That is to say, Jesus lived the life that God had in mind for mankind from the very beginning. Paul put it as a mystery to us, until Jesus made it known. And God confirmed that life by justifying it and receiving it up into glory. Taking a phrase out of the context of what Paul was teaching makes the whole passage rather unclear, if not questionable, and actually changes and negates the true topic that Paul was trying to make clear to us: that Jesus lived the type of life that pleases God.

Third, the use of the word “God” in this verse is, beyond controversy, a scribal error. Based on the earliest available ancient copies (including the Peshitta, and Coptic, Ethiopic, Sahidic, and Gothic manuscripts), as well as citations from the most ancient writers, scholars have concluded that 1 Timothy 3:16 should be translated as “who was manifest in the flesh” or most likely, “which was manifested in the flesh.” It is beyond suspicious, we should say, even scandalous, when people are using a word known to be corrupt to “prove” their doctrine. But Onenessians don’t just use this as a proof text—it is one of their very mantras!

To preserve and perpetuate a lie is a grievous error. To knowingly justify, condone, and even to exalt and celebrate that lie by immortalizing a known corruption of Scripture is to be a partaker in the sin of the corrupters, right along with the original perpetrators. While we aren’t sure whether the copyist simply made a mistake (although it is highly doubtful), passing on an obvious error is unethical by anyone’s standards. Yet that is the extent to which Onenessians are willing to go to hold onto their man-made idea that “Christ is God Himself incarnate.”

Scholars can even point out exactly how that corruption came to be: it only took the slightest of a pen stroke to change the whole meaning of one word. The reader is encouraged to do a little research on their own to verify the truth of this point. One place to start is at the Trinity Delusion web site, located here: http://www.angelfire.com/space/thegospeltruth/trinity/verses/1Tim3_16.html.

Fourth, even if the third point weren’t true, the passage still does not say that “God was made flesh” or that “God was incarnated.” This shows that the Oneness doctrine rests on how they interpret it, as opposed to what the Bible clearly says otherwise in a good many places. Being “manifested” merely means that Jesus Christ revealed (made known) what being godly (good, holy, and righteous) looks like. The same word for “manifest” is used in other passages, such as Romans 1:19, John 3:21, and John 21:14 (see below). In these passages we can also see that the word “manifest” simply means “made known” or “revealed.” It certainly does not mean being made into something, so it absolutely is not saying that “God was made flesh.”

Because that which is known of God is revealed [manifested] in them, for God revealed [manifested] it to them. (Romans 1:19)

But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed [manifested], that they have been done in God. (John 3:21)

This is now the third time that Jesus was revealed [manifested] to his disciples, after he had risen from the dead. (John 21:14)

Other writers of Scripture say the same thing Paul was saying in different ways. For example:

No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. (John 1:18)

John 1:18 presents a clear, “it is written again” quote in which Jesus is one “who” and he declared another “Him” than himself. These are personal pronouns that explicitly identify two different individuals, not mere “natures,” as Onenessians make them out to be.

¹That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we saw, and our hands touched, concerning the Word of life ²(and the life was revealed, and we have seen, and testify, and declare to you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was revealed to us); ³that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yes, and our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:1–3)

In the above passage we are said to manifest (or declare, the same word in the Greek) eternal life. This no more says that we are incarnations of Jesus or of God than does 1 Timothy 3:16 teach that Jesus was an incarnation of God the Father.

¹God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, ²has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. (Hebrews 1:1–2)

This passage provides an explanation of how Jesus manifested God and godliness: it’s because God has spoken to us through His Son in the same way that he used to speak through prophets!

We believe that if anyone makes an honest effort to compare these verses with 1 Timothy 3:14–16, they will see they are all saying essentially the same thing, just in different ways. These are some of our “it is written again” passages against the Onenessian interpretation, just like they and we use such parallel passages as Mark 16:15–17; Luke 24:47; and Acts 1:8 and 2:38 against the Trinitarian interpretation of Matthew 28:19.

Fifth, both Onenessians and Trinitarians seem to forget that Christ is what we are to be. In particular, Christ was made in all things like his brothers; that is, us (Hebrews 2:17)! He can never honestly be said to be made like us if he is actually God made into a man. The idea that Jesus was God made into a man suggests that the serpent was right all along and that it was God’s intent to transform mankind into being “like gods.” Looking at the subject in this light makes the idea that Jesus was somehow God made into a man both devilish and antichristian (Gnostic). Therefore, the idea that 1 Timothy 3:14–16 means that God was made into a man twists, obscures, and ultimately negates the ultimate promise of Christianity!

²…We will be like him; for we will see him just as he is. ³Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure. (1 John 3:2–3)

Sixth, and finally, the idea of Jesus being called “God manifest” in the flesh would have been, in Jewish estimation, just as much an abominable doctrine as the Trinity would have been. And that is because there was an infamous, pagan character in the annals of Jewish history who gave himself that very appellation: Antiochus Epiphanes. This man was so vile as to offer swine on the Jewish altar in Jerusalem after ransacking the city.

Antiochus regarded himself as Zeus (hence his title, epiphanes, meaning “manifestation of”), the Greek God… His self-view as the supreme God meant that he saw himself as having power over all the religions in his realm. He thus tried to systematically change the traditions of the Jews, based on the laws of Moses , to make them conform to Greek beliefs. “Antiochus IV Epiphanes,” New World Encyclopedia, http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes&oldid=1001584 (accessed 8/9/2017).

Antiochus Epiphanes was perhaps the closest forerunner and prototype of the coming antichrist as we’ve ever seen in history. When Jesus spoke of the “abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet,” this man Antiochus Epiphanes probably fit the bill more closely than any previous character in history. In many important ways, he did ultimately fall short of being “the man of sin” who is to come into the world, but he was a very close simile.

The idea that “God was manifest in the flesh” seems so ready-made for those who want to adopt the antichristian doctrine of dual natures in Christ. The very notion of an incarnated deity is totally foreign to the sacred writings we call Scripture. And 1 Timothy 3:16 is, in the final analysis, another piece of evidence showing how far Incarnationists are willing to go to justify a false and pagan doctrine: even to the point of supporting a blatant corruption and mistranslation of the word of God.

The Snake Handler Factor: The snake-handler factor is when someone takes a Scripture and jumps to a conclusion that is clearly contradicted by other Scriptures. There are no clear Scriptures that teach, as Onenessians claim, that “God was made flesh.” When we look at all the other parallel verses to 1 Timothy 3:16 we find a consistent theme and message: Jesus made known to us what a godly life is supposed to look like. To take that passage beyond what it says and contrary to what a host of other Scriptures say, is to enter the Snake Handler School of Theology. Taking any number of such passages and jumping to conclusions doesn’t transform anyone into a biblical scholar or student, it just means they are more sophisticated at the wiles of error than most other people.

¹²Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But you remain in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. ¹⁵From infancy, you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶Every writing inspired by God is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction which is in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:12–17)

For evil men to grow worse and worse means they will grow more sophisticated and effective in their deceptions. Dear reader, you don’t need experts to teach you what the hidden meanings are in the Bible. Instead, we need to let what the Bible clearly says speak to our hearts!

Yes, we all needed a preacher at one time to proclaim to us the Good News of salvation (Romans 10:14). But that time, for many of us, has come and gone and we are still, like children, being “tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error.”

⁵So also Christ didn’t glorify himself to be made a high priest, but it was he who said to him, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your father.’ ⁶As he says also in another place, ‘You are a priest forever, After the order of Melchizedek.’ ⁷He, in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and petitions with strong crying and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear, ⁸though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. ⁹Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation, ¹⁰named by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. ¹¹About him we have many words to say, and hard to interpret, seeing you have become dull of hearing. ¹²For when by reason of the time you ought to be teachers, you again need to have someone teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God. You have come to need milk, and not solid food. ¹³For everyone who lives on milk is not experienced in the word of righteousness, for he is a baby. ¹⁴But solid food is for those who are full grown, who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil.
^6:1Therefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on to perfection—not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, ² of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. ³This will we do, if God permits. (Hebrews 5:5–6:3)

Jumping to Conclusions: The idea that 1 Timothy 3:16 means God was “made” man is definitely jumping to conclusions. Using Jesus’ method of interpretation, we can say, it is written again:

No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. (John 1:18)

No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. (1 John 4:12)

The Father himself, who sent me, has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. (John 5:37)

If Jesus believed for a moment that he was God the Father, then his statement in John 5:37 would be a blatant lie. According to the Oneness doctrine, it was the person of God the Father Himself who was visibly standing there and talking to these Jews. We can’t have it both ways. The ends do not justify the means. If we are going to preach the truth of Christ, it is not seemly that we have to make a liar out of Christ in order to preach the truth of who he is.

But [we] have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 4:2)

The OT Schoolmaster: The idea that Messiah would be “God made flesh” was simply never taught in the OT. Thus the idea that 1 Timothy 3:16 means that he was God made flesh negates the truth of the OT being our Schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

Teach No Other Doctrine: The idea that 1 Timothy 3:16 means “Jesus was God” is definitely adding to the word of God. Note what this following writer has to say about why it wasn’t used for argumentation in the early years of Christianity when the Trinity was being formulated:

When the Christological controversies were occurring in the fourth century, we do not see even one solitary person making a reference to the ‘God was manifested in the flesh’ version of this verse as evidence for identifying Jesus as ‘God.’ This fact does itself undeniably demonstrate it was unknown to them. If indeed 1 Timothy 3:16 really said ‘God was manifest in the flesh,’ we can most definitely be sure this passage would have most been brought forward as ‘Exhibit A.’ Yet, not one soul mentions it even though this passage more than any other would have supported the teaching that the incarnate Christ was ‘God.’ But the facts remain as they are and it was never mentioned once in the myriads of documentation that exist illustrating what was argued in these debates. There is a good reason that no one in the fourth century church ever mentioned the passage. The word ‘God’ did not appear in 1 Timothy 3:16 until much later. It first appeared in manuscripts after Trinitarian dogma was developed and canonized and is an obvious later alteration. “The Trinity Delusion,” 1 Timothy 3:16, www.angelfire.com/space/thegospeltruth/trinity/verses/1Tim3_16.html, accessed 9/12/2016.

This shows how double-minded Onenessians are. They are quick to renounce changes in the Bible during the Trinitarian controversies. But this particular change fits their preconception, so they are silent in renouncing it, and choose to exalt it instead, regardless of how it fits with the rest of the Scriptures.

Other References

The Most Notable Corruptions of Scripture: http://www.thenazareneway.com/textual_analysis/most_notable_corruptions.htm

1 Timothy 3.16–Who Was Manifested?: http://lhim.org/blog/2008/08/13/1-timothy-316-who-was-manifested/

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