August 21, 2026 | Be Connected
The Source of True Godliness
Scripture: 1 Timothy 3:16(NIV)
16 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.
Devotional
So far in Paul’s letter to Timothy, he has challenged the Ephesian Christians to a life of godliness. He has warned against teaching false doctrines, devoting time to myths and meaningless chatter, becoming sexually immoral, getting drunk, committing adultery, loving money and dishonesty, and exhibiting violence.
On a positive note, he has encouraged having a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith, being faithful in marriage, raising godly children, living respectable and hospitable lives, being sincere, and more.
But where does godliness come from? This verse reminds us it comes directly from Jesus. In another letter to a different church leader, Paul said knowledge of the truth leads to godliness (Titus 1:1). Godliness is being like God. And that only comes through knowing Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul wrote, “God made (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Righteous Jesus became our sin. Sinful us became God’s righteousness. We uploaded our sins upon Him. He downloaded His righteousness upon us. That is our new identity!
So, when Paul calls us to a life of godliness, he is calling us to live into our identity in Christ. As he also stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
List a half dozen traits of godliness you are being challenged to embrace. Assign each one to a day in the week. Pray each Monday for one of those. Pray on Tuesday for another, and so on. When you get to Sunday, go to church and give God thanks for giving you His righteousness and godliness. Now you are ready to start the next week going even deeper in that aspect of living a godly life.
Be ready to grow in the character of Christ!
