236 linda l. belleville
ministry through his church.73 the difficulty here is that the final ἀνελήμφθη
ἐν δόξῃ elsewhere in the new testament is descriptive of Christ’s ascen-
sion (mark 16:19; luke 9:51; acts 1:2, 11, 22) and not his activity through
the church. Proponents attempt to circumvent this problem by positing
two stanzas of concurrent chronology. some propose lines 1–3 are Christ’s
triumph before his earthly enemies and lines 4–6 are his triumph before
his heavenly enemies.74 others suggest lines 1–3 are Jesus’ ministry as seen
on earth and watched from heaven and lines 4–6 as preached on earth
and lived in heaven.75
a three stanza interpretation abandons any attempt at chronological
analysis. each set of lines is construed as an earthly and spiritual (or heav-
enly) pairing:76
appeared in flesh (earth)
Vindicated in spirit (heaven)
seen by angels (heaven)
Proclaimed among nations (earth)
Believed on in the world (earth)
taken up in glory (heaven)
first timothy 3:16’s compact nature, exalted language, and strophic char-
acter make it difficult to interpret with any exactness. even so, there is
some Christological consensus. for example, there is broad agreement
that line one depicts the incarnation: ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί. although
ἐφανερώθη assumes Christ’s pre-existence it is not the focal point, ἑν σαρκί
is. While what the phrase refers to is debated, there is nothing in v. 16 to
suggest more than Christ’s participation in the human experience, similar
to John 1:14 (ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν).77 the importance
of Christ’s humanness was already highlighted in 1 tim 2:5’s ἄνθρωπος
Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς who is μεσίτης θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων.78
73 fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, 93; Conzelmann, Pastoral Epistles, 61; lock, Pastoral Epis-
tles, 45, oden, Timothy and Titus, 44.
74 see guthrie, Pastoral Epistles, 101–102.
75 see lock, Pastoral Epistles, 45.
76 see, for example, Conzelmann, Pastoral Epistles, 61; stott, 1 Timothy and Titus, 107–
108; Kelly, Pastoral Epistles, 88–93; hanson, Pastoral Epistles, 85; Jeremias, Timotheus und
Titus, 27–34; spicq, Pastorales, 60–63; Collins, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus, 107.
77 Collins is exceptional in taking the entire hymn of “the risen one” (1 & 2 Timothy
and Titus, 109). “appeared in the flesh” is Christ risen from the grave (1 & 2 Timothy and
Titus, 108–11).
78 towner’s equation of ἐν σαρκί with human weakness (Christ appeared as a weak
human being) goes beyond the evidence (Timothy and Titus, 279).