1 Timothy 3:14-4:5
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Mystery of Our Religion
14 I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these instructions to you so that, 15 if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.(A) 16 Without any doubt, the mystery of godliness is great:
He[a] was revealed in flesh,
vindicated[b] in spirit,[c]
seen by angels,
proclaimed among gentiles,
believed in throughout the world,
taken up in glory.(B)
False Asceticism
4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later[d] times some will renounce[e] the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,(C) 2 through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared with a hot iron. 3 They forbid marriage and abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.(D) 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving,(E) 5 for it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.