Timothy, Hear this Doxology! (1 Timothy 1:17)

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God,

be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

(1 Timothy 1:17, ESV)

I never knew this word before – doxology. Simply, it mean “an expression of praise to God.” As I read through 1 Timothy 1, it’s not surprise that the apostle Paul, who recognizes the grace and mercy of God in his own life, would conclude his testimony with a doxology praising the God who did it all. Paul calls God “the King of the ages” which literally described God as the eternal King. He is unaffected by time and is the King ALWAYS. Paul also refers the Lord Jesus as King, “King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). In the time of Paul and Timothy, most early Christians were persecuted because they won’t acknowledge the Roman emperor as divine and they paid for their lives believing and praising God as the only King that they will worship! Describing God as “the King of the ages” represents Him as higher than all authorises or other gods of the Roman and pagans world (Paul was writing this letter to Timothy who served in the city of Ephesus in which emperor worship took place).

God is also “immortal,” meaning He does not die, ALWAYS is. He is “invisible” as the Spirit (read John 1:18 which also refers to Jesus) and He is “the only God” (read Exodus 20:1-4 and Deuteronomy 6:4-5). With all of these wonderful descriptions about God, I join Paul in giving “honour and glory” to Him my King! The closing phrase “forever and ever” is also translated as “to the ages of ages” and this compliments God as “King of the ages,” the Triune God. Wow! The word “amen,” meaning “so be it” or “Yeszzza!” concludes the doxology very well. This is how Eugene Peterson paraphrased Paul’s doxology and as you read this – on laptop, tab or smartphone – read it aloud (it’s okay if people think you’re crazy) as you give praise to the King:

“Deep honour and bright glory

to the King of All Time –

One God, Immortal, Invisible,
ever and always. Oh, yes!”

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Young Men, Consider the Ascended Jesus

“[Jesus] left them and was taken up into heaven”

(Luke 24:51, NIV)

The ascension of our Lord directs attention to the fact that He is not only risen, but enthroned. It is that event in which the risen Christ finally and visibly withdrew from His disciples and passed into the heavens – a fitting climax to His life of perfect obedience on earth. His glorious ascension was the necessary and appropriate complement to His resurrection, and the manner in which it took place was consistent with His miraculous life and achievements.

He did not vanish out of sight as He did at Emmaus (Luke 24:31) leaving a question as to whether there might be yet further appearances. He walked away from them, and then He was carried up into heaven, there to sit at the right hand of God. It took place as they were looking on, in broad daylight (Acts 1:9). There was no possibility of mistake. He was really and finally gone.

He ascended bodily, and carried His glorified human body into heaven. He left the disciples, with His hands outstretched in blessing. As soon as His nail-pierced feet left the earth, He commenced His ministry as their Advocate and Intercessor. They exchanged His physical presence for His spiritual omnipresence.

The ascension was an important part of the Lord’s ministry on our behalf. It imparted the assurance that His death was effective and that all God’s claims against sinful men had been met. It evidenced the fact that the problem created by man’s sin had been finally solved. It enabled His disciples to give a satisfying account of the disappearance of Christ’ body from the tomb.

Further, it was the necessary prelude to the coming of the Holy Spirit as promised by the Lord. As the Scriptures says, “the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified” (John 7:39). Now the way was open for the Pentecostal effusion. By the ascension, the local Christ became the universal Christ whose personal presence was mediated by the Holy Spirit.

To Christ, it was the reward of His obedience unto death. “Therefore God exalted Him…” (Philippians 2:9). The ascension reversed man’s verdict on the Son of God. Had the Saviour not ascended, we would be without a representative in heaven, and without the Comforter to lead and guide us on earth. His presence in heaven makes heaven a blessed reality to us. Amen.

[Edited, modified and modernized from Consider Him (1976) by J. Oswald Sanders]

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Young Men, Consider the Crucified Jesus

“They crucified him” (John 19:18, NIV).

Jesus Christ was unique in His death as in His birth. In a perceptive and picturesque statement of a great truth, Martin Niemoller said, “The cradle and the cross of Christ were hewn from the same tree.” The incarnation was sole with a view of the crucifixion.

Our Lord’s death was unique in that it was the only death that fulfilled the millennia of prophecy. The sufferings and death of the Messiah were not only foreshadowed in meticulous detail in the Jewish sacrificial system, but they were foretold by the prophets. It has been stated that even in His tragic hours on the cross, thirty-three separate Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled.

He was the only person to whom death was not inevitable. “I lay down my life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (John 10:17-18). To Him, death was deliberately chosen. He “gave himself for us,” wrote Paul to Titus (2:14). He was not dragged to the cross but drawn by quenchless love.

To Him alone, death was not a result of sin. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23); but as He did no sin, He did not need to collect its wages. This left Him perfectly free to assume the burden and guilt of the world’s sin and to provide deliverance from its bondage.

His was the only death accompanied by miracles. It was appropriate that a life replete with miracles should conclude with a series of miracles. There was the mysterious darkness which was no eclipse since the moon was then at its farthest from the sun. And it lasted not for a few minutes but for three hours.

There was the miraculous rending of the curtain veil, sixty feet long and thirty feet wide, requiring three hundred men to handle it. “At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). A mighty earthquake accompanied His death. Rocks were split, and graves opened. “The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life… and appeared to many people” (27:52-53), conclusive evidence of His power over death.

Finally, His was the only death that made possible the forgiveness of sins – and experience to which myriads can testify.

When Thou didst hang upon the tree

The quaking earth acknowledged Thee

When Thou didst there yield up Thy breath

The world grew dark as shades of death

(Author unknown).

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus on the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:18)

“’The time has come,’ Jesus said.
‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’”
(Mark 1:18, NIV).

Jesus’ message concerned the “kingdom of God.” We find the phrase 14 times in Mark’s Gospel and over 100 times in all four Gospels. It is here in His first recorded message and in His last messages according to Acts 1:3.

Jesus’ parables were parables of the kingdom. What did Jesus mean by this? Is it a future kingdom? Is it the church? What does it have to do with us today?

At the time of Jesus, the idea of the kingdom was common in Jewish thinking. Scholars looked forward to a new age of peace and material well-being when Israel would be free from the oppression of Rome. Increasingly, the phrase “the kingdom of God” had taken on a highly political tone. It had become virtually a slogan for Jewish nationalism. Political activists and freedom fighters had begun to take things into their own hands. Such revolutionaries were called “zealots” (Jesus chose one among his disciples – Mark 3:18). Galilee, in particular, became a hotbed for such men. We can easily imagine the tension in the air when Jesus proclaimed, “The kingdom of God is near!” But Jesus’ understanding of the kingdom was different in a number of ways.

Firstly, for Jesus the kingdom was not national but personal. It was about God’s rule in a person’s heart. The kingdom was not a territory to be found on a map (like the United Kingdom) but God’s reign as king in an individual’s life. During His trial, Jesus explains to Pontius Pilate that his kingdom is “not of this world” (John 18:36). It’s another kind of kingdom.

Secondly, for Jesus the kingdom was not material but spiritual. It is not a place of earthly prosperity but spiritual blessing. When Jesus was asked by some Pharisees when the kingdom would come, he told them that the kingdom of God is “within you.” That is, it is an internal and spiritual kingdom, not an external and visible one (Luke 17:21). Paul, later in the New Testament, tells us in Romans 14:17 that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

Thirdly, for Jesus the kingdom was not only future but here and now. With the coming of Jesus, God’s rule among men had begun. The day the prophets had dreamed of was here. The kingdom was here because Jesus was here!

And now, whenever a person confess that Jesus is Lord, by repentance and faith, the kingdom of God is present, for that person has made God king in his or her own life. Undoubtedly, there is also a future element to the kingdom of God. The Bible looks forward to a time when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Revelation 11:15). But the first stage is here. Hence the challenge to repent and believe, for this is the way into God’s kingdom.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.

Jesus, the Righteous King Shall Return: Be Courageous and Do What Is Right (1 John 2:28-29)

“And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children”
(1 John 2:28-29, NLT).

The Apostle John urges us to live continually (“remain”) with Jesus Christ as we wait for His return. John here uses the expression to describe the return or visit of a king. Just as an earthly king makes appearances to his subjects, Jesus Himself the King of Kings will make a final appearance visibly and personally, powerful and with authority to everyone on earth. Are you ready?

The Scriptures talk about two reactions that people will have to the second coming of Christ. First, some people will be ashamed. They are those who are not ready for His coming. Maybe they do not really believe in Christ or that He will return. Maybe they had heard the words of Truth again and again but just were not able to follow it. Maybe they were doing wrong. So they are caught off-guard or feel guilty for their lack of faith (read Matthew 22:11-12; Revelation 6:15-17). That is how some people will respond when Christ returns. People have been told again and again to be ready for this great event even though we are not to sit around and relax and think only about Christ’s coming, we are to keep busy for God’s Kingdom with one eye out for what is to come. Some people will be embarrassed or ashamed because of their lack of faith.

Other people will be able to respond with “full of courage” and “not ashamed” – confidence. The Scriptures tell us that we need not approach God with fear (of guilty and embarrassment) anymore. As “God’s children” we can be bold in sharing our feelings and needs with Him (read Hebrews 4:16; 10:19). If we obey God we will grow in our confidence to live as the people God wants us to become. Overcoming our fear is certainly an important part of our growth as believers. Only “remain in fellowship with Christ” and know that “Christ is righteous.”

And then, John reminds us that we can prove that we “remain in fellowship with Christ” by the way we live. The proof of this fellowship is not merely our having the right beliefs but showing loving actions as well.  What we need to remember is that our loving actions (righteous acts) – “do what is right” – are the evidence, not the cause of our salvation in Christ. There are certainly people who believe that if we just live a little better we will be closer to God and be Christians. No! Jesus made it very clear that our actions do not save us – it is our faith that makes the difference (read Romans 3:27; Ephesians 2:8-10). But a natural and spontaneous outgrowth of our “fellowship with Christ” is the kind of living that reflects God’s love and is pleasing to God. Thus, John writes, “We know that all who do what is right are God’s children.” Amen.

THINK BIG. START SMALL. GO DEEP.