1 Timothy 6:13–16
The Kingdom of God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
How do you think you might feel this Wednesday morning? Relieved? Anxious? Angry? I don't know who will become president of the USA this week, but I do know that by Wednesday morning, one way or the other, there will be countless social media posts that say something like (blank) may be president, but Jesus is King! And, to some degree, that is a true and good sentence. I do wonder, though, as we have asked already in this sermon series, what does it mean to live as if you really believe that Jesus' kingship overrules and out weighs the dominion of the Federal govenment of our country? I hope that this sermon series has already begun to help us better grasp what it means to live as Kingdom citizens. Today, we're going to see how Paul's view of Jesus' rule helps to encourage Gods people when we are fearful and equip Gods people to kingdom driven conflict. Let's pray and jump in.
SEEING THE KING OF KINGS
SEEING THE KING OF KINGS
Let me give you some brief context to this letter to help you understand how Paul's big description of God in verses 15-16 fits into his overall message to Timothy. Paul is writing to encourage his young disciple to persevere in leading a church that is dealing with conflict from without and within. Paul weaves together gospel theology, practical application, and encouragement for Timothy. Paul tells Timothy things he shoud avoid and things he should fight for. I think that , though we are not all pastors, we can all probably relate to the possible tension, anxiety, and fear that Timothy felt as he tried to live out the gospel and point others to the goodness of Jesus. In this passage, Paul points Timothy to a vision of who God is that should encourage and equip him. I want you to see how a better vision of the King of Kings might do the same for you. We will see how Paul describes God’s power, position, and plan.
1. God's Power
1. God's Power
Look with me at verse sixteen. Paul says that God alone has immortality. He is eternal and in complete control of all creation. Paul says that God "dwells in unapproachable light." This image of light signifies God's purity and eternal holiness. You have a better chance walking into the sun than approaching the whole presence of God’s perfection. Paul also points to the invisibility of God to emphasize the fact of God's transcendent power. Paul wants Timothy to see and be encouraged by God's power and complete "otherness." I think that too often, my lack of confidence in God comes from my desire to fit him into a neat box or logical system that fits within my ability to comprehend. I’m nervous about how things go in the world when I forget the power of God who is outside of what I can see. The God that the Bible describes blows away the idea that my finite mind can completely understand or comprehend his holiness and power. This week as I studied this passage in light of my own anxieties and struggles, I was challenged to consider the thought that if I could add up everything that bothered me, every conflict that we all may face, every election, war, and world empire none of it could give God even a hint of anxiety or worry. It is helpful to me just to say out loud, “Nothing is bothering God right now. Nothing ever will.”
2. God's Position
2. God's Position
God is completely able to do all things, and he is also completely in charge of all things. Look at the titles given to the Father and Son in these verses: he is Lord, he is the blessed and only Sovereign, he is the king of kings, and Lord of lords. The Bible tells us that every human authority ultimately acts only under what God allows or permits. Make no mistake, God is the King in the castle of the cosmos. He has no rival or equal. There is no military that can stand against him. There is no economy that can out bid him. He is not only a King of ultimate power, but he is also the king who is close to what is going on in the lives of his people. God sees all the turmoil of the world and he is in complete control. I know that it can be difficult to intellectually believe in God’s position as Sovereign King and at the same time to see the brokenness of the word. Many times, even the most faithful people in Scripture asked, “God, if you’re in control, why are all these terrible things happening?” I think of Habbakuk who asked a similarly worded question. I love how God replies to him: “I'm doing a work right now that you couldn’t comprehend if I told you!” (Habakkuk 1) We often question God’s plan because we can’t clearly see his power and position. Consider with me that God is in such complete control that even what seems like from our perspective to be a great injustice or evil he will use for his glory and the good of his Kingdom? The Bible doesn’t teach us that God is responsible for human brokenness, but make no mistake, it teaches us that he is beyond and above it. God is Sovereign in such a way that he is making all broken things new and defeating all evil that appears to be unmatched even when we don’t see it. Here is an illustration that might be helpful. Lately, Judah has been learning to play tic-tac-to. Here is what I have learned: I know enough about the game to set him up to either win or lose. Every single time, I’m in control of the outcome. From his perspective, we start out with the same opportunity, but for me there is a new level of thought. I’m not just playing a game, I am raising a son! How do I teach him to get better at the game if I dont beat him sometimes? How do I not discourage him if I beat him every time? How do I use the game as an opportunity to teach him about life? Now imagine the gap between me and my Heavenly Father described in these verses. God’s Kingship is bigger than what you and I may see or demand. Here is the question—does his control scare us or encourage us? The answer to that will reveal how you see God!
3. God’s Plan
3. God’s Plan
Paul reminds Timothy while challenging him to hold on to the gospel, that God's Kingdom position and plan are actively working. He points Timothy to remember " the good confession" that Jesus made to Pilate. Think back a few weeks with me when we talked about Jesus’ conversation with Pilate. Jesus told Pilate (1) I am the King, (2) the kingdom isn't like the Kingdoms of the world, and (3) that he came to point people to the truth. Paul tells his son in the faith that Jesus is going to appear again at the right time and that the Kingdom call for believers as we wait for that arrival is to own our invitation to eternal life by acting out what we might call God's foreign policy. What does this look like in our lives? We should be following Jesus’ pattern of confessing Jesus to be King, living out the "not of this world" values of the Kingdom, and letting the truth guide our choices and priorities. This is God’s plan for his people: we follow Jesus’ path as we await Jesus’ appearance. Aspire verse 16 ends, we pray for the expansion of the honor and dominion of our Heavenly Father.
SERVING THE KING OF KINGS
SERVING THE KING OF KINGS
Last week, I talked about how the Kingdom values of Jesus call us to draw lines of allegiance that will create what we called "holy conflict." This idea connects well with Paul's charge to Timothy to "fight the good fight of the faith." (See verse 12) What should it look like in our lives to be consistent and committed servants of King Jesus? Let's break down three foundations for "fighting th good fight."
1. Own Your Confession
1. Own Your Confession
In verses 11-13, Paul references that Timothy at some point made "the good confession" and connects this idea with "the good confession" that Jesus made before Pilate. Christians throughout history have identified ourselves as "confessional." Some churches place more emphasis on formal Christian confessions and creeds than others, but all Christians understand that the way we identify ourselves with Jesus is by the confession that we believe and commit to the Lordship of Jesus and the call of the gospel. I wonder, does our approach to the faith match the confession that we are called to make? Do we take seriously with our lives the words that we speak with our mouths when we claim to belong to Christ? I am challenged by this thought: how many of us could even articulate a concise confession of our faith if we were asked to by the end of the day? I dont mean to shame us, but to challenge us. What does it mean to confess that Jesus is your king and that you commit to following him? It is interesting to me to see that in Paul's doxology, he intentionally uses cultural Roman language to ascribe to God titles that people would have associated with the emperor. You see, for Christians in Timothy's day, to "confess" that Jesus was King of Kings and Lord of lords was to make the very political statement that Caeser was not. A confession meant really identifying with the Kingdom rather than the world. We as God’s people should consider how our alligience to Jesus and confession of his Lordship should impact our allegiance to the things of the world. We will "fight the good fight" when we own our confession that God is the God of all people and all things and that he alone is the God of all things and all people.
2. Understand God’s Commandment
2. Understand God’s Commandment
Paul tells Timothy to fight the good fight by remembering his confession, and adds the charge to “keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach” in light of Jesus sure return. I believe that where we as Western Christians are tempted to fail is to make being apart of God's Kingdom a private matter. We keep Jesus inside our hearts, but we struggle to apply his values beyond church attendance and some internal prayer throughout the week. If you can read the gospels and come away with the idea that Jesus was crucified for telling people to invite him into their hearts and not into their families, jobs, neighborhoods, and even nations, then you need a new Bible translation. Jesus commands—not suggests—that the truth of his identity and rescue plan has outward application for every area of human life. We don't have time to look at every point of application in Paul’s letter to Timothy, but we could summarize a good portion of the application by saying that Paul charges Timothy to reject worldliness that gratifies the flesh and pursue godliness that honors Christ as Lord. In what areas of your life are you trying to compartmentalize the Kingdom of God? How are you pursuing keeping God’s commandments “untainted and free from reproach?”
3. Fight Jesus’ Way
3. Fight Jesus’ Way
In verse 11, Paul helps Timothy to understand What it means to "fight the good fight" of faith in Jesus. "Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, lore, steadfastness, (and) gentleness. Friends, no matter what happens this week in our election, the fighting is going to go on. Bet on it. I wonder, will we join the world's fight by the world's way? Our testimony will be impacted by how we react and respond to the world around us. My prayer is that we continue to see that Jesus' Kingdom will win the victory not through anger, hate, name calling, worlaly division, and dissent, but by radical and subversive love, godliness, and faith. Will the world see our confidence in Christ this week, or our concern for worldly comfort and power? This takes my mind to the book of Revelation. In Chapter 5, John is in this throne-room vision. He sees the scroll and is weeping because no one is able to open it. Then, one of the elders tells him to “weep no more" because the lion of the tribe of Judah is there. The title of lion represents power and strength and authority. Jesus is the King of kings! Yet, when John looks, he doesn't see a lion. He sees "a lamb standing, as though it had been slain." Think of the imagry and what it represents. Jesus is the lion of Judah, but his victory comes through his position as the lamb that was slain. We as God's people must learn that this is how the Kingdom will spread. We are called to reflect the King who is both the lion and the lamb. This is the picture of what it means to fight the good fight. Church, we should feel a deep desire to see the world around us change, but we must recognize how that change will truly happen. You’ll see transformation in your life and in the world when you begin to lay down your worldly weapons, and pick up the armor and attitude of God.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
I started this sermon by inviting you to consider how you might feel post-election this week. I’d like to ask you to revisit that feeling with new eyes. First, consider seeing our current context through the lens of God’s power, position, and plan. Do you trust the king? How does your faith in God transcend your political hopes? Next, see through the lens of your allegiance and service to the King. How are you fighting for the spread of the Kingdom? What influence and opportunity might you have even this week to own your confession, keep God's command, and fight Jesus way? Church, do you believe that God's Kingdom is so much bigger than this Tuesday? Do you see that you and I have been invited to be ambassadors of the kingdom wherever we are? Tapestry, by God's grace, let's live out God's gospel. Amen.
