Blog Archives
Eternal King
“So, to the Eternal King, imperishable, invisible, God alone, honor and glory forever unto the ages, Amen!”
(1 Timothy 1:17)
Doxologies like this are not only common in Paul’s writings, but in the Bible as a whole. How can we even begin to put into words the glorious character of our God? Statements like this make a great start. And we must be very clear that we understand that declarations like this are not a matter of mere fancy or flights of spirituality, but they are clear statements as to the character of the God we serve, and as such, they should instill within us a holy fear for who He is.
One of the trends of the last generation has been to try and emphasize the personal and the relational nature of our God. Indeed, He is personal and he does condescend to us. Yet, the Bible also presents Him as being gloriously transcendent and our theology needs to capture both. Today, talk about the “Fear of the Lord” is frowned on in many circles, yet if we are going to take this passage seriously, these words should engender just that fear in our lives, for they speak of God’s profound transcendence over all He has made.
He is Eternal King. In other words, he is the ultimate ruler over all that exists. He has always been its ruler and always will be its ruler. He is God. Kings also protect what is theirs and they enforce the Law. Since God is also Lawgiver, now we see the language of Him being Law Enforcer, which reminds us that he is the final judge over all things. We may be tempted to think that if we write human laws in such a way that they excuse our sins that we are okay when it comes to judgment. Nevertheless, human laws do not supersede divine ones. He sets the standard. We often abuse it, twist it, warp it, and malign it for our own ends. And we will be judged accordingly for having done so.
God is imperishable. In some senses, this goes along with God being eternal, but it is a reminder that were we to stand up against God, we will never prevail. God is invisible, for He is spirit. And, God is alone. He is not one God amongst many nor is he even the superlative example of a class of beings. No, God exists alone. He is in a class that is entirely His own and there is none to rival Him; all others are pretenders at best.
And thus, all honor, glory, and praise belongs to our God forever. And the only right statement to add to these words is, “Amen!” It is our testimony that these words are both true and that they are engrained in the very innermost part of our being. Indeed, He is the one to be praised! Amen and Amen!
To the Praise of His Glory…Amen!
“who is the downpayment of our inheritance, into the redemption of his possession, to the praise of his glory.”
(Ephesians 1:14)
We have seen this language already in Ephesians , but it is worth reiterating again and again. Why does God give us the Holy Spirit as a downpayment of our inheritance while also bringing us into redemption? It is for His glory and his glory alone. It is not because we are special, loved, or otherwise worthy of this gift. It is because Jesus is special and loved and worthy of this and he did all he did for God’s glory (John 8:50). We do receive the care and love of God not as a result of anything in ourselves, but entirely because God desires to act in a way that he will be glorified and rightly so. It’s not about you and it is not about me; it never has been. It is about God and it is about His glory — we simply are given the privilege of praising Him for who he is and to be able to do that, God must change our hearts.
Humans, professing Christians and non-Christians alike, tend toward being self-centered and selfish. We wish to merit something before God and be seen as great in his kingdom. Recently I had a run in with a gentleman who proclaimed himself one of America’s most important theologians. My experience is that if you need to tell others how important you are, you probably aren’t. But it’s sad, because people often think in categories like this. People think that without such and such a person, the church could never do this ministry or that ministry. People think that without these big names within cultural America, like Ravi Zacharias or R.C. Sproul, that the church could not function. And while I am grateful for men such as these, the church can do just fine without them. We just need to stop looking to human “superheroes” and start looking to our divine King, Jesus Christ. And we need to obey his commands as given in scripture. He will honor himself in and through us.
Again, it cannot be said enough, we are to honor God and not ourselves. This is Paul’s point. As the old Christian poet put it, “nothing in my hands I bring; simply to the cross I cling.” Or, more accurately, God brings me to himself as a slave bereft of anything that might make me desirable to Him and he binds me to the cross so that I may never be lost. And slowly, ever so slowly, he changes me, conforming me into the image of His Son. It is not because I deserve it and it is not because I can somehow cling strongly to the Cross of Christ. It is because He has done it in me for His own glory and praise. And indeed, I will give it.
His Majesty Covers the Heavens (Habakkuk 3:3)
“God entered from Teman and the Holy One from Mount Paran—Selah!
His majesty covers the heavens and his praise fills the earth.”
(Habakkuk 3:3)
From here on out, there is a shift of focus from God’s coming judgment on Israel to God’s judgment on the Babylonians for coming to destroy Israel. Teman and Paran are both areas that are part of the territory ruled by the Edomites (the descendents of Esau). The language of God “entering from” this area is not so much language meant to suggest that God is not with his people, but instead meant to depict the God of Glory who knows no national boundaries executing judgment on his enemies even as he moves to redeem his people. It is worth noting that while the Edomites were not the invading force that overthrew Judah and their capitol city, Jerusalem, they did assist the Babylonians by helping to round up the Israelites that sought to escape from the region. For this action, God uses the harshest language of judgment. Thus, God judges without, but also brings strict discipline upon his people within the covenant.
Mid verse (not at the end like some of our translations render it) there is a “Selah,” a liturgical term of which no one really knows the meaning. Some have suggested that it is related to the term ll;s’ (salal), which means “to raise up,” suggesting that it is an instruction to singers to raise their voices at this section of music. Others suggest that it is derived from the verb hl;s’ (salah), which means “to discard” or “to throw away,” suggesting this is where voices were to drop off. Simply speaking, we just do not know, though the context of this passage at least would suggest a crescendo, not a decrescendo.
Either way, Habakkuk moves from the focus on geography to the God who transcends Geography and enters into a wonderful description of God on high in this and the following verses. To begin with, Habakkuk speaks of God’s majesty covering the heavens. The word that Habakkuk uses here is dAh (hod), which speaks of the power, the splendor, or the majesty of God. It is similar in use to the word dAbK’ (kavod), which means “weighty” and is used to speak of God’s glory. The bottom line is that God’s majesty, his glory, his honor, his splendor, his wonder, etc…—all of these attributes—are too big and glorious for the world to contain. Like a weighty blanket, God’s glory is spread across the earth.
And, as a result of God’s majesty spread across the earth, the earth resounds with God’s praise. The word employed here is hL’hiT. (tehillah), which typically speaks of songs of praise. This is worth noting initially because the Hebrew language contains numerous words to describe the praise of God’s people as they enter into his presence. The second reason to point this out is because in the Hebrew culture, singing was a very important part of life and worship and I wonder sometimes whether we have lost some of that in our modern culture—the idea of singing God’s praises both inside and outside of the sanctuary—singing God’s praises even as a form of our outward testimony of God’s grace. And when I am speaking, I don’t so much have in mind the professionals, but the average person like you or me—do the events of God’s grace and splendor all around us in life move us to sing his praises as we go through life? They do for Habakkuk as you will see at the end of this chapter.
The final reason that this language of praise needs to be pointed out is that the earth is described as being filled with God’s praises. Indeed, in the heavenly presentation of worship, all of creation sings its praises to God (Revelation 5:13) and if mankind does not sing, nature will take his place (Luke 19:40). Part of the Dominion Mandate (Genesis 1:28-30) is to do just what Habakkuk is talking about—fill the earth with praise. We are to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations (Matthew 28:19-20) and make disciples so that the earth will be filled with the praises of God. The question we must always be asking ourselves is what are we doing to fulfill that mandate? Are we going to the ends of the world ourselves? Are we sharing the gospel with our neighbors so that our communities will be filled with the praises of God? Are we equipping others to fulfill this mandate? Are our churches doing the same? Beloved, this is our call—to fill the earth with the praises of those who love our Great and Majestic King, Jesus Christ.
We’ve a story to tell to the nations,
That shall turn their hearts to the right;
A story of truth and mercy,
A story of peace and light,
A story of peace and light.
For the darkness shall turn to dawning,
And the dawning to noon-day bright;
For Christ’s great kingdom shall come to the earth,
The kingdom of love and light.
-Ernest Nichol
God is Glorified
“For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
(Matthew 6:13b, KJV)
As we mentioned before, this is not the only prayer that a believer can pray, nor is it the only prayer that Scripture offers to us, but it is the model upon which all our prayers ought to be based. And all of our prayers ought to have this as their goal—that God be glorified forever. That God be glorified in our world. That God be glorified in our families and in our own lives. That God be glorified in all we think, all we do, and in all we say. That God be glorified in every aspect of our living and that through whatever we do in life, that we convey to the unbelieving world that Jesus Christ is Lord and King over all creation.
This, dear friends, is our purpose in life and there is no other, that we glorify God with an aim to enjoying him forever. Oh, that all the nations would come to hear and understand this one thing! Oh, that missionaries would reach every corner of this planet to proclaim God’s glorious gospel! Oh, to see that time when all of God’s elect will gather before the throne of the risen Christ—people from every tongue and tribe and land—singing praise to the King in one accord! Oh, what a time that will be! Believer, I look to join you at that time, but what about those we care about who have not joined us in faith? Will you bid them to join us at the throne of Christ? Will you share the gospel with them one more time and then another time again as the Lord allows?
The Preacher's Study 