Thursday, October 16

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2014

Jeremiahs 28:1–29:32

1 Timothy 1:1–20

Psalm 86:1–17

Proverbs 25:17

 

 

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.  Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.  The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

 

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.  Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.  Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:12–17)

 

 

Paul notes his human history and remarks on the seeming incongruence of calling him to serve as a “light for the Gentiles.” (Acts 13:47; Isaiah 49:6)  Despite his blaspheming and persecuting background, God “poured out” His grace “abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Timothy 1:14)

 

Along with Paul, we share a common heritage of receiving God’s grace.  By our sin, we too deserve to be separated from God’s love and presence.  Yet, by His grace, He has called us to His side and sealed us with the promised Holy Spirit, a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance to come.  In humility, we should certainly agree with Paul:  “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.”  Our changed lives provide an “example” for others:  the “display” of His “immense patience.”

 

In the final verse above, Paul offers a doxology (praise) to the “King eternal, immortal, invisible,” seeking His “glory for ever and ever.”  This verse has deep significance for me, primarily as it spoke life into my physical and spiritual grandfather, Jonathan Edwards.

 

Born in 1703 and raised in Enfield, Conn., Edwards started at Yale at the age of 13 and graduated as valedictorian in 1720.  He initially struggled with the sovereignty of God, remarking:  “From my childhood up, my mind had been full of objections against the doctrine of God’s sovereignty.  It used to appear a horrible doctrine to me.”  In 1721, he meditated on 1 Timothy 1:17 and later explained:  “As I read the words, there came into my soul and was, as it were, diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being – a new sense, quite different from anything I ever experienced before.  I thought [to] myself:  How excellent a Being that was and how happy I should be if I might enjoy that God and be rapt up to him in heaven and be, as it were, swallowed up in him forever!”

 

From this point forward, Edwards would delight in the sovereignty of God and become one of the greatest voices in theology in expounding this truth.  He recognized these reflections on 1 Timothy 1:17 as the moment of his conversion.

 

As we have read the Bible this year, which verses have spoken most clearly to you?  To whom might you share the truths that God presented to you?

 

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for reviving our hardened hearts.  You have spoken life into dry bones and shown amazing patience, even with our wandering hearts.  Strengthen us to share the truths of Your Word with a world hungry for hope and rest.  Deepen our trust in Your sovereign grace and Your power to accomplish every good purpose in our lives, for Your praise, honor, and glory.  In Jesus’s Name, amen.

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