The Radiant Glow of the Gospel of God
From 1 Timothy 1 – 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,
2 Timothy, a true son in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia – remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is faith.
5 now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some have strayed and turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the unholy and the profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manlayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God
In The Founder, Michael Keaton dramatizes the story of Ray Kroc as Kroc's strategies lead to the explosive growth of McDonald's franchises. Kroc came to regret the initial agreement he made with the McDonald brothers, the film explains, because his profit margins were so small. He had to look for loopholes in the agreement in order that he and the business now synonymous with his name with thrive.
Such embittered half-heartedness is not the way with the God in Whom Paul rejoices in 1 Timothy 1:11. Given the human abuse Paul accurately lists in the preceding four verses, God has every right to exercise an out in His contract or covenant with men. We have not been faithful, not in Ephesus, in our own hearts, or in the splaying of broken relationships in which we currently find ourselves. The Gospel as one-time offer, as a shrinking window of opportunity for Him to clean up the mess we make as a culture and as individuals would be amazing evidence of His magnanimity.
There's more, so much more, baubles Paul in 1 Timothy 1:11 just before applying that grace to himself. The message he gets to preach, the cleansing he gets to luxuriate in, is, Paul names it, the Gospel of God. Grace, God's richness at Christ's expense, is not an exception proferred on a good day in the counsels of the Trinity which will come to be regretted as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit observe just how much 1 Timothy 1:6-10 ugliness remains in us and flows out of us.
The Gospel OF God is the Father's ongoing brand and character. The Gospel OF God is Christ the Son's never-ceasing prayer for His own. The Gospel OF God is the Holy Spirit's irrepressible ministry of encouragement as He brings to our minds what Christ has said, and what Christ has done in our lives in particular.
If They co-opted McDonald's signs for the Trinity, the notice would dwarf the golden arches that billions and billions are still BEING served. If They took over Krispy Kreme's signage, the sustenance and satiation the Gospel provides would be declared, "Hot now!" The beacon lighting every highway and byway, even those frequented by believers bewildered that we have lost His path invites, "My Gospel," "My Gospel," "My Gospel."
The brightness and constancy of what Paul terms the Gospel of God beckons us back all the more brightly because of the darkness it pierces. Wherever the Holy Spirit's ongoing excavation in our hearts unearths fresh evidence we are not like Christ yet, that we may, in the case built in 1 Timothy 1:6-10 be at least as guilty as though still under God's Law, the Gospel of God proclaims both His power to re-create and renew and His active, individualized interest in doing so in the areas of our lives that seem most unpromising.
2 Timothy, a true son in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia – remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is faith.
5 now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, 6 from which some have strayed and turned aside to idle talk, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the unholy and the profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manlayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God
In The Founder, Michael Keaton dramatizes the story of Ray Kroc as Kroc's strategies lead to the explosive growth of McDonald's franchises. Kroc came to regret the initial agreement he made with the McDonald brothers, the film explains, because his profit margins were so small. He had to look for loopholes in the agreement in order that he and the business now synonymous with his name with thrive.
Such embittered half-heartedness is not the way with the God in Whom Paul rejoices in 1 Timothy 1:11. Given the human abuse Paul accurately lists in the preceding four verses, God has every right to exercise an out in His contract or covenant with men. We have not been faithful, not in Ephesus, in our own hearts, or in the splaying of broken relationships in which we currently find ourselves. The Gospel as one-time offer, as a shrinking window of opportunity for Him to clean up the mess we make as a culture and as individuals would be amazing evidence of His magnanimity.
There's more, so much more, baubles Paul in 1 Timothy 1:11 just before applying that grace to himself. The message he gets to preach, the cleansing he gets to luxuriate in, is, Paul names it, the Gospel of God. Grace, God's richness at Christ's expense, is not an exception proferred on a good day in the counsels of the Trinity which will come to be regretted as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit observe just how much 1 Timothy 1:6-10 ugliness remains in us and flows out of us.
The Gospel OF God is the Father's ongoing brand and character. The Gospel OF God is Christ the Son's never-ceasing prayer for His own. The Gospel OF God is the Holy Spirit's irrepressible ministry of encouragement as He brings to our minds what Christ has said, and what Christ has done in our lives in particular.
If They co-opted McDonald's signs for the Trinity, the notice would dwarf the golden arches that billions and billions are still BEING served. If They took over Krispy Kreme's signage, the sustenance and satiation the Gospel provides would be declared, "Hot now!" The beacon lighting every highway and byway, even those frequented by believers bewildered that we have lost His path invites, "My Gospel," "My Gospel," "My Gospel."
The brightness and constancy of what Paul terms the Gospel of God beckons us back all the more brightly because of the darkness it pierces. Wherever the Holy Spirit's ongoing excavation in our hearts unearths fresh evidence we are not like Christ yet, that we may, in the case built in 1 Timothy 1:6-10 be at least as guilty as though still under God's Law, the Gospel of God proclaims both His power to re-create and renew and His active, individualized interest in doing so in the areas of our lives that seem most unpromising.
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