1 Timothy 6:15 – Belonging to the "Only"
13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only… 1 Timothy 6:13-15, New King James Version
The changeover of seasons and school years has me thinking. It doesn't seem as though 28 of these have occurred since I was navigating the one between high school and college, but they have. I was considering my heart in that place, confident to the point of bluster in some areas, yet openly insecure in others. Through it all, and persisting still, is the threat of Christ's grace. I can think back, even, to my state of mind at the precipice of adulthood and opportunity and see that.
One of my strongest expressed desires at that point, one I was willing to admit to those God was using to disciple me, was that He would lead me to a church where His Word was meaningfully proclaimed. He did, and I grew more in Him in three years at a state institution of higher education than some of my friends did at those operating in His Name. His writ ran beyond what was familiar to me, and beforehand, with all I didn't know, I knew it would. Authorities, mentors, approvers changed from setting to setting but, in keeping with the stream of continuity in 1 Timothy 6:15, Jesus remained the One and Only.
This is something like the comparison Paul is proclaiming to Timothy. He puts up Pontius Pilate as the poster of the alternative. Pilate is blessed by Rome, on the condition that he keep order. He blesses, in turn, according to what he can perceive of the ways in which people are useful to him. He gives Jesus this kind of blessing, a decree of no-fault, and then turns Him over to be crucified. But Jesus, He is, says Paul, the blessed and only. There are other governors who have authority where Pontius Pilate does not. One day, Pontius Pilate will represent the might of Rome to determine life and death. The next, when his appointment expires, he will not.
This is not so with Jesus. Jesus was not then and is not now one of many authorities to take their turn declaring what is good, or blameless, or useful. He is the One Who spoke over Creation itself in Genesis, "it is good." He is the One Who spoke the benediction over humanity. He rightfully declared both creation and its human head broken, so He is in a position to declare wholeness again. Ours, then, is to celebrate aspects of that where we see it, and to long for even more evidence of Christ's unique ability to restore, and rule, and declare. He is the Only.
The changeover of seasons and school years has me thinking. It doesn't seem as though 28 of these have occurred since I was navigating the one between high school and college, but they have. I was considering my heart in that place, confident to the point of bluster in some areas, yet openly insecure in others. Through it all, and persisting still, is the threat of Christ's grace. I can think back, even, to my state of mind at the precipice of adulthood and opportunity and see that.
One of my strongest expressed desires at that point, one I was willing to admit to those God was using to disciple me, was that He would lead me to a church where His Word was meaningfully proclaimed. He did, and I grew more in Him in three years at a state institution of higher education than some of my friends did at those operating in His Name. His writ ran beyond what was familiar to me, and beforehand, with all I didn't know, I knew it would. Authorities, mentors, approvers changed from setting to setting but, in keeping with the stream of continuity in 1 Timothy 6:15, Jesus remained the One and Only.
This is something like the comparison Paul is proclaiming to Timothy. He puts up Pontius Pilate as the poster of the alternative. Pilate is blessed by Rome, on the condition that he keep order. He blesses, in turn, according to what he can perceive of the ways in which people are useful to him. He gives Jesus this kind of blessing, a decree of no-fault, and then turns Him over to be crucified. But Jesus, He is, says Paul, the blessed and only. There are other governors who have authority where Pontius Pilate does not. One day, Pontius Pilate will represent the might of Rome to determine life and death. The next, when his appointment expires, he will not.
This is not so with Jesus. Jesus was not then and is not now one of many authorities to take their turn declaring what is good, or blameless, or useful. He is the One Who spoke over Creation itself in Genesis, "it is good." He is the One Who spoke the benediction over humanity. He rightfully declared both creation and its human head broken, so He is in a position to declare wholeness again. Ours, then, is to celebrate aspects of that where we see it, and to long for even more evidence of Christ's unique ability to restore, and rule, and declare. He is the Only.
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