1 Timothy 6:16 – Honoring by Faith
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 Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor…
"From the beginning to the end," declares Israel & New Breed in "Jesus at the Center," "it will always be, it’s always been You, Jesus."
There is a Pauline obedience in the repetition of this simple, yet still revolutionary, declaration. The apostle points Timothy there as, inspired, he continues to unspool the attributes of Christ for his young charge and for the ages to come. None who call themselves Christians, then or now, would likely be surprised by anything in the lyric. We would readily nod at Jesus' immortality, and largely go on about our business as though this life contained our essence. We would ascribe to Jesus an address in unapproachable light, and either ignore Him or motor to Him irreverently as the Man upstairs. We would, with Paul, call Him unseen, and often use this as our excuse for walking by sight.
This duality of Whom we know Christ to be and how shallowly that reality penetrates our affections is what makes the gift of specifically honoring Him such a manifestation of grace. We can follow song lyrics, as above, and redirect our hearts. We can pause before His Word and enact a course correction. We can, feel it fully or not, having walked in it completely yesterday or not, give Him the honor He is due.
This is especially subversive to this world's order because Paul has just reminded Timothy we cannot see the One we honor. The worldlings operate when their senses are pricked, and yet here we are, Christian, by grace moved by something, Someone, else. Granted, we had met with Augustine in Confessions that we have loved Him sluggishly, but that we are animated at all to honor Him is evidence of His faithfulness. The world honors when metrics are reached or when mutual reciprocity is satisfied. We, looking backward, honor Him Who existed before such ideas of human contractual relationships were formed. We, looking forward, anticipate penetrating, by grace, that unapproachable light and knowing Him as He knows us. Just the Spirit groaning within us toward that end indicates something different is afoot.
Resolving on Christ's entitlement to honor can also change our actions. Because of that, because we are moved by His glory even when we can't yet see it, we trust He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and rewards with currency that will never be debased like Ephesus' rewards. We labor, as it were, for both, with the privilege of turning a paycheck into an extension of His purposes, and for untouchable memories to be shared with Him in the furtherance of our relationship at the end of time. We honor authorities, as, for instance, Daniel and Joseph did, but we do so recognizing attributes which meet their fullness in Christ. We are ready, as Joseph was in Genesis, to declare the limits of human glory and power in order to contrast them to the limitlessness of Christ.
"From the beginning to the end," declares Israel & New Breed in "Jesus at the Center," "it will always be, it’s always been You, Jesus."
There is a Pauline obedience in the repetition of this simple, yet still revolutionary, declaration. The apostle points Timothy there as, inspired, he continues to unspool the attributes of Christ for his young charge and for the ages to come. None who call themselves Christians, then or now, would likely be surprised by anything in the lyric. We would readily nod at Jesus' immortality, and largely go on about our business as though this life contained our essence. We would ascribe to Jesus an address in unapproachable light, and either ignore Him or motor to Him irreverently as the Man upstairs. We would, with Paul, call Him unseen, and often use this as our excuse for walking by sight.
This duality of Whom we know Christ to be and how shallowly that reality penetrates our affections is what makes the gift of specifically honoring Him such a manifestation of grace. We can follow song lyrics, as above, and redirect our hearts. We can pause before His Word and enact a course correction. We can, feel it fully or not, having walked in it completely yesterday or not, give Him the honor He is due.
This is especially subversive to this world's order because Paul has just reminded Timothy we cannot see the One we honor. The worldlings operate when their senses are pricked, and yet here we are, Christian, by grace moved by something, Someone, else. Granted, we had met with Augustine in Confessions that we have loved Him sluggishly, but that we are animated at all to honor Him is evidence of His faithfulness. The world honors when metrics are reached or when mutual reciprocity is satisfied. We, looking backward, honor Him Who existed before such ideas of human contractual relationships were formed. We, looking forward, anticipate penetrating, by grace, that unapproachable light and knowing Him as He knows us. Just the Spirit groaning within us toward that end indicates something different is afoot.
Resolving on Christ's entitlement to honor can also change our actions. Because of that, because we are moved by His glory even when we can't yet see it, we trust He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and rewards with currency that will never be debased like Ephesus' rewards. We labor, as it were, for both, with the privilege of turning a paycheck into an extension of His purposes, and for untouchable memories to be shared with Him in the furtherance of our relationship at the end of time. We honor authorities, as, for instance, Daniel and Joseph did, but we do so recognizing attributes which meet their fullness in Christ. We are ready, as Joseph was in Genesis, to declare the limits of human glory and power in order to contrast them to the limitlessness of Christ.
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