Tag: God

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1 Timothy 6:15b-16a – Being God

A bright light shines over the horizon. (Grok)

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. 

Summary: Paul’s words provide a description of God that is both awe-inspiring and humbling.   

One of the things about the Bible that is a bit hard for us to comprehend is how things work in the spiritual realm. For example, Jesus says that he and the Father “are one” (John 10:30). What does that mean? How are we to understand this? 

Here, in Paul’s letter, he writes that God is the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” That makes sense to me because Paul is pointing to God’s supreme authority. He is God, and we are not. But there is something else here. Paul is not the only one to use this description of God. 

In John’s description of Jesus setting out for the final battle against Evil we see him described with a name on his thigh:

 “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Revelation 19:16) 

Both God and Jesus share the same title. Both of them share the same authority. As Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” 

Both are immortal. 

I thought the use of the word “immortal” was interesting, because when we live with God in heaven, all of us who serve King Jesus will technically be “immortal.” But there is a big difference between our life in Christ and God’s immortality. 

God pre-existed everything (Genesis 1:1). He exists outside of time (Psalm 90:4). He is to human immortality what a 100-year-old man is to a newborn baby. 

The immortality of God is without beginning or end. 

Then we have the quality of Light. Paul says the Lord lives in “unapproachable light.” 

I am reminded of the story of Paul’s direct encounter with the Lord: 

“As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.” (Acts 9:3)

When Paul says that God lives in “unapproachable light,” he knows what he is talking about!

Authority, immortality, and unapproachable light. There is a reason the Bible says that we should “fear the Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:13). 

Application: God is Awesome! 

Food for Thought: What would you add to Paul’s description of God’s power and position? 

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1 Timothy 6:13a – The Watcher

Picture of an owl's eyes (Pixabay)

In the sight of God, who gives life to everything…

Summary: Paul’s opening words to this passage provide an inspiring peek at the source of life.   

Speaking of Paul’s sentences that run on for a full paragraph, here is another one! Let’s begin by examining his opening words because they are worth a few minutes of our time. 

“In the sight of God, who gives life to everything…”

Paul can’t see Timothy when he is writing his letter, but he knows God can. He also knows God sees him as well. God sees us all! 

That has to be a comforting thought for Paul as he writes to his “true son in the faith” (1 Timothy 1:2). God’s family might seem spread out over the far reaches of the entire world, but no matter how far apart they are, God is keeping track. No one is ever “lost” in God’s family. 

Speaking of God, Paul points out that this is the God who “gives life to everything.” That is an interesting thing to think about as well. 

I don’t know this for a fact, but I don’t believe that God can create us and the whole universe we live in and just “walk away” to leave it run on its own. That is not to say God couldn’t walk away if he wanted to, but rather that if he did, everything would go *Poof!* and simply stop existing. We need God! He “gives life to everything…”

This reality, that God is the source of life, changes how we see things. 

Instead of imagining ourselves lost, alone, and forgotten, it helps to know that we are “in the sight of God.” Always. 

Even when we are hurting, or someone is hurting us, God knows. 

Do you think God likes to see us hurting each other? No, of course not. That is the real irony of life. When people want to know, “Why is there evil in the world?,” all we have to do is look in the mirror and see “evil” looking right back at us. 

This is why God commands us to love (Matthew 22:37-40). 

First, to love him, because he is love (1 John 4:8). Secondly, because if we are loving our neighbor, we are not going to be hurting them.

Application: Love (agapē). 

Food for Thought: What happens when people imagine that God is not watching? 

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1 Timothy 6:11 (Part 5) – Endurance

Picture of a farm road and barbed wire fence. (Grok)

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 

Summary: Endurance is one of those things that really boils down to an act of will.   

My high school track coach was a tall man — about six feet five inches. When it came to running, you might say he had a ‘leg up’ on me. Those long legs of his could cover a lot of ground, and he made it look easy. 

I was not an athlete. Still, I had signed up for cross-country in high school, and that is how I found myself running a practice run through the back country of the small logging community I lived in. 

It was a hot afternoon, and we were running a full course for a timed practice. I was lagging behind as usual, and the farm road was as boring as it was long. Just as I was contemplating slowing down, the coach came up from behind and jogged alongside me for a bit. I remember complaining that I was getting tired, and he asked a simple question: “Can you make it to that next fence post?” 

I looked at the post about a hundred feet away and said, “Yeah, I can make that.” 

“Good,” he said,“ then do it again for the next one. 

So I did. And you know what? I did it for the next one, too. And when I made it back to the town park and crossed the finish line, I discovered I had run my best time ever. 

When I see the word “endurance,” that memory of running all those years ago is where my mind goes. I really wanted to give up, but the coach came along and helped me refocus on what I was supposed to be doing. 

It worked. 

I think Paul is doing the same thing for Timothy and you and me. 

Living the Christian life isn’t always easy. It is tempting to want to give up being nice to others and loving neighbors as God loves me, but then along comes Paul and says, “Can you make it to the end of the day?” 

“Yeah, I can do that.” 

“Good. Do it. And then do it again tomorrow.” 

Application: Keep your eyes on Coach Jesus.  

Food for Thought: How does it feel to endure and break through a mental barrier?

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1 Timothy 5:5 – Real Need

Older women in a lineup. (Grok)

The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.

Summary: Paul is giving instructions to Timothy regarding a special case of giving — making a commitment to support someone for the rest of their life.   

In this passage, Paul gives us three tests to be used in determining who is “really in need.” Remember, we are not talking about a one-time handout. A ‘widow in need’ needs help for the rest of her life. That is a big commitment and one worthy of caution before making it. 

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1 Timothy 4:10 – Why We Train

A picture of a man digging a deep hole. (Grok)

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Summary: This passage is a hum-dinger. Paul’s words leave us with a paradox wrapped up in a controversy.   

This verse, like so many others in this letter to Timothy, is difficult. It can be analyzed from several different angles, but for the sake of this meditation, we are going to use a very simple analysis. Paul’s sentence can be divided into two parts. One is paradoxical, and the other is controversial. 

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1 Timothy 2:3b – Simple Pleasures

The carpenter's hand rests on a new table (Grok)

… and pleases God our Savior …

Summary: Pleasing God often sounds like a daunting task, yet our God is pleased when we simply trust him with our prayers. 

If you were God, what would please you? 

I suppose that is a rather silly question, but asking it helps us put ourselves in God’s position. If we were God, would we want our creation to please us, or would we have to compromise and “settle for” whatever our creation decided to do? 

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