Untitled Sermon (20)

Introduction

This morning’s theme is to preach on the views Paul had of God based on 1 Timothy 1:1-2.

Before I can preach on his views of God, we need to discover Paul’s understanding of God within our text. We cannot preach on his views of God without discovering his knowledge of God. An example, how we understand love will form our views of love. Similarly, Paul’s understanding of God will shape his views of God.

Paul gave Timothy a five-prong base of connectivity that produced light onto how Paul saw God.

He say God the Father is Savior

The first prong that sticks out is God is our Savior. There is a continental divide that separates how many people (to include Christians) understand God the Father in relation to Jesus Christ. God the Father is vengeful, angry, filled with wrath, punishing, and making sure all the I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed. On the other side of the continental divide there is Jesus. He is loving, compassionate, tender, accepting, merciful and forgiving. In three words Paul destroys the divide by uniting God the Father with Jesus Christ as the Savior.

As the Savior, God the Father loves unconditionally those whom He saves.

Consider John 3:14-16 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In these three verses, we see why Jesus must die, the manner of His death, what is necessary to be saved and the motivation behind God’s plan of salvation. Verses 14 and 15 declare men have been poisoned by sin, Jesus must be lifted up on the cross, and people must believe to inherit eternal life. Verse 16 gives us the motivation to God’s plan of salvation: “For God (the Father) so loved the world, that He gave us His only begotten Son...” God’s motivation in saving people is His love. God’s love for the world is even more pronounced in the Greek. The English follows a sequential syntax (word order sensitivity) - subject-verb-direct object. An example: Joe went to the store. Biblical Greek follows a morphological syntax. Therefore, the verb or direct object can come before the subject. Part of the reason for this is to provide flexibility within a sentence. What comes first is invariably the most important part of the sentence. The Greek reads: “ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον.” In this way, for, love, the God, the world. What drives the verse is not the subject of the verse but what the subject is doing.

This morning, if love love God, your love for Him is solely and completely based upon His love for you, first. 1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Usually, Paul refers to Jesus as our Savior. However, in 1 Timothy and Titus (2 of the 3 pastoral epistles he makes regular references to God as our Savior. Why the change in his pattern? Nero was the Roman emperor at the time Paul wrote these two epistles. Nero claimed that he was the Savior of the world. To counter this, Paul declared the true Savior of the world is God the Father. In our day, movements, political parties, social activism, entertainment, and prosperity have been declared to be our saviors. However, we must counter this as Paul did by declaring God as the rightful Savior.

Jesus is Lord

The second prong to Paul;s understanding of God is Jesus is Lord! Jesus as Lord is in relationship with God our Savior. We cannot understand God as Savior without seeing Jesus as the Lord. These two concepts about God go hand in hand. In Titus 1:4 “To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.”

The meaning of the word Lord is Supreme authority. Jesus has supreme authority. The Jews were defiantly in opposition to the Lordship of Jesus. In Matthew 12 Jesus denounced the traditions the Pharisees had erected for the Sabbath Day, their holy grail. He went further to say In Matthew 12:8 “For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.” The Pharisees understanding their authority was being assaulted by truth came together to discuss the destruction of Jesus. Matthew 12:14 “Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.” 2000 years later, the world has not changed. The world loves a Jesus who is not the Lord, but have removed the authoritarian Jesus from public discourse. As Christians, His Lordship needs to be front and center in our thinking and the way we live our life.

The consequence of us not submitting to the Lordship of Jesus is being on the wrong path that leads to defeat. Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.”

God is our Father

1 Timothy 1:2 “Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Some context to the seismic statement made by Paul. The first Jewish rabbi to declare in the first person that God is our Father was Jesus! What we take for granted was a novel concept in the first century. The possibility that we can have an intimate and personal relationship with God through a family is breathtaking. God is our Father and we are His children.

Jesus preached a revolting sermon on the Mount. The sermon was revolting for many reasons. One reason was during the sermon He brought up numerous times our relationship with the Father.

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Matthew 5:44-45 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Matthew 6:9 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”

Matthew 6:14 “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:”

Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

If He is our Father then we are doing His will: we are shinning light on the Father, loving our enemies, praying to Him, and forgiving others.

God incarnate

1 Timothy 1:2 “Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The fourth prong that empowered Paul to have a correct understanding of God was embracing the incarnation of God. Notice the name for the Lord - Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God’s earthly name. The significance of God being incarnated in the person of Jesus cannot be dismissed.

The reason God the Father is our Savior is because God the Son became man.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.”

1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

1 John 3:8 “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

John 6:51 “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Luke 2:11 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

The reason there can be good will towards man is because God the Son became flesh.

Jesus is Christ

1 Timothy 1:1-2 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The fifth prong is Jesus the Lord is the Christ. Jesus was anointed to do make impossible possible - to save sinners. Matthew 19:23-26 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Paul viewed God able to save the unsaveable

1 Timothy 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;”

What I mean by this statement is God can save those who we believe to be too far gone or the epitome of evil. The very first word in 1 Timothy - Paul - highlights that God can save anyone.

Paul was not always an Apostle. Before grace, he was a vicious and maniacal persecutor of the Lord’s church. 30 Years before writing 1 Timothy, no one could have imagined a scenario where Paul would be writing an epistle to a young pastor declaring: 1 Timothy 3:15 “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

To see this point more fully, we need to go back 30 years to see the kind of person Paul was ahead of him meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus.

Acts 8:3 “As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.”

“Havoc” - To soil or dirty or make filthy.

“Havoc” - middle voice. This means he was being affected by the havoc he created.

Acts 9:1 “And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,”

“The picture is of an angry, violent man absolutely convinced of his own righteousness. Saul hated the disciples of the Lord.”

Acts 26:9-11 “I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.”

A. T. Robertson wrote regarding Paul saying: “I verily thought with myself:” “Paul’s ‘egoism.’

I shut up in prison

I supported their death

I punished them oft

I compelled then to blaspheme

I was mad (crazy) against them

“I ought” - “Duty bound”

“contrary” - hostility.

Galatians 1:13-15 “For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it: And profited in the Jews’ religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,”

The persecution was personal.

“Wasted” - “Sack”

Paul, as a lost person, made havoc against the ground and pillar of truth, slaughtered Christians, did this beyond measure, and he was mad. Paul was the unsaveable until we get to verse 15 and read the word “But.” “But” is a game-changing word. The greatest “But” in the history of written language occurs in the Bible. Many occurences of “but” in the Bible have eternal impact. An example: Romans 8 has “but” 16 times. Each time is a game changer for the Christian.

Romans 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Romans 8:10 “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

The greatest “but” in Paul’s life happened in Galatians 1:15 “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,”

God saved a monster in redeeming Paul. His crimes against the Lord made him the most wanted person. Paul says: 1 Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

Paul was not the only unsaveable person God saved.

Mark 5:1-15.

Acts 6:7 “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”

Acts 8:8 - Acts 8:11-18 - 1 Corinthians 1:1

God saved Crispus

God saved Sosthenes

How can God save the unsaveable? The answers are:

Salvation belongs to the Lord

Psalms 3:8 “Salvation belongeth unto the Lord: Thy blessing is upon thy people. Selah.”

Jonah 2:9 “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

He gives a new heart

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

Ezekiel 36:24-28 “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant With the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand To bring them out of the land of Egypt; Which my covenant they brake, Although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, And write it in their hearts; And will be their God, And they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For they shall all know me, From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: For I will forgive their iniquity, And I will remember their sin no more.”

Do you posses this view of God? Having Paul’s view will cause us to pray, plant and water more - knowing that God will give the increase when it pleases Him.

God’s thoughts are not our thoughts

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are my ways higher than your ways, And my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Paul was an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Usually, Paul says that he was an Apostle by the will of God. However, in 1 Timothy, he focuses on God’s commandment. The will of God and the command of God are two ways of saying the same thing. The reason for the change of language in 1 Timothy probably has to do with setting the tone for the epistle.

The word “commandment” means “a decree.” Paul received a divine decree from the triune God to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He was not chosen to be an Apostle by the other Apostles or a church becasue they would not have selected him. He was a slaughterer of the Christian people. Imagine God saving Hitler and making him one of the leaders of the Jewish movement. God took a man who was filled with rage and hatred of a faith and made him one of her leaders. God does not think the way we think.

Not only did God command him to be an Apostle but he was primarily an Apostle to the Gentiles. Romans 11:13 “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:” This is stunning becasue before salvation Paul was: Philippians 3:5 “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;” It is hard to imagine Peter, James or John as Apostles to the Gentiles but even harder to think Paul would be.

Years ago, I heard someone say that Paul was the perfect choice to be an Apostle of the Gentiles becasue he was from Tarsus and a Roman citizen. On the surface that sounds great; however, consider his time in Tarsus would have made him hate the Gentiles more and possibly led him to be a more passionate Pharisee than others.

He would have been one of the last people I thought would be an Apostle to the Gentiles.

God defies human logic for His purpose.

A prisoner became the Prime Minister of Egypt - Saving Jacob and his family.

A murderer led Israel out of Egypt.

A shepherd became a king.

A Jewish girl becomes a queen. In her role, she was able to save a people.

An impoverished girl gave birth to Jesus.

God called unlearned fishermen to be His spokespeople.

A Pharisee became an Apostle to the Gentiles.

And, God called you!

God’s calling is not based upon your skill set but His omnipotence. Jeremiah 1:4-10 “Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.”