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May I turn in your Bibles to 
1st Timothy chapter 6. 1st Timothy chapter 6. Our focus this evening will be 
verses 13 to 16. 13 to 16. One of the section where Paul 
is giving some final instructions and exhortations and commands 
and a final charge to Timothy. His young ministerial assistant 
that he is stationed in Ephesus with the particular and specific 
calling to wage the good warfare, to combat heresy in that particular 
church, to set forth truth, and so that he may know how he ought 
to conduct himself in the house of God. We'll read chapter 6 
beginning in verse 3 to set our text in its larger context. If anyone teaches otherwise and 
does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 
he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes 
and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, 
evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute 
of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. 
From such withdraw yourself. Now godliness with contentment 
is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and 
it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, 
with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich 
fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful 
lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. for the love of 
money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have 
strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves 
through with many sorrows. But you, O man of God, flee these 
things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, 
gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. 
Lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and 
have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 
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. that you keep this commandment 
without spot, blameless, until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing, 
which He will manifest in His own time. He who is the blessed 
and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who 
alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom 
no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting 
power. Amen. Command those who are rich 
in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain 
riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things 
to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be 
rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing 
up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they 
may lay hold on eternal life. Oh, Timothy, guard what was committed 
to your trust. Avoid the profane and idle babblings 
and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. By 
professing it, some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be 
with you. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
thank you for your word and thank you for these letters to Timothy 
and Titus for what they instruct us concerning the church. We 
pray that you would help us as a local church to pursue what 
is pleasing in your sight corporately. God, we pray that you would cause 
us to conduct ourselves in a manner that is consistent with your 
word. Help us to do all that we do in a manner that is pleasing 
in your sight. And to this end, we pray that 
you would fill us with your Holy Spirit. We pray that you would 
guide us now in our study of the scripture. And God, help 
us as well to take these things and to put them into practice. 
And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, as Paul brings 
this letter to a particular end, he has done several things up 
to this point. He condemns false teachers in 
chapter 6, verses 3 to 5. He sets forth the reality that 
there are a certain class of men that are not consumed with 
Christ and his gospel and the truth, but these men who are 
heterodox, so they have departed from the truth. They don't maintain 
and hold to faithful doctrine. They engage in, they're proud, 
they know nothing. They obsess over disputes and 
arguments over words from which come envy, strife, reviling, 
evil suspicions, All these things. Paul wants Timothy to refute 
these men, to reject these men, so that the Church of Jesus Christ 
can, in fact, be as pure as possible in this lower world. He then 
turns his attention toward riches, and he highlights the danger 
of covetousness in verses 6 to 10. The man of God should not 
pursue religion as a means of profit. Godliness in and of itself 
is profitable, as he says in chapter 4, additionally in verse 
8. And then he goes on, as I mentioned 
last week, to highlight several things that Timothy must be in 
verses 11 and 12. I mentioned that Pastor John 
MacArthur has well summarized verses 11 to 12, by stating that 
the godly man, the teacher in the church, must be a fleeing 
man. He must flee these things. Those things that mark false 
teachers are something that Timothy must avoid. Faithful ministers 
must avoid. He then says that Timothy must 
be a following man. He must follow or pursue righteousness, 
godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Thirdly, Timothy 
must be a fighting man. He must fight the good fight. 
Not necessarily fight for the faith in terms of the defense 
of Christianity, though that is certainly included, but the 
idea being that Timothy must run well, he must persevere to 
the end, he must fight the good fight of faith. It is a call 
to perseverance. And then fourthly, in terms of 
verses 11 and 12, Timothy must be a faithful man. Lay hold on 
eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed 
a good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In other words, 
Paul is highlighting to Timothy the path to ministerial success. And for Paul, ministerial success 
is not measured by a big church. It is not measured by popularity. It is not measured by the ability 
of the preacher. Success in terms of Paul's ethic 
is faithfulness. He says in 1 Corinthians chapter 
4, in verse 2. Moreover, it is required of stewards 
that they be found faithful. Paul wants men of God who know 
the truth of God to do what God has called them from day one 
to the very end when they either, A, drop dead or when they're 
too old to continue on in that particular course or when some 
other unfortunate accident happens and takes them from this world 
but Paul wants faithfulness. This is the mark of a successful 
ministry according to the Apostle. Now in verses 13 to 16 what we 
find is an apostolic exhortation given to Timothy in verses 13 
and 14 and then an apostolic doxology given to God. Doxology 
simply means the doctrine of praise or worship or glory ascribed 
to God. So Paul does that, verses 13 
and 14, an exhortation to Timothy that sort of does or sort of 
summarizes everything that has been said up to this point and 
then he ascribes this praise to God in terms of doxology. So let's look first at this apostolic 
exhortation in verses 13 and 14. Notice the apostle in verse 
13, I urge you This is something that is waiting for the Apostle 
Paul. This is something that is crucial for the Apostle Paul. 
This is something necessary for him. The idea here is to instruct, 
to command, to charge. I charge you or I command you 
or I direct you. It is an authoritative and formal 
charge given by Paul, who is the Apostle, to Timothy, who 
is the minister. Paul says, I urge you, this isn't 
a suggestion, it isn't a recommendation, it isn't something you might 
try to include in your busy schedule. No, rather, this ought to be 
the orientation of your entire ministry. Paul is serious with 
this exhortation. Calvin makes this very perceptive 
comment, which we'll visit at the very end when we make some 
application of the whole. Listen to what Calvin says with 
reference to Paul's urging of Timothy. He says, the great vehemence 
of solemn appeal, which Paul employs, is a proof how rare 
and hard of virtue it is to persevere in the ministry in a proper manner 
till the end. Let's read that again. It is 
a proof how rare and hard of virtue it is to persevere in 
the ministry in a proper manner till the end. Now some may persevere 
in the ministry but it may not be in a proper manner. Others 
may not persevere in the ministry because of improper conduct. 
What Calvin seems to understand, and I agree with him wholeheartedly, 
is that the calling of God upon a minister is a difficult thing. Now, I'm not up here to say it's 
the most difficult thing in the world. I imagine being a brain 
surgeon is quite difficult. I imagine whatever occupation 
you find yourselves in, it is a very difficult thing. Imagine 
being an explosive ordnance disposer. Imagine being the guy that has 
to disarm the bomb. I saw a t-shirt one time and 
it said something to the effect on the back that I work in bomb 
disposal. If you see me running, you should 
probably follow." I know that seems a lot to put on the back 
of a shirt, but it was something to that effect. If the bomb disposal 
guy is running, follow him, because he didn't do his job very well. 
So there's a lot of difficult tasks, a lot of hard occupations, 
a lot of jobs out there, but what Paul is dealing with here, 
with reference to the church, is the minister's calling. And 
what Paul says, I agree, or what Calvin says, I agree, does accurately 
get what Paul is after here. I urge you, now note the gravity 
of the exhortation. 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. This underscores 
the gravity of the charge. It's not man, ultimately, that 
Timothy has to do with. Now certainly Timothy's accountability, 
these many witnesses, Timothy's function in the gospel ministry, 
he's certainly not an island unto himself. He is part of the 
church, he is accountable within the church, But when Paul comes 
to underscore the gravity of this particular charge, he does 
it in the sight of God the Father, who gives life and who sustains 
life, and he does it in the sight of the Lord Jesus Christ, the 
one who in his humanity witnessed the good confession before Pontius 
Pilate. We have seen this up to this 
point. Notice back in chapter 5 at verse 
21. I charge you before God and the 
Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these 
things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality." In 
the specific context there, it has to do with elders. It has 
to do with paying the elders, it has to do with disciplining 
the elders, and it has to do with ordaining the elders. And 
so Paul says, you don't want to do this willy-nilly. I charge 
you in the presence of God. I charge you in the presence 
of the Lord Christ and the elect angels that you do not enter 
into this without seriousness and without gravity and without 
the understanding that if you put the wrong man or the wrong 
men into gospel ministry, It will make shipwreck of the faith 
of some. It will do severe damage to the 
lives and the souls of people. You may have a doctor's appointment 
tomorrow. You may have a bum knee. You 
may go see a particular orthopedic surgeon, and he may mash your 
knee up, but you can still go to heaven. But if you go to a 
bad minister who can't explain justification by faith alone, 
if you go to a minister who doesn't underscore how important the 
knowledge of the triune God is, With two good knees you'll go 
right into hell. There is a gravity involved in 
gospel ministry that I think at times we do not fully appreciate. James says in his epistle, let 
not many of you become teachers. Why? For we shall incur or we 
shall receive a stricter judgment. The Lord Jesus Christ condemns 
false teachers in His ministry. In fact, most of His hard-hitting 
language, I would be willing to say all, but I haven't actually 
combed through every jot and tittle. Most, and probably a 
high majority, is reserved for the teachers. Those who would 
call themselves guides in Israel. And so Paul charges Timothy before 
God. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 1. 
and verse 15, to see something similar, at least beginning in 
verse 14. Remind them of these things, 
charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to 
no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. There it is, a concept. You mess up on the gospel, you 
ruin hearers. You mess up on the truth, you 
ruin people's lives. You give bad counsel or you give 
false direction in terms of salvation and acceptance with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ and you ruin people. Now note this charge 
in verse 15, be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker 
who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of 
truth." A very famous passage of scripture. Some of you may 
have grown up in Awana, so worker who need not be ashamed. That's 
what Awana loosely translates to or is the acronym for the 
people, the young kids that go in and say their Bible verses 
or memory and they get vests and jewels and they get all bejeweled 
because they've done all of these good things in learning verses. 
It's interesting to me how sometimes we pass over probably the weightiest 
part of the verse. Be diligent to present yourself 
approved to God. not approved to your elders, 
not approved to your session, not approved to your consistory, 
not approved to your people, but approved to God. You see, 
the idea being is this, that if God is pleased with the ministry 
of His Word, that's when the people will most benefit as a 
result of that Word. A man who seeks to please men 
will probably mess up. a man who seeks to please God 
will probably succeed in helping man. Paul's charge is underscored 
with reference to this audience for whom Timothy ultimately must 
give account. I urge you in the sight of God 
the Father who gives life to all things, 1 Samuel 2 and verse 
6, Acts 17, verse 25. I think what is underscored here 
is God as creator, the omniscience of God, the omnipotence of God, 
the omnipresence of God, those omniperfections which we have 
been learning about in our Sunday school hour over the last few 
weeks. The charge not only serves to 
underscore the gravity for Timothy, but as well should free him from 
any fear of man that might inhabit his soul. In other words, Timothy, 
you're ultimately responsible to the God who gives life to 
all. It is God to whom you answer, 
similar to the exhortation that Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew 
10.28. Do not fear those who can kill 
the body and afterwards can do no more. but rather fear him 
who has power to kill both body and soul in hell. So it is a 
service or means by which Timothy sees his solemn obligation, but 
as well there's encouragement there. He mentions God the Father, 
he then mentions the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ 
specifically in his messianic ministry, specifically his humanity, 
where and he stood before Pontius Pilate. Some take the preposition 
meaning during Pontius Pilate and the idea being that whenever 
Pontius Pilate lived, Jesus made the good confession in that instance. It's probably what we find recorded 
in John chapter 18. That good confession maintained 
by Christ before Pontius Pilate, John 18 at verse 33. This is for Timothy a great example 
and an encouragement to faithfulness in the gospel ministry. In John 
18 at verse 33, Pilate entered the praetorium again, called 
Jesus and said to him, Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus answered 
him, Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell 
you this concerning me? Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? 
Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you to 
me. What have you done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is 
not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, 
my servants would fight. so that I should not be delivered 
to the Jews, but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate therefore 
said to him, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say rightly 
that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and 
for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear 
witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth 
hears my voice. So Timothy is to imbibe the ethic 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who in a very crucial situation, 
standing before Pontius Pilate, who had the authority to give 
the order for execution, Christ did not shrink back, Christ persevered, 
Christ maintained the good confession and witnessed before Pilate that 
he was in fact a king. So that is the gravity of the 
exhortation. It serves to strengthen the sense 
of obligation contained in the apostolic command, as Towner 
says. And then notice, with reference 
to this exhortation, the specific object. Notice in verse 13, I 
urge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things 
and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius 
Pilate, that Here's the nuts and the bolts. Here's what Paul 
wants Timothy to do, that you keep this commandment without 
spot, blameless, until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing. Keep 
this commandment. This could be in the context, 
verses 11 and 12, be a fleeing, following, fighting, faithful 
man. or it could be the entirety of 
the letter. I think it's the entirety of the letter that Paul 
has written to Timothy. This is a good way to end the 
letter, to sort of summarize everything. Keep the commandment 
and do so blameless, do so without spot, do so in a manner that 
is consistent with God and His Word. Calvin says, by the word 
commandment he means all that he has hitherto said about the 
office of Timothy, the sum of which was that he should show 
himself to be a faithful minister to Christ and to the church." 
That's it. That's what you're supposed to 
do, Timothy. Well, Paul, how do we do this? 
Just keep the command. Paul, how do we appeal to more 
people? Just keep the command. Paul, 
how do we get more people in the church? Not that I think 
Timothy was even asking these questions. So I don't know for these men 
that counting sheep was as important as feeding sheep, making sheep 
stable, making them strong. Today this is held in contempt. 
The idea that people want doctrine and theology and want to grow, 
I mean, that's so outdated. That's so Jeremiah 9-ish, isn't 
it? What is more important than the 
knowledge of God? What is more important than to 
know Him, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast 
sent? John 17.3. This is eternal life? It's not about all of these other 
peripheral things that we oftentimes make so important. The idea in 
the scripture is that God is glorified through the proclamation 
of His truth wherein He sanctifies His bride and wherein He saves 
sinners. That is to be the marching order 
for the church and for faithful ministers. So when Paul says 
that you keep this commandment, If we rehearse the contents of 
1 Timothy, we see that Paul tells Timothy to refute false teachers. He is to shut the mouths of those 
who desire to be teachers of the law, but really don't have 
a clue as to what they're saying. In other words, Timothy, do not 
give them Bible studies, do not give them pulpits, do not give 
them opportunities to lead the sheep astray, but rather wage 
the good warfare and stop the mouths of those men who would 
lie in the name of Jesus. Paul tells Timothy that the church 
must be about prayer. 1 Timothy chapter 2. What's the 
first order of business? I exhort first of all that supplications, 
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men. 
Prayer meeting is crucial. Church must pray. Corporate prayer 
is absolutely essential for the proper maintenance of the Church 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Prayerless preaching, prayerless 
fellowship, prayerless worship is ineffective. We must ask the 
God of Heaven to bless the means that are employed for His glory 
and for the good of souls. Paul tells Timothy how women 
and men are to function in the context of the local church. 
Paul says something contrary to the spirit of our age. He 
says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority 
over a man, but to be in silence. This is not a cultural norm. 
This isn't something stipulated solely in Ephesus. But Paul then 
argues from creation and the fall, these are paradigmatic 
with reference to ethics conducted on the earth. That then leads 
naturally to what qualified men look like. 1 Timothy chapter 
3, elders and deacons. Summary statement in verse 14, 
I write these things so that you may know how you ought to 
conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of 
God, the pillar and ground of the truth. 1 Timothy 4, refute 
apostasy, refute false teaching. In verses 1 to 5, be faithful 
as a servant of Christ. verses 6 to 16. Chapter 5, how 
do you deal with people in the church? You deal this way. You 
deal in a manner that is consistent with the revealed will of God. 
He deals with each of the people groups in 5, 1, and 2. He deals 
with widows in 3 to 16. He deals with elders in 17 and 
following. So Paul tells Timothy in the 
final analysis, in the final section, of 1st Timothy that 
he is to keep this commandment. And he is to keep this commandment 
without spot and blameless. In other words, Timothy is to 
be an upright man. 1st Timothy chapter 3, one of 
the marks of qualifications for an elder is that he's blameless. 
Not that he's spotlessly perfect without sin. That's not the designation 
here, without spot. The idea isn't sinless perfection, 
because no one can serve in this capacity. But what it is, is 
a pursuit after those things which are pleasing to God. An 
ability to say with Paul himself, I strive always to maintain a 
conscience void of offense toward God and men. Notice, you keep 
this commandment without spot, blameless until. our Lord Jesus 
Christ's appearing. The duration. You don't just 
do it this week. You don't just do it next week. 
You don't just do it for the month of, you know, kick-off 
September as we re-inaugurate fall and all of the good things 
that churches do. You know, be faithful during 
that month because people are going to come and they're going 
to visit and they're going to want to make sure that you're the real deal. But then 
you can be a slob and just do whatever from October on. No, 
that's not it. You be faithful to the end, is 
what Timothy's told. You be faithful till the Lord 
Jesus Christ returns. Notice the way eschatology functions 
in the passage. Eschatology is a big word, kids, 
that just means the end times. It's not a big word. It's not 
a bad word. It's not a hard word. Eschatology, 
the last times. What happens in the end? Eschatology 
has practical ramifications on present ethics. In other words, 
we are to function in light of the reality that Jesus Christ 
is coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead. The 
Apostle John highlights that necessity not just for the minister 
but for all men, all women, all those who profess saving faith 
in Christ. Beloved, now we are children of God and it has not 
yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He 
is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as 
He is." Isn't that a glorious thought? We shall see Him as 
He is. When Jesus Christ is revealed, 
as we read of this morning in 2 Thessalonians 1, in the glory 
of His Father, with all of His holy angels taking vengeance 
on them who know not God and on those who do not obey the 
gospel, that is for those outside But for those inside, those who 
are believers, we shall see him as he is. And then John underscores 
the practical benefit of eschatology. He says that everyone who has 
this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. If eschatology 
simply provides the ground for your curiosity and your speculation 
and chart after chart after chart about who might be the antichrist, 
who might be the beast, where is the number 666 going to arise, 
and all these things that come into your head, you've missed 
the point of eschatology. It is to promote a pursuit of 
godliness. For Timothy, be faithful until 
Jesus Christ appears, until that epiphany, until that appearance 
of our blessed Savior. And to all men, all women, all 
boys and girls that name the name of Christ, everyone who 
has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. It 
has been a bad thing that eschatology has been relegated to just speculation 
and fascination and seeking to pin the 666 tail on whatever 
donkey there might be out there that could be a bad malevolent 
figure. Eschatology is to promote hope. Eschatology is to promote comfort. Eschatology is to promote holiness 
and righteousness and godliness. And this is the emphasis that 
Paul brings to Timothy when he highlights that you keep this 
commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's 
appearing. Now notice, that then causes 
Paul to launch in to this doxology. to God. George Knight says it 
this way, as Paul presents the epiphany of Christ and indicated 
that this even is to be brought about by God, he is apparently 
drawn to speak of God's greatness and majesty that that revelatory 
event will reveal. In other words, as he considers 
God, Paul launches into this doxology. And I believe the subject 
here is God the Father. Verse 15, which He will manifest 
in His own time. Certainly, everything that Paul 
says concerning theology in these two verses applies equally to 
the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. But as we learned 
this morning, within that divine essence, there are three subsistences, 
or three persons. And as our Confession says, Each 
of these persons are distinguished by several peculiar relative 
properties and personal relations. It is the father who sends the 
son initially in this first advent. In the fullness of the times, 
God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, 
to redeem those under the law. Galatians 4.4. In the second 
coming, it is the Father who sends the Son to consummate the 
age. Jesus says, not even the Son 
knows the hour. Jesus speaking according to his 
humanity in that particular instance. in Acts chapter 1, verses 6 and 
7. Jesus cautions the disciples 
when they question this whole idea of the kingdom. Jesus says 
it is the Father who has appointed times. 1 Thessalonians chapter 
4, verse 14, it is the Father who sends the Son in the second 
advent to consummate the age, to deliver up the kingdom to 
the Father according to 1 Corinthians 15, 20-28. and then Jesus as 
the mediatorial king will subject himself to the Father and then 
God will be all in all. All that to say in verses 15 
and 16, the he there, I take as a description of or as an 
indicator of the Father. I even think that the T-N-I-V, 
I don't know what that would be, not the the N-I-V, two days 
N-I-V I think, even translates the personal pronoun he there 
as God. So anyways, he mentions Christ's 
appearing, it is the Father who sends Christ, and then Paul indicates 
in verses 15 to 16, certain perfections of our God that we are to meet 
with glory and with praise and adoration. The perfections highlighted, 
there are five of them. I take King of Kings and Lord 
of Lords, coordinate or together. So there'd be five specifically. The first two deal with the power 
of God, and the last three deal with the being of God. This is 
probably more intelligible if you have been to our Sunday school 
studies over the last few weeks. When we study God, or the doctrine 
of God, or what's called theology proper, we have his being, who 
he is in his essence, who he is in himself, and we have his 
perfections or his attributes, those things that demonstrate 
or reveal to us who he is. And so we have that in this particular 
passage. Notice first The Apostle refers 
to God the Father as He who is the blessed and only potentate. The blessed and only potentate. 1.11 indicates that God is blessed. 
Isn't that beautiful? Our God is blessed in and of 
Himself. He doesn't need us to complete 
Him. He doesn't need us to make Him 
whole. He doesn't need us so that He 
may achieve a degree of blessing. From everlasting to everlasting, 
Thou art God and He is blessed in and of Himself. He has, as our Confession states, 
all life, glory, goodness, blessedness in and of Himself, is alone in 
and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature 
which He has made." Acts 17, the Apostle Paul underscores 
this very, very specifically. You don't worship God as if He 
is served by art and men's devising, the things that man puts together. 
Our God is independent. Our God is self-sufficient. Our 
God is eternally blessed in and of Himself. He doesn't need man 
to complete Him. And the same concept or idea 
is here with reference to this blessed and only. Then He goes 
on to say potentate, or Lord, or King, or Ruler, or Governor, 
He speaks to the supremacy, and to the majesty, and to the glory, 
and the excellence, and the power of God Most High. Secondly, he describes Him as 
the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. And interestingly enough, 
if, as I argue, this is predicated of the Father, or it's stated 
concerning the Father, when we jump to the book of Revelation, 
Specifically in Revelation chapter 17 and chapter 19, we see Jesus 
Christ identified as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Throughout the scripture, we 
see these assertions concerning the deity, the Godhood of the 
Lord Christ. But in this particular instance, 
as Paul is predicating, and predicating just simply means to say something 
about something. If this was a hundred years ago, 
we'd all know English grammar, and we wouldn't have to spend 
time defining what a predicate is. The ball is red, or the ball 
is big. The is big is the predicate that 
tells us something about the ball. God is good. What's the 
predicate? Is good. Okay? All right. We're all singing off the same 
grammatical page. Isaac gave me the thumbs up, 
so that means everybody's on board. All right? Isaac is the 
representative thumbs up for everyone here. So he predicates 
of God concerning, or predicates concerning the Father what John 
predicates or says concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. Our confession 
again says that He has most sovereign dominion over all creatures, 
to do by them, for them, and upon them, whatsoever himself 
pleases." He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Then notice 
thirdly, an attribute, if you will, or a perfection concerning 
his being, who alone has immortality. You say, but aren't we immortal? 
Aren't angels immortal? Yes, but it's a derivative immortality. God is underrived immortality. From everlasting to everlasting, 
thou art God. Paul tells us that he alone has 
immortality. Gil says angels are immortal, 
and so are the souls of men, and so will be the bodies of 
men after the resurrection. But neither of these have immortality 
of themselves, they have it from God, who only has it of himself, 
originally, essentially, and inderivatively. I don't know 
if inderivatively is precise in the way that you would actually 
say that, but what he means is that it's not derived. God doesn't 
derive his immortality from something outside of God. He alone hath 
immortality. The book of Deuteronomy shows 
us God in this particular way as being a rock. He is immortal. He is incorruptible. He is immune 
from decay. He is unchangeable, as the scriptures 
everywhere tell us. He has life in himself, John 
5, 26. He is the one that has absolute 
glorious authority over all things. Notice, fourthly, he dwells in 
unapproachable light. He dwells in unapproachable light. Probably the ideas here are holiness, 
truth, righteousness, again supremacy. Towner makes some very good observations 
concerning the Old Testament background concerning this depiction 
of God. He says the light of the continually 
burning oil lamp symbolizes God's presence among his people. The 
Sinai Theophany, in which Moses was granted just a fleeting glimpse 
of God's glory, anticipates later graphic uses of light imagery 
to describe in tangible terms the appearance of God. The Psalms 
develop further the association of God and light, depicting him 
as robed with light as a garment. Psalm 89.15 says, whose countenance 
is light. He goes on to say, New Testament 
reflections on God's glory follow suit, as statements such as Revelation 
21.23 and 22.5 declare that God's glory is the light of the New 
Jerusalem. The ultimate application of the 
imagery is finally made in the Johannine tradition, which not 
only equates God and light, 1 John 1.5, but transfers the category 
to God's Son. John 1, 4, 5, 7. John 8, 12. Jesus says, I am the light of 
the world. He says, the imagery of light 
is then extended naturally to describe the essence of the Son's 
kingdom. Colossians 1, 12, and 13. He 
has transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom 
of the Son of His love, which goes on to indicate the light 
that is associated with it, and of Christian existence within 
it. The specification that God's 
light is unapproachable emphasizes the stark contrast between deity 
and humanity. This is crucial that we get this. There is a distinction between 
the Creator and the creature. And it's a huge distinction. Think of the most disgusting 
animal in your world. You may hate bugs, or you may 
hate spiders, or you may hate rodents, or you may hate... I 
don't know what. We have far more affinity with 
a rodent than we do with God. He is in a different class of 
being. He is the infinite, eternal, 
and unchangeable. We are creatures. There is a 
vast difference, and this is what Paul indicates, dwelling 
in unapproachable light. So again, Towner says, the specification 
that God's light is unapproachable emphasizes the stark contrast 
between deity and humanity, and possibly intentionally calls 
to mind the warning that people were not to approach the mountain 
because of the presence of God in His glory. And then finally, 
Paul says, whom no man has seen or can see." The Lord our God 
is spirit, John 4 verse 24. The children's catechism describes 
God as spirit and he does not have a body like men. When Moses requests to see God, 
to see Yahweh, God says to him, you cannot see my face or you 
will die. So he stations Moses in the cleft 
of the rock and he passes by and what Moses sees is the backside. Again, it is using language that 
is given for us to wrap our minds around. You don't see the backside 
of spirit. You see the glory of God manifested 
in that particular instance to Moses. John 1.18, no one has 
seen God at any time except the only begotten Son who is in the 
bosom of the Father He has exegeted Him or He has declared Him to 
us. Colossians 1.15, Jesus Christ 
is the image of the invisible God. So what we have in this 
passage is an ascription of who God is in terms of His power 
and who God is in terms of His being. And that then causes Paul 
to end this section by saying, to whom be honor and everlasting 
power. And the amen there is an invitation 
for the church to say amen. He invites the readers to participate 
in this ascription of praise to the living and the true God. 
I submit that if you would have been in the early church, you 
would hear people saying Amen. You would hear people saying 
Amen. You would hear them when a sermon 
is preached or when something is said that resonates with the 
soul of a brother or a sister, they would Amen it. They would 
affirm it publicly in the gathered assembly of God's people. What Paul prays is that God would 
receive the honor that is due to Him. This is consistent with 
the first petition in the Lord's Prayer, Hallowed be thy name. 
It is a petition that God would be revered, God would be honored, 
God would be spoken well of, God would be praised on the earth. And then when he says, and everlasting 
power, this is consistent with the second and third petitions 
of the Lord's Prayer. Thy kingdom come, thy will be 
done on earth as it is in heaven. This is a petition, this is a 
prayer, this is a plea that God's power would be manifest on earth. So that is Paul's exhortation 
to Timothy, doxology to God. We learn from this section first 
what a faithful minister looks like. A faithful minister doesn't 
necessarily have the biggest churches. He certainly doesn't 
have the biggest car. He doesn't have the wife with 
the biggest hairdo. He is a faithful man. That's 
what you want. That's what it's about, faithfulness 
over the long haul. Secondly, I'm sorry, let me just 
read that Calvin quote again. The great vehemence of solemn 
appeal which Paul employs is a proof how rare and hard a virtue 
it is to persevere in the ministry in a proper manner till the end. Could this be one of the reasons 
why in several places in Paul's letter he asks for prayer? not 
just as a private man seeking to live godly before Christ Jesus, 
but in a ministerial or apostolic connection. In other words, brethren, 
pray for us in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. He speaks of this 
in Romans chapter 15 and in Ephesians chapter 6. He prays, or he asks 
the people of God to pray Pray for me, so that boldness may 
be given to me, that I might speak the gospel as I ought to 
speak." Brethren, pray for those who are in gospel ministry. Again, 
pray for brain surgeons, pray for mechanics, pray for mailmen, 
pray for brethren. It's certainly in that Katina, 
a prayer request. Don't leave ministers out. Pray 
that God would give them the grace to be faithful, to keep 
the command as given by the Apostle in these particular Scriptures. 
So secondly, the knowledge of God. When we see in verses 15 
and 16, these are things we ought to study about God. We ought 
to know something of His being. We ought to know something of 
His power. We ought to know something of His attributes. We ought to 
know something of that shorter Catechism. God is Spirit. infinite, 
eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, 
justice, goodness, and truth. If, as God says through the prophet 
Jeremiah, this is what we are to boast in. And brethren, as 
Christians, we ought to pursue these things. Read a book. Read 
your Bibles, be consistent, be faithful, attend the Sunday morning 
services from 9.30 to 10.30. Good theology being done in that 
particular hour. It's not me, I'm not teaching. 
Good theology, Pastor Porter's teaching from our confession 
on theology proper, the doctrine of God. One of the things that 
we considered this morning with reference to God is Trinity, 
the doctrine of the Trinity. You know, sometimes people feel 
like, well, I just can't be bothered with that. I just don't have 
the time to look into this. Listen to what Turretin says. 
Francis Turretin says this concerning the Trinity. Thus, he who does 
not acknowledge and believe the Trinity has not the true God, 
but has erected for himself an idol in place of God. If it's 
that important, and I think Turretin's absolutely right, then it's R. prerogative, our privilege, and 
our responsibility to pursue that truth. We ought to know 
who God is. We ought to know something of 
not only his external relations as it pertains to man, but his 
internal relations as it pertains to those three subsistences, 
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One of the things 
that Pastor Porter didn't necessarily mention this morning, but it 
was certainly there by implication, was that God is, in and of himself, 
complete, perfect, and blessed without us. The Trinity, in and of himself, 
is glorious, blessed, and sufficient without us. It is incumbent upon 
us to know something of who he is in his internal relations. We ought to know that the Father 
is of none, and he is the one who begets. We ought to know 
that it's the Son who is begotten. We ought to know it is the Spirit 
who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Our Confession of 
Faith is a beautiful document that highlights those particular 
truths. At a bare minimum, read those particular things and get 
something of theology proper in your minds and in your hearts. And then finally, we learn with 
reference to this last or one of the final exhortations to 
Timothy. the importance and the emphasis 
that Paul places on the gospel. Why does he want Timothy to obey 
the commandment? Why does he want Timothy to be 
faithful until the end? Why does he want Timothy and 
every other minister of the gospel to do what they're supposed to 
do? according to the will of God, because it is through that 
ministry, not alone, but it is through that ministry wherein 
God calls sinners unto Jesus Christ. Certainly somebody can 
read their Bible on a deserted island and come to know Jesus 
Christ as Lord and Savior. I am not disputing that. I am 
not debating that. But in the common, ordinary way, 
God is well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached 
to save those who believe. So when we see this exhortation, 
when we see this glorious God set before us, we also ought 
to see God's design, Paul's design, for the gospel to go forth, for 
sinners to be saved. Paul is an evangelist. Paul wants Timothy to be an evangelist. He wants the Scriptures to be 
proclaimed by faithful men, so that God can reach down and save 
to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto Him through His beloved 
Son. Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for this epistle 
to Timothy. We pray that You would help us 
to receive these things, and God, I pray that You would just 
bless richly this church. I pray that You would watch over 
each and every one here, that You would cause us to think Your 
thoughts after You, that we would take seriously the Word of God. 
And Father, we would hide it in our hearts that we might not 
sin against You, and that it might be that which regulates 
and which dictates and which commands us on our path. As well, 
Father, we pray that Your Gospel would be proclaimed throughout 
the earth and that a great multitude would turn from their idols to 
the true and living God. Go with us now, Father. Watch 
over us, protect us, and bless us. We do pray for Daniel and 
Ellie. We pray that you would continue 
to encourage and strengthen them daily. We know this has been 
a tough and a difficult last few weeks. We just pray that 
they would draw nigh unto you, that you would comfort their 
hearts, that you would strengthen them. And no doubt, God, grief 
and sorrow will continue, but we pray that they would be able 
to look through these things and realize that God in heaven 
has done these things for His glory and for their good. And 
we pray this through Christ our Lord. Amen.