Behold the Blessed One (1 Timothy 6)
By Tony Campbell
In 1Timothy we see Paul exhorting his disciple to “keep the commandment unstained” which is to live a life that is worthy of the gospel.
Have you ever felt like a bad witness? Like you’re an embarrassment to Jesus? I have! Maybe you’ve managed your anger badly at work. Maybe you’ve been to parties you should’ve stayed away from. Perhaps your children have seen you say one thing at church and live something else at home. Your siblings or friends might have felt the sting of your words when you were in a bad mood. In those moments of weakness or failure, when we’ve chosen our flesh over the Spirit, when we’ve chosen our feelings over representing Christ, we can feel like we don’t want people to know that we’re Christians. Someone once said that “we will be the only Bible that some people ever read.”
It’s easy to allow that to feel like a burden but it is the highest honour a human can hold! To stand before Man representing the kindness and mercy of God, walking in the paths of righteous as He leads so that others would want to follow Him. But Paul doesn’t just lay the yoke on Timothy and leave him to work it out, he gives him the how!
…to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
- 1 Timothy 6:14-16
Paul focuses Timothy in on the nature of Jesus. He is blessed. The only Sovereign. The King of kings and Lord of lords. He is immortal, invisible and dwelling in unapproachable light. He lays a high call at Timothy’s feet by pointing him to Jesus! Paul’s life was changed by a revelation of who Jesus is and so he knows first-hand the power of seeing Him as He is and so he points his son-in-the-faith to this same source of power.
I believe that as we meditate on these aspects of Christ’s nature and authority, we will certainly find strength to withstand temptations to live below the call of holiness. As we behold His blessedness, bestowed by the Father for His obedience, we will come to believe more steadily in the Father’s blessing on our own obedience. As we lock eyes with His sovereignty, we will be able to slow our emotional reactions down in our day to day lives as we see His sovereign hand working in all of our circumstances more clearly, including shaping our character.
In each revelation we will find wells of worship to draw from and pour out at His feet. As we venture by the Spirit into the unapproachable light, like Moses climbing the mountain, seeing Him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:27) and touching eternity, we will return with hearts full of desire to glorify Him, with our words, our actions and our lives (1Timothy 1:7).
“The man who comes to a right belief about God is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems, for he sees at once that these have to do with matters which at the most cannot concern him for very long; but even if the multiple burdens of time may be lifted from him, the one mighty single burden of eternity begins to press down upon him with a weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon another. That mighty burden is his obligation to God. It includes an instant and lifelong duty to love God with every power of mind and soul, to obey Him perfectly, and to worship Him acceptably.”
― A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy
Spirit of Truth, would You lead us into truth this month. Would you open our eyes to behold the glorified Saviour! Let the weight of His majesty bear down on us and crush what’s not of You. Father, let us be holy for You are holy. Lord Jesus, let us walk in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake. Let our faces shine like Moses and let us never put on a veil.
Amen.