A Solid Foundation

In Paul's first letter to Timothy Paul is exhorting Timothy how to lead a church (Ephesus in this case) in a pagan world (you know, kind of like our own). At the end of the letter he charges Timothy to "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called ..." (1 Tim 6:11-16). It's kind of a strange charge because right in the middle of it without even a period-end-of-sentence he launches into this doxology.

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 Tim 6:15b-16)

You can see from that "b" in the reference that the "a" part of the verse is ... something else. He's talking to Timothy about keeping "the commandment unstained until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which He will display at the proper time" (1 Tim 14-15a) and, BOOM, he launches that doxology. Why?

I think I know. I think, in fact, that it's clear. Paul has given Timothy a clear charge, and it's not an easy one. Lest he think it's too much, Paul undergirds it with the source and end -- God. God determines when Christ comes again. God is the "only Sovereign" (in contradiction to a popular notion that He has surrendered some of His Sovereignty to us). God alone is immortal. God lives in light that we can't even approach. God holds all honor and dominion (power).

"There you go, Timothy," Paul is saying, "I've asked a lot of you. Now grasp the One you serve, take an eternal worldview, and go." Paul is equipping Timothy with more power and footing than he will ever need to do what he was charged to do.

We, too, stand with that charge. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of eternal life -- an eternal view rather than a worldly view. Be ready for the fight of your life. We, too, have that power and footing. It's the power of God who holds all power. It's the confidence of God's Sovereignty in an unsure and unsettled world. It is the certainty that while we face kings and lords in our own world, He is the King of those kings and the Lord of those lords. No one can touch Him. No one can even get close.

When you're tired, when you're weary, when you feel discouraged or disabled, remember that. You're not alone. You're not beaten. It's not even about you. God is still on His throne. "Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases" (Psa 115:3). And it is that God "who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Php 2:13). When the seas around you look rough, remember that. You can't lose.