First Timothy lesson 7 cont.

All right, we are in lesson 7, 1 Timothy. And I guess I always like to try and do that just to get context. I'll go through the verses that we're going through. Let me get back up there. So in 1 Timothy, the verses we're covering are 15 through 17, but I like to get the full context. 1 Timothy 1, verses 12 through 17.

I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has strengthened me because he has considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life. Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

So that's the verse we've been going through, the last part of those verses. And I think we got through question 6 last week, and we are on question 7. So, is Paul trying to show a pattern of how God operates in salvation here? Is this a pattern that he wants to show or demonstrate? Stunned silence. If anybody reads verse 16, you might get that. You might just pick it up. Somebody read 16, verse 16. That for this reason I found mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience. as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life.

So do we think this is setting up a pattern? What does demonstrate mean? What does an example mean? Mine actually says, for a pattern. For a pattern, yeah. And actually, the Greek word is more for a pattern. But the NASB translates, I think, into the example. So, the words for demonstrate, I always butcher the Greek. I should probably get Tim to do it. Tim, you can probably read it straight out.

Endaiknoumi, which means to show forth, to manifest in connection with anything relating to or depending on oneself. to show forth, again, demonstrate or show forth as an example. So, between the two words demonstrate, which is to show forth, and then example, which is in the Greek, hoopetousis, which means pattern, so that is the actual, the Greek word is more the definition for pattern. So it means a delineation, sketch, concise representation, or form, a pattern, or example, is the Greek for that. So what is, again, we've kind of gone over it in the last questions, and beginning in verse 12.

What is he demonstrating in this, in salvation? What's he showing? With Paul. Remember, this is Paul speaking. His own perfect patience. Yeah. His or whose perfect patience? The Lord's. The Lord's. But what's he showing here? What's he showing by using Paul? What's he showing? I think in an extreme example, which I think God always uses, I think, extremes to kind of bold or express a thought or a pattern or an idea by using a very extreme case. So what's he showing? Well, if he could save Paul, he could save anybody. That's it. I mean, think of Paul. He's a violent aggressor. He's a blasphemer. He's all this. He's this. He's the worst of the worst. He says, foremost am I. And then God used him, changed him completely.

So, I was, you know, it's one of those ones I think we talked about. You know, if, let's use the historical thing, if Hitler suddenly became, of course, a believer, and changed completely, you know, and suddenly was, you know, remorseful for all the things he did, and a true believer, what do you think the world would do? Steal, kill, and... That's a human response. But it's like that.

You take somebody who's so extreme, and God uses that to change him. And I think that's the pattern he wants. I listened to a guy who was one of Canada's number one most wanted, who met the Lord in prison when he eventually did wind up there. And I don't know if he still does, but he led a team know, he's like, uh, you've got to use, uh, for, for trouble use and stuff. And they listened to him because this guy, this guy knew everything that they, you know, he was, he was the one, you know, he was the crime boss. Yeah. And so the witness that he has is that, you know, he knows that he was there and he can then identify and be an incredible witness. We, uh, Bill, whatever his name is, the, uh, he was, uh, He was like the Jefferson County chaplain now. He was the guy here, ran the largest prostitution ring west of the Mississippi. He was mafia. He had all this stuff.

I've told this story many times. Bill Fay. had everything the world could offer. And a guy met him one time, and he said, you know, what's different about you? And Bill asked him, what's different? He says, I have peace. And that's really all he said, because he knew he was a believer and all that. Well, years later, he got busted. The mafia lawyer was supposed to show up, didn't show up. And so his whole world came collapsing down. And the thing he remembered was that guy who said he had peace. Subsequently, he came to know the Lord, and he's now a witness in all the jails in Jefferson County and all this stuff, and a powerful witness. He had all that the world offered, and now he's like, that's nothing compared to what you have in Christ. And so it uses these extremes to be a great witness.

And that's what Paul is. Paul is a great pattern or witness for, if Paul can do it, anybody can become a believer. I do that all the time. I look in the mirror and I say, if God could save that guy, he can save anybody. So again, it's really showing a pattern and demonstrating that. Anybody can. If you think you're just as bad as Hitler or whatever, you can still come to know the Lord and be changed completely. So I think he uses those extremes.

After watching that Sterling debate, you know, I was thinking about how... Oh, sorry. I'm sorry to interrupt your thought there. I was thinking about the encouragement that Paul says to pray for our leaders. And that fits in this pattern, I think. There's not only the guys that we're debating, but everybody around them, that whole agenda that's going on all the time. to pray specifically for those individuals. Interesting thing, because I think a lot of people, Christians in particular, look at situations like that and realize that there's no hope there.

Yeah, there is. Yeah. Well, you know, we're going to get there in Romans 13. Sure. You know, I always rest in the fact that God put the people in charge. No matter what we vote or do, God is the one who puts them in there. So I just rest in that fact that, you know, if we get four more years, Sorry, I blanked out there for a minute. I was going to add one thought to this.

We're talking about this pattern of how God operates in salvation, and we talked about that He saves the unlikely, right? The way that the world views it, Paul was very unlikely to have ever been one who would be saved from a human perspective. I think the other aspect of how He operates is the patience and the mercy component of it. So not only does He save, but how He saves is merciful and patient. And so when we think about our leaders and we think about those that we may not ever think, not only did God save those who are unlikely to be saved and you thought could never be saved, He's very patient and merciful with them in a way that is the same pattern for us. How merciful and patient was He with us to bring us to salvation as well.

So, I think that's part of that pattern too. Yeah, I mean, literally, look in the mirror. You know, He was able to change my heart. And I think that's first and foremost. If he's able to do it to me, yeah. I mean, I think he can do it to anybody. He's merciful to anybody. And he's always, John, his desire is that none should perish. The Holy Spirit is trying to convict and convince everyone. It really is the opposite of the law. The law is not patient nor merciful.

No, no. Good point. I also think it points up another aspect of how God works, and that is for the lost and the saved alike. is that he allows or creates a need. And that's the very first step. The need has to be created. Otherwise, you don't have any interest. In salvation, it certainly is true. In spiritual growth, it's just as true.

There comes a need, not necessarily a sinful situation, but a longing for this. You know, it's all, you know, use all the trials, you know, all the any, you know, trial brings about this, this, this, this, you know, and he uses that for his purposes, ultimately to conform us to the image. Yes, and sometimes I think we observe God creating a need in a person's life, and we run to and pray to make sure that the need goes away.

When I first came here and I started the prayer, we were in the Tuesday class, I didn't ever want to raise a prayer request. Like, oh, he's got to be in that trial or something. Don't pray to get him out of that trial. That's all your son ever says on Monday night. His life fell apart because I prayed for him. Yeah, well, that's what he says. He knows when JD's praying and when you're praying for him.

Anyway, moving on. So, question eight, and now these are the bunch of definitions here. So, what does the word eternal mean in verse 17? Now, to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. So, what does eternal mean? Oh, there you go.

That's different than everlasting, which we'll get at. Everlasting is different than eternal. So, eternal is no beginning, no end. Which, you know, a lot of times we think eternal and everlasting are the same, but it's not. This one is eternal. And this is talking about God. So, as with all definitions, Where do I go first? Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. You can't get a better definition than Merriam-Webster. It is funny how some of them match. Actually, very strangely, a lot of them do match the biblical definition. So, Merriam-Webster for eternal.

Having infinite duration. But here it says everlasting. And it's not the same, biblically, or relating to eternity. Instead, characterized by abiding fellowship with God, was in there. Continued without intermission, perpetual, seemingly endless. Those were the definitions. The other one, like I said, was everlasting. The biblical is different.

Characterized by abiding fellowship with God. This is Merriam-Webster. So yeah, it was kind of, yeah. And the quote that they actually have with it is, good teacher, what must I do to inherit internal life? Mark 10, 17. That's in the Webster. John 17 is the answer. John 17? Yeah. Yeah, the chapter of John 17, yeah. So again, it's kind of interesting that Merriam-Webster has characterized by abiding fellowship with God as eternal. Eternal life in 17, is it? You might know him. To know him. Yeah. So anyway, so the Greek word used here, and I should probably have said Tim, probably. Ehi on. Owen? Tim, am I better?

A-I-O-N, A-H-E-O-N, from the same word as properly and age by extension, perpetuity, also past, by implication the world, especially Jewish and Messianic period, present or future. which is kind of, we really didn't get to kind of what I thought was the eternal, eternity part.

The eternity of God means that he is in no way limited by time. This is taught in the passage stating that God has no ending. So do we have, do we have verses that you know of that have, God has no ending? Anything come up that you can think of? Any verses that he has no ending? Tough question.

So Psalm 9, 7, but the Lord abides forever. He has established his throne for judgment. In Psalm 102, 27, but you are the same and your years will not come to an end. Also, we'll see it coming up in 1 Timothy 6, 6, 16, stating that he does not die. Verses 15 and 16. He who is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of King and Lord of Lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to him be honor, glory, and eternal dominion."

So again, eternal dominion, so no end. So the eternal nature of God is sometimes expressed in terms of extreme number of days. You can see that in Daniel and 2 Peter 3, Psalm 122, 127. So again, I've given it away. Is eternal and everlasting the same? They're not. that the word everlasting is another word, an offshoot of this, without beginning or end, that which has always been or always will be. So eternal is no beginning, no end. That's what God is, eternal.

There's no beginning, no end. The hard part to comprehend is no beginning. No beginning. That's it. Our finite minds cannot understand that. I, you know, well, I can't even, I can't even define eternal. You know, we, in the engineering, we deal with specifics and time and this and that. There's no end on this side. Well, there's no beginning of this one, which is still hard, but I can't comprehend the other, which is eternal.

You know, I mean, How do you wrap your head around what we have, eternal life? How do you do that? I just, I can't put my hands, oh, anyone can. No, Isaiah, this is weird, Isaiah 9, 6, Jesus is called the everlasting, or maybe God, but I guess it's Jesus, everlasting father of peace. So are they kind of interchangeable sometimes?

I think that's pointing to one aspect, which is everlasting, there's no end. But eternal means, when it's called eternal, it means no beginning, no end. Does everlasting mean he did have a beginning? No, I think it's saying more that it's eternal. You're looking at one aspect of it, the everlasting. He's going to be forever. But when you call him as eternally, you're also saying he has no beginning. So I think there are other verses that may have everlasting.

But again, it's focusing on one aspect of it, one end of it, which is no end. God's everlasting love. Yeah. Just wondering if he didn't love before a certain point. Well, in the context of the notes, he talked about suffering. Suffering has a beginning, but it has no end. Eternal suffering.

Yeah. But I think it's kind of pointing to one aspect of it, that maybe it's not focusing on the beginning point of it as just the everlasting. He is forever. But you can have an everlasting in some aspects of it at the beginning. I was trying to think of some of the verses I looked up. Basically, there's a beginning point of it. And maybe that one, I assume, is just pointing out the one end of it. and it has to be translated that eternal.

So I think that's with some of these words. Yeah, see, that's what I was going to check, too. Yeah. And sometimes the same word can be translated differently. It just depends on context. Well, and it looks like it's the same root word, almost, or Greek root word. So maybe it's just a translation on those.

Because I did see there are some that are everlasting, which is the starting point. And maybe in the long-suffering and there was a beginning of suffering. Yeah, I think I looked in some of those notes I just I didn't look up all the references, but I can but So yeah, and again, it's the same kind of root word that a a ion a Ion and then the ion is the everlasting You know Maloy used to talk about eternal life or eternity as rather than an expansion of time, that it's a focus all down to everything happening all at once. Isn't that the, we look at time like this, God looks at it like this, a point.

I think it was kind of the way eternity, which, again, how does our finite mind understand this? You can't. Yeah. Like I said, I have a hard time trying to quantify what eternal life is going to be like. There has to be an end. No, there's no end. Even death, you know, a person dies and from one spirit to the other. Well, the everlasting is more on that, in that the everlasting is when the judgment, there's a starting point and no end. So the everlasting, I think, is more on the everlasting punishment for those who are not in the body of Christ.

Is that interesting? in their hearts. And there is some sense in which we're, we may not be able to comprehend it, but we are created to have some notion of it or some kind of creation for it. I'm in that growth period where I'm trying to understand. I don't understand. He may have it in my heart that I know that, but that's one of those things he's going to, he's going to take some time to try and get me to figure that one out. Let me ask a question.

Would you say that before you're a believer, that the concept of eternity was fearful to you. But now that you are a believer, it isn't. Sorry, I just had a thought that came to mind here as I'm reading that. It's Ecclesiastes 3.11. And if you read the rest of the verse, it says, he has also set eternity in their heart yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from beginning even to the end.

Now, so in some way, and you think of how our world tries to explore the universe. and they want to find the edge at the end of it. And yet what he says here is you will I think Mike's right. There's a bit of a fear. You listen to some astrophysicists, secular, and they want a bounded universe because unbounded universe is a scary thought. That means there is a God. I think that's the point, is that they're trying to deny God. And they're trying everything in their power to try and deny him that.

When you say that, I guess before I was a believer, I don't think I was worried about eternity. I don't think it was a big thing, eternity. I think once I became a believer, then I started thinking about this more like, wow, I can't even wrap my hand around this. When you were an unbeliever, did you think, I have some fear of what happens after this thing. And you didn't know what that looked like, but you knew that you didn't know, and did that bring you fear at all? You know, my full confession is, just fleshly, I don't think I thought about it. It is right here, right now. You know, it is.

I don't think I was worried. Because I was young, I mean 18, 19, whenever I became a believer. And so I wasn't thinking about death too much at that point. Quite honestly, I mean, that's me. I wasn't thinking about it. That was for old people to worry about death. And in eternity, I wasn't even thinking in those terms at all. That's about the time in my life I took a pass on God. And that concept of eternity over the next 15 years, every once in a while would show up in my mind.

And I had to turn the radio up or something to get it out of there. I thought, oh my goodness, if something doesn't change, it's going to be warm where I'm going. You know, I think about it, you know, there are some things that I think God was starting to work on me even before bringing Ingrid into my life to start showing me the gospel and that, you know, there are some things that God was working in me I knew beforehand that, you know, J.D., maybe that I started thinking about things, you know, that I was real stupid, but I was, you know, backpacking, and that, you know, I was out in the middle of nowhere, stars and the universe and looking at it, and I thought, you know, this is almost a Romans 1. I looked and I knew that there was a God. I just, for some reason, was overwhelming. I distinctly remember looking up and I thought, man, there is a God. And I didn't know anything about it, didn't really think, but I just knew there had to be something.

And that was the beginning of just God working in my heart. Yeah, I think that's eternity in your heart. That's the Ecclesiastes passage right there. Yeah, I mean, like I said, looking at the universe, it's like, wow. you know, where's that end and what, you know, but I just felt an overwhelming presence of God. And, and that was the beginning of just, I think him beginning to work on me. So, and that, yeah, it was because of, man, there's something out there and it's big, you know?

So we're going to head to church. I'm going to love it. We're heading that way. See you. Okay. Now, uh, I think we've got that between eternal and everlasting. So now, in what sense is God king? So, of course, what does Miriam have to say about this? Kind of interesting. So they're a male monarch of a major territorial unit. That was number one, a paramount chief.

But the next one, God Christ, that's the definition of king in Merriam-Webster, the second definition. So, one that holds a preeminent position, especially a chief among competitors. So, and actually in the one, they quote in here, and that was the second definition, to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, Zechariah 14, 16. So that's what they have for the definition in Merriam-Webster, as God or Christ. You're sure justifying your dictionary. I know. It's pretty good. I know. It's one of those weird things.

It's like, you know, what is the worldly versus the biblical view? I mean, we look at the Greek and we see what the definition is, but, you know, what is the commoner, you know, the English? And I think Miriam Webster, most of it was back when Christians and their Christian faith was more prevalent, I guess. They just happened to scrub it, I guess, from the current one, because this was an online Miriam Webster. I didn't go like to an old book, an old mirror, which I do have in my library.

So, the Greek word here is Basilius, and that through a notion of a foundation of power, sovereign, abstractly, relatively, or figuratively, king. So, basically, the king. So, would using the title of word king be correct for God? Is that a correct title for him, king? I mean, that is what, that is definitely what the Greek word means. It's king. Yeah.

And I mean, we, we just got to, I think we got to make sure that we remember that our concept of King in terms of earthly use the word, uh, what do you use? Territory or, um, that never for terror is the word for earth. That's, you know, terrestrial. Um, and, and God is, is not just the, you know, Though, in the future sense, when he establishes his kingdom on the earth, when Jesus is reigning on the earth, that is the globe, that is terrestrial. Right, and he is king.

Yeah, but here he's talking about the eternal, immortal king. I think this is a reference to his sovereign rule over all creation. Right, and I think that's the fear of what I was saying, is a lot will say king, like, you know, kingly in the earthly sense, that we want a king, the Jews wanted a king. This is more the predominant leader, the sovereign. That's what it's talking about in this case. And again, I think when people look at the king, what the ones, you know, who the covenant want to bring everything earthly and we're going to king and it's earthly.

That's not what it's talking about here. This is king. This is the ruler. This is the one who is the predominant ruler for forever with combined with the other terms. So again, just kind of the, the use has to be clarified here. So, Because Paul knew that the kingdom of God was not present on earth. Exactly.

But that's where, like I said, I think that's where a lot of people kind of, oh, he's king, king of the earth, and the covenant guys want to bring it all to earth. That yes, eventually, in the millennium, yes, he will establish his kingdom here. And there is a sense in which the throne rights do belong to Christ by consequence of the cross work. He has the throne rights, but he hasn't taken it up yet. Right. And again, it'll happen in the millennium. But right now, it is not. He is sitting at the right hand of God.

So, let's see if I can get through these last ones here, and then you'll have an extra APS, Mike. Define from the following, immortal and kind of from the Merriam-Webster, exempt from death. exempt from oblivion, imperishable, connected with or relating to immortality. Ooh, you can't do that. You can't use the word. So again, it's exempt from oblivion. I like that one. Is that what this means?

When he's immortal, he's exempt from oblivion, imperishable, So, the King James Version, first in the incorrectly renders it as immortal. It should be rendered as incorruptible, distinguished from a couple other Greek words, immortal as he is the one having immortality. So, immortal is uncorrupted, not liable to corruption or decay, imperishable. The word immortal meaning that which is exempt from death.

It's not a correct translation of the Greek word. So, it's really a difference in that, not exempt from oblivion, you know, it's a little bit different. It's incorruptible, it can't be corrupted. So, a little bit different than what we think directly, immortal.

So, it is the, and I think the next one, is that the next one is the only God? So what, the only God? What is that? I didn't, they didn't have a, they didn't have a Merriam-Webster for the only God, so I couldn't go there. So what is the only God? Is there only one God?

Or are there several? Yeah, there's only one. So, the only God. So, again, all these that Paul is putting these titles on, he's the only God. There's only one. You know, and think of the time he's at. He's going into, was it Corinth and others where the Aphrodites and all the different gods that they had. He's going around and all these other gods, and now he's saying, the only God. So he's making that clear distinction that there's only one God. Let's see if we can get through these real quick.

Oh, for honor. I basically put, there are too many definitions for honor. And none of them really fit the Greek word for used in verse 17. So Miriam failed on that one. They had just way too many, and they were all over the board. So the Greek word in its time, it's ti, I think it's pronounced almost that. Again, probably Tim or you, Miles. It means honor, respect, reverence, esteem. So, the honor is to, well, respect, reverence, esteem, or the Greek is honor. So, it's generally as rendered or exhibited towards a person or a thing.

For 1 Timothy 1.17, the object would be God. So, reverent, respect, esteem for God. That's the honor part. And so, I guess the last thing we'll just end on. So, do all these titles or words for God fit? Remember what the verse is. Let me pull it up here. Now to the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.

Do those all fit him? Is there anything that doesn't fit? So I think these are all, Paul does a great job of basically characterizing who God is in this one. And remember, this is the one who Jesus, who came to save sinners, foremost of all I am, and who's he giving thanks to? This one, the one who is immortal, king, invisible, the only God. May honor and glory go to him. Yeah. And I think in Romans one of the big sin is that although they knew God, they wouldn't honor him as God and they weren't thankful. Well, you know, I think of today. Think of what's going on today. Do they honor God?

You know, all these things we talk about, you know, how they're trying to take everything away. Just even think, I was saying about this, you know, it's now Pride Month, or hopefully, oh, one more day we're in and out of Pride Month. Yay! But we have, you know, what is their symbol? the rainbow colors. They've hijacked that. Think of all the stuff on transgender and how many genders there are.

Why are they doing that? Because God said that there's man and woman. What are they now trying to do? Oh, no, no, no. That's wrong. God wasn't there. God isn't there. We have 53 different genders now. They're taking that away. And the world is systematically trying to remove God. Hi, Bill. Yeah, we better stop quick. We're getting the word from on high from Bill. All right, let's close. We thank you for today. We thank you for each and every day you give to us. We thank you for this day. And we just give you thanks for who you are.

Just all these titles for you are not incorrect, but correct. And we just think of these things of eternal love. We talked about eternity and what that means. And that's for our finite minds to comprehend the eternality of your love for us and the eternal life which you have given to us. We just thank you for that. And all of the titles that Paul gives you are correct. And even just hard to even categorize or put names on who you are, the infinite nature of who you are.

And we thank you again that we have the life of Christ in us that gives us this eternal life. And why don't we just pray for Myles in the next meeting as he brings us the message and just prepare our hearts to receive it. And again, may we pray for this day that all that we say and do will honor and glorify you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.