pull out the meaning of what's
within just the verse, not necessarily how it connects within the context
of the passage. I know some may say, well, that's
eisegesis, not exegesis. But sometimes whenever you're
looking at a verse of scripture, there's things within that particular
verse that you can look at and kind of contemplate on what it's
saying within itself, principles or ideas, doctrinal things, informational
things, but I surely don't want to pull it out of the context
that it is in. Of course, we know that the context
here is the Apostle Paul's written to Pastor Timothy, and Timothy
was a young preacher, and Paul was exhorting him and giving
him instructions on how to conduct the Lord's church and how the
worship of the Lord's church should be and some of the things
pertaining to the structure and the work of the local church.
And so it's within this context that we find this scripture,
but I'm particularly drawn to one of the comments that Paul
makes about the Lord within him giving this exhortation to Timothy. And I want to start reading in
verse 13. And then I want to read down through verse
16. It says, I give thee charge in
the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ
Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.
that thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until
the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the verses I really
want to look at here. Which in his times, the Lord
Jesus' times, which in his times he shall show who is the blessed
and only potentate, the King of kings, the Lord of Lords,
who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can
approach unto, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom be
honor and power everlasting. Amen. Kind of wanted to look
at that. There was a few things in reading
through these passages that kind of struck me here. As number
one, Paul has already told Timothy that he had given a good testimony
and a good witness of the gospel and the things of Christ Jesus
and the faith that was once delivered to the saints. And he had been
holding this testimony as the pastor of the church and telling
him to continue on to preach the word, to be ready in season and out of season
to give the reason for the hope that lies within the that he'd
give them all the things of the workings of the church and how
it should be conducted and everything. But here Paul, he goes in and
talks about Christ Jesus here. The thing that really stuck out
to me here is this one part here. It says, which in his times he shall show. Now, we know that Christ Jesus
is the image of the invisible God. That the only thing that
we know of God, we know because of Jesus Christ. We've talked
about that before. As a matter of fact, I mentioned
it recently. That Jesus Christ, whether it's
word from the prophets, The prophets all speak. Brother Larry did
a devotional on this this week. The prophets spoke by God. They were the mouthpieces of
God. They spoke by God. Whenever any prophet spoke and
said, Thus saith the Lord, that was the words of Christ. Christ
gave them the words to say. When the men wrote down the Bible,
those words were the words that Christ had given them to write
down by the Spirit. And whenever we see Christ Jesus,
that is the invisible God manifested in the flesh. Anything that we
know or see or understand or have been given revelation of,
of the invisible God, is because of Jesus Christ. And so, at this
point, Paul had already wrote this letter to Timothy, and we're
reading it now. And so whenever I look at this
and say, well, how, what does this say to us? And what did
it say to them? At their time, Christ had already
died, rose from the dead and had ascended back into heaven.
So we're not talking about the revelation that Christ give in
his incarnation while he was there. Okay. So whenever it says
here that which in His times He shall show." We don't see Christ during that
time. That's not what He's talking
about. He's talking about something that is going to happen or continue
to happen, as He says here, in His seasons, in His times. He
says, "...keep thou the commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until
the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ, which in His times He
shall show who is the blessed and only potentate. So that tells
me that there is coming, after the Lord resurrected, after the
Lord ascended, the Bible says He sent His Spirit into the heart
of us, and in sending the Spirit into the heart of us, that Spirit
in us causes us to cry out, Abba Father. Right? We desire to have
relation. We desire to have love. We desire
to have understanding. We desire to have a revelation
of who our God is. We desire to know what our Father
is like. Okay? And that is given to us
because the Spirit has been given to us. He said, because ye are
sons, He has sent His Spirit into us, whereby we cry, Abba,
Father. So that spirit comes within us
and we cry out to God and we get glimpses of who God is as
He relates to us and how He is related to us through the man
Jesus Christ because there's only one mediator between God
and man and that's the man Jesus Christ. So Christ is the one
who is revealing the Father. He is revealing this potentate. He is the one who is revealing
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. the one who has immortality,
the one who dwells in life, the one who no man can approach,
the one who no man has seen or can see. Christ is the one who
is going to be revealing this God. But if you'll notice here,
it says, in His times, He shall show. Now brethren, I think every
one of us can attest to this. that as we have gone through
our lives after our conversion, after coming to faith, being
given faith by Jesus Christ, after being quickened by the
Spirit and being given understanding and knowledge of the gospel and
belief upon Christ and faith in Jesus Christ, that we are
being given Revelation after revelation after revelation after
revelation as he grows us in the grace and knowledge of the
Lord Jesus Christ. As we read the scriptures, we
go through and we see glimpses of God through Jesus Christ in
all of the Word of God. Well, last week we seen him in
Ezekiel. The week before that, we seen him in other passages.
Before that, we seen him in other passages. As we go through the
Bible, we see Him in all of these. But in every circumstance, what
we are seeing in the man Jesus Christ is the revelation of God
the Father. It is the revelation of that
invisible God who no man can approach, but has been made approachable
through the man Jesus Christ. He is the door in which we enter
in. He is the one who has gone into
heaven and sits at the right hand of God, meaning that He
is the one who is carrying out all the things of God. And in
carrying the things of God out, what He is doing is He is bringing
God to His people. He is bringing all of the understanding
of who God is. He is bringing all of the gospel
to His people. And we, in relating to God the
Father, Go through Jesus Christ. The Bible says that we can go
boldly before the throne of grace and make our petitions known
unto God. So Christ is the one who is that
mediator. But in this, we're seeing that
he is mediating who this God is. And if we know these things
and we see these things, in his time, he is revealing that this
God is himself. As we've gone through our life,
we slowly but surely begin to see that Jesus is the one true
God. That Jesus is the true Jehovah. That Jesus is Yahweh. Jesus is
the I Am. Jesus is the one who is spoken
about all throughout the Scriptures of being the one God. Here, O
Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. We have one God. We have one Lord. We have one
King, and that is Christ Jesus. And as His times allow, whenever
that revealing comes, we learn more and more, as we're learning
more and more about this God, we're learning more and more
that this God is the Lord Jesus Christ. He says there, which
in His times He shall show who is. Now that who is is added
by the translators there for flow, but the sentiment is there. Which in his times he shall show
who is the blessed and only potentate. He is revealing the only true
potentate. Now let's look at some of these
words that Paul wrote by the Holy Spirit. Let's look at some
of these words here. He calls him the blessed and
only potentate. Now again, I don't think the
Holy Spirit just gives out words willy-nilly. These writers wrote
these words down, and they didn't just add in their own things
just to add them in. No, they were governed by God. The Bible says that all Scripture
is given by inspiration. It's God's words. Christ spoke
these words. These men were enabled to write
them down. He says, He is the blessed and
only Potentate. What does the word Potentate
mean? Does anybody know? That's kind of a weird word. We don't
use it much. Potentate. The word Potentate,
whenever I looked it up in our King James Bible, it's translated
three times, three different ways. There's three words that
we get in our English language from that original Greek word.
That's Potentate, that is, authority and that is mighty. So we get
an understanding of what this word means. The word means almighty. It means authority. And he says this person that
Christ is going to be revealing who is going to in his times
shall show who is the only authority. Who is the only mighty one. Now all of a sudden my head begins
to start going through the scriptures and things just start popping
up all of a sudden whenever I start hearing these words, authority
and mighty, especially whenever it pertains to God and specifically
when it pertains to Christ being the image of that God, being
the visible representation, or as Brother Dan O'Dell says, the
personator of this invisible God. It is this. Who has been
given authority? Well, look with me, if you would,
to Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1, and look with
me, if you would, down at verse 22. Whenever Jesus was walking and
doing all His miracles and speaking and all like this, The people
around said that they were astonished at his doctrine for he taught
them as one that had authority and not as scribes. So here we see Jesus Christ had
all authority in doctrinal things. Everybody noticed it. Everybody
could tell that whenever He preached, He preached as one who had authority.
He commanded the understanding of what He was saying. Where
the scribes were given their take on things, Jesus Christ
was speaking as one who had authority. And He did have authority because
all of the Old Testament, He's the one who spoke it. It's His
words, right? Look at verse 27. It says, And
they were all amazed insomuch that they questioned among themselves,
saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For
with authority commanded He even the unclean spirits, and they
do obey Him. So here we see Jesus not only
had authority over doctrine, but He had authority over the
dark realms. He had authority over the demons,
the unclean spirits. He had authority over Satan and
all of his minions. Look with me, if you would, over
in the Luke, chapter 4. Look, if you would, at verse 36. We
see this where He cast those unclean spirits out. He said,
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out
of him. And whenever the devil hath thrown him in the midst,
he came out of him and heard him not and they were all amazed
and spake among themselves saying what a word is this for what
authority and here it is coupled with another word power or mightiness
he commanded the unclean spirit and they came out by just his
words they cast out he cast out these unclean spirits now brethren
that's a mighty word to just say to come out hold thy peace
and come out of him. And those unclean spirits came
out. We see other times whenever Jesus, just whenever he came,
his presence itself caused that to happen. Remember the man that
was possessed by all the devils and they said, you know, what
have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? You know, we know
who you are. Are you here to to punish us before our time.
Remember that? Do you remember the time whenever
Jesus was being arrested and all those men came and they asked
him who he was and he said, I am, and whenever he said I am, what
happened to all those men that were surrounding him? The Bible
says that they all were thrown backwards and knocked to the ground. Just
the mention of his name, I am, invokes so much power that it
blew everyone out. Now, brother, listen, who is
the only potentate? Who is the only one who is authoritative? See, we can have our authorities
around here, but they're limited authority. You know, I've been
given authority in this household as the husband, but my authority
is limited. I can't force anybody to do anything.
I can tell my sons, You need to get up at a certain time,
and if they don't get up at a certain time, take out the trash at a
certain time. Take out the trash, and they may do it, and they
may not. So my authority, while I may have authority, I don't
have ultimate authority. Because I don't have authority
and power to make it all happen. But see here, we see Jesus, not
only did he have authority, but what did they say? With authority
and power. That's what being the potentate
means. To be a potentate, means you not only have the authority
to do something because of your status, because of your rank,
because of your elevation, but you have the power to carry it
out. God is the Almighty. Whenever we say Almighty, what
does that mean? He has all might. It's kind of built into the word,
right? He has all might. That means
he has all power. He has power over everything.
And he can do with anything he wants because he has the authority
to do it because he is God. He is the only I am. He is the only self-existent
one. He is the only one outside of everything else that is created.
He is uncreated. He is the potentate. And he has
that. I also think of this, John chapter
5, if you will. Look at verse 26. For as the
Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given to the Son to
have life in Himself. John chapter 17, Jesus even explains
this a little bit. I in you and you in me. The Father
is in Christ. Christ is in the Father. Why?
Because they're one. Some people say, well they're
one in nature and essence, but separate in peoples. persons. Now, number one, the invisible
God who has life within himself is in Christ Jesus, who is the
embodiment of that invisible God. For as the Father hath life
in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself,
because he himself is in the Son. and have given him authority
to execute judgment also because he is the son of man. So he has
given him authority to execute judgment because he is the son
of man. So we see here that Christ is
the one who is the only potentate. He is the only one with authority. He is the only one with all might. If you don't believe me, turn
back in the Old Testament to Isaiah chapter 9. Look at verse 6 with me. Kind
of thinking of where I'm going with this. It says, Verse 6, For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government
shall be upon his shoulders. Is that not what a Pope Tate
is? One who is over the government of his kingdom? A king, who is
a Pope Tate, is the one who has all authority. The king is the
one who has all power to do whatever he wants within his kingdom. Therefore, the government of
the kingdom that that Pope Tate is over lies upon His shoulders. And here we see that Christ Jesus
is the one unto whom the government is upon His shoulders. And it
says, And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor. Here it is, The Mighty God. And brethren, in looking at that,
The word thee is a definite article there. It's not just he is a
mighty God, as some cultists would say. It isn't just saying
he is mighty God, as one among many. It says he is thee, as
in thee and thee only, mighty God. That's what that definite
article assumes the definite article the assumes that he is
the one and the only mighty God. There is no other gods before
him. There is no other gods beside him. There is no other gods. He is the only God. And therefore being the only
God, he is the mighty God. Now, brethren, this is speaking
of Christ as He is revealing God to us. Who is He showing
in His times? He is showing to us that invisible
God. He is showing to us that God
that cannot be approached. He is showing to us that God
that is light, that dwelleth in light. He is showing us who
that God is, and He is showing us in His times that this God
is Him. Look at what he says, he says,
the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. So here we see that Christ is
talked about as the mighty God. Now let's go back to our passage
back in 1 Timothy. Let's move on and see what else
it says here. It says, who is the blessed and
only Pope, Tate? The King of Kings and Lord of
Lords. Well, brethren, I think all throughout
Scripture, we're pretty clear of who the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords is. Is there two kings in God's kingdom? I'm not trying
to be facetious or anything. I'm just asking, are there two
kings? Well, we just learned that there's only one potentate. the only potentate. Right? There's not two kings. Are there
three kings? Not those kings. There are only one king, right?
He is the king of kings. Matter of fact, the phrase itself
shows forth there is only one king. Because this king is the
king of all other kings. So if there be any other kings,
they are limited, they are subjected, they are ruled over by the king. That is over all kings. You know,
we look in our world and we see in other countries they have
kings and queens and things like that. In our country we have
presidents and senators and all that kind of junk. Other places
they have prime ministers, whatever you want to call them. but people
that have been set up to be the governors over their countries,
over their governments. Well, we learn here that the
God who is unapproachable and who dwells within them alive
that no man can approach, who is the only potentate, is the
king over all of them, meaning none of them overrule him. We
found that out whenever Pilate came to Jesus and said, hey,
don't you know that I have power to release you? or to crucify
you? I have that power and what did
Jesus say? You don't have any power over me, over anything. The only power you have is what
has been given to you by God to have. Jesus said at any moment I could
call forth and a legion of angels could come and destroy everything
here. He didn't even have to call those
angels. He could have just said his name, one word, and just
obliterated everything on the face of this earth. But we see here that he is the
only king, the king of kings, meaning all authority. Brethren,
listen, this world, no matter how far down the sewage pot it
looks like it's going, no matter what all's happening in all the
world's affairs and everything, There is a king who is governing
it all. Everything that is happening
in this world between Israel, between Palestine, between Iran,
between the Ukraine, between Russia, between anybody else,
that is happening at the determinate counsel of God Almighty who is
the king of all those kings. and is the one who has raised
up those kings and set those kings in places of power to carry
out His purposes just like He did with Cyrus. Just like He
did with Pharaoh. Just like He did with Saul. Just
like He did with David. Just like He did with Solomon
and every other leader that's ever been. But we see that there
is one King who rules them all. And that is Jesus Christ. King
of kings. And in fact, we read this very
vividly in Revelation chapter 19, if you look there. Verse 15 says, And out of his
mouth goeth a sharp sword, and with it he should smite the nations.
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron. And he treadeth the
winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he
hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of
kings and Lord of lords. Brethren, it tells us right there,
very specifically, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the King of kings
and Lord of lords. And back in our passage in Timothy,
He is revealing that that one true, invisible God that no man
can approach, that dwells within life, is Him. In His seasons, He is revealing
that. In His times, He is revealing
that. Now listen, I can preach this. Men can write about this.
You can hear this over and over and over. And listen, you can
hate this doctrine. You can disagree with this doctrine.
You can say it's not orthodox. You can say that it doesn't follow
someone's confession or faith or some theologian's smart-aleck
remarks. You can say all that you want.
But whenever God begins to reveal Himself, we see here that He
is revealing Himself by Jesus Christ and that revelation continues
time and time and time and time again to reveal the God of Heaven
in the man Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is that God that
we read about all throughout Scripture that is done all things,
that has created all things, that has made all things, that
speaks all things into existence, that holds all things together.
He is the one who has all authority, all power. And that is through
the man, Jesus Christ. Everything that we know about,
see, hear, understand, and experience of this God is in the man, Jesus
Christ. He is the King of kings, and
He is the Lord of lords. And that is who is being revealed
here. Now, as we move into verse 16, we see the side of God that
speaks of that eternal, invisible, unapproachable, unmanifested
character or nature of God, the One who hath immortality, who
dwelled in the light which no man can approach and to whom
no man can see nor can see. That's who God was in His essence,
in His nature. But does this also speak of Jesus
Christ like verse 15 does? Well, look with me over at John
chapter 5 again. We just read it a minute ago,
but let's turn back to it once again. John chapter 5 and verse
26. For as the Father hath life in
Himself, so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself. In Him is life. Christ is life. As a matter of fact, we learned
the Bible speaks that Christ is eternal life. Whenever you
speak of eternal life, you're speaking of Christ. The Bible
says that He is the way, the truth, and the life. There is
no life, whether it's natural life or spiritual life, comes
apart from Jesus Christ. And he has that life within himself. And the Bible says that he has
been given authority and power over all flesh to give eternal
life to as many as God has given him. So Christ is the essence
of that life. He is the one who has that life
and is able to give that life. He's been given that power. He
is life. But it says here that He is the
only one that has immortality. Now, is that true? Is He the
only one that has immortality? Well, what about angels? What about the elect angels?
Are they immortal? I don't find anywhere in Scripture
where they're going to die. What about the children of God? We're
going to be with the Lord to live with Him forever. He's granted
unto us eternal life. Are we immortals? Well, brethren,
there's a difference in that immortality and the immortality
of God. See, our immortality, as we are
children of God, is derived from Him. It comes from Him. It is
given to Him. We did not have immortality in
this flesh But when the life that comes from Him is given
to us, then we have that immortality. But see, that life that is in
us, that eternal life that is in us, is His life. Just as these
kids right here sit here. This is my life. But they were
derived from me, right? There was a point where that
life was given to them, although the life that is within them,
That whatever life force that's inside them, that causes them
to be who they are, that DNA or whatever is in them, that
originally was in us as parents. Who was originally in our parents?
Who was originally in their parents and their parents? They were
in them. These children were in me before
they ever were manifested and brought forth as my children.
They were in me in seed substance. That life was there, as we've
always talked about with these trees out here. this big old
oak tree in my front yard. That oak tree has every other
oak tree that will ever come out of it whenever those acorns
drop. Every oak tree is inside that
tree right now. It just hasn't been manifested.
It hasn't been brought forth. The fruit hasn't came out. The
life hasn't sprung forth. But brother, we are the same
thing. We are in Christ Jesus. That's
that eternal, vital union. We are united in Christ Jesus
because we are His life that is given to us, that eternal
life. That life is immortal, but yet
we don't receive it and experience it until it's made manifest in
us, until it's put in us, until we begin to understand it and
are revealed it. But that life came from Christ,
it didn't come from us. So it is a derived immortality
But God is immortal in and of Himself. Nothing derived Him.
Nothing caused Him to be. He didn't get life from somebody
else. He didn't derive His life from
somebody else. He is in Himself the essence of that life. And the Bible here says that
Jesus Christ is that life. Go over to 1 Corinthians. I think it explains it the best
here. 1 Corinthians 15 Look at, if you would, There's one glory of the sun,
there's another glory of the moon, and another glory of the
stars, and one star differeth from another star in glory. So
also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption,
it is raised in incorruption. See, our bodies will be sown
in corruption, but whenever it's raised, it will be raised with
a derivative life that is incorruptible. Therefore, immortality, right? But let's keep going. It is sown
a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a
natural body and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, the
first man Adam, that's who we've derived our life, that's who
my children derived my life, and I've derived my life from
all the way back to Adam. Can't wait to see Sermon Audio
transcribe that. And so it is written, the first
man, Adam, was made a living soul, and the last Adam was made
a quickening spirit. So Adam, the first Adam, was
made natural. Therefore, everyone that comes
from him is natural. Therefore, they are corruptible. They are mortal. But then it
says, Jesus Christ, the last Adam, was made quickening spirit.
How be it that was not first, which was spiritual, being Adam,
the first Adam was not spiritual, but natural, but that which is
natural. And afterward, that which is
spiritual, the second Adam was spiritual. The first man is of
the earth, earthy, and he'll return to the earth because we're
all just dust. The second man is the Lord from
heaven. He's not of the earth. So he's not earthy. He's not
natural. He's spiritual. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy. And as is the heavenly, such
are they also that are heavenly. And brethren, the child of grace
are both. The reprobate is only of the
first Adam. The reprobate is only of the
first Adam. But the child of grace is of
both Adams. We have our flesh and blood that
is derived from the first Adam, and we have that inner man who
is derived from the second Adam, the heavenly. Remember, the Bible
says that we were born from above. That life came down from above. So that life, that is who we
are in the inner man, did not derive itself out of the first
Adam, Nor was it recreated in a regeneration that a lot of
people talk about, which is the wrong word for that. They're
using that biblically. Regeneration is not being born
again. The new man is not created after
the first Adam. He's not created and nothing
in the first Adam part of us is made over or made better or
regenerated, renewed, revived. It's still the same old corrupting
flesh that it's always been. What has been born in us is a
new creation, is a new creature that is born from above. And
that is spiritual and not fleshly, not earthly. It says, now this
I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God, and it won't. Neither doth corruption inherit
incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put
on incorruption. And this mortal must put on immortality. So we now are mortal. We will
put on immortality. Now that spirit that is in us
is already immortal because it is derived from the eternal life
of Jesus Christ. But what we are on the outside
is not immortal. There will be a body that has
been prepared for us that we will put on at the resurrection
that will match that inner man. It will be immortal. But again, brethren, this is
a derived immortality. It is a body that has been made,
that has been created, that has been brought forth. Only God
has an essence or nature or himselfness, if you'll allow me that backwards
way of saying it, himselfness is immortality. He is the only
one that had true immortality. We have derived immortality as
we see here. So when this corruptible shall
put on incorruption and this mortal shall put on immortality,
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death
is swallowed up in victory. So we see that our immortality
is coming in the outward man. It's not here yet, although the
immortality of the spirit is already there. but we will be
a derived immortality. The only one who has true immortality,
the Bible says, is that one who dwells in light. Look at what it says here. Who
only hath immortality dwelling in the light. Who no man hath seen, nor can
see. Now, there's been a lot of times
that men have seen God, right? But who have they seen when they've
seen God? They've seen the Lord Jesus Christ. But look with me
now, if you would, at this, I wanna, cause I wanna look at this part
about life, cause I believe this is also speaking about Jesus
Christ himself. Once again, in John chapter five,
where we was at, or excuse me, not John, one John. Got my wires crossed here. 1 John chapter 1. This is the message which we
have heard of Him. Who is Him? It says, This is
the message we have heard of Him and declare unto you that
God is light and in Him is no darkness. This is the message
which we have heard of Him and declare unto you that God is
light and Him is no darkness. But who is the message that we
have heard of Him? Well, let's look back at the
beginning. That which was from the beginning, which we have
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon and with our hands have handled of the Word of Life,
for the life was manifested. There it is. The life had existence
without manifestation, but yet it was manifested. Remember,
we already looked at who was the one who had life. The Father
had life. And He gave that life into the
Son. So He brought forth the Son,
Jesus Christ, and put Himself in Jesus Christ, manifested Himself,
in Jesus Christ. That life was manifested in the
man Jesus Christ. Therefore, Jesus Christ had the
life in him because he being God, the invisible, unknowable,
unapproachable, one who dwells in life, God, became manifest
in the person of Jesus Christ. So Jesus Christ is the body,
the man that manifests the invisible God. And here it says, the life
was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and show
unto you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested
unto you. That life that was with the Father,
that unknown God, that one from the Old Testament that we never
did see or never did approach, the one that came down in the
glory and there was this bright light showing above the Ark of
the Covenant, that God that no man can see, We began to see Him whenever
He manifested Himself unto us. That which we have seen and heard,
that which we have seen and heard, who is that that we have seen
and heard? Jesus Christ, the Word of Life. declare we unto you that ye also
may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things
write we unto you that your joy may be full. Here it is, verse
five. This then is the message of which
we had heard of him, Jesus. and declare unto you that God
is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have
fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not
the truth. But if we walk in the light as
He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood
of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us. Jesus said that He is the
light of the world. So, brethren, whenever we go
to 1 Timothy and we read about this God who is the blessed and only potentate,
this God who is the King of kings and Lord of lords, this God who
only hath immortality, dwelling in the light, which no man can
approach unto, whom no man can see, nor have seen, nor can see, we read that this is the man
Jesus Christ that we're talking about. I don't have any problems
saying that. I'm not embarrassed to say that.
And listen, I'm not ashamed to say that in the face of men who
say that's unorthodox to say that. Men don't declare what's orthodox
and what's not, by the way. Just so you know that. Men don't
declare what's orthodox and what's not orthodox. The Word of God
declares what is truth and what is not true. Right? And the Spirit
of God is who reveals what is true and what is not true. And
gives the understanding of that truth. Not men. Not preachers. 15 letters behind their names, Dr.
So-and-so, THM, DIV, MSD, LMNOP. It doesn't matter what your credentials
are, what level of learning you went to, what university you
graduated from, how many universities you graduated from, and how much
you've memorized this scripture. The Word of God reveals the truth.
And here we see that Jesus Christ is revealing this God in His
times. And whenever He reveals this
God in His times to His people, He reveals that that God that
you are worshiping is Him. And as the last phrase says,
to whom be honor and power everlasting. Jesus Christ, if I understand
things correctly, and not be deceived, Jesus Christ will be
the one who we honor forever. Look back there in Revelation.
Who is the one seated on the throne? Who is the one seated
on the throne? The Lord Jesus Christ. Who is
the one who has been given power over all things? Jesus Christ. So, brethren, we're not worshiping
three persons. distinct and individual, who
we will bow down to this one, bow down to this one, bow down
to this one. We're not worshiping three identities
because all of these characters, all of these persons, if you'll
allow that word, are in the man Jesus Christ. As God relates to His people
as the Father, as God relates to His people as the Word, as
God relates to His people in the Spirit, all of these are
in Christ Jesus, for all the fullness of the Godhead dwells
in Him bodily. They speak of one testimony,
and that is the testimony of Jesus Christ. They are preaching
Christ. The Father, the Word, and the
Holy Spirit all preach Christ. They're not preaching the Father.
They're not preaching the Word. And they're not preaching the
Spirit indistinct of each other. They're preaching the man Jesus
Christ and how He is the manifestation of that Godhead. And He reveals
that to us in His times. Here a little. There a little. line upon line, precept upon
precept. The whole scripture is about
Christ. But the whole God of the universe is Christ. All right, anybody got anything
that you'd like to add to that? Questions? Corrections? Anybody got anything you'd like
to share? Heavenly Father, we thank you
for the day and we thank you for your mercy and your grace
that you've given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we thank
you once again for the glimpses that you give us of yourself
through the man Jesus Christ. We thank you, Father, that you
have blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places
in Christ. We thank you that all the revelation
of God is in Jesus Christ. And we thank you that the intercession
between God and man is through the man, Jesus Christ, whereby
we come to know that you are our father, that you have given
us your word, and that your spirit dwells within us and keeps us
and preserves us until that day that we put off this corruption
and put on incorruption. Father, we are grateful for the
gospel. We are grateful for the good news, what Christ has done
on our behalf. And Father, we are humbled that
we should be called the children of God. And Lord, we just pray
that you continue to be with us and strengthen us, that you
would keep us in the faith. Lord, that you would guard us
from wrong thinking, that you would lead us in the truth. And
Father, we just pray that you'll be with all these people as they
leave here today. We ask, Lord, that you would
bless them, that you would keep them, give them safety, that
you would teach them more about who you are. Father, again, we
thank you for all these things. We do wanna lift up Brother Lynn
Terry to you this morning. Lord, we ask that you would grant
to him healing, that you'd be with him in the situation he's
in, as far as for a place to stay and be taken care of. Lord,
that you would just have your will in all of that,
and that you might be with all those who are dealing with him
and taking care of him. providing assistance for him,
and we just continue to lift him up before you. We thank you,
Father, that you are with us here today as you have promised,
and we pray that all things that we have done has been according
to your truth, that you have blessed this place and blessed
each one of us here. It's in Christ's name that we
pray. Amen.