I'm reading from the book of
1 Timothy, chapter 6, and I'm reading one verse, a portion
of one verse, 1 Timothy, chapter 6, verse 15, which says, Which
in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only potentate,
King of kings and Lord of lords, the blessed and only potentate. That is our text this morning,
and that is our subject. Speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Scripture says he is the only potentate, with a capital P. Now, Scripture tells us to honor
our parents, to respect our elders, to render honor to whom honor
is due. Romans 13 tells us to submit
to all authority, for all powers, all authority comes from God,
the supreme authority. But all glory, that is, all credit,
all glory belongs to God. all worship and reverence, fear,
all belongs to God, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No human being is to be held
in too high esteem or recognized as being anything or any way
that belongs to God alone. No human being is to be recognized
as being sinless, infallible, or a so-called head or authority
over God's church and people. The Lord Jesus Christ told His
disciples in Matthew 23, verse 8, Be not called rabbi, which
means master, for one is your master. even Christ. Now, that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ told His apostles. Peter was one of those apostles.
He told him, Do not be called Rabbi. And the next verse, Matthew
23, verse 9, says, Call no man your father upon the earth, for
one is your Father which is in heaven. Let me read it again.
Our Lord Jesus Christ told them, his disciples, call no man your
father upon the earth, for one is your father, capital F, which
is in heaven." And Peter again, Peter was in that group whom
the Lord was speaking to. And again in John chapter 5,
the Lord said a little while later in verse Chapter 43 of
John, chapter 5, he says, ìI am come in my Fatherís name,
and you receive me not. If another shall come in his
own name, him you will receive. Let a man come in his own name,
for his own honor, his own glory, and you will receive him. How
can you believe,î the Lord said, ìHow can you believe which receive
honor one of another, and seek not the honor thatís from God
only?î In another place the Lord said,
true worshipers, in John chapter 4, true worshipers shall worship
the Father in spirit and in truth. True worshipers, that is those
who worship, that is honor, glorify God, worship the Father, the
Holy Father, the Holy Heavenly Father. The Father, the only
one of his people, the only one who begat his people, that is,
gave birth to his people with the word of truth. True worshipers
shall worship the Father in spirit, or that is, from the heart, with
the inner man. not with outward form or ritual
or ceremony or religious props and symbols, but on the inside,
from the heart. And, he says, true worshipers
shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. True worshipers, those who honor
and glorify and ascribe all things to God, worship Him in truth,
that is, according to God's word. Not according to man's canon,
but God's word, according to God's word. In truth, Christ
said. And in Christ, who is the truth. Or that is, by faith in Christ,
who alone is the truth. All he is All he said, all he
did, is the truth of salvation, the truth of who God is, the
truth of how man can get to God. It's all found in Jesus Christ. No man cometh unto the Father
but by Him. This is, John said over in 1
John 5.20, the true God and eternal life. Oh, I hope someone is listening
to this this morning. Someone who has been worshiping
someone other than the true God, the true Christ, the only potentate. You see, Jesus Christ was the
only man who ever lived upon this earth, the only man who
deserved to be worshipped and reverenced. Psalm 111, I believe
it is verse 9, says, ìHoly and reverend is his name.î His name,
reverence, that is to be held in awe and fear and respect. Thatís what reverend means. No
human man deserves that title, reverend. I resent that. I despise that. I quickly correct
those who call me that. Holy and reverend. He is the
Holy One of Israel. He is the Holy Father. He is
the reverend. And He is the only man who ever
lived who deserved to be reverenced and worshipped because He is. He was and is the God-man. God manifest in the flesh. In John chapter 1, listen to
John the Baptist. Our Lord said John the Baptist
was the greatest man born of woman. And yet he said the least
in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Did you hear that? And yet John was a great man
as far as men go. And John chapter 1, they came
to him, these religious Pharisees, the religious leaders, and came
to him, and he confessed. He quickly confessed, made it
very clear before all of them, verse 20, and denied not, that
is, did not subtly hint at his authority or anything, but confessed,
I am not the Christ. Right up front, he told them,
I am not the Christ. Don't worship me. Don't look
to me." Well, they said, well, who are you? Are you Elijah?
He said, I am not. Are thou that prophet, they said?
No, he said. No. You see, this was a man who came
from God and was truly interested in the glory of God. He took
no glory to himself. He wouldn't even take a title
to himself. He wouldn't even tell them his
own name. They said, Who are you? Where
did you come from? Tell us your credentials. Where
did you go to school? Where did you go to seminary?
Do you have your doctorate and your Ph.D.? No! He said, I am
a voice. Over in chapter 3 he said, He
must increase. I must decrease. Talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now here is a man who has come
in the name of God. and for the glory of God, the
One who will not take any glory to Himself, but gives all glory
to the One that sent Him. This is the friend of the bridegroom
who rejoices in the bridegroom's voice, saying, He must increase. This wedding is not about the
guest. It is about the groom, not even
about the bride. It is all about the One who loved
her and saved her. The Lord Jesus Christ, He is
the One who must get all the glory. John said, He is the One sent
by God who has the words of God. God giveth not the Spirit unto
Him by measure. Father loveth the Son, hath given
all things into His hand. And later on, Paul the Apostle,
arguably the greatest of all the Apostles, including Peter.
He said, I am not fit to be called a disciple. He said, I am less
than the least. And he writes in our text in
1 Timothy 6, verse 15, that God shall show that Jesus Christ
is the blessed and only potentate. The blessed. Let's take each
phrase just for a moment. The Blessed, or that is, the
One whom God Almighty hath blessed, whom God Almighty hath conferred
all honor and all glory upon, above all others, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Blessed One, not Mary, All blessings are upon
Jesus Christ, are in Jesus Christ, and must come from Jesus Christ. That's what Ephesians 1, 3 says. All blessings are upon Him, in
Him, and from Him. No one else. They come from no
one else. Mary, the former virgin, she was a virgin when she gave
birth to the Christ child, But she wasn't afterward. She had
other children. Mary, the former virgin, was
no more blessed of God than any person who has Christ formed
within them. Every single believer has Christ
formed within them. That's correct. That's true.
Christ in them. The hope of glory. And Mary was
no more blessed than anyone who has Christ, the Spirit of Christ,
in them. Elizabeth, when she came to Mary
in Luke chapter 1, verse 42, she said, Blessed art thou among
women. She didn't say above women. She
said among women. Mary was blessed by God in the
same way that every sinner who finds favor and grace in God
Almighty's purpose and God's Son is blessed. Mary was blessed
by God with the mercy of God, the grace of God, as a sinner
before God, to whom God revealed Christ to and within. The angel
said to her, to Mary, he shall be great, he shall reign, not
you. The angel didn't say you and
he will reign. It says, no, he shall reign.
And Mary prayed to God her Savior. Mary was not the mother of God. She was born of God. And the
child she held in her arms was, in fact, her father. Nor is she
the queen of heaven, the co-equal with Christ, the co-redemptress,
as some say. That's blasphemy. Mary never
did, cannot now, pray for or confer any blessing upon anyone
or mediate for one sinner. For there is one mediator, 1
Timothy 2.5 says, one mediator between God and men, the man,
Christ Jesus. He is the blessed and only potentate,
the only supreme authority over the church. That is what potentate
means. There is no such thing as a pope in God's church. or that he is a vicar of Christ,
or as Pius X said, the visible head of the church. Jesus Christ
is the head of the church. He is the only potentate, the
only head, the only ruler, the only authority over God's church. Yea, over all flesh. He alone
forgives sins, grants pardon, grants heavenly favors, confers
blessings, canonizes, that is, makes saints. All others who
pretend to do so are impostors, fakes, usurpers, stealing Christ's
glory, and are evil men and seducers, and those who follow them and
believe them are idolaters. Jesus Christ is the only Potentate. He is the Most High Holy Father,
Right Reverend Head, Ruler and Authority over all. You better
worship Him. That's God's decree. Amen. you you