Would you turn back to 1 Timothy?
I've entitled this message, My Response to His Grace. My Response to His Grace. Let's start reading in verse
12. And I thank Christ Jesus, our
Lord, who hath enabled me for that he counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry, who was before a blasphemer and
a persecutor and injurious. But I obtained mercy because
I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was
exceeding abundant. with faith and love which is
in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying. It's
worthy of all acceptation. That Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. Of whom I am chief. How be it for this cause I obtain
mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering
for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life
everlasting. Now what's my response to all
this? Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
wise God, the honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Now, not later, but now. This is my response right now.
Now unto the King, eternal. And he goes on to burst into
one of the most beautiful, sublime, Simple sentences of divine praise
that we find anywhere in the Bible. Now unto the King, eternal,
immortal, invisible, the only wise God be honor and glory forever
and ever. Amen. I love in Paul's writings
when all of a sudden he just bursts out into praise. He does
that all the time in his writings. He'll be saying something that
he just becomes overcome with, and then he bursts out into divine
praise. And there's something that's
very powerful about praise to God. Let me read you a passage
from Acts chapter 16. And when they had laid many stripes
on them, they cast them into the prison. This is talking about
Paul and Silas, charging the jailer to keep them safely. who
having received such a charge thrust them into the inner prison
and made their feet fast in stalks. And at midnight, this is after
they'd been beaten, this is where their feet in these stalks. At
midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God. And the prisoners heard them.
Anytime there is true praise, somebody hears. It may only be
God, but somebody hears every time there's true praise to God. Let me read you some scriptures.
Hebrews 13, 15 says, by him, therefore, you and I praise. I'm aware of the fact that my
praise is no good. and He needs to mediate it for
me and bring it into the presence of God for me. By Him, therefore,
let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips,
giving thanks to His name. God said in Psalm 50, verse 23,
whoso offereth praise glorifieth me. So I want to offer praise,
don't you? In Psalm 51 15, David said, Oh
Lord, open thou my lips and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. Now we can't pay him for his
grace, but by his grace, we can praise him for his grace. would
to God that even now in my heart I will offer sincere prayer,
sincere praise through the Lord Jesus Christ unto Him." Now here
is his hymn of praise. This is actually spoken in a
hymn. Now unto the King Eternal. Now who's he talking about when
he's speaking of the King? Is he speaking of the Father? Yes.
Is he speaking of the Son? Yes. Is He speaking of God the
Holy Spirit? Yes. He's speaking of all three
persons of the blessed Trinity in unity, now unto the King. I like the way He doesn't say
the eternal, immortal, invisible King, but He begins with the
King. Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
wise God. Now just as all three persons
of the Trinity save God the Father saved me when He purposed my
salvation. I was saved then. God the Son
saved me when He purchased my salvation and when He paid for
my sins. God the Holy Spirit saved me when He applied God's
salvation and gave me a new nature. The grace to believe, the grace
to repent, the grace to love. All three persons of the Godhead
save. And all three persons of the
Godhead are the King Eternal. He is the Eternal King who rules
and reigns. The Lord, the psalmist said,
is King forever. The Lord is King over all the
earth. You know, He was born King of the Jews, wasn't He?
And when Pilate brought Him out before the jeering crowd, He
said, Behold, your King! What was the accusation written
over His head? What was it they accused Him
of? What was their reason for crucifying Him? Jesus of Nazareth,
the King of the Jews. And the Pharisees said, write
not that He's the King of the Jews, but He said He's the King
of the Jews. And Pilate said, what I've written
stays written. He is the King of the Jews. Psalm 24 7, He's called the King
of Glory. Revelation 15.3, He's called
the King of Saints. And I love there in Hebrews 7,
Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness. And the King of Peace. There's
only one thing that gives me peace. I mean peace of heart
before God that I know everything's fine. Because He's the King of
Righteousness. And His righteousness, His righteousness
is my righteousness before God. And you know what that gives
me? Peace. Oh, the joy and peace of knowing
that all that God requires of me, He looks to His Son for.
And I have all He requires. He will be worshipped eternally
as the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Now, we read in
John 6.15 of some people who wanted to take Him by force and
make Him King. Remember that? He wouldn't accept
it. Why? Because He already was King.
No man's gonna make him king. God said regarding him, yet have
I set my king. That's what God says of him. Yet have I set my king upon my
holy hill of Zion. Before time began, he was the
king. When he was born, he was born
the king. When he lived, he lived as the
king. When He died, He died as the
mighty ruling King. And when He was raised from the
dead, He was raised from the dead as the King. And right now,
He's seated at the right hand of the Father, King of kings
and Lord of lords. Look over in 1 Timothy chapter
6, verse 15. Which in His times,
He shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the King
of Kings, and the Lord of Lords. Now unto the King. Now this is
a description of praise. Paul is bursting out from the
depths of his heart. Now unto the King. Eternal. Eternal. Not bound by space or
time. Eternal. He had no beginning,
He'll have no ending. He's eternal. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was, eternally was,
in the beginning with God. Now since He is eternal, He's
immutable. That means whatever he was, he
is. And whatever he is, he always
will be. I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore you sons of Jacob are
not consumed. I love that. Change and decay
in all around I see. Beginning right here. O thou that changest not, abide
with me. Since He's eternal, He's all-wise. Since He never had a beginning,
He's never learned anything. He already knows everything.
He's never been given new information. He's all wise and knows all things. He's the high and lofty one who
inhabits eternity. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
today, and forever. And because He's the King eternal,
His work is eternal. Now what do I mean by that? Let
me quote this, be turning to Isaiah 46, but let me quote this.
Now known unto God are all His works from the beginning. Now
look at Isaiah 46. Known unto God are all His works
from the beginning. Verse 9. Remember the former things of
old, for I am God and there's none else. I am God and there's
none like me. You can't even compare Him to
anyone. There's no comparison you can make. That's why idolatry,
making an image of him is so evil. You're bringing him down.
He can't be compared to anything. Verse 10, here's what he does.
I declare the end from the beginning. Do you know why you're here tonight? Well, you got up and walked.
You're here because he determined for you to be here. Did God know
you'd be here? Of course He did. How did He
know? Because He determined it. And
the reason you and I are here right now, the reason I'm preaching
this message, is because God Almighty determined it before
time began. He's the Eternal God. He said,
declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I
will do all My pleasure. You know, everything that happens
is the will of God. What about the bad stuff? He's in control
of that too. There's nothing that happens
outside of his will. I'm so thankful for that. I love
that song that you sing, this is my father's world. It's all
his. He says, calling a ravenous bird
from the east, the man that executes my counsel from a far country.
Yea, I have spoken it. I will also bring it to pass.
I have purposed it. I will also do it. Now we read in the scriptures,
he's called the eternal God, the eternal Christ, the eternal
King. We read of the eternal purpose, which He purposed in
Christ Jesus, our Lord. Now, all of the works of salvation
were actually completed before time began. Now, do I understand
that? No. Do I believe it? Altogether, all of the works
of salvation were accomplished. Let me show you that in Scripture,
Hebrews 4. Verse 3, For we which have believed
do enter into rest, as he said, as I've sworn in my wrath, if
they shall enter into my rest, although the works were finished
from the foundation of the world. Now, I'm saved. That means the Lord's done something
for me. When were you saved? Before time
began. Before time began. But when were
you saved? When Christ died. But when were
you saved? When I heard and believed the
gospel. When are you saved? When I stand
before God without sin, whenever the Lord comes back. All those
things are true, yet the scripture says the works were finished
from the very foundation of the world. My salvation is certain. The
salvation of every one of God's people is certain. It's already
done. It's already accomplished. When the Lord said it is finished,
it is finished. And it was finished before He
said it is finished. Because He's the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world. Now that's how secure my salvation
is. There's nothing I can do to mess
it up because I've already been saved before the foundation of
the world. Well, don't you have to believe? Of course you have
to believe. Don't you have to repent? Of course you have to
repent. Well, don't you have to come to Christ? Of course
you do. It's still true that all the works were finished from
the foundation of the world. We read of an eternal salvation. We read of eternal redemption. We read of eternal judgment. And we read of eternal life.
Now unto the king, eternal. Now unto the king, next he says,
immortal. And here the word doesn't mean
never dying, although that would be true, but incorruptible. He's
not subject to change or decay. Now, if he changed, If the Lord
Jesus Christ changed, He'd either be getting better or going downhill. Isn't that so? But He never changes. He can't be bought. He can't
be manipulated. He never reacts to anything.
He only acts. He still possesses eternal power
and Godhead. And he is not subject to corruption. And that's how he's able to save
the very chief of sinners. And this is Paul's ascription
of praise after this glorious statement. He came to save sinners
of whom I'm chief. Now unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible. Invisible. Turn back to 1 Timothy
chapter 6. Let's start in verse 14. But thou keep this commandment
without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which in His times He shall show who is the blessed
and only potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords,
who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can
approach into, whom no man has seen nor can see, to whom be
honor and power everlasting. We see him who is invisible. Now, how do you see somebody
who's invisible? By faith. That's the only way
you can do that. By faith. Now, we see him who's invisible. It was said of Moses, he endured
as seeing Him who is invisible. We walk by faith and not by sight. Everyone that seeth the Son and
believeth on Him hath everlasting life. Now, I see He is. Now, I see this. I see it by
faith, but I see this. I see He is who the Bible says
He is. Do you see that? I see He's God
Almighty. The Creator of the universe.
You see that? I see that He's a man. Bone of my bone. Flesh of my
flesh. He has flesh and blood just like
me. Right now there's a man in glory. I see that. Seated at the right
hand of the Father. And beloved, I see that when
He said, it is finished, as the eternal, immortal, invisible,
only wise God, when He said it is finished, I see clearly that
my salvation was finished. And there isn't anything that
thrills my soul more than that. My salvation is finished. Now, seeing that, let me tell
you a couple of other things I see very clearly. Seeing who He is,
I see who I am. Now you can't see who He is and
not see who you are. If you see who He is, you'll
see that you are a sinner. But not only will you see that
you're a sinner, you don't stay right there. Well, you never
leave there. Like Paul said, whom I'm chief,
but you also see that He Himself is salvation. Now you see those
things clearly. You see Him who is invisible. Now He, the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit is the only wise God. Back to our text. Now unto
the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. Jesus Christ is the only wise
God. Now turn with me for a moment
to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Verse 21, For after that, in
the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased
God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. Do you know how God saves? By
what's going on right now. The preaching of the gospel.
And that's how it pleases God to save people, through the foolishness
of preaching. You mean to say that God uses
a fool like you? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. Now look in verse 22.
For the Jews, the religious people require a sign. We need a sign
to show that God's in this. And the Greeks, the intellectuals,
they seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified. That's our message. Christ, God's
anointed prophet, priest and king. That's who He is. Crucified. Why was He crucified? The sins
of His people became His. He was guilty because the sins
of His people became His. He put them away. We preach Christ
crucified. That's the gospel. Now unto the
Jews, This is a stumbling block. You mean to say that all I need
to make me accepted before God is what Christ did, nothing else?
Why? What about good works? What about
the things I need to do? I stumble. And unto the Greeks,
Foolishness. You mean to tell me you believe
that man is God? You mean to think that you're
saved by somebody else's righteousness? What? That's foolishness. I don't
believe that. But, verse 24, but unto them
which are called. You know, God's going to call
out His people. Unto them which are called. Both
Jews and Greeks, both the religious, the irreligious, Jew and Gentiles,
Christ, the power of God, and Christ, the wisdom of God. Let me say a couple of things
about that. Christ, the power of God. Christ, the wisdom of
God. Remember, He's the only wise
God. Christ, the wisdom of God. is so wise that he made a way
to take somebody as sinful as me and cause me to be without
sin justified. Now, only God could have the
wisdom to actually do that, to come up with a plan. Plan's not
even the right word. I don't know what the right word
is, but to somehow God found a way to be just and punish all
sin, absolute just, and yet justify somebody who is ungodly. Isn't
that glorious? Christ is the wisdom of God as
to how that takes place, but that won't do any good if He
doesn't have the power to execute it. Christ is the power of God
to execute that all-wise plan. Isn't that wonderful? He's the
power of God. Now, when we're talking about
Christ being the power of God, here's how powerful. When He
said, It is finished. All my sin was obliterated, blotted
out. It's gone. I bear it no more
because it's not there. And God declared me to be holy,
righteous, unblameable, and unapprovable in His sight through what Christ
did on the cross. Now that's how powerful He is. He's the wisdom of God in making
a way for God to be just and justify the ungodly. And He's
the power of God to execute that glorious wisdom. Isn't His wisdom
wonderful? Truly, He is the only Wise God. Now what does He say, back to
our text, in 1 Timothy chapter 1? Now unto the King, eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and
ever. Amen. Be honored. Now that word
honor is the same word that Peter uses when he says in 1 Peter
chapter 2 verse 7, unto you which believe he is precious. Now what is a believer? A believer
is someone who sees the Lord Jesus Christ as precious. It's
value. It's honor. Unto him is preciousness. That's the word. Unto him is
preciousness. I want you to think of the way
that the scripture uses this word precious, preciousness.
We read of the precious blood of Christ. Is it blood precious
to you? Oh, the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's son, cleanseth us from all sin. Oh, how precious his
blood is. We read of precious promises. How precious are the promises
of God to you? David said, although my house
be not so with God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting
covenant. That's the promise he's talking
about. Ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my
salvation and all my desire. though he makes it not to grow."
How precious is that to you? That salvation comes by the promise
of God. He promised it, therefore it
must come to pass. It's not some kind of promise
where, I'll do this if you do that. No, he said, I'll do it,
and it's done. That's the promise of God. The I wills and you shalls of
the scripture. Oh, how precious are the promises
of His grace. And then we read in 2 Peter of
like precious faith. Now, how precious is faith? It's precious in this sense.
You can't even believe unless He gives it to you. And when
He gives it to you, you know it's the work of His grace. You
know it doesn't... How precious is it to be able
to hear the Gospel and believe? There's nothing more precious
than that. Actually hearing the Gospel and believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Really believing that He's all
you need. And you rest in Him. How precious
is faith? Precious as His blood is, and none of us can describe it
properly, as precious as His promises are, as precious as
faith is, unto you which believe, He is precious. You see, He is our peace. Now unto the King, eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be preciousness." How precious
is His person? How precious is His life? That's
my life before God. How precious is His death? That's
my sin payment. How precious is His resurrection?
He was raised from the dead. And my justification was accomplished
by His resurrection. How precious is His intercession?
The fact that right now He's representing me before the Father.
He's bringing my name before the Father. How precious. Unto
Him be preciousness. And to Him be glory. You know, He is said to be the
brightness of God's glory and the express image of His person.
Now glory, glory. Glory is essential to Him. That's not essential to me or
you, is it? Is it essential that you be glorified as far as what
you are in yourself? Well, you know it's not, no.
But it's essential for Him to be glorified because of who He
is. Glory is what is due to Him. Now, turn with me to Ephesians
chapter 1. I want you to notice these things Paul says about
the praise of His glory. Verse 3, Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us, that means
He's already done it, with all spiritual blessings, not most
of them, all of them, in heavenly places in Christ. Now if God
has blessed you, do you know that you have every blessing
He has to give? And you've already got it in
Christ. according as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world." When was the last
time you stood in amazement that God would choose you? What grace that He would choose
me and say, He's mine. And here's why I did it, that
we should be holy and without blame before Him, in love, having
predestinated us." Do you believe in predestination? Absolutely.
I love predestination. I love the God of predestination.
"...having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
to the praise of the glory of His grace." wherein he hath made
us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace, wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will,
according to His good pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself,
that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth, even in Him, in whom we also have
obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the
purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His
own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory." See
it again? The praise of His glory, who
first trusted in Christ. Now I know this. I know this. My salvation, will be entirely
to the praise of His glory. And if you're a believer, you
know the same thing as so with you. Now He said, to whom be
honor and glory forever and ever, Amen. Now can you say Amen to
that? Now unto the King, eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and
ever. Amen. I love when Paul does this
in his writings. He'll just say something glorious.
Amen. Now what's amen mean? Well, amen
is the response of the heart to truth. You hear the truth, you say,
amen. That's the truth. You know it's
the truth when you hear it. You might not understand it all,
but you know it's the truth. Worthy of God. The Word of God. Amen. When we say amen, we mean,
let it be so. This is what I want. This is
what I desire. Let it be so. Let that be so. I'm in trouble if it's not. Let
it be so. It means, this is what I desire. And it means, this is my confession. May the Lord help me confess
before this world, now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible,
the only wise God, the honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray.