“Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will…” Hebrews 13:20,21
When the Apostle Paul wrote his letters to Timothy, as recorded in the Bible, he was approaching the moment when he would go to be with Christ. His letters exalt Christ in fullest measure, presenting to Timothy, his son in the faith, a vision of the true and living God. For example, he wrote: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever.” (1 Tim. 1:17) Of Christ he would write: “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.” (2:5) And finally, he would declare: “God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” (3;16) Why is it that Paul would take such pains to precisely write of Christ in the most eloquent, and elevated terms? It is because of the matter faith, a faith that Timothy must have, keep, and use daily if he is to receive from the Father all that is needful by the Spirit to honor and glorify God. If Timothy is to be in that position where he is a good, consistent receiver of the mercy and grace of God, then all things are possible, and he will finish well the race that is set before him, a race that Paul and so many others have embraced, to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.
But there is something else that Paul wrote about in these last, “pastoral letters.” It was the frequent reference to a moment, a day, and appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul learned to live in the present expectation of the Lord’s appearance, either by that moment when he would die physically, and his spirit and soul would be forever with the Lord, or Christ’s promised second coming. Just like the disciples of old were instructed by the Lord Jesus to understand that they would not know the exact time of His coming again, He did give them certain markers of history, circumstance, and conditions, which would alert His servants to that approaching moment. When Christ came, to be born in a stable in Bethlehem, very few knew that the time had come for Him to make His appearance in the world. So discrete and quiet was His coming, even though so very many prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled at that time, there were few who would fall at His feet to worship Him. Even during Christ’s short ministry of about three and a half years, during which time He revealed the objective truth of who He was, the very I AM who was before Abraham, the Truth and the Life, Light, Love, the revelation of the Father, and the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world for the sins of men, humanity as a whole would reject Him, despise and forsake Him, eventually nailing their Savior and Lord to a cross, mistaking His identity and power. The One who came to save them would be denied access to their hearts and souls. Only by God’s mercy would He take the initiative to cause His light to shine into their hearts darkened and lifeless because of sin. Only by the goodness of God, would this eternal Sheperd of the sheep stretch forth His pierced hand to lay hold of those who would respond to His work in them, to convict them of their sin and draw them to Himself to be saved. Paul the Apostle learned to live in the light of a moment in time, a moment when he would see Christ face to face and be changed. By the power of the resurrection, he would put off for time and eternity the old life, to put on forever Christ’s perfection.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to run. In Jesus’ name, Amen.