According to Paul the
apostle, Timothy was to be a man of prayer, and prayer was to be the
first priority in his life as he ministered among the church in
Ephesus. This practice is “good and acceptable” with God
as He desires to “have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth.” In
chapter two and verse five of his letter to Timothy, Paul declares
how many Gods there are, and who is the mediator between God and man
where we read:
The verse begins, “For
there is one God, and one mediator between God and
men,...” As though it needed
to be stated, Paul wrote to Timothy “For” which
means “because or since” “there is one God”
or “singularly and only one true deity, divinity and trinity”
“and one mediator”
which is the Greek word “mesites” which means “one who
intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and
friendship, form a compact or to ratify a covenant, and one who is a
medium of communication or an arbitrator”. It is interesting that
Paul employs the same word “heis” for the word “one”
when stating there is “one God” and “one mediator”
to be certain that Timothy and
we understand the singularity of them both.
The
verse continues, “...the man Christ Jesus;” Paul
continued his thought by declaring this “one mediator” is,
“the man” or “human being” “Christ” which
is the word “Christos” and means “messiah and anointed one”
“Jesus” which means “Jehovah is Salvation”. There is
only one mediator between God and man, and this “one” is
“Jesus” the anointed messiah of God.
As we ponder Paul's words, we
understand how this verse creates controversy with those who employ
others for mediation or arbitration with God. It is God Almighty our
Heavenly Father who desires that all men be saved, and He knows the
quickest access to His throne. Paul declared this “one”
true and Holy God has deemed “Jesus Christ”
the one mediator between Himself and people. We need no other to
approach the throne of God. Job in the Old Testament in chapter nine
and verse thirty three declared, “Neither is there any
daysman between us, that might lay his hand
upon us both.” Jeremiah in chapter eight and verse twenty-two
of his prophecy asked, “Is there no balm
in Gilead; is there no physician there? why
then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”
John the apostle wrote in his letter named First John in chapter two
and verses one and two, “My little children, these things write
I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the
propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world.” When
we have sinned, when we have needs and when we desire to have
fellowship with God, our admittance before Him is having a
relationship with His Son Jesus who is our “daysman”,
our “balm”, our
“advocate” and our
“propitiation”,
and if we have access through Him, why would we ever desire to
attempt any other way?
Next
time Paul shares about the price Jesus paid for us all, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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