Paul the
apostle exhorted Timothy his “dearly beloved son” not to
be “ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” nor of Paul “his
prisoner”. He was rather to be “partaker of the
afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;” who
“saved” us and “called” us “according to his
own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began”. In chapter one and verse ten of his final letter
to Timothy, Paul wrote concerning “the appearing of our Savior
Jesus Christ” where we read:
But is now
made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has
abolished death,
and has
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
The verse begins, “But
is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ,...”
Paul began this verse with the disassociation conjunction “But”
which means what is about to be written takes precedence over what
was previously written and in this case “is
now made manifest” which
in the Greek is “phaneroō nyn
phaneroō”
and
means “revealed, made known, exposing what was invisible and
hidden” “by
the appearing”
which refers to the “glorious manifestation” “of
our Savior Jesus Christ”
or “deliverer and preserver whose name means Jehovah is
Salvation,the anointed one and Messiah of God”. In other words the
“purpose
and grace”
of God which was initiated and hidden from mankind “before
the world began”
was now revealed by the glorious manifestation of Jesus Christ the
Messiah.
The verse goes on to
say, “...who has abolished death, and
has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:”
Paul continued with a description of Jesus' revelation, “who
has abolished”
which is the Greek word “katargeō”
from which we derive our English word “cauterize” and means
“rendered idle, unemployed, inactive, inoperative, caused to cease,
put an end to, did away with, and annulled”
“death”
or “separation of the soul and the body by which the life on earth
is ended”. Because of Jesus' appearing, spiritual death or
separation from God has been abolished, rendered idle and put to an
end. Paul added, “and has
brought life and immortality to light”
which is the Greek phrase “phōtizō
zōē
kai
aphtharsia
phōtizō” which
means “gives light and illumination to the state of vitality and
incorruption, perpetuity, purity and
sincerity” “through the gospel”
or “with, by way and means of the good tidings or good news”.
When Jesus Christ came and revealed who He was, he not only
“abolished” the
“death” sentence
and separation from God that was upon us, but he also illuminated the
idea that we could live in a perpetual state of “incorruption,
purity and sincerity”.
While we
meditate upon Paul's words, let us allow the idea of Jesus'
revelation to sink within our souls. Because Jesus came to the earth,
revealed Himself as the Messiah, died for our sins and rose again, He
not only defeated death and separation from God, but He also
demonstrated “resurrection” to eternal and everlasting life which
is the “gospel” or “good news” from God the Father
through Jesus Christ our Lord. This manifestation of God's
premeditated “purpose and grace” showed us the desire of
the Heavenly Father not only to forgive our sins, but to provide an
access to be able to live in a relationship with Him for time without
end. Oh the glorious “gospel” of Jesus Christ, and Oh the
wonder of His deep love for us! May we never take His great sacrifice
for granted, and may we never underestimate what the birth of Jesus
Christ meant for all of mankind on Christmas Day.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy how he
has been appointed “a preacher, and an apostle, and a
teacher of the Gentiles”, 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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