Though everyone
abandoned Paul at his first “answer”
to the charges brought against him, “The
Lord stood with” him and
“strengthened” him. Because of this Paul
declared, “that by”
him “the preaching might be fully known, and
that
all the Gentiles might hear” “and”
he “was delivered out of the mouth of the
lion”. In chapter four and verse eighteen
of this final letter to Timothy, Paul continued his thought by adding
how the Lord would “deliver”
and “preserve” him
where we read:
And
the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me
unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The
verse begins, “And the Lord shall deliver me from every
evil work,...” Paul began with
the word, “And”
which demonstrated his continuance of thought and went on to write,
“the Lord” who is
“he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has
power of deciding; master and the title of honor expressive of
respect and reverence which is given to God, the Messiah” “shall
deliver me” or “rescue Paul” “from every” which
means “each, any, all, the whole and everyone” “evil work”
or “bad labor, hardship, business, employment, occupation or
condition”. Paul was assured whatever his conditions were going to
be, the Lord would “rescue” him from them all.
The verse continues, “...and
will preserve me
unto his heavenly kingdom:” Paul went on to
add, “and will preserve me”
which means “save, keep safe and sound, rescue from danger or
destruction” “unto his heavenly”
or “existing in heaven and of heavenly origin or nature”
“kingdom” which
refers to “royal power, kingship, dominion or rule”. Paul knew
“the Lord” would
“keep” him “safe and sound” until the time when He would call
him to be in the “heavenly kingdom”.
Finally the verse says,
“to whom be
glory for ever and ever. Amen.” Paul
continued with a praise, “to whom”
which refers to “the Lord Jesus” “be
glory”
which means “splendor, brightness, majesty, magnificence,
excellence, preeminence, dignity and grace” “forever
and ever”
which in Greek is “aiōn aiōn”
and
means
“an unbroken age, perpetuity of time and eternity”. Paul ended
this verse with the word, “Amen”
which means “firm, so it is and so be it” and was a declarative
statement of the authority and solidity of his praise.
When
we meditate upon Paul's words, we can understand the close
relationship Paul had with the Lord Jesus. We find his confidence in
“the Lord's” presence enviable as he declared with purpose
his resolve that no matter what he faced, “the Lord” would
not only “deliver” him, but would also “preserve”
him until the time He took Paul to His heavenly kingdom. Are we as
confident as Paul and assured“the Lord” is standing with
us in our deepest and darkest hour? Are we certain of his deliverance
and preservation in these times? Perhaps we should join Paul in his
praise of the Lord, give Him “glory for ever and ever” and
ask that He put within us the same spirit and confidence of Paul who
knew “the Lord” so well, that nowhere in the world would
he ever know what it was like to be completely alone.
Next
time Paul begins some final greetings, 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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