Introduction
It is often said that popular theology is based more on hymns than on Scripture which is probably true. However all good hymns / songs are themselves based on Scripture so the one feeds the other. In looking at this weeks passage from 1Timothy three hymns came to mind for more or less obvious reasons: “Immortal, invisible God only wise”v.17 “Fight the Good fight” v.18 and “Amazing grace” v.14 but in effect the whole passage.
Immortal, invisible.
This paean of praise appears in the middle of the section we are studying but in some ways it is better to start with it. Paul is in doubt as to the nature of God. From his Jewish up-bringing he would have been accustomed to speaking of God in such ways: “King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God”. Paul never loses sight of the “God-ness” of God. No matter how wonderful the intimacy we enjoy with God through our Saviour Jesus, He is still God.
The rest of the hymn spells this out in terms of the unchanging qualities of God – his never failing justice, mercy and love. With powerful imagery drawn from the world of nature we are reminded of our own frailty – whilst God is like mountains, clouds and light, we are like uncertain blossoms. An article I was reading this week commented on how many people’s concept of God remains very “Old Testament”. They were referring to people’s to such “Acts of God” as the tsunami and the recent hurricanes. It is interesting to note that Paul’s description of God as immortal, invisible and so on comes on the back of his marvelling at the grace of God.
The main focus of this passage is Paul’s experience of the amazing grace of God: “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” v.14. Note another triad this time grace, faith and love. Grace is one of those words which are loaded with meaning – but which can be trivialised by common mis-conceptions. For many the word grace has come to mean a brief prayer of thanksgiving for food or the prayer of Paul’s with which many services end. To recapture some of the depth of meaning perhaps we need to remind ourselves of the Sunday school acronym “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense”. This is certainly behind Paul’s experience of grace here: “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see”. From being the “worst of sinners” to apostolic delegate Paul had experienced the riches of God’s patient love. These were made known to him by the saving work of Jesus.
I suspect I am not alone in being slightly envious of such a conversion. The transformation from sinner to saint is so dramatic and as Jesus says those who have been forgiven most love the more. However no matter how noble or saintly our past none of us is above the need for God’s amazing grace.
Having reminded ourselves of the God-ness of God and His amazing grace we now come to the “So what”. If like Paul we have experienced an outpouring of God’s love and grace what difference does it make to how we live our lives? Paul says to Timothy: ”Fight the good fight holding on to faith and a good conscience”v.118/19. I must admit that Fight the Good Fight is one of my favourite hymns. Partly because of the lively tune but mainly because it is so Christo-centric. Christ is your strength and right, path and prize, life and love in summary your all-in-all eternally. I am sure Paul would have approved.
Which hymn are you going to be singing this week? Will it be one of these three or another one? Do you need reminding of the god-ness of God? Perhaps you need to enter more fully into an experience of God’s amazing grace? We all need to be more aware of the totality of Christ – our all-in-all.