6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God's purpose at his appointed time.
7 For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle - I am telling the truth; I am not lying - and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
8 So I want the men to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute.
Vs. 5 For there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human,
"One God... One Intermediary... Jesus" - This is one of those amazing facts: We do not need to face God based on our own accomplishments. A Secret Service agent willingly takes a bullet to protect our president. Jesus Himself is between us and the penalty for our sins. We cannot face God and His justice on our own merits. God is not cruel and vindictive, but His holiness is so perfect, so bright, so intense.
We read in the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego - the furnace fire was so hot the guards who threw them in the furnace were killed by the intense heat. (See Daniel 3) God's glory is like that, but even more!
In Exodus 33:18-23 - Moses asks to see God's glory. The response: no one can see God's glory and live! Remember, Moses had a long running relationship with the Lord, spent time with Him, talked with Him, pleaded and argued with Him. Yet, God protected Moses from his ignorance. Moses thought he knew and understood God, and wanted to see Him in all His glory.
This theme is repeated in the New Testament - "No man has seen God at any time..." 1 John 4:12. But then, yet, when we see God, when we see Jesus, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. We will see God, face to face (Rev. 21:3,4, 1 John 3:1-3), because of what Jesus has done for us by His life, His death, and His resurrection.
"gave himself" - Jesus was not coerced. He was not a prisoner, condemned to death, and killed against his will. See also: John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38, 39; Phil. 2:5-11.
"as a ransom" - The human race has been 'kidnapped' by sin. We are held captive by sin. We cannot escape it, since it is in our DNA. Just like the color of your eyes, or hair, or skin, you have no choice in the matter. The sin nature is inherited from Adam and Eve. They sinned against God (this is where the term 'original sin' originates), and the stain and penalty is passed on to all the rest. There is no genetic modification that can be done by doctors or scientists that will erase the penalty of death. The ‘death’ being discussed here is not physical death, as horrible as that may be. This is the 'second death' - the penalty is eternal separation from God. Your soul and spirit, the eternal part of you, will be totally conscious and aware of the separation.
This state of being is not annihilation, or simple cessation and nothingness. It is being painfully aware of the gloriousness of God the Father, and that you are not there. How can we say this? See Rev. 20:11-15 - Those whose name is not registered in the 'Book of Life' (Book of Life = people who have believed and trusted in Jesus as Savior) are individually acknowledged and notified of their fate. Vizualize standing there before God: You see His glory, He is on the throne, all else is 'blown away', and then the sentence is pronounced. Immediately you are gone from there. How horrible is this? You see God for who He is, for how perfect and holy, how loving - and you must live with this for eternity! This is nothing like 'parting is such sweet sorrow'. This is eternal realization that you could have been with God in His presence, in His glory and your choice to go another way resulted in separation from that.
"revealing God's purpose" - This is what the universe has been waiting for - how God was going to redeem the universe from the stain of sin. How will He redeem the fall? It is 'simple'. The penalty for sin is death. The price for that penalty was paid in full by God Himself.
Vs. 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle - I am telling the truth; I am not lying - and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
"For this" - The reason Paul was doing what he was doing: to preach and teach Gentiles about faith in Jesus Christ. This statement points both forward and back. Forward: Paul is a preacher, a teacher, and an apostle. Back: He was called is to spread the message of Jesus Christ, the Savior - the only mediator that stands between us and God Almighty. What does a mediator do? Reconciles differences between disputants. (Think negotiations between labor unions and companies, or between two people going through a divorce.) The mediator comes up with a solution to the problem between the two groups. You may ask, "Why do we need a mediator? Why would a good God condemn someone to hell?"
The answer is - He does not. We condemn ourselves. God the Father has provided a means to salvation. We don't have to work for it, earn it, beg for it, sacrifice virgins in volcanoes. There is an unbridgeable gulf yawning between us and God. You can't build a bridge over it. One of the most amazing bridges I have seen is the one near Hoover Dam. It crosses the Colorado river just downstream from the dam (it will provide a much easier drive than the one across the top of the dam) and spans from one cliff to the cliff on the other side. Both the Golden Gate Bridge and the Verrazano Narrows are spectacular. But none of these will get you close to God's forgiveness. We have walked on the moon, over two-hundred-thousand miles from earth. But no rocket booster will bridge the gap between us and God. Only Jesus and His sacrifice does it. See John 3:36 “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God's wrath remains on him.” Our sin is the reason for God's judgement (aka: wrath).
"appointed" - Many can preach and teach. Not everyone can be an apostle of Jesus Christ. Also, teaching and preaching can be volunteer positions, apostleship is not, exactly. Look at Paul's personal journey to his calling (Acts, chaps 7-9). We can see Paul was NOT seeking such a position. God called him to this job - taking the gospel to the Gentiles - and Paul responded positively.
Ponder the choice of Paul as the missionary to the Gentiles. Could there be a worse choice than a devout, proud Jewish scholar to go to people shunned by the Jews? He had nothing in common with these 'strangers', and according to some of the Jewish teaching, should not even come in contact or touch a Gentile. They were 'unclean', spiritual lepers, or so to speak. On the other hand - who better than Paul? If anyone had an inside lane to God, it would be Paul - a devout, proud Jewish scholar. He personally discovered how far away he was from peace with God. If Paul could not bridge that gap, he knew that no one, absolutely no one, would escape the wrath unless the price could be paid. The prophet Micah puts it mildly: ”we will bear His indignation because of our sin against Him.” But He will plead our case and bear the judgement. Micah 7:9 We don't have to find a defense attorney, we don't have to try to prove our innocence. Jesus steps in. He provides the defense. He bears the justice required. We get to see the light and the righteousness of the Lord without fear and trembling.
"I am not lying" - Paul uses this phrase as an answer to challenges to his bona fides. He also uses 'trustworthy' to bolster his message. Paul was teaching and preaching to people who had no concept of a God who save them because He loved them. In the Greek and Roman culture the gods were capricious and sometimes cruel. They must be mollified or they would rain down pain and terror. Appeasement was the norm. Paul was defending himself and his appointment. He was also telling these new believers the message of their salvation is true, the one teaching and preaching is true.
Vs. 8 So I want the men to pray in every place, lifting up holy hands without anger or dispute."pray" - Everywhere! Everyone! This takes us back to verse 1, where Paul urges prayer for all peoples, even for kings.
"without anger or dispute." - Does our anger or arguing with others (it makes little sense to argue with God!) hinder our communication with God? Does He not “hear” our prayers if we are angry or disputatious with other believers. This indicates Yes, our prayers are hindered by our anger. Whoa! My anger, my unforgiving attitude (my sin) towards others means I am not filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit. If not filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, how can I be praying within God's will for my life? God is waiting for me to confess my sin, repent and be controlled by the Holy Spirit. (See 1 John 1:9)
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