Paul says, now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Father, we bow in your presence this morning. We thank you, Lord, for the word of God. We thank you, Lord, for the. gospel of Jesus Christ we thank you Lord for all that that means to us who have been saved and all that it can mean for those who will trust in you and we pray that Lord to be any here today lost that you would reveal yourself to them and that they would repent of their sins and believe upon Jesus Christ but we pray that you'd be honored and glorified and all that said and done here today and we'll thank you for it in Jesus name amen you may be seated I want to preach this morning on a doxology of salvation. A doxology of salvation. And those of you who have been here for some time, that's a word that shouldn't be strange to you, but familiar. A doxology, just as a word that simply means a short statement. that is sung in praise to God for who He is and what He's done. That's a doxology. Some churches and religious institutions will even sing a doxology at the end of their worship service. They will have a song that they will sing, and typically it's the same song. That's how they'll close their service out. And, you know, some of you may be familiar with the doxology. It goes somewhat like this. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. And it's got a few stanzas along with that, but it's very short. And it's just, again, a word of praise. an adoration to God for who He is and for what He's done. Well, when you read the Word of God, you find that there are doxologies in the Scripture. You'll find here and there places where there is just a short, small, whether it be a verse or a couple of verses, a short, small statement that is speaking to God's person and His performances towards us that is a song of praise. And so when you read the epistles, typically these are letters that were written by apostles. Of course here, the apostle Paul to Timothy, and it's usually letters of instruction, sometimes letters of rebuke, sometimes they're letters just of encouragement. And you'll find that as these letters were being written, it's as if the apostles who were writing them, having that truth borne out in their heart that they're writing about, are overwhelmed by the substance of that truth, by the matter of that truth that they are speaking of, and they erupt into praise and adoration. Really, when you read verse 17, it doesn't really go in line with what's been said and what's being said. The only explanation is, the Apostle Paul is overwhelmed in his heart by the goodness of the Lord in saving him who was the chief of sinners, and he begins to worship God. And it is, it's a verse of worship. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. And it is a song that has a sense of rhyme to it. It is poetical. It is a song that is to be sung. It is not just words to be read, but it's as if Paul, as he is thinking about what the Lord had done in saving him, and bringing Him out of false religion into true religion, bringing Him out of Judaism into Christianity, bringing Him out of dead works religion into a living faith in Jesus Christ. He says, Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. And here he begins to worship God. And so we have before us a doxology. And this is a doxology specifically about salvation. It is a word of worship that comes from a heart of thanksgiving for what God had done for him in salvation. You'll remember, those of you here, when we preached through the book of Romans, in Romans chapter 11, verse 33, 34, and 35, Paul had another doxology. And we call that the doxology of sovereignty. And there he talked about who can fathom, who can even imagine, who can begin to plummet the dips of the riches and the grace of God. And how that His ways are beyond our understanding. And it's again words of praise for who God is as the sovereign King of the universe. And as Paul had been writing about God and His ways and in His movement in the course of human history, he is overwhelmed and there he sings another song, a doxology of God's sovereignty. But here this morning we have a doxology of the salvation that there is in Christ Jesus. And so I want us to look at the words of this verse and see what the Apostle Paul has to say about this doxology. Now, by way of introduction, I want you to notice the urgency of our text. The urgency of our text. And I say that because the first word of our text is that word, now. Now. He says, now unto the King eternal. to always be a now whenever we preach Christ. There is always to be a now whenever we worship Christ. There is always to be a now whenever we consider Him in light of what He has done for us and who He is. Don't wait till tomorrow to worship God. Don't wait till tomorrow to hear the Word of God. Don't wait till tomorrow to respond to the Word of God. But the Apostle says now. Now is the time. Now is the moment. 2 Corinthians 6 verse 1 and 2 says this, We then as workers together with Him beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain. For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted. And in the day of salvation have I succored thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. And so as you hear this message this morning, as you hear me preach of Christ today, think now. Don't think tomorrow. Don't think next week. Don't think next year. But yield to Him as the King of your life now. Deal with your sin before Him now. Cry out unto Him for salvation now. He is now King. Hell is full of fools. who said to Jesus, Go Thy Way at this time, and when I have a more convenient season, I will call for Thee then. The road to hell is paved by good intentions. And a lot of people have the best of intentions when it comes to following Christ, but they always say, I'll do it tomorrow. But here we are, presented with the urgency of life and the brevity of life, and we are reminded that now is the time for us to call upon the Lord. The convenient season is now. Right now. Today. When you hear the Gospel. When you hear Christ preached. It is time now to come to Him. Hebrews 3, verse 15. While it is said today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation. Tomorrow is the enemy of your soul, but now is your friend. And now is all that you have. And now Christ beckons you to come unto Him. And so we note the urgency of our text. But as we look at these words and we consider this doxology, I want you to notice first of all with me this morning, Paul describes some of the attributes of God. Paul here describes some of the attributes of God. Look at it. He attributes to God His sovereignty, He is the King. His eternality, He is eternal. His immortality, He is immortal. And His invisibility, He is omnipresent. He is everywhere all at once because He is invisible. These are four attributes among many that make up the character of God. When we speak of attributes, that's just a fancy word describing the characteristics of who God is. If somebody was going to describe you, they would use words to describe your character, to describe your attributes. They might say of you, well, they are an honest individual. They are a faithful, they're a faithful individual. I've always found them to be faithful in their dealings. They are a kind individual, always good-natured and gracious. They are a loving individual. Those are attributes. Those are attributes that often we associate with men and women, brothers and sisters, and it's often based upon those attributes how highly we hold them in regard. It's easy to love somebody that loves you, isn't it? It's easy to be kind to somebody that's kind to you, isn't it? And so if somebody's kind and loving and faithful and honest, boy, that's somebody I can get along with. If somebody's dishonest and unfaithful and mean and hateful, well, that's really hard to get along with that individual. We're commanded to love them, and we're commanded to be kind unto them, but it's hard to get along with them. Well, when we think about attributes of God, We really have to think on a different level. Because God's attributes are different than man's attributes. His attributes are all governed by His holiness. And God is altogether holy. And the word holy is a strange word. It's a word that's sometimes hard to define. But it's a word simply that means that God is altogether other than. He's other than we are. He's not like us in any way. We're made in His likeness and in His image, but that's where it stops. We're not like God at all. He's eternal. He's immortal. He's invisible. He's Spirit. And we understand that as more of God's Word was revealed in time, it revealed to us more of who God is. And here Paul highlights some of the attributes of God. Notice with me, number one, he says he's king. He is king. The word king here deals with the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ. It deals with His providential reign as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the King before whom all others bow, according to Philippians 2, verses 5-11, that God hath highly exalted Christ and given Him a name that's above every name, that at the name of Jesus Christ ever kneel, bow, and ever tongue shall confess that He is the Lord to the glory of God. Jesus is not just the King of the Jews, though it's stated in Matthew 27.37 that He is the King of the Jews, but He is also the King of all. He is the King of the whole world. He is the Lord of all. And a question we might raise is, have you bowed to His Lordship? Have you bowed to His Kingship? If He's the King, we're in His kingdom, we must bow to His kingship. We must submit ourselves to Him. All rebels of Christ, all rebels of the Gospel, will have their part in the lake of fire. But those who bow the knee to Christ, who gently bow before Him in humility, who humbly receive Him as Lord, who believe upon Him as Savior, are given everlasting life and a place with Him in Heaven. And so I ask that question, have you surrendered to Him? For Him to reign as the King of your life. Is He your King today? And I might say it this way, He's your King whether you acknowledge Him or not. He is King. But how you respond to His Kingship will determine where you spend eternity. Because He is the King of all. But what a sweet thing to crown Him King of your life. Oftentimes we think of crowning Him King, that means that I lose all say in my life. Here's the thing, when you submit to Him as being your King, what He does is He transforms your life and He gives you new desires. And it's not that you're not able to do the things you want to do. You do exactly what you want to do. The thing is, the things you want to do changed. You don't do the things you used to want to do. And you don't go to the places you used to want to go. Now you want to serve the Lord. You want to love Him. You want to honor Him. I think about the great hymn, and the words go, King of my life, I crown thee now, thine shall the glory be, lest I forget thine thorn-crowned brow, lead me to Calvary. Lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, lest I forget thy love for me, lead me to Calvary. And then we can't forget this next stanza. May I be willing, Lord, to bear daily my cross for Thee, even the cup of grief to share. Thou hast borne all for me, lest I forget Gethsemane, lest I forget Thine agony, lest I forget Thy love for me. Lead me to Calvary. Let me say, He is the King. And He's worthy of your life. And He's worthy of you bowing to Him. And as Paul writes these words, he is reminded of the King of His salvation. The One who orchestrated it all. The One with whom it started. He wasn't looking for God. And He wasn't looking for Christ Jesus. He was out persecuting the Lord Jesus and destroying His church. But Jesus met Him on that road to Damascus. And he fell upon his knees, and he began to trust in the living God. For the first time in his life, he placed faith in Jesus Christ. And so here he is, overwhelmed by the King who won his heart and saved his soul. Not only is he just any king, he's the King Eternal. The word here, eternal, it's a word that's often translated in our Bible, ages. And it could be said He's the King of the ages. From ages to ages He is the King. He's the King that never began to reign. He's the King that'll never stop reigning. He's always been on the throne. He's always been reigning. That's why it is the King eternal that we have before us. He's the King of all ages, of all epochs, of past, present and future. This again is His attribute. It's an attribute of Almighty God who is eternal. He's never had a beginning and He'll never have an end. Alexander McLaren said about this, he molds the epics of world history and directs the evolution of its progress. The thought is his overruling providence directing all moments in this world like a linked chain through which he flashes the electric force of his will. That's our King. He is the eternal King. Like King Melchizedek, Christ has neither beginning of days nor end of life. But made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually. This means He will always be King. John says in Revelation 4 verse 8, For the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within. And they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, listen to it, which was, and is, and is to come. That's another way of saying He is eternal. The King eternal. And so as Paul highlights this attribute of the Lord, he speaks of that Eternal One who came into time to redeem man. Not only is He eternal, He is immortal. When you look up the word immortal, it just simply means undecaying. We are mortals. We live in a world that is decaying and a world that is dying. We are living in a time that's swiftly changing and before you know it, we're going to blink and we're going to find gray hairs in our head and wrinkles and bags under our eyes. For you know it, this life, like a vapor soon, shall vanish." That's what James said. It's a short span that we have upon this earth. We're mortals. We're being changed by time, by decay, by death. But God is not affected by those things. He is immortal. He is immortal. Everything in this world has the seed of death upon it. And as a result, it is decaying. All things are passing away, but our King is immortal. I love the hymn, Abide With Me. And here's one of the sweet verses of that hymn. Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim. its glories pass away, change and decay, and all around I see. O thou who changest not, abide with me." Alexander McLaren again said, Brethren, we shall never adore nor even dimly understand the blessedness of believing in a God who cannot decay and who cannot change. I'm reminded of the words of the Lord to His people Israel by the prophet Malachi when he said, I am the Lord God, I change not. Therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." Jacob, Israel, they had sinned against God. They deserved His wrath and judgment, but they not only deserved His judgment, they deserved to be cut off forever and to be separated forever from the mercies of Almighty God. But He said, the reason I've not cut you off forever, Israel, is because I change not. And all that I've promised to your father, Abraham, I will bring to pass, because I am a God that changes not. And for those of us that are saved today, we can rest in the fact that we have a God who is immortal. He changes not. He is not affected by time and space. We're confined by it. But He's beyond it. He is the King Immortal. Again, Hebrews 13 verse 8, Our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What a blessing that is. What a comfort as we face the uncertainty of tomorrow. What a comfort to know that our God is unchanging and nothing can cause Him to decay or decrease or die. He is the unchanging God. He is the immoral God. And there will never be anything that will change that. And then Paul goes on to say, he is the invisible God. He is the invisible God. Think about, of course, the word invisible, a very simple word. It means things hidden from the human eye, right? Something that's invisible is something we can't see with our eye. And when we think about this, the only way that you can know something that is invisible is if it is made visible. It is revealed to you. Well, here we have the invisible God making Himself known through the vision, through the revelation of His Son, Jesus Christ, who chose to reveal Himself to us. I thank God that we have that reality. And here Paul denotes the invisibility of God as a part of His nature. But he is reminded as Jesus was robed in human flesh and became man and entered into this world and died in our place, he is reminded that it's all the mercy and the grace of God. that if God had maintained His invisible state, He would have forever been unknown by mankind. But God in His love and mercy in saving the chief of sinners and those who would believe upon Him, He has revealed Himself in time, made Himself known, and the Apostle Paul begins to worship the Lord in light of this fact. Walter Chalmers Smith wrote this, Immortal, invisible, God only, wise, in light, inaccessible, hid from our eyes, most blessed, most glorious, the ancient of days, almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise. He is the Lord of all glory from eternity to eternity. And He'd have been God eternal, God holy, God worthy of all praise had He never revealed Himself to us. But there came a time And history, when He did reveal Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, and revealed Himself to us, and without Jesus Christ, who died to save sinners, we would not know God. But because of Jesus Christ, we have an intimate knowledge and revelation of who God is, and we can worship Him today because of that. And then He also finally says this, as He deals with the attributes of God, He is the only Wise God. The idea the word only means the soul or the single. He's the single one. God alone is God. There is none other. The reason He is the only wise God is because He is the only God. He is the only true and living God. All other idols are dumb. All other gods are but the figment of man's imaginations. There is one God from beginning to end in three Persons. Psalm 115 verse 3, and I love this psalm, I love this verse, but often I fail to read the rest of it. But this verse says, Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are likened to them, so is everyone that trusteth in them." The idols are dumb and those that make them are dumb is what the psalmist was saying. The fool hath said in his heart that there is no God. And so we find that these idols are not wise, and they that make them are not wise, but it is God alone who is wise. He is the only wise God. And it is from Him we gain wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Without Him there is no knowledge. Jeremiah said, their idols are like a scarecrow in a garden that cannot speak. They have to be carried around and stuck in the ground, because they can't even walk. This is what Jeremiah said in chapter 10 verse 5, Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. They can't do good, and they can't do evil, because they're idols. But our God is in the heavens, and He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Deuteronomy 6 verse 4 and 5, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. He's one God. and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Listen again to 1 Corinthians 8, 6, But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we By Him, in Ephesians 4, verses 4-6, there is one body and one Spirit, even as you are called, and one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all. There is but one God, and He is the God of all wisdom. And if you're going to know anything about religion, anything about life, anything about why we're here, where we're headed, where we've come from, what God wants us to know, and what our future holds, you're going to have to know it through God. And you know that through His Son, Jesus Christ. And so Paul, as he is sharing these thoughts in this verse, he describes the attributes of God. But notice, secondly, Paul designates adoration to God. He designates that there is only One who is worthy to be praised, to be honored, to be adored. There's only One who deserves worship. Man is not to be worshiped. His idols are not to be worshipped. The works of His hands are not to be worshipped. But God alone is to be worshipped. And we give honor and glory to God. And that's what the Apostle says in verse 17. Here this only wise God is to receive honor and glory forever and ever. He uses these two words, honor and glory. The word honor, it speaks of position or character. Character causing a person to have value or worth. producing esteem, or producing expression of that esteem. Let me give you a few examples, if you will, of what it is to honor somebody. You'll remember the fifth commandment, which is a commandment with promise, and it's quoted in Ephesians 6, where it says, Honor thy father and thy mother. Honor. It means to see them for the value and the position and the esteem that they are worthy of and express that in service and respect. 1 Timothy 6 verse 1 says, Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy, of all honor. Now, we don't live in a culture of servitude in the sense of slaves and owners, masters and servants. But if you have a job, you serve somebody. And the Bible here speaks that we are to count our masters, you might say it, our bosses worthy of honor. Even if we don't feel like they are worthy of honor, the very fact that they hold a position that is over us, we are to esteem them with honor. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3, verse 7, Likewise ye husbands, dwell with them, speaking of the wife, according to knowledge. giving honor unto the wife. The wife is, the Bible says, the weaker vessel. And the husbands, we are to honor. We are to see that position. We are to esteem that position. We are to honor that position. That's the idea of this word honor. And then you have the word glory, which is the word doxa, which is where we get actually doxology from. Glory is something that denotes Praise or adoration because of a service rendered, because of something done. Because of something done for you, you produce adoration, thankfulness, you produce praise and thanksgiving. It's almost synonymous with honor. It's closely associated with thanks. But Luke chapter 17, I think, helps us to understand this word. Verse 12 through 19, And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go, show yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and notice what it says, with a loud voice, glorified God. That's the same word glory in our text. Glorified God and fell down. Look at what glorifying denotes. Fell down on His face at His feet. Giving Him thanks. And He was a Samaritan. And Jesus answered and said, were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that return to give glory to God save this stranger, and he said unto him, Arise, go thy way, thy fate hath made thee whole." We find here this leper who had been cleansed, fell down and glorified God because of what had been done to him. When Paul writes these words, he writes these words because of what has been done to him. He's been reflecting on the salvation of the Lord, the salvation of the chief of sinners. And as a result, he says, I want to honor God, who is deserving of all honor and praise. He's the one who has the rightful position of being worshipped. But also, I not only want to honor Him because of His person, I want to honor Him because of His performance towards me. I want to worship Him not only for who He is, I want to worship Him for what He's done. I want to worship Him for how He's worked in my life. He says, I acknowledge that I was once a leper. I was once a sinner. I was on my way to hell. And God came to me. He came to where I was. And He lifted me up out of the miry pit, as the psalmist said. And He saved my soul. And He said, I not only honor Him, but I glorify Him forever and forever. One is worthy of honor because of their position, and one is worthy of glory because of their performance. We find here God is worthy of both. He is supremely worthy. because of who He is and because of what He's done. And we see an amazing example of it given to us in Revelation chapter 4 verses 9 through 11. Here God, Jesus Christ, God, being given glory and honor. And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sit on the throne and worship Him that liveth forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne saying, notice now what they say, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, And for thy pleasure they are and were created." We find here Paul designates adoration to God. Then finally, let me point out to you the final word of our text. He says, Amen. Paul declares a hearty Amen to God. We Baptists have been accused at times of getting loud and shouting, and I know it depends on what part of the country you come from, but where I come from, Baptists are known for shouting. They've not let the Pentecostals rob them of that truth that we are to worship God and adore God, and even with our voices, praise God. And we find here that Paul, was of the same mindset. He gets done attributing praise. He says, And now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. And he gets done. He says, Amen! Amen. It's always good to amen truth. You can always be in agreement with what God has said. Certainly with what God has said about Himself and about Christ and what He's done for us. The word amen just means so be it. Or truly or verily. These things saith the Amen. Jesus Christ is the Amen. That's a capital A. In Revelation 3.14, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God, says Amen. I'll just simply end this. Paul, as he declares Amen, he is in full agreement with everything the Spirit of God has inspired him to say concerning who God is and what God has done. He says Amen. I'd say to you today, is Christ calling you to be saved? Amen. So be it. Is Christ calling you to preach? Amen. So be it. Is Christ calling you to a mission field somewhere? Amen. So be it. Is Christ calling you to unite with this church? Amen. So be it. Is Christ calling for you to turn from some sin today? that's come into your life and robbed you of the joy of the Lord and the fellowship you have with Christ. And turn from it. Amen. So be it. Has Christ opened your blinded eyes today to see that He is the King of glory and the Savior of all men? Amen. So be it. Will you have Christ to be your King now? Amen. So be it. I believe that this verse, verse 17, stands to magnify the words of verse 15. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Paul's doxology here in verse 17 is meant to help us understand something of the wonder that God would come to sinful men. That God, who is eternal and glorious in all of His being, in need of nothing, would stoop Himself, would humble Himself, would come down to mankind. to save old wretched sinners like us. No wonder He says to the King Eternal, Immortal, Invisible, Only Wise God, the God who came to man. See, the King became a servant. The Eternal God entered into the constraints of time. The Immortal put on mortality. that which was invisible became visible in the person of Jesus Christ. And the only wise God shared His wisdom with us in the face of Jesus Christ that we might know who God is and have a loving relationship with Him and worship and enjoy Him forever. Everything that man needs to know about God has been revealed in the person and work of Jesus Christ. John 1.18 says, No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him. And if you are to know God, you must know Him through Jesus Christ. That is God's program. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. And if He saved you, you understand the words, the motive, and the joy of verse 17. And if He hasn't today, you can come to know Him. Trust Him as your Savior. See Him as the Eternal God, the Immortal God, the Invisible God, the All-Wise God, the God who is in need of nothing, yet He is a God full of love and compassion, full of grace, full of mercy, and He deals with sinful men who are unworthy of that grace, and He calls them unto repentance, and He produces faith in their heart, and He saves them by His grace, and He gives them eternal life. And beloved, that is the God who is dealing with your heart. If you're lost today, why would you run from a God like that? Why wouldn't you run to Him, and trust Him, and find in Him? that you stand in need of today. He is worthy of your life, and He is worthy of your praise. And so let us honor Him, and let us glory in Him today. And those of us who are saved, let us rejoice and the salvation of our God. What He's done for us. How He's revealed Himself to us. Let us stand in amazement as the Apostle Paul did as he wrote these words. And let us just bow our undeserving, humble hearts before God and thank Him again for saving wretches like us as we bow our heads this morning. If God's dealt with your heart, I invite you to come In fact, I would plead with you to come. Come to Christ. Run to Him. He is a merciful Savior. He is a gracious Lord. But there is a day of grace, and when that day is gone, you'll find Him to be the King who rules and reigns and pronounces judgment upon those who do not know Him. If you need to come, I would invite you to do so. I asked my wife to come to the piano. There's been some who have responded. We just bow our heads for a moment. We're not going to take too long. We want to give time for those who are seeking the Lord, to seek Him. And I encourage you to do the same. If you're lost today, I plead with you. Respond to the Gospel. Come to Jesus. those of us that are saved. If there's some reason you can't rejoin