Solomon begins his prayer of dedication of the temple by
marveling at the reality of God, by hallowing His Name and the rest of the
prayer is the request that His kingdom would come and His will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. If the prayer were
distilled down to its elements, it would look remarkably like what Jesus taught
the disciples. That prayer is meant not
as a form but rather as an outline for prayer.
It is only properly used as a form when we take the time to consider
each petition in detail, asking the question what would it mean for this
petition to be considered and answered.
Solomon affirms the Lord is faithful, that He has done what He said He would
do and this temple and the glory filling it is proof of His faithfulness. He continues by consecrating it as a place of
prayer, and wonders if it is truly possible that the God who can't be contained
by the universe can indeed dwell here.
His prayer is based in the Lord's self-revelation at Sinai that He is
merciful and gracious and forgiving and that is altogether a good thing because
that is exactly the kind of God we need and that the nation will need.
The retort of the Jews is like the question which must be
answered yes or no, "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?" “Are we not right in saying that you are a
Samaritan and have a demon?” The one
thing they always claim to know and it is a disqualifier for Messiah, is where
Jesus is from yet here they now say He is a Samaritan. Perhaps there was a tale concerning the trip
to Samaria in John 4 that was insinuated here because they "know" He
isn't from Samaria. That detail,
however, isn't even part of Jesus' response.
His final words concerning Abraham, "Before Abraham was, I
am", end with that little phrase that is the Name of God, I AM. When they hear that, it is time to stone Him,
not because He has lost His mind, but because He claimed equality with
God. That God is giving glory to this
man and He now uses the divine Name for Himself is simply too much.
How do we train ourselves for godliness? Paul compares this training with bodily
training, physical exercise. In other
words, it takes effort, sanctification isn't passive it is active. Paul uses active verbs in his writing here,
don't just teach these things, command them.
With respect to the truth, Timothy is to devote himself to the study and
public teaching of the Word, he is to practice what it teaches, immerse himself
in these things, be an example to all, that others may see in him the progress
that comes with effort to match his life and his teaching. The Holy Spirit works within us to work and
to will but not if we don’t cooperate with our minds. Transformation begins with renewing the mind
and the mind then directs the members of the body. Everyone knows that wherever the mind goes,
so goes the body. We work out this
salvation and sanctification the same way Solomon understood it, we will make
mistakes but we serve a merciful, gracious and forgiving God.
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