The Blessed and Only
Potentate
What is a Potentate? A Potentate is a very powerful ruler; one
who has complete authority over his dominions. If we think of the word 'potent'
it conveys to us a picture of something that is powerful and forceful.
Nebuchadnezzar the King of the Chaldeans, in the Old
Testament, is a prime example of a true Potentate. From his capital at Babylon
he ruled the known world at that time. His word was law. He had the power of
life and death in his hands. Nebuchadnezzar's empire was the first world
empire. His story can be found in the Book of Daniel chapters 1-5.
The next world empire of the Medes and Persians saw an
enlargement of Nebuchadnezzar's dominions. However these rulers did not have
the same power as Nebuchadnezzar. They were constrained by the laws of the
Medes and Persians. They had to obey those laws implicitly.
Now that we have some idea of a Potentate; let's look at the
Scriptures where we find our blog post heading. We find it in 1 Timothy
chapter 6.
1 Timothy 6:13-16
"(13) I urge you
in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who
witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
(14) that you keep the
commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing,
(15) which He will
manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed
and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
(16) who alone has
immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see,
to whom be honour and everlasting power. Amen."
Let's have a closer look at these verses. In verse 13
Jesus is identified as the man Jesus who stood before the Roman Governor, Pontius
Pilate. He is also identified as the Christ, the Jewish Messiah. Thus we find
in the man Christ Jesus someone who is truly God and truly man.
In verse 14 His full title 'Lord Jesus Christ' is
acknowledged. The title 'Lord' signifies His Deity as Son of God, God the Son.
The title 'Jesus' signifies His perfect manhood and also His coming as the
Saviour, Christ the Lord. The title 'Christ' signifies that He is the Messiah
of the Old Testament; for the Messiah and the Christ is one and the same
person.
In verse 15 He is revealed as 'the blessed and only
Potentate' - who is 'King of kings and Lord of lords'. In other words He is the
Supreme Ruler on Earth and in the heavenly spheres. All rule and all authority
is His by right and Nebuchadnezzar's rule and authority pales into
insignificance by comparison.
In verse 16 we see that Christ Jesus alone has
immortality. Yes, we as born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will also
have immortality; but it is derived from His immortality. We do not have
immortality through our own merits. Our immortality comes as a result of Him
paying the debt of our sins at Calvary. We also learn that He dwells in
unapproachable light which no man (or woman) has seen or can see. We as finite
beings can never see the essential being of God who is infinite! But, and it is
a big but, the Triune God has chosen to reveal Himself in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Is it any wonder that the apostle Paul concludes the verse
by stating, "...to whom be honour
and everlasting power. Amen."
The blessed and only
Potentate is the man Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, the Son of
Man, the Son of God, God the Son. Does it warm your heart to know this? - and
to know that, "...God has highly
exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee shall bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and
of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians
2:9-11)
Jon Peasey
Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com
Ebooks
author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey
[All
Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted.
Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted
for clarity. Words in bold type
emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or
elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate
directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]
[If
you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the
comments section below.]
