Reworking Scripture and God's Names

In I Timothy, Scripture has 19 phrases that can double as attributes God has and His names. As a devotional, one can take the names and phrases and unify them into a depiction of Christ's work. This is a method for lyricists to develop songs, but it also serves to enrich our prayer time utilizing the variety of names God has in Scripture. This letter from Paul to Timothy has resulted in a rather nice 67-word offering you can read here:

Timothy, the Disciples remember him as the man Christ Jesus who, as our hope before God our Father, was the one mediator serving between God and men. The eternal King of kings and Lord of lords, this living God is our immortal Savior who quickens all. He is One God, our only-wise pillar on the ground of truth. Invisible, he the blessed God, is our only potentate.

Chief among the 15 verses drawn from that contain His names or attributes is this 17^th verse in the first chapter. "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." In arranging things I listed the three "kings" this way, using my own description to aid in all subsequent classification of other attributes of God and names. 1) King Eternal—"servant/king"; 2) King Immortal—"our life"; and 3) King Invisible—"unique wisdom."

1) These are the rather "earthbound" phrases from out of the entire Epistle of Paul to Timothy as I place them within the King Eternal category:

King eternal – 1:17, 6:16
the man Christ Jesus – 2:5
one mediator between God and men – 2:5
King of kings – 6:15
Lord of lords – 6:15

2) These attributes of the King Immortal deal more with our lives and the Risen Lord:

King immortal – 1:17, 6:16
the Living God – 3:15, 4:10
God who quickens all – 6:13
Lord Jesus Christ our hope – 1:1
God our Savior – 1:1, 2:3, 4:10
God our Father – 1:2
Jesus Christ our Lord – 1:2, 1:12, 5:21, 6:3, 6:14

3) The final "king" is the King Invisible which gives the unseen attributes of God, yet many still can be expressed or described by a physical metaphor:

King invisible – 1:17, 6:16
the pillar -- 3:15
ground of truth – 3:15
only wise God – 1:17
One God – 2:5
the blessed God – 1:11, 6:15
only potentate – 6:15

Why do all this? To learn God's names and the attributes he has in the context as, here, Paul understands these to importantly be. He feels that Timothy will benefit from reading His attributes. It is useful in prayer to mention these very titles before God as you pray. He, undoubtedly, will recall the circumstances of their use from those Bible times; He will draw nigh to you for you, in this way, are drawing nigh first to Him, and addressing Him in fully Scripturally-acceptable ways. "Daddy" or "the man upstairs", etc. just is not reverential; it should be avoided in speaking to God this way. His terms for Himself have a guarantee of being pleasing to His ear.

Colossians 3:16 encourages us, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We should write and sing songs of our own making or composing to the Lord. There is no better way than including one or more—several!—of names He is known by and attributes He has. The above created result shown here beginning "Timothy, the Disciples remember..." can be sung with your own unique melody. Visit, too, our Seminary Songs webpage here at BerkeleyVersion.com, won't you?