I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
“When viewed from the perspective of eternity, the most critical need of this hour may well be that the Church should be brought back from her long Babylonian captivity and the name of God be glorified in her again as of old. Yet we must not think of the Church as an anonymous body, a mystical religious abstraction. We Christians are the Church and whatever we do is what the Church is doing. The matter, therefore, is for each of us a personal one. Any forward step in the Church must begin with the individual.
What can we plain Christians do to bring back the departed glory? Is there some secret we may learn? Is there a formula for personal revival we can apply to the present situation, to our own situation? The answer to these questions is yes. Yet the answer may easily disappoint some persons, for it is anything but profound. I bring no esoteric cryptogram, no mystic code to be painfully deciphered. I appeal to no hidden law of the unconscious, no occult knowledge meant only for the few.
The secret is an open one which the wayfaring man may read. It is simply the old and ever new counsel: Acquaint thyself with God. To regain her lost power the Church must see heaven opened and have a transforming vision of God. But the God we must see is not the utilitarian God who is having such a run of popularity today, whose chief claim to men’s attention is His ability to bring them success in their various undertakings and who for that reason is being cajoled and flattered by everyone who wants a favor. The God we must learn to know is the Majesty in the heavens, God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, the only wise God, our Savior.”
A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) in Knowledge of the Holy, 84. Click here to download it freely.
What is needful if you want to have a generous impact in this world? Tozer alerts you to acquaint yourself with the only wise God, our Savior.
Let’s lean into this in two ways.
One, your faith in the only wise God, our Savior will only be as strong as the object of your faith. Study the word of God.
Two, to learn more about term ‘Savior’ associated with God, and click here to download and read my International Society of Biblical Literature paper “The Honorific Title ‘Savior’ in Ancient Coins, the Inscriptions of Ephesus, and 1 Timothy.” I deliver it today in Adelaide, Australia.
You discover who was called ‘savior’ in Ephesus in the days of the New Testament and what Timothy and those with whom he served would have heard when the author of 1 Timothy employs the word.
And soon, when the new Generosity Monk website launches soon, you can get access to similar papers to help you more deeply acquaint yourself with the only wise God, our Savior.