Kingdom Passion (6)

¹²What shall I render to the Lord
Forall His benefits toward me?
¹³ I will take up the cup of salvation,
And call upon the name of the Lord.
¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord
Now in the presence of all His people.Psalm 116.12-14

Knowing Christ
It’s looking more and more like the “one thing” that matters most of all in the Christian life is knowing Jesus Christ and, through Him, God the Father. The more we can focus all the affections of our heart on this, the greater will be our realization of the full and abundant life Jesus came to give us.

We know Christ by the Spirit of God, Who comes with the proclamation of the Kingdom of God to dwell within us, making us new creatures in Jesus Christ (Jn. 6.63; Gal. 4.6). That same Spirit teaches us the things of God by comparing the words of Scripture with one another until an ever-clearer picture of Jesus Christ and His will for our lives begins to emerge (1 Cor. 2.12, 13; Jn. 5.39).

We see the evidence of Jesus upholding the world and all things in it and advancing His Kingdom through the peoples and cultures of the world. Everywhere we look, the glory of God, radiating from the face of Jesus Christ, encounters, engages, and enthralls us, so that, increasingly, we are being transformed into that same image (Ps. 19.1-4; 2 Cor. 4.6; 2 Cor. 3.12-18).

Eternal life
This is exactly what we might have suspected, for as Jesus Himself noted, eternal life, life imperishable, incorruptible, full of glory, joy, and love, consists in nothing other than knowing God and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent (Jn. 17.3). When we know Jesus truly, personally, and with increasing intimacy, we are experiencing the life for which were created. For Jesus bestows on us all the benefits of the Lord, all the blessings of forgiveness, peace, joy, hope, and power for living a completely new and different way of life, all the precious and very great promises by which we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1.4).

Knowing Jesus Christ is the “one thing” that matters most in life. If we know Him, He is all that matters; if we do not, then we’ll always be looking for something to make our lives make sense and seem to be worthwhile.

Drink it down!
The writer of Psalm 116 was filled with the sense of God’s many benefits. He declared His love for the Lord, Who had mercy on him, listened to his prayers, and rescued him from distress and anguish (vv. 1-3). He knew the Lord to be gracious and righteous, full of mercy and compassion, able to save and keep those on whom He sets His love (vv. 5-7). He had come to know the joy of God’s deliverance, the bounty of His blessings, and the strength to live as God commanded (vv. 7-9). Knowing God in this intimate, personal way, the psalmist resolved to turn away from the lies, half-truths, and deceitful schemes of the unbelieving world (vv. 10, 11). He intended one thing and one thing only in response to the love God had shown him.

He would lift up the cup of salvation as an expression of his joy and gratitude at knowing God in this way.

What does that mean?

It means he intended to become drunk with the saving and renewing grace of the Lord, to be filled, not with the fruit of the vine, but with the Spirit of the indwelling God (cf. Eph. 5.18-21).

It meant he intended, by hoisting his glass of salvation, to salute and honor the One Who made such a life of freedom, joy, and power known to him.

It meant that he was inviting all others who share in this cup of salvation to join with him in toasting their glorious Savior and Lord and becoming filled with more of His saving presence and glory.

Once you come to know the Lord, really to experience Him and the benefits He brings, you’ll want to do the same. You’ll be truly passionate about the Lord, and you’ll want more of this one thing that matters so much, knowing God and Jesus Christ Whom He has sent.

Nothing in this life, nothing in the world, will hold any thrall for the person who has come to know Jesus and who is growing day by day in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Ps. 16; 2 Pet. 3.18).

Does this describe you? Have you discovered the one thing that matters most in life? If so, friends, then lift your glass to the Lord.

Next steps: What does it mean for you to “lift the cup of salvation” to the Lord each day? How will you do that today?

T. M. Moore

Additional Resources

This week’s study, Kingdom Passion, is the third of an eight-part series on The Kingdom Turn, and is available as a free download. T. M. has written two books to complement this eight-part series. You can order The Kingship of Jesus by clicking here, and The Gospel of the Kingdom by clicking here.

Sign up for ViewPoint Leaders Training, free and online, and start your own ViewPoint discussion group.

Want to learn more about the Celtic Revival? Visit our website and sign-up for our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.