Thine Is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, Forever

Matthew 6:1329 April 2012

A Study of the Lord’s Prayer: Lesson # 9

“In this manner, therefore, pray. Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (10) Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12) And forgive us our trespasses as weforgive those who trespass against us. (13) And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Let’s take a short review of where we’ve been:

We began our prayer in praise to God, acknowledging Him as Father and honoring His holy name - Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

We then affirm God’s priorities as our own - Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

We then appropriate God’s provision for our lives here and now - Give us this day our daily bread.

We then ask for God’s pardon and commit ourselves to forgive others - And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

We then seek God’s protection from temptation and Satanic attack and engage in spiritual warfare ourselves - And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

And finally, we return to praise as we acclaim the authority, power and glory of God - For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

Because later manuscriptsof the Greek New Testament, discovered after the King James Version was translated, omit this last section of the prayer, newer translations do not include the words, “For yours is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever, Amen.” Yet we need not be unduly concerned because these words do fit both the spirit of this prayer and teachings of the Bible in other places. David’s prayer in 1 Chronicles (29:11) says, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all.” (NKJV)

A good place to start again is with the explanation of this Conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer that Dr. Martin Luther has in the Small Catechism.

What does this mean? This means that I should be certain that these petitions are pleasing to our Father in heaven, and are heard by Him; for He Himself has commanded us to pray in this way and has promised to hear us. Amen, Amen, means “yes, yes, it shall be so.”

While man has an ego that needs to be stroked by praise, God does not. Yet He calls us to praise Him. He even commands it. Why? Not because He needs praise, but because we need to praise Him is why. Praise does something for us. It reminds us of God’s greatness and of His glory. It alters our perspective. It changes our attitude. Praise should be where we begin and end with God. Praising God is good for us!Praising Godshould be our way of life.

Notice that the prayer says “for Thine is …” here carries the force of “because of ” or “on account of.”

In the three terms of the closing portion of this prayer we are confessing that God exclusively possesses these things, “yours is the kingdom, the power, the glory, forever.” We are saying that these things can be said of God and of no one else.

I. God’s Is the Kingdom, Forever

The wonderful truth is not that Jesus is going to be King, but that HE IS KING NOW!!! When we pray, “yours is the kingdom” we are acknowledging the fact, the present day reality, that Jesus is King. When we pray, “yours is the kingdom” we are also recognizing that we are subjects of the King. We are freely acknowledging his right to LORDSHIP in our lives.

The theme of kingship is one that runs throughout the Bible, or at least from the time that Israel wanted a king, and God finally gave His approval to the prophet Samuel to anoint Saul as the first king. But all the human kings fell far short of the expectations of a king. King David was regarded as the best, and yet his life was one loaded with moral failures, and much bloodshed, so that God would not allow him to be the one to build the temple. The prophets recorded many passages of the Old Testament that spoke of a king to come whose reign would be marked by perfection, and who would rule forever.

Revelation 5 pictures the end time, judgment day, in heaven. God is on the throne, and there is the big scroll, “the Book of Life,” and the only one worthy to open the seven seals was the Lamb that was Slain, Jesus, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Many Christian hymns and songs are based on the theme of the kingship of Christ.

II. God’s Is the Power, Forever

The Old Testament refers to God as “Almighty” fifty six times in the English text.

One of God’s names, El Shaddai, means “GOD-ALMIGHTY.”

The Old Testament, and the new are loaded with God’s great works. In the Old, the deliverance from Egypt, and all the miracles performed in the context of that great and lengthy event, were considered by the prophets and writers of the old testament as proof of God’s power.

Time and again, the Old Testament prophets record examples of God’s power against the power of the false gods of the surrounding nations. And Yahweh always won every contest! For example, I love Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18.

The New Testament is equally clear, and ascribes these mighty powers to Jesus. Colossians 1:15-18 says, “He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” (NKJV)

One of my favorite New Testament examples of the power encounter between God and the gods of this age is Paul’s missionary preaching in the ancient city of Ephesus. It was a center of pagan worship. But there was a great turning away from the ways of evil and people even burned their books of magic. That story is in Acts chapter 19.

Later when Paul writes a letter to the church in Ephesus he says, To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

III. God’s is the Glory, Forever.

Sometimes this portion of the prayer is called a doxology. Doxology literally means “speaking glory or a word of glory. The word comes from the combination of two Greek words, Doxa which means “praise or glory” and logos which means “word or to speak.” So doxology is an expression of praise to God, a confession of adoration.

Doxologies of praise are found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. As we have already seen in 1 Chronicles 29:11, “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness, The power and the glory, The victory and the majesty; For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, And You are exalted as head over all.” (NKJV)

Paul writes to young pastor Timothy, “To the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Tim. 1:17)

The Jude doxology states it like this: “Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25)

In the New Testament we read in Revelation 5:13,“And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (NKJV)

IV. Amen. So Shall It Be.

The last thing we need to examine is the use of the little word, “Amen.” The word “amen” is a Hebrew exclamation, which expressed a strong assertion and a solid assurance. “Amen” means, “it shall truly and certainly be.”

So with the power and authority of God behind our prayers we should be careful about what we pray for. Our prayers need to be aligned with God’s will.

As far as its relationship to prayer is concerned, this “Amen” makes three assumptions. First, it expresses the belief that the content of this prayer is in line with the will of God. Secondly, it also expresses the conviction that the heavenly father has heard my request. And thirdly, it expresses my belief that the heavenly father has the ability to meet the needs of my request. He has the power to do something about it.

Conclusion: Let’s put it to practice in our lives.

Encourage you to pray through the Lord’s Prayer daily, not as a mantra.

There are 7 results that can expect as a result of praying through the Lord’s Prayer.

1. You will magnify God each day when you pray, “ hallowed be your name.”

2. You will be praying people into the kingdom of God when you pray “thy kingdom come.”

3. You will receive God’s guidance for the day when you pray, “thy will be done.”

4. You will feel cleansed when you pray, “forgive us our debts.”

5. You will feel victorious as you pray,“lead us not into temptation.”

6. You will sense God’s protection when you pray, “deliver us from the evil one.”

7. You will recognize that only God can do these things when you pray the doxology and say AMEN.

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