The Doxology

Home Church Devotional 1/31/2021

These devotionals were written during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic when area churches were not allowed to meet for fear of spreading the coronavirus. They were used in place of a full sermon as my family and I gathered for worship and communion.

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. ‘Give us this day our daily bread. ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]                                    Matthew 6:9-13 (NASB)

We come, now, to the end of our series on The Lord’s Prayer. We have reached what is considered to be the doxology, but before we dig into the words that form this doxology, let us first take a quick look back at what we have learned from this model of prayer meant to shape our prayer life. We first learned that Christian prayer is to be genuine, not filled with meaningless repetition; Christian prayer is meant to be meaningful as it engages our thoughts and minds.

Next, we learned that we have a shared relationship with God as Father with other believers and we set apart the name of God in reverence and honor to glorify and exalt Him. We also learned that we are acknowledging a kingdom that already exists, a kingdom of God’s rule and God’s reign, and as we pray, we ask for God’s will and agree to God’s choices and God’s control.

In the fourth installment of the series, we learned that we ask God for a continuous supply of our daily needs – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual; we also learned we are expressing our continual dependence on the God of all resources. In the fifth sermon in the series, we learned we are asking debt forgiveness  for a debt of our own making, one that has not been forced upon us and we learned that our debt forgiveness must include forgiveness of others for the harm done to us. In our last look at this model of prayer, we learned we need daily defense because we are fighting an opponent who is stronger than us and a battle that is bigger than us.

Which brings us now to the closing of this series on The Lord’s Prayer. The Doxology, acknowledging the kingdom, power and glory belong to God forever. While this looks straight forward enough, there are still some important lessons to learn from these few words that close this model of prayer.

This doxology is not found in the best manuscripts of the New Testament. It is believed to be an ancient Jewish doxology added to prayers acknowledging the sovereignty of God and, has thus, been added here by scribes who wrote the manuscripts and are familiar with the doxology. There is a similar doxology found in 1 Chronicles 29:11. The point, however, is all things belong to God. God is the source of the kingdom, power and glory. God is the possessor of the kingdom, power and glory. And God is the recipient of the kingdom, power and glory. All things belong to God.

So, the question we must ask ourselves, “What does The Doxology mean for believers?”

For the believer, The Doxology is the assurance of who God is and what He does.

1). For the believer, The Doxology is found in the KINGDOM.

Kingdom, as an abstract noun, is defined as denoting sovereignty, royal power or dominion. As a concrete noun it is defined as denoting the people or territory over whom the king rules. As the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, God has a claim on all things. He created them through His Son, His Son holds them together and His Son will have dominion over them in eternity. All things belong to God.

The kingdom was our first thought at the beginning of the prayer, and it is now our first thought as we close the prayer. The kingdom belongs to God, it is His rule and reign in the kingdom thus His will is to be followed. The kingdom is owned by God – to fund this kingdom God paid a high price, the death of His only Son, thus all things belong to God. This kingdom was established by God – He marked out the territory and those whom He would rule over, before the foundation of the world. All things belong to God.

Believers belong to the kingdom. God has accepted the believer into the kingdom and promised its glory at the believer’s death or the return of His Son. We are sons and daughters of the king, joint heirs with the Son to rule over the nations in eternity. While on earth we journey as foreigners, working to become Christlike and shine the light of Christ into a darkening world. But one day, when Christ returns, the darkness with flee and light will shine freely and completely in the kingdom.

In praying, “For Yours is the kingdom…” we are saying God has the right to rule and reign throughout the universe and only God’s kingdom and government can bring love, joy, peace and the best life has to offer. All things belong to God and His is the kingdom forever.

For the believer, The Doxology is the assurance of who God is and what He does.

2). For the believer, The Doxology is found in the POWER.

Power is defined as ability or might. The Greek words used for power is dunamis, from this we get the English word dynamite. God alone has the ability to establish an eternal kingdom; God alone has the might to sustain an eternal kingdom. The power belongs to God – in our own strength we can do nothing. God alone has the power to rule and reign in an eternal kingdom. All things belong to God.

Through His power God has created and sustains the universe. Through His power, kings and kingdoms rise and fall; through His power the oceans come only so far; through His power the sun and the moon shine in their appointed times; through His power the season know their beginning and end. Through His power we live, or we die; through His power the hairs on our head are numbered, the birds of the air are cared for and the lilies of the field are clothed in beauty. All things belong to God.

Believers belong to the power. Through His power God has delivered believers from sin and death while continuing to deliver them daily. By His power we have been created in His image; by His power God called us into fellowship with His Son; by His power we have the same power that raised Jesus from the dead living within us; by His power we can overcome sin; by His power we have been adopted as sons and daughters of the king. All things belong to God.

In praying, “For Yours is the power…” we are saying God alone has the power to create and sustain a perfect government and God alone has the power to change people that they might escape death and live forever in God’s perfect government. All things belong to God and His is the power forever.

For the believer, The Doxology is the assurance of who God is and what He does.

3). For the believer, The Doxology is found in the GLORY.

Glory comes from the Greek word Doxa, from the root word dokeo meaning to seem, it signifies an opinion or estimate and the honor resulting from a good opinion. And yes, this is where we get the English word doxology meaning to give praise and glory. For the believer, this is the assurance of who God is and what God does. The glory belongs to God, we keep none of the glory for ourselves. The glory is shared by God as we reflect His glory to the world we contact. All things belong to God.

The believer belongs to the glory. For His glory, God has done everything for the believer that He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For His glory, God created the universe to reflect His glory; for His glory, God placed His image bearing creation, humans, within His created universe; for His glory, He has called us into fellowship; for His glory, His perfect kingdom and His power sustains an eternal kingdom where we live with God forever. All things belong to God.

In praying, “Yours is the glory…” we are saying God alone deserves glory for all He is and all He does…our all in all! He is the Giver and Sustainer of life; He is the Author and Perfector of our faith; He is the King of all kings; He is the Defender of those who call on His name; He is holy and righteous, perfect in all of His ways. All things belong to God and His is the glory forever.

For the believer, The Doxology is the assurance of who God is and what He does.

And so, we have learned much from this short model for prayer. We have learned that Christian prayer is genuine and meaningful, engaging our thoughts and our minds; we have learned we have a shared relationship with the Father and we set apart His name in reverence and honor to glorify and exalt Him; we recognize a kingdom that truly does exist and acknowledge and agree to God’s rule and reign and God’s choice and control; we have learned to ask God for a continuous supply of all of our daily needs and acknowledge our continued dependence upon the God of all resources; we ask forgiveness for a debt that was of our own making and our forgiveness must include the forgiveness of others; and finally, we learned we are fighting an opponent and a battle that are bigger than us and we must seek our daily defense from God alone.

Which brings us now to the closing of this series on The Lord’s Prayer. The Doxology, acknowledging the kingdom, power and glory belong to God forever. God alone has paid the cost to establish an eternal kingdom; God alone has the power to sustain and eternal kingdom; and God alone deserves all glory for all He is and all He has done. All things belong to God.

The word “For” ties this doxology to the prayer and signifies that the kingdom, power and glory will be manifested in the petitions we have just prayed. It is not for our benefit but rather that God’s name be manifested, in us and through us to the world around us. This is why we gather each week, to worship the name of Jesus, to give God the Father the glory, to tap into the power supply we need for the coming week and to acknowledge the kingdom of God, in our midst now and His rule and reign in that kingdom. We come to agree to His choices and His control, knowing He has far kore wisdom and insight than our eyes and mind will ever be able to contain.

In the sight of God’s glory and honor our sufferings and concerns will diminish, we seek eternal life that the honor of God will be promoted, and His name displayed to all. God is to be the first, the last, the best and the supreme in our sight – our all in all. When we approach God in this manner, our prayers will be answered, our devotion will rise like the scent of incense and the lifting of hands in praise and worship like the evening sacrifice. All things belong to God and His is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.

Amen and Amen.