PHILIPPIANS 4:20

“Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Having attended college and seminary, I have heard many teachers or professors speak long and longer. Now, I enjoyed my education. I actually kind of miss it, but I don’t miss those times when the topic or the speaker were especially boring. I would never call out names, but some of those teachers should have never been in front of students lecturing. It truly seemed liked forever.

In these last four verses of Philippians, Paul closes with a doxology followed by greetings and salutations. We often just skim these kinds of verses, but don’t do that. In today’s verse, Paul is giving glory “to our God and Father.” After all, all the glory belongs to Him, right? But he finishes that sentence by saying, “forever and ever.” There is nothing magical about the Greek word for “forever.” It means just that. But I do like what the Cambridge Bible says about it. “The idea conveyed by the phrase here is of circles of duration consisting of, embracing, other circles ad infinitum.”

APPLICATION

Are you prepared to praise God forever and ever? That’s exactly what we will do. When we receive our eternal reward and enter into heaven, we will be in the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords. I will probably spend the first millennia on my face before His throne. How about you? Seeing the glory of the Lord displayed and lighting heaven will be overwhelming, to say the least.

We see a very similar doxology in Hebrews 13:20-21. “20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, 21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Very much like what Paul wrote in today’s verse, isn’t it?

Peter writes similar words in the last half of 1 Peter 4:11. “so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” I think you can see that this phrase giving glory to God forever and ever was one embraced by many. Shouldn’t we embrace it as well. Try saying those words each day for a week as you end your prayer time. He does deserve the glory forever and ever.

God, Your glory is in You. We will only truly observe it when we see You face to face.

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