Pastor Powell's Column

July & August 2008

Champion

As I write this, our region is still basking in the glory of the Boston Celtics, mighty champions of the NBA. Our Red Sox are gloriously marching toward another potential championship. And of course, we still have high hopes that the Patriots will have the post-season victory this time that matches the kind of peerless season we saw last fall. O Boston, is there any city so glorious as thee?

Yes.

The answer is clearly yes. For those who love champions, there is a city even more glorious than Boston, Hub of the Universe. Psalm 48 celebrates the matchless glories of the city of God. The glory is her great King. Psalm 47 identifies this king as “the Lord Most High, the Great King over all the earth.”

Do you realize that one of the Bible names of the Messiah is champion? In Isaiah 9:6, He is called, among other things, el gibbor in Hebrew. Most English translations render this “the mighty God.” Let us note that gibbor relates to the word champion, as, for example, Goliath was the champion put forth by the Philistine army. So we may understand Jesus as

God our champion, God our hero.

Over and over in the Old Testament, the Lord teaches his people to trust him, to rely on him as the one who fights our battles for us. That’s still true for us today. We gather weekly to celebrate the Lord Jesus, who has descended into battle and defeated our worst enemies: sin, Satan, and death itself.

If we think the victory parades, the “rolling rallies” for the Celtics were glorious affairs, we should reflect on what it means that someday Jesus will return “in power and great glory.” On that day when victory is full and complete, every eye on earth and in heaven will be trained on the glorious King of Kings.
All will shout his supreme Lordship. (Philippians 2)
(How foolish by comparison will seem our jubilation over persons who can put a small ball through a hoop, or use a stick to hit a ball over a wall.)

Why wait? Why not join the celebration now?

We live in the space between. The trophies have not been handed out yet, but Jesus has already won the victory. For those who belong to Him, those who believe in Him, the victory parade has already started. We don’t have to wait for our Champion’s visible return. His promise to us is that “he always leads us in triumphal procession [= victory parade] in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

It may strike one as odd to walk the streets of Boston and hear conversations about how we beat the Pistons and Lakers. Especially when those who say it were obviously holding a TV clicker, not a basketball during the game. We? Yet the whole city swells with pride over the achievements of a small handful. This is what it means to “share in the glory.” It’s a small picture of the experience that is ours in sharing in the glory of Christ, being co-heirs with him, reigning with him. (Romans 8:15-18)

This is one parade you won’t want to miss!

Jump on board today.

Our Champion invites you.