It's NOT about You. It's ALL about Jesus.

“I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He judged me faithful, appointing me to His service” (1Tim 1:12).

Rick Warren is right. “It’s not about you.” That’s the opening line to his best-seller “The Purpose Driven Life.” As a matter of fact, it’s not about me either. I don’t know about you, but that’s quite a relief. The book is awesome (as a matter of fact, you may want to stop wasting your time reading stuff like this on the internet and pick up a copy if you haven’t read it yet!). But it’s not like Rick has the copyright on some groundbreaking new idea. 

No, this notion was put in motion a few thousand years before in a little ditty known as the Bible. In a letter to his sidekick Timothy, Paul goes out of his way to say it’s not about him either. “I thank Him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because He has judged me faithful, appointing me to His service” (v12). It’s all about the One who gives us strength. It’s all about the One who leads us to a place of faithfulness. It’s all about the One who handpicks us to serve. If you’re scoring at home, it’s ALL about Jesus. That’s A-L-L. ALL.

The apostle is not simply scribbling this stuff down in a vacuum. He’s not just waxing poetic. You see, Tim’s got his hands full with a gang of false teachers who are stirring up trouble at the church in Ephesus. Paul has left his spiritual son there as the pastor while he’s off on his next assignment (1Tim 1:2-3). The man from Tarsus already kicked two of these knuckleheads to the curb before he hit the road (1Tim 1:20). But there are still a few religious hucksters selling a counterfeit gospel and distracting people from the real deal (1Tim 1:3-7). These false teachers are misusing God’s law and abusing God’s people. Instead of using Scripture to diagnose sin and point folks back to Jesus, they use it to dominate and damage through legalism and self-salvation (1Tim 1:8-11). This isn’t just a first century issue. Garbage like this is still spewed in our churches today. 

Paul is making a clear distinction between himself and the spiritual snake oil salesmen. He thanks Jesus for giving him supernatural strength. The false teachers are driving on an empty tank. He thanks Christ for judging him faithful. The false teachers have only a faith in themselves. He thanks our Lord for appointing him to serve. The false teachers are self-appointed and serve only themselves. Every single one of us who thinks we’re serving God needs to ask the hard questions. Who gives me strength? Who judges me faithful? Who appoints me to serve? If the answer is NOT Jesus, I need to shut it down and turn to Him right here and right now. Remember, it’s not about you. It’s ALL about Jesus.

Like a basketball player who’s just score and points to the one who passed him the ball, the apostle gives all the credit to where credit is really due. God. All throughout Scripture, we read of our God who gives. He gives creation. He gives life. He gives food. He gives His Son. Our God is not a grabber but a Giver. An over-the-top, crazy generous, radically lavish Giver. It’s just who He is. It’s just what He does. And He absolutely LOVES to give to those who don’t deserve anything. Just to clear up who these undeserving recipients are…it’s you and me. That’s why Jesus says He came so that we could dive into the deep end of a pool what He calls the abundant and overflowing life (Jn 10:10).

Paul is so thankful to “Him who has given me strength” (v12). He’s ultimately powerless without Christ. Jesus told His crew that when we’re vitally connected with Him, there’s really no limit to what He can do through us (Jn 15:5). Without that connection, zip, zilch, zero. The apostle knows without a doubt he didn’t do it. He didn’t have the strength. He didn’t have the oomph. He knows that God and His power are the secret sauce of all that he’s accomplished. In other words, it’s NOT about Paul. And it’s NOT about you or me. It’s ALL about Jesus. 

Make no mistake on just who this Jesus is and what this is all about. According to the apostle, He’s “Christ Jesus our Lord” (v12). These four words absolutely drip with significance. Jesus is the actual name His heavenly Father told His earthly parents to name Him (Lk 1:31). It literally means “Yahweh saves.” And boy, does He ever! God personally comes to our rescue through the Son of a carpenter from Nazareth. We see here that Jesus is so much more than Joe and Mary’s oldest. 

He’s “Christ” (v12). No, that’s NOT His last name. It’s an incredibly important title. It’s the New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew “Messiah” in the OT. As Messiah/Christ, He ties the entire Bible together. In fact, He is THE ultimate Hero of THE entire Story! Jesus is the long awaited Hero God promised for thousands of years Who would come. The Father first hinted at our Savior’s arrival to our first parents in Eden (Gen 3:15). Every promise and prophecy in Scripture points to the coming Messiah. He fulfills God’s pledge to Abraham. He fulfills God’s commitment to David. Jesus Himself shocked the world by saying all of the Scripture is about Him (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 46). The term “Christ” (Gr. Christos) literally means “Anointed One.” God the Father drenches God the Son with God the Spirit (Lk 3:22). If you’re wondering, that’s an unbeatable combo!

Paul wants us all to know that Jesus is not just Messiah/Christ but also “our Lord” (v12). In other words, He’s the One who is ultimately in charge. Jesus isn’t some mid-level manager with limited authority. He decides. He rules. He reigns. He’s not just a king. Later in this very letter, the apostle doesn’t want Tim to miss the fact that Jesus is “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1Tim 6:15). The Apostle John didn’t just call Jesus his best friend but also worshiped Him as the “Lord of lords and King of kings” (Rev 17:14; 19:16). With a title like that on your LinkedIn profile, you have “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt 28:18). Because of that, He’s not just some random ruler with no right to tell you and me what to do. He’s “OUR Lord” (v12 emphasis added). Remember, Jesus didn’t come simply to sell us fire insurance. He came as the most benevolent Boss the universe has ever seen. As Lord, we must to do what He says. Our willing obedience to the Lord Jesus is the secret to unlocking the overflowing goodness of life He came to bring (Jn 10:10). You see, it’s NOT about you. It’s ALL about Jesus.

The apostle is pumped not because of what anybody else thinks of him but “because He judged me faithful” (v12). The ESV translates the Greek verb here hegeomai as “judged.” While Jesus certainly is qualified as our Judge (Jn 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31), this isn’t so much like a ruling in a courtroom. This is term actually means to consider, regard, lead, govern, and rule. Hegeomai describes the effectiveness of a leader (Acts 15:22). Paul sure seems to be making the point that Jesus led him into faithfulness when he had none. Did Christ do that for you? Chances are He’s still doing it right here and right now.

Paul doesn’t give a hot hoot about what bloggers say about him. He couldn’t care less about how many friends he has on Facebook or followers on Twitter. He writes to Galatian believers that the only thing he really cares about is God’s stamp of approval as Jesus’ servant (Gal 1:10). All that matters is Jesus and what He thinks of the man from Tarsus. It’s not that we shouldn’t care about others. Our Savior has certainly called us to love people in the same self-sacrificing way He did (Jn 13:34-35). But our worth doesn’t hinge on their opinion of us. Whose opinion matters? Christ. It’s ALL about Jesus.

The apostle is doing cartwheels because the Son of God “has judged me faithful” (v12). That’s quite a statement considering his rap sheet as Saul. In the very next verse, he admits to his rather questionable background as “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” and how he “acted ignorantly in unbelief” (v13). Check out the Message’s take on the risk Jesus took with the former Pharisee. “He went out on a limb, you know, in trusting me with this ministry” (v12 The Message). So how in the world does Jesus see any faithfulness in this faithless former terrorist against His kingdom? It’s because Paul realized he was neither too bad to be saved or good enough to save himself. He places his trust in what Jesus has done for him that he could never accomplish on his own. 

We need to remember that Jesus doesn’t call to anything but faithfulness to Him. It’s not about piling up a great resume. It’s not about building up a fabulous 401k. And it’s not even being successful in ministry or building a big church. Faithfulness in our gracious God is one of the Bible’s mega-themes. “The righteous shall live by faith” (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38). Don’t fall for the lie of up-and-to-the-right. Look at the only measure of success that matters in Jesus’ eyes. Faithfulness to Him is ALL that matters.

Christ gives us His strength for a reason. In Paul’s words, He is “appointing me to His service” (v12). And why not, it’s the whole reason Jesus came. The Son of God came to seek, to save, and to serve (Lk 19:10; Phil 2:5-8). That’s right, the King of kings is also the Servant of servants. He flipped the cosmic org chart upside down. We need to remember to do the same. He seeks, saves, and serves us so that we can serve as well. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re faced with a life of minimum wage drudgery by following Jesus and attending to the needs of others. Christ says we’ll find unbelievable blessing in serving others (Jn 13:17). He goes so far as to say it’s the REAL path to greatness in God’s eyes (Lk 22:26). 

Rick Warren is right. The Apostle Paul is right. It’s NOT about you. It’s ALL about Jesus.