Title: The Lord's Crown (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20)
Contents In this lesson, I will speak with the title of “The crown that the Lord has given me.” A crown is originally a crown worn by a king. But God says that He will give us various crowns. These are the crown of righteousness, the crown of glory, the crown of life, the incorruptible crown, the golden crown, the crown of twelve stars, the crown of white hair, and so on. Thank you for saving us, but how grateful are you for giving us a crown? But the crown is not given to anyone. Therefore, at this time, I hope that it will be a time to longing for each other by sharing through the Bible what kind of crown is given to whom.
Then, what kind of crown will God give to which person?
1. To whom will the crown of life be given?
Revelation 2:10 says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” The crown of life here is the crown given to those who are faithful to death. This crown is given to believers who risk their lives, overcome temptation, overcome sin, overcome persecution, and live by faith.
These words were given to the church in Smyrna, thinking about the incident where Polycarp, the bishop of the church in Smyrna, was burned at the stake due to the absurd Jewish conspiracy that they betrayed the emperor and served the king of Jesus. You must sacrifice your life. If you do not give your life, you will not be given this crown. Then, do you have to be martyred to receive the crown of life? It is also given to the living martyrs.
Look at Daniel. Daniel is not a martyr in the flesh. But in my view, a person like Daniel is the object of the crown of life. Because Daniel risked his life to serve God. While we are living in the world, He pours out His life as a king, and if we ask what kind of person He does that to, he is a person who risks his life and lives in faith.
That's why 2 Timothy 2:11-12 says, "Faithful saying, if we died with the Lord, we also live together; if we endure, we will also reign together; and if we deny the Lord, the Lord will deny us." Being persecuted and dying while keeping your faith is martyrdom, but it is also martyrdom to sacrifice your life and obey God's word every day. You must pass that faith. That's why James 1:12 says, "Blessed is he who endures temptation, for after being approved in this he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him."
2. To whom will the crown of glory be given?
1 Peter 5:2-4 “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God, not for an unclean person, but with a cheerful will, and not as lording it over those entrusted to you. But be an example to the flock, and you will receive the crown of glory that will not wither when the Chief Shepherd appears.”
If God's servants are faithful only in their work, the reward in heaven is great and great. He said that he would take responsibility for the things on earth as well. In Mark 10:29-30, the Lord said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for me and for the gospel, There is no one who will not receive a hundredfold more sisters, mothers, children, and lands, with persecution, and eternal life in the age to come.”
Therefore, God's servants should not be greedy for worldly things and do their best only for the work the Lord has entrusted to them. Then, God takes care of all household chores, children's work, and even health. “You do your best in my work. Then I will take responsibility for you and your house.” This is the same promise the Lord gives to all ministers. The same grace will be given to the saints if they help the servants of the Lord and do their best in the mission entrusted to them. And He will crown you with a crown of glory.
3. To whom will you give the crown that will never perish?
1 Corinthians 9:25 says, “Everyone who competes for victory is temperate in all things; they want a corruptible crown, but we want an incorruptible one. for fear of being rejected.” He gives the incorruptible crown to those who are temperate.
In order for an athlete to earn the crown, he must overcome himself and endure training. And you must win. But thankfully, there is only one winner on earth, but everyone who wins in heaven is given crowns if they overcome them. Schools that take advantage of the convenience of schools only pass the test by retaking the subject if they fail. It is a gracious school. But no matter how gracious Heaven is, it doesn't matter who is ahead, but if you win completely, it sees you as a winner. So, heaven is a place where everyone can be number one.
We must win for the immortal crown. must be insulated. We must forsake our sins. You must also let go of bad habits. We also need to change our wrong thinking, knowledge, and notions. Don't be preoccupied with being corrupt. Godliness is beneficial for this life and for the life to come. When you know that you are afraid of sin and completely forsake it, God will give you a crown that will never perish.
4. To whom will the crown of righteousness be given?
2 Timothy 4:8 says, “From now on there is prepared for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” Those who long for the Second Coming of the Lord. However, it is not always given only on that day. Even now, he comes to the saints who long for the Lord to come by the Holy Spirit and clothes them with righteousness as kings.
Jesus is our righteousness. Therefore, it is righteous when the Lord comes. You can never be righteous until the Lord comes. That's why 1 Corinthians 1:30 says, "Jesus came out of God and became to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." Romans 13:14 says, “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, but do not succumb to the lusts of the flesh.” Therefore, we must put on Jesus to live righteously. Therefore, we must not be afraid of the coming of the Lord, but we must boldly long for Him to come in any form, be it the Holy Spirit or the Second Coming. It sounds paradoxical, but the coming of the Lord is the preparation to meet the bridegroom Jesus. And that is the crown of righteousness.
5. To whom will the crown of hope, joy, and pride be given?
1 Thessalonians 2:19-20, “What is our hope, or our joy, or the crown of boasting? Are not you before our Lord Jesus at his coming? You are our glory and our joy.” This crown is a crown given to those who love it. The saved saints become my crown. If you do well in your faith life, that will become my crown. If you evangelize, that saved person becomes your crown.
That is why Paul said in Philippians 4:1, “Therefore, my beloved and longing brethren, my joy and crown, beloved, stand in the Lord in the same way.” You will be my crown, and I will be your crown. That's because you loved and prayed for me. I will not steal the glory alone. First, we will give glory to God, and then we will give glory to our members.
Dear saints,
The Lord wore a crown of thorns to give us a crown. Let us all be loyal to death. Then he will give you the crown of life. Let's do our duty well. Then he will give you the crown of glory. Let's be restrained and win. Then He will give you a crown that will not perish. Let's long for the Lord's coming every day. Then he will give you the crown of righteousness. And let's love each other. So, I pray that God's grace will overflow, becoming a beautiful crown that gives each other hope, joy, and pride.