AP

Omicron And Ōmega

(Please read Philippians 2.1-11 and Hebrews 12.1,2).

Introduction:

The Greek alphabet has only 24 letters, and no less than two of them are letters ‘o’. More particularly, one of them is ‘o’ as in ‘lot’ and the other is ‘ō’ as in ‘chosen’ – ‘omicron’ and ‘ōmega’. ‘Micron’ means small, hence ‘omicron’, not ‘ōmicron; ‘mega’ means ‘great’, hence ‘ōmega’, not ‘omega’. Omicron and ōmega.

     Now, John Newton was not only a great hymn writer, but he was also a great activist and encourager – witness his support of William Wilberforce in abolishing the slave trade. Then, when the British government was assembling the First Fleet to transport soldiers and prisoners to Botany Bay, he lobbied the government to appoint a chaplain to the colony of New South Wales and he encouraged a godly young evangelical minister, the Rev Richard Johnson, to take up the position.

     John Newton was also a poet and when Richard Johnson was about to depart for Botany Bay, Newton sent him a poem. You might know it, but it bears repeating:

     Newton’s taking the pen name ‘Omicron’ fascinates me. Why did he call himself ‘Omicron’?

     This is purely my speculation, so make of it what you will, but I think he might have been acknowledging Christ’s greatness. After all, He described Himself as ‘the alpha and the omega’, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. I think Newton saw himself as the little ‘o’; Christ as the great One, the Big ‘ō’.

     Whether I’m right or wrong, however, there’s no reason why we couldn’t see ourselves in that light. Like John the Baptist we can say: ‘He must increase, I must decrease.’

Living For Christ With A Humble Heart

Now let’s transfer that line of thought to the way Paul structured Philippians 2.1-11.

vv 1-4 are an exhortation to all Christians to exhibit certain characteristics which are part and parcel of being a Christian.

vv 5-11 are a demonstration of the way in which our Lord Jesus Christ set an example for us to follow. His own life was the most excellent example of what life was meant to be.

Theological liberals have emphasised this and majored on it. One of our liberal ministers in the Presbyterian Church in NSW as it was pre-1977 wrote a Statement of Faith which began: ‘We believe that the best way of life is Jesus’ way, the way of service, self-sacrifice, joyfulness, brotherly kindness and love.’ Now we Bible-believing Christians can say ‘amen’ to that, although I must say that by ‘self-sacrifice’ that minister did not mean the sacrifice which our Lord Jesus Christ made on the cross of His sinless life in atonement for our sins. He meant something like giving up some small luxuries in order to give money to charitable purposes, for example.

     But in these verses Paul is strongly affirming the two-fold nature of Christ as both human and divine and holding together the sinless life which was the perfect example of what this life was meant to be, but ultimately going to the cross to make that atoning sacrifice for our sin. So yes, He was our great exemplar, the greatest teacher who ever lived, the dearest friend and brother we could ever have – but He was also so much more: He is our Shepherd, Husband, Friend, our Prophet, Priest and King, our Lord, our Life, our Way, our End; He accepts the praise we bring (to bring John Newton back to our reckoning with words from his most endearing hymn).

     The Westminster Confession of Faith 8.2,3 puts it far better than any little preacher can:

     ‘The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance, and equal with the Father, did, when the fulness of time was come, take upon him man’s nature,with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin:being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary, of her substance.^c So that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined together in one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion.^d Which person is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man.^e

a. John 1:1, 14; Gal 4:4; Phil 2:6; 1 John 5:20. • b. Heb 2:14, 16-17; 4:15. • c. Luke 1:27, 31, 35; Gal 4:4. • d. Luke 1:35; Rom 9:5; Col 2:9; 1 Tim 3:16; 1 Pet 3:18. • e. Rom 1:3-4; 1 Tim 2:5.

     ‘The Lord Jesus, in his human nature thus united to the divine, was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure; having in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in whom it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell to the end that, being holy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth he might be thoroughly furnished to execute the office of a mediator and surety, which office he took not unto himself, but was thereunto called by his Father who put all power and judgment into his hand, and gave him commandment to execute the same.

     Well may we sing:

          ‘What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus, what a wonderful friend is He,

           For He left all the glory of Heaven, came to Earth to die on Calvary’.

So How Should We Then Live?

Being encouraged by our union with Christ, we can walk with the Lord in the light of His Word. Having fellowship with the Holy Spirit we are guided according to His Word. Knowing the dying love of Christ toward us we can live in love with tenderness and compassion toward others in this poor, lost and perishing world as we call on them to repent of their sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Being like-minded and loving one another in spirit and purpose we can reflect the love of Christ to the world and deflect the world’s criticism of Christ and His Church.

     This is not rocket science; these exhortations are purely and simply set before us for anyone to understand.

How Can We Be Enabled to Do and to Be All These Things?

We must be constantly looking at Jesus and looking to Jesus (Hebrews 12.1,2). We see His humility, and we seek His empowering to remove any vestiges of worldly pride in us. And with every step we take we must be asking WWJD? (‘What Would Jesus Do?’) and conversely, WWJND (‘What Would Jesus NEVER Do?’).

     Again, the WCF informs us on this, in 1.6,7:

‘The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.^a Nevertheless we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word;^b and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.^c

a. Gal 1:8-9; 2 Thes 2:2; 2 Tim 3:15-17. • b. John 6:45; 1 Cor 2:9-12. • c. 1 Cor 11:13-14; 14:26, 40.

     ‘All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all;^a yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed, for salvation, are so clearly propounded and opened in some place of Scripture or other, that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.^b

Conclusion

Well, it’s a big ask, but it’s God who is asking us through the apostle Paul. Jesus is a mighty Saviour, and having come to faith in Him we should be experiencing both His saving power and His sanctifying power, and so sharing Christ with others by word and deed.

     Are we therefore willing to examine ourselves before the Lord, holding this template over our lives as we live them both before the Lord and before the watching world, and seek to do all in humility and for the glory of God?

– Bob Thomas