Crowns

G4735 stephanos (stef'-an-os) - From an apparently primary “stepho” (to twine or wreathe); a chaplet (as a badge of royalty, a prize in the public games or a symbol of honor generally; but more conspicuous and elaborate than the simple fillet, G1238), literally or figuratively:—crown.

JESUS – CROWNED WITH THORNS

• Mat 27:27-31 (NIV) Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
• Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

THE BELIEVER’S CROWNS

• Isaiah 61:3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes…
• 2 Timothy 2:5 Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules.
• 1 Cor 9:24-27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
• 2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
• James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
• 1 Peter 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
• 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.
• Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!

JESUS – CROWNED WITH MANY CROWNS

• Hebrews 2:6-9 But there is a place where someone has testified: "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honor and put everything under his feet." In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
• Revelations 19:11-16 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
• Revelations 4:9-11 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."

QUOTES

• "The cross of Christ is Christ’s glory. Man seeks to win his glory by the sacrifice of others—Christ by the sacrifice of himself. Men seek to get crowns of gold—he sought a crown of thorns. Men think that glory lies in being exalted over others—Christ thought that his glory did lie in becoming “a worm and no man,” a scoff and reproach among all that beheld him. He stooped when he conquered; and he counted that the glory lay as much in the stooping as in the conquest." - Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892)
• "We are all making a crown for Jesus out of these daily lives of ours, either a crown of golden, divine love, studded with gems of sacrifice and adoration, or a thorny crown, filled with the cruel briars of unbelief, or selfishness, and sin, and placing it upon his brow." - Aimee Semple Mcpherson (1890–1944)

Everlasting Father

Psalm 68:5 - Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.

Psalm 103:13 - “The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.”

Jeremiah 3:12-15,19-22 - Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against him by worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I, the Lord, have spoken! Return home, you wayward children,” says the Lord, “for I am your master. I will bring you back to the land of Israel— one from this town and two from that family— from wherever you are scattered. And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding. … I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land— the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me. But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the Lord, have spoken.” Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people. For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the Lord their God. “My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God.

John 6:37-40,44-45 - "However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day. … For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me."

Luke 15 - The Prodigal Son

John 14:1-11 - “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.” “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do."

1 John 3:1-3 - See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.

1 John 2:15-17 - Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 - Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

1 John 2:23 - Anyone who denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, either. But anyone who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Isaiah 9:6 - For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Romans 8:15 - So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

Galatians 4:6 - And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

The Gold Standard

​GOLD FACTS (from http://gold.yabz.com/facts.htm)

• Gold, like no other metal, has a fascinating history and a special place in the world.  For thousands of years it has been used as an ornament of kings, a currency and standard for global currencies, and more recently, in a wide range of electronic devices and medical applications.  Gold is often referred to as a noble metal. This is because the pure form of gold does not get rusted, corroded or tarnished. It is not soluble in any acid.
• ​Gold is only 2.5 on the Mohs scale of hardness - about the same as a fingernail. Pure gold is so soft and malleable that a strong man can squeeze it and shape it.  Therefore, gold could be used by artisans around the world for as far back as time can tell.
• ​A single ounce of the metal can be drawn into a wire five miles long. Gold can be hammered into sheets so thin that light can pass through.  High purity gold reflects infrared (heat) energy almost completely, making it ideal for heat and radiation reflection.
• ​Gold has been prized by people since the earliest times for making statues and icons and also for jewelry to adorn their bodies. Intricately sculptured art objects and adornment jewelry have been uncovered in the Sumerian royal Tombs in southern Iraq and the tombs of Egyptian kings. Significant buildings and religious temples and statues have been covered with thinly beaten sheets of gold. Due to its rarity, gold has long been considered a symbol of the wealth and power of its possessor.
• ​Jewelry and money have always been closely related. Historically precious metals were used as a store of value and tied around the owner's neck or wrist when traveling. Thus if the caravan was attacked by bandits, the travelers could abandon their bags and flee with their gold. Eventually people noticed that gold and silver looked attractive when worn this way, and these metals started to be used an jewelry. With the development of banking holding money in this way became less prevalent. although even today many people in Asia and the Middle East keep jewelry in place of fiat currency.

​THE WORTH OF EARTHLY/HEAVENLY GOLD

• ​Matthew 6:19-21 - “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.  Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be."
• ​Ezekiel 7:19 - “They will throw their money in the streets, tossing it out like worthless trash.  Their silver and gold won’t save them on that day of the Lord’s anger.  It will neither satisfy nor feed them, for their greed can only trip them up."
• ​1 Corinthians 3:12-15 - Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.  But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.  If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.  But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
• ​Revelation 21:18-21 - The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.  The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.  The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.

​RECOGNIZE YOUR SPIRITUAL POVERTY​

• ​Revelation 3:14-22 - “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Laodicea. This is the message from the one who is the Amen—the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s new creation: “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!  But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!  You say, ‘I am rich. I have everything I want. I don’t need a thing!’ And you don’t realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.  So I advise you to buy gold from me—gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see.  I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference.  Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.  Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne.  Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.”
• ​Matthew 5:3,8 - “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. … God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God."

​GREATER THAN EARTHLY GOLD

• ​Psalm 19:7-11 - The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.  The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.  The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.  The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.  Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.  The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.  They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.  They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.  They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.
• ​Psalm 119:127 - Truly, I love your commands more than gold, even the finest gold.
• ​Proverbs 8:17-19 - (wisdom speaking) “I love all who love me.  Those who search will surely find me.  I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice.  My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver!"

​REFINED AND PURIFIED AS GOLD

• ​Proverbs 17:3 - Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the Lord tests the heart.
• ​(from http://livingintruthministries.com/2011/07/24/refined-like-gold/) "Gold found in its original form actually resembles coal. A black film covers the outside surface so it doesn’t look like gold at all. The refining process begins by placing the gold over heat.  As it is heated, the black film melts away, revealing the more familiar appearance of gold. However, even in this state the gold contains many impurities.  In order to remove the impurities, the refiner must heat the gold to an even hotter temperature, causing the impurities within to rise to the surface.  The refiner then skims those impurities off the top, bringing the gold to its purest state.  Here is the really cool part; the refiner knows when the gold is in its purest form because he is able to see his reflection in it."

​APPLICATION

​

​1 Peter 1:6-7 - So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.  These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.