Crown of righteousness is reserved for me Part 1

Week 22: June 2nd, 2019

Topic: Crown of righteousness is reserved for me - Part 1

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 4:1-8

Introduction

A crown is an ornamental headdress worn by monarch as a symbol of authority. It can be described as a wreath or band worn especially as a symbol of victory or honor. ‘In a nutshell,’ crown is any of the various types of headgear worn by a king/queen to exhibit royal power, and as a symbol of sovereignty.

Inasmuch as crown stands for power, authority, victory, honor and sovereignty, Israel blessed Joseph one of his children whom God used to preserve the Children of Israel and had two tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh) out of the twelve tribes of Israel saying “The blessing of your father have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was separated from his brothers” Genesis 49:26. Israel used crown to describe Joseph because he was a victor and a jewel. Other Bible passages described crown because of its importance as follows:

• “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones” Proverbs 12:4. She is a crown because she will make her husband glad, their home will be peaceful and they will progress in life together.

• “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness” Proverbs 16:31. Such righteous elderly person is a replica of Our Creator who is righteous in all His ways, with hair as white as snow on His head Revelation 1:14,

• “Children’s children are the crown of old men, and the glory of children is their father” Proverbs 17:6. If any man have offspring and live to see his descendants, it is a special grace of God.

From the aforementioned passages, we can deduce that crown is an indispensable part of mankind. In fact, it is important, necessary and essential to the existence of humanity.

Though God instructed Moses to make a crown and put it on Aaron the priest Exodus 29:6. In addition, God commanded that a crown of silver and gold should be made and placed on the head of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest Zechariah 6:11. The purpose of the crown was to be a memorial in the temple of the Lord Zechariah 6:14. All the previously mentioned crowns are physical crowns which are limited to this world, but we need spiritual crowns that will make us to blend in heaven since Our God is a Spirit.

Balaam the son of Beor whom Balak brought to curse the people of Israel relented after one angel met him on the way and his donkey spoke with human voice. Then he witnessed the greatness of God in the lives of the people of Israel Numbers 22:22-35. He confessed about the might and supremacy of God by saying “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; there! A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations. ‘Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!’” Numbers 23:8-10. Balaam in his statement pleaded with the Lord God to let him die like the righteous, and for his life to end like theirs, in order to receive the crown of righteousness which is accrue to the righteous people. Indirectly Balaam asked for the spiritual crown called the crown of righteousness.

The Crown of Righteousness

The crown of righteousness is a spiritual and invisible (to natural eyes) crown which will be given to the people that God considered to be righteous and are in right standing before Him. Though, all the righteousness of human is like a filthy rag before God, but those who keep the statutes of the Lord God will be rewarded with the crown of righteousness. Many people in the world neither appreciate nor care about the crown of righteousness because they have given themselves to lustful lifestyles and pleasures. For this reason, we are calling on the sinners to repent and do things that are acceptable in the presence of God in order to be considered for the crown of righteousness according to the scripture which says “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” Mark 2:17, Luke 5:32.

This message is a call to repentance to the sinners so that they can receive the crown of righteousness; in accordance with the covenant which God swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham that He will rescue us from our enemies; so that we could serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life Luke1:73-75. Now that Jesus Christ has delivered you from the darkness, why not serve Him in holiness and righteousness? Why not pursue righteousness as long as you live? Therefore, you must neither associate nor keep company of any brother/sister in the Lord who is a hypocrite. You must beware of the hypocrites among the children of God who are serving in the vineyard of the Lord who can make it difficult for you to receive the crown of righteousness. Jesus Christ identified these people and sounded the alarm by saying “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!... Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” Matthew 23:27-28. Henceforth, beware of people who are living a double life and those who are pretending to be righteous whereas they are hypocrites.

The crown of righteousness is the victory prize that will be awarded to the righteous, and it is inevitable for every Christian to strive to received this crown, else they may not inherit the kingdom of God. Nowadays, joy has left the hearts of many people and their dancing has changed to lamentation. Countless people are sad; instead of dancing, they are mourning. Happiness has gone out of the lives of uncountable people and grief has replaced their dances. Why? Because they have sinned, the crown has fallen from their head and thy are doomed. It has been disastrous for them because their glories have disappeared Lamentation 5:15-16. Beware if you do not want your glory to disappear, do not fall into sin if you do not Lucifer to steal/snatch your crown. Behold Christ is coming quickly1 Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will rob you of your victory prize, or take away your crown Revelation 3:11. Heed this warning in order to receive the crown of righteousness.

The genesis of crown

Wearing crown started with Our Lord God, and it will end with Him. God has a supreme, imperishable, unfadable and eternal crown which He wears on His heavenly throne. This crown is not made by human hand and it is an incomparable crown. This crown is a spiritual and invisible crown which cannot be seen by natural eyes. It can only be seen in spirit by the saints who have the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. God permitted His Son Jesus Christ and the elders who surrounded His heavenly throne to have crowns. Furthermore, God gave the opportunity to mankind, for the people who are righteous to receive crowns.

The crowns of Jesus Christ: Though God and the elders have one crown each, Jesus Christ was permitted to have crowns because He came to this world in human form, therefore, He was entitled to all the crowns which accrue to mankind. The Bible testified that the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on Jesus’ head, and clothed Him with a purple robe Mark 15:17, John 19:2-5. This means, Jesus Christ was crowned in this world and in heaven after His ascension. The scripture confirmed that when Jesus Christ the Lamb opened the first seal, He had a bow and sat on a white horse and a crown was given to Him, then He rode out to win many battles and gain victory Revelation 6:2. Christ the conqueror was given a crown of victory to conquer Satan and his agents. The Book of Revelation also corroborated the fact that Jesus Christ the Son of Man sat on the cloud, He had a gold crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand ready for the reaping the harvest of the earth Revelation 14:14-15. The Bible stated that Jesus Christ was wearing many crowns on His head with a name written that no one knew except Himself Revelation 19:12-13. The names of some of the crowns may not be written in the Bible and it may be beyond the comprehension of humans.

The heavenly elders have crowns: The twenty-four elders who sat on the thrones which surrounded the heavenly throne of God were dressed in white clothes with crown of gold on their heads Revelation 4:4. Their duty is to fall prostrate before God, lay their crowns before the throne and worship Him Revelation 4:10.

Types of the crowns

There are three types of crowns mentioned in the Bible namely: The crown of righteousness, the crown of glory and the crown of life. Though the scripture says “For riches are not forever, nor does crown endure to all generations” Proverbs 27:24. It must be noted that the passage is true for physical crowns but we are discussing the spiritual crown of righteousness. So,we need to realize that every spiritual crown received from the Lord will endure forever. Inasmuch as our Lord God remains forever and His throne is from generation to generation Lamentation 5:19.

The crown of righteousness: The scripture says “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8. Therefore, do not tarry to work toward claiming the crown of righteousness that is reserved for the righteous.

The crown of glory: The Bible says when Jesus Christ the Chief Shepherd appears, those who are worthy will receive incorruptible and unfading crown of glory 1 Peter 5:4. Only those who are worthy to be glorified with their Lord and Savior will receive this glorious crown of never-ending honor. “In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people” Isaiah 28:5. Then, you will be a crown of glory and honor in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God Isaiah 62:3. For you to be among those who will wear the crown of glory on that day, do no love the world, and desert Satan and his works.

The crown of life: It is written that “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” James 1:12. You have to pass your test/trial before you can be given the crown of life. For this reason, “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” Revelation 2:10. You must not be afraid of what you are passing through presently and dismiss your dread of what you are about to suffer in order to receive the crown of life. The major requirement to receive the crown of life is for you to remain faithful to God when facing death and be loyal to Him even if it means death.

Interrelationship between the crowns

The crown of righteousness is the first to be earned. Those who will receive this crown are the righteous who were virgins not defiled by sexual immorality. They will worship before the heavenly throne of God and follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Those that were redeemed from humanity as the firstfruits of God and the Lamb. They are not guilty of telling lies, so they are blameless, faultless and righteous before God Revelation 14:1-5. Secondly is the crown of glory. The people who will receive the crown of gory are the saints who will reign for 1000 years with Jesus Christ which is called the first resurrection. Over such people second death neither has power nor sway Revelation 20:4-6. Finally, the crown of life which enables us to live eternally in the kingdom of heaven. Those who will receive the crown of life are the people whose names were written in the Book of life and they will live forever in New Jerusalem the city of our God Revelation 21:22-27.