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The Lord's Prayer Part 7: For Thine Is The Kingdom And The Power And The Glory FOREVER!

In the last six articles we have looked briefly at the meanings of the different verses of The Lord’s Prayer.  This line differs from the rest of the prayer, except for the first line, in that it is not a beseeching from God, but recognition of praise to Him.   It is an acknowledgement praising Him and the eternal endlessness of His Kingdom.  It is actually a doxology, which means words that express glory to God, and is usually in the form of a song or hymn that is often sung in conclusion.  Another example would be of the well-known doxology Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow which is commonly known as The Doxology. 

Some theologians have argued their opinion that they do not believe that Jesus included this doxology when He taught His apostles this prayer and that it was added by scribes much later.  Luke does not include it in His recording of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11), but some have said the reason is they are actually two different prayers and taught to two different audiences.  Matthew’s version (Matthew 6) was being taught to the Apostles and Luke’s version was taught to the disciples at large. But Jesus seems to be quoting 1 Chronicles 29:11 here: “Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”
It is also found in several ancient translations such as some Old Latin manuscripts, the Old Syrian, and some Coptic versions. The Syriac Peshitta (second/third century) reads, "And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever: Amen."   Therefore, this reading has both antiquity and geographical support.  It is also found in most of all existing Greek lectionaries. Therefore, the weight of the Greek witnesses argues for its inclusion and validity.

The passage also has the support of early Christian theologians. The distinguished orthodox father of the fourth century, John Chrysostom, cites this passage. He writes, "by bringing to our remembrance the King under whom we are arrayed, and signifying him to be more powerful than all. 'For thine,' saith he, 'is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory'." The oldest witness, which outdates all Greek manuscripts containing Matthew chapter six, is the Didache (otherwise known as the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles). This ancient catechism dates to the early second century, shortly after 100 AD, and contains a form of The Lord's Prayer: “….for Yours is the power and the glory forever.  Thrice in the day thus pray.”

But, in spite of all arguments based on whether or not “For thine is the Kingdom, the power, the glory forever” was included in the version that Jesus taught, it is certainly a valid and important prayer to pray. This is a very important part of this prayer because each time we pray this we are proclaiming that God is supreme and His Kingdom is supreme. We are also pledging our allegiance to Him and the furtherance of His Kingdom as opposed to the kingdoms of this world, which are controlled by satan.  We are also proclaiming His Second Coming and His Dominion forever and ever!   And that is a very good thing to do!

Thank you for reading!  
Pastor Gary A. Smith
New Life Christian Fellowship,
Alpena, MI


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