Skip to main content

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


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

THE APOSTASY and THE SECRET POWER OF LAWLESSNESS

  This is the 4th article in my End Time series. The Apostle Paul wrote these words of scripture to the church in Thessalonica. “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” “Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now

Christmas Calling

Some of my fondest memories of Christmas as a kid were not only Christmas mornings, but the evenings...and all through New Year’s Day! Why was that you might ask? Well because it was the custom for people to go Christmas Calling. Never heard of Christmas calling or “calling” as it was often called? You are not alone - many haven’t, since it seems to have faded away with time. So what is Christmas Calling you are wondering? It was simply stopping over at your neighbors and friends’ homes to wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and having a short visit. There were ALWAYS food and drinks offered…immediately after “taking” their coats and hats and asking them to have a seat. My “job” was often answering the doorbell, inviting them in and hanging up their coats. Sometimes folks (as they were called then) would phone first, and sometimes they just saw the porch light on and stopped in. Kids didn’t usually accompany their parents, but the ones in the home were allowed

To Trick Or Treat Or Not

  As new believers in Christ and young parents, my wife and I really struggled with Halloween and whether we would allow our kids to participate in it or not.   While growing up, Halloween was such an intriguing time of the year, with ghosts, witches, goblins, ghouls and all sorts of eerie stuff, how fun, since I was taught all these things weren’t real.   As I got older, and a little too old to roam about town looking for treats and tricks, I would help my parents hand out treats for the Trick or Treaters that came to our house.   It was fun putting candy into their bags, looking at all the clever and creative costumes, and trying to guess who was behind the masks.   Sometimes we would even recognize neighborhood kids who were way too old to be out Trick or Treating! I also have a memory of another side of our innocent candy collecting adventures.   It was when my friend Jack and I were invited in by a man with the promise of candy.   He kept stalling us and discouraged us from leav