The One Who God Uses – Luke 1:5-7

The Westminster Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” God employs every believer for His glory. He gives us spiritual gifts to serve the church, and He uses our lives- our words, actions, thoughts, and efforts- to edify the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Idleness may indicate poor spiritual health, or worse, it may be evidence that you are not truly a Christian. Who then can be used by God? The Bible tells of the vastly different types of people God used, but one way to describe them collectively is that they were ordinary, unexceptional, everyday men and women. Moses was not the prince of Egypt when he was called by God to lead Israel. David was considered the least of his brothers when he was chosen by God to be king. (Ex 3:1; 1Sam 16:11) The world estimates a man’s capabilities by what is seen, but God uses the lowly to accomplish His work by His power for His glory. What kind of man does God use? Here in Luke’s introduction to Zacharias and Elizabeth, we see the characteristics of those whom God uses.

God uses those who know the real King. Luke begins this account with its historical context. Judea at this time was ruled by King Herod- a tyrannical madman whose kingdom was full of bloodshed. (Matt 2:16) However, while Herod ruled over Judea, the true King of kings and Lord of lords was born in Bethlehem. Scripture alludes to two kingdoms- the kingdom of man, and the kingdom of God. Jesus is the one and only King who reigns over all in absolute power and authority. Just as Zacharias and Elizabeth served God with all their heart, God seeks those who are single-minded in devotion to the kingdom of GOd. (Is 6:1; Ps 29:10) Many believers are not used by God because they abandon their first love, Jesus Christ. (Rev 3:15-17) We must examine our hearts to search out any rivals that divide our loyalty to Jesus, for no one can serve two masters. (Matt 6:24) Our passion for Christ will grow as we understand how amazing God’s love is for us, that He would give Himself up for us. To have Christ is to have everything. (Rom 8:32)

God uses those recognized by Him. Zacharias and Elizabeth were recognized by God because they were righteous in His sight. That is, their faith, love, and obedience for God had been witnessed and evaluated by Him. The central problem for every man is that there is no law that we can keep to the pleasure of God. There is no comparative righteousness – all men stand condemned by the truth of the cross, which is that there is none righteous (Roman 3:23) No one can be recognized by God to be righteous, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Even our best works are like filthy rags that add only to our guilt before Him. Until you recognize your hopeless condition, you cannot be saved. How then, can man be righteous? God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. (Eph 2:4-6) We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. God imputes the righteousness of Jesus to those who turn to Him in faith; those who believe in the promise of God’s salvation in the gospel. Man has always been declared righteous by faith alone- even in the Old Testament, it was faith that credited righteousness to men like Abraham. (Gen 15:6) To be righteous in the sight of God is essentially to be saved by God’s grace. How can man be recognized by God? The righteous live by faith. They live in obedience to God’s Word, which renders them useful to God. God declares those who have received salvation through faith as blameless, because they are washed in the blood of Christ of their sins. The truly saved are blameless, and they walk in the direction of God’s will while fleeing hypocrisy and legalism. Obedience is the fruit of true salvation and is a hallmark of every bondservant of Christ. (Lk 19:8-9; 2Cor 4:8-10)

God uses those who are faithful in suffering. All who desire to live a godly life will face persecution and suffering. (2Tim 3:12) In a time when infertility was considered a major disgrace, Zacharias and Elizabeth suffered through life with having no children. They had no hope for children because they were beyond child-bearing age, but nevertheless, they were faithful in their suffering by walking with the Lord. To be faithful is to be steadfast, dependable, trustworthy, and loyal. Those who are faithful in suffering pray, turning to God because they know that God alone is faithful. Even in this seemingly impossible predicament, Zacharias continually prayed. (Lk 1:13) Faithful men and women are patient through their suffering, enduring in prayer because of their confidence in God’s power and goodness. They praise God amidst their suffering, because they know God and take refuge in Him. (Ps 18:1-3) To be faithful, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. As we continually mediate on Scripture to renew our minds, our lives will be increasingly controlled by the Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

God uses the common man who honors Him as King, is righteous by faith, and is faithful in suffering. As we mediate on the faithfulness of Zacharias and Elizabeth, let us examine our lives and repent of the sins that have hindered our usefulness to God. As we depend on the Lord to live by faith, God will not hesitate to use us for His glory.