Proverbs 20 … Consider Him, the Trustworthy Man

Originally posted: 1/13/2021

Many a man proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a trustworthy man? (20:6).

With all the advancements we have made in technology and communication, the trust factor seems to have digressed. We find it difficult to trust what we hear on the news, from politicians, from the medical experts, and certainly from social media. Science and technology have had zero effect on the heart of man, seen in the rampant dishonest, disloyal, unreliable, unfaithful, questionable, doubtful and double-dealing ways.

And if we are honest, we cannot proclaim our own loyalty, for who can truly be trustworthy? Truly no one, not even one.

as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; (Romans 3:10).

There has only been one Man Who could proclaim His own loyalty; only one Man Who lived an absolutely sinless and Trustworthy life; the Man Christ Jesus.

The Scriptures are emphatically clear; Jesus Christ, laid aside His deity that He would come in the flesh to be born a Man.

• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth, (John 1:1, 14).
• But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, (Galatians 4:4).
• …Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men, (Philippians 2:5-7).
• For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, (Colossians 2:9).
• Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people, (Hebrews 2:17).

Jesus was born of a virgin to come in the flesh as a Man. And He alone is the Trustworthy Man Who became the perfect, sinless offering for our sins.

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin, (1 John 3:5).

Consider Him, the Trustworthy Man

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who blesses His sons after Him.
  • A righteous man who walks in his integrity—
    How blessed are his sons after him, (20:7).
    • For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, (Galatians 3:26).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who preserves and upholds His throne in righteousness.
  • A king who sits on the throne of justice
    Disperses all evil with his eyes…
    ²⁸ Loyalty and truth preserve the king,
    And he upholds his throne by righteousness, (20:8, 28).
    • He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,” (Revelation 19:13-16).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who is perfectly pure and without sin.
  • Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
    I am pure from my sin”? (20:9).
    • For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin, (Hebrews 4:15).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who measures His rewards and consequences without partiality.
  • Differing weights and differing measures,
    Both of them are abominable to the Lord…
    ²³ Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
    And a false scale is not good, (20:10, 23).
    • knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. ²⁵ For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality, (Colossians 3:24-25).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who distinguished Himself by his deeds.
  • It is by his deeds that a lad distinguishes himself
    If his conduct is pure and right, (20:11).
    • And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them…⁵² And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men, (Luke 2:52).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who satisfied Himself with the food of the Father’s will and work.
  • Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
    Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with food, (20:13).
    • Meanwhile the disciples were urging Him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” ³² But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” ³³ So the disciples were saying to one another, “No one brought Him anything to eat, did he?” ³⁴ Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work,” (John 4:31-34).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who holds all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  • There is gold, and an abundance of jewels;
    But the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing, (20:15).
    • …attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (Colossians 2:2-3).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who waged war against sin by the predetermined plan and wisdom of God.
  • Prepare plans by consultation,
    And make war by wise guidance, (20:18).
    • “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— ²³ this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. ²⁴ But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power,” (Acts 2:22-24).

• He is the Trustworthy Man Who entrusted Himself to the Righteous Judge.
  • Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
    Wait for the Lord, and He will save you, (20:22).
    • and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; (1 Peter 2:23).

How do we respond to Him, the Trustworthy Man?

Let’s begin with making sure we have an accurate understanding of Who Jesus Christ was. Do we believe He came in the flesh as a Man?

 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, (1 John 4:2).

Jesus Christ came as the Trustworthy Man to be the Mediator between God and us.

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, (1 Timothy 2:5).

Have we placed our faith in His mediation and the gift of grace offered in Him, the Trustworthy Man?

But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many, (Romans 5:15).

It is only through faith in Jesus Christ, the Trustworthy Man, that we can know the Father and be in fellowship with Him.

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, (1 Corinthians 1:9).

Let us come in faith to Jesus Christ, the Trustworthy Man, that we would see the Father.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me?” (John 14:9-10).

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him, (Colossians 1:15-16).

And let us always remember, that while He came as the Trustworthy Man, He is the Creator God Who created us for Himself. Oh, that we would live all of our lives through Him and for Him, loving and serving Him with all that we are.

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments,” (John 14:15).

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome, (1 John 5:3).

Let’s Grow Together!