Five Crowns

I once did a Bible word study on the word “Crown.” I have no idea where I got the idea to do so, but I did. It didn’t take long before I discovered that individual Christians can receive as many as five crowns.

Listed below are the Five Crowns and their Scripture references, in order from the Old Testament through the New Testament.

1. The Knowledge Crown—Proverbs 14:18. “Prudent” is the key word here. “…having or showing careful good judgment.” The opposite of foolishness (folly). The more prudence, the more knowledge will be crowned upon a person. I’m pretty sure this crown is bestowed during our lifetime on earth. I recommend that you read the whole 14th chapter where many foolish people and prudent people are compared and contrasted. Interesting.
2. The Crown of Beauty—Isaiah 61:3. This crown is for those who minister to the poor, the brokenhearted, mourners, prisoners and people who grieve for Zion. Again, I recommend reading this whole chapter. It’s a beautiful song of freedom, honor and a glorious future
3. The Crown of Righteousness—2 Tim 4:8. In this letter to Timothy,  the Apostle Paul was not at all hesitant to claim this crown for himself. And he quickly added “…to all who longed for his appearance.” That’s everyone who’s looking forward to the second coming of Jesus.
4. The Crown of Life—James 1:12. This crown is especially designed for people who are enduring or have endured abuse, physical torture, imprisonment and even death because they claim Christianity. In the early days of Christianity, many Christians were murdered for no other reason. And in this modern era we can think of several nations with zero tolerance for Christians. Abuse, torture, imprisonment and death run rampant there. I also firmly believe that this promise applies to young girls and women who have been enslaved into sex trafficking—even in the good ol’ USA. Pray for Christians around the world.
5. The Crown of Glory—1 Peter 5:4. This crown is dedicated to the elders (ministers, pastors, priests—and missionaries) of local or neighborhood churches. It will be given as soon as the Lord comes back. It will never fade away (see Revelation 4:4).

These then are the Five Crowns that I believe await us. You want one? Or all five?

If I have come up short here and someone wants to add or correct me, that’s fine; please do so. I could use another crown. Scripture has many other references to the word crown. But most of them are verbs, not nouns.

I used the New International Version as my lead study Bible.