Romans chapter 11, and I want
to speak to you this morning on verse 36, which is a verse
that just towers like Mount Everest over the horizon of the Bible. Romans 11 and verse 36, and I
want to begin reading in verse 33, and the Apostle Paul writes, the depth of the riches, both
of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His
judgments and unfathomable His ways. For who has known the mind
of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor? Those are rhetorical questions,
the answers of which are so obvious, Paul does not even need to bother
to answer them. The answer is, no one has known
the mind of the Lord because His ways are above our ways and
our God is an infinitely inscrutable God. And no one has become His
counselor because God's Genius is self-sufficient within himself. He does not need anyone to give
him advice for anything. And then in verse 35, or who
has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? And again, it's a rhetorical
question. The answer is no one. You have never given to God anything
that God would ever be your debtor and ever have to pay you back
for anything, anything and everything in your life. has come from God. James 1 verse 17, every good
gift, every perfect gift comes down from God above. And all of this now is to lead
to verse 36, and verse 36 is our text for today, for from
Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Verse 36 is where we're
going to drop our anchor today, where we're going to camp out
today. And this is the most all-inclusive statement in the Bible. This is the most all-inclusive
statement outside of the Bible. in the entire universe. There
is nothing that lies outside of verse 36. Everything that
there is is inside of verse 36. All things is all things." And not some things
are from Him, not many things are from Him and through Him
and to Him, but all things. This is as broad and as long
and as high and as deep as the entire universe and everything
that occurs in it. This is the entire Bible in a
nutshell. This is all of human history
and everything that ever occurs in three tiny little prepositional
phrases. It's been said that Paul's theology
is contained in prepositional phrases. And here we see from
Him, through Him, and to Him, this is the entirety of salvation,
this is the entirety of sanctification, this is the entirety of providence,
this is the entirety of everything that shall come to pass. This
is a comprehensive systematic theology in one verse. Here is the Reformation. in one
nutshell. Hey, here is the entire forest
in an acorn. This is the most all-inclusive,
mind-expanding, jaw-dropping, knee-bending, heart-lifting,
praise-giving statement that there is. Now this verse, verse
36, sits in what we call the climactic position at the very
end of Romans 1 through 11. Everything in Romans 1 through
11 has built up to verse 36 the entire flow of all of salvation
that Paul has been laying out. And by the way, in those verses,
it is Paul's magnum opus on salvation. Everything is from Him and through
Him and to Him, and there is nothing outside of God. So to walk through Romans 1 through
11, it includes condemnation, justification, sanctification,
glorification, election, predestination, reprobation is all from Him and
through Him and to Him. But what is true even more than
that is the same is true with creation, with providence, and
all that comes to pass. This verse is a tight ribbon
wrapped around everything that there is. Understand verse 36,
and you have a bona fide Christian worldview. Be in conflict with
verse 36 or not understand verse 36 and you have a worldview that
is skewed and out of focus. So I want to ask you, do you
have a Christian worldview today that is this comprehensive? Do you see all that there is
in this wide-angle lens? Or do you simply have a little
microscope and you're just looking at some little part of what God
is doing? Or do you have a theological
telescope where you can see the big picture like this? And by the way, is your God this
big? Is your God this awesome? Is
your God this sovereign? Because the God of the Bible
is. Now this verse, verse 36, breaks
out into two halves very easily. For from Him, through Him, and
to Him are all things, that's the first half. To Him be the
glory forever, that's the second half. The first half deals with
a God-centered theology. The last half is a God-centered
doxology. And if you have a God-centered
theology, you will by necessity have this God-centered doxology. But if you have a weak theology,
you will have weak doxology or worship that will have to be
propped up by man-made devices. Now, the order of this is very
important. Paul does not start with the
second half of the verse and conclude with the first half.
Your theology is the most important thing about you. What comes into
your mind when you think of God, A.W. Tozer said, is the most
important thing about you. Tell me what you believe about
God and I'll tell you everything else about your life. I will
tell you who you are or who you are soon to become. And so, the
first half of verse 36 comes first intentionally because when
we understand the sovereignty of God and the supreme authority
of God, like Paul states it in the first half of this verse,
it inevitably and by necessity leads to the second half of this
verse. You and I will be singing And
we will lift up our voices, and we will be continually shouting
to the heights of heaven, to God be the glory forever and
ever. Amen. So, I want us to open this
up this morning, and I want you to note now, Roman numeral number
1, I want you to note a God-centered theology, or if you like, a towering
theology. And I want us to look at verse
36, this first half again, for from Him, that means that God
is the source, and through Him means that God is the means unto,
and to Him means that God is the purpose for all things."
Now, this is not a unique statement. This is found in many parts of
the Bible. And I want to give you some cross-references
right now. First Corinthians 8 verse 6 says,
there is one God the Father from whom are all things and we exist
for Him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we
exist through Him. First Corinthians 11, 12, all
things originate from God. Ephesians 4 verse 6, there is
one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and
in all. And in Colossians 1.16, for by
Him all things were created, and all things had been created
through Him and for Him. And Hebrews 2.10, for it was
fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are
all things," close quote. Just think about all these prepositional
phrases. Everything in the entire universe,
every act, every event, every circumstance, every person, every
success, every failure, every trial, every adversity, every
prosperity are from Him and for Him and by Him and through Him
and in Him is what all these verses say.
You cannot have a more towering view of God than this. Even the devil is God's devil
and is used by God to carry out His sovereign purposes. And even what others mean for
evil, God means for good. And God can draw a straight line
with a crooked stick. And God can work through and
does intentionally work through even that which so many Christians
would say, well, that's not of God. Oh, really? All things from
Him, through Him, and to Him? Let's break this out just a little
bit. I want to tell you three ways in which this is all true
regarding God. Number one is true in creation. God is the uncaused first cause. God is the uncreated Creator. All of creation has come from
God. Everything that there is has
come from God. We have not made ourselves. The
universe has not come into being on its own. Everything that there
is bears the stamp, made by God. Out of nothing comes nothing
except God speaks everything into existence out of nothing.
Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth. And it was God who said, let
there be light, and there was light. John 1, 3, all things
came into being through Him. And apart from Him, nothing came
into being that has come into being. Hebrews 1, 2, God's Son
through whom He made the world. Angelic beings, demonic beings,
Satan, the earth, the stars, the planets, and all the people
who dwell on the earth. It has all been made by God. We are not humanists. We are
not secularists. We believe that everything that
there is in existence has been spoken into existence to be exactly
what God created it to be. It is by God. But then he goes
on to say, not only is everything a creation from Him, but it is
all through Him. And this means it is God who
sustains all that He made and that it is God who holds everything
together that there is. I mean, sometimes I hear people
talk about, oh, we're going to blow up the planet and we're
going to all self-destruct. Foolishness. It is God who holds
the world in the palm of His hands, and it will never be destroyed
until at the end of the age God burns it up with fire. Colossians
1, 17 says, in Him all things hold together. Did you get that? In Him, in Christ. all things
hold together. He is the mighty atlas who is
holding up everything, who is keeping the earth at a twenty-three
degree angle, who is spinning the earth and the laws of gravity
and the laws of centrifugal force and the laws of first and second
thermodynamics and all of the laws that there is. It is God
who is keeping this planet going exactly as He has placed it,
just the right distance from the sun. Any closer, we would
melt. Any further away, we would freeze.
It is God who sustains. It is God who is sustaining all
of the hydration, the rivers flowing into the ocean, the ocean
being sucked up by evaporation into the clouds. God blows on
those clouds, brings the water the clouds back over dry land,
He causes the clouds to drop their water and it goes back
into the river, that's all God. The Lord is doing it all. It
is all from Him and through Him. Hebrews 1 verse 3, He upholds
all things by the Word of His power and it is all to Him. He is the purpose for creation.
It's not for us, it's for Him. It is for God to showcase the majesty
and the glory of who God is. It is for God to show off. It
is for God to go public with His greatness. Psalm 19 verse
1 says, the heavens are declaring the glory of God. That is the purpose for all of
creation. Why has God made what He has
made? It is for His own pleasure and
for His own purpose. John Calvin said, the entire
created universe is but a theater for the glory of God. This is why we are so dead set
against the lie of evolution. that everything just came into
being as a result of a Big Bang theory, or a pulsating universe,
or a steady state, that everything has come about by random occurrence
or blind fate? No. Everything has come into
being by the sovereign will of God. It's true in creation. Second, it's true in history
and providence. Not only has God made the stage,
but everything that takes place upon the stage of this planet
has been pre-scripted by God. God, by His own sovereign will,
has already purposed what will occur here upon the earth, when
you would be born, when you would die, how many days you would
live here upon the earth, what your gender would be, who your
parents would be, what your ethnic background would be, the color
of your hair, who would live next door to you, where you would
go to school, what would be all the experiences of your life. This too is all a part of a master
plan. I hope your God is this big and
this awesome." So let's consider this, it says, all things are
That is to say, God before the foundation of the world, God
before He created everything out of nothing, that God, like
a master architect, had a blueprint. That God, like a master author,
had every detail worked out in the script that would be the
flow of history, not only in the macro, but also in the micro. In Acts 2 verse 23, it is referred
to as the predetermined plan. In Ephesians 3 verse 11, it is
referred to as His eternal purpose. In Ephesians 1 verse 4, it speaks
of what God's activity was before the foundation of the world,
that He had this master plan. And in Ephesians 2 verse 10,
He speaks of that which was prepared beforehand. In Ephesians 1 verse
11, in fact, turn with me just for a second to Ephesians 1 verse
11, that God before time began has foreordained everything that
comes to pass. So in Ephesians 1 and verse 11,
I want you to just read this verse, beginning with the last
two words of verse 10. Also we have obtained an inheritance."
Now listen to this, having been predestined. See, that's one
of God's favorite words, predestined. It means that God is in charge.
according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel
of His will." There are four words that I want you to note
here, predestined purpose, counsel, and will. I want you to come
back with me to eternity past. Before there are any angels,
before there is creation, before there's even a throne room, it
is only God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit,
and they meet together to design creation and all that will come
to pass. And to line up these four words
is to understand theology. The first word is counsel. There
was a divine deliberation. There was an inner Trinitarian
co-counseling and they scrutinized and gave thought to every possible
scenario that there could have been. And out of God's counsel,
the next word is, came His will. His sovereign will, that which
He has chosen, and it is so precise that verse 11 says that He works,
note, all things after the counsel of His will. There is nothing
that occurs that is outside and apart from or contrary to His
eternal will. Even who would be sitting on
the left of you and who would be sitting on the right of you,
as you drive back to where you'll be going, the changing of the
lights, the number of cars in your lane, there's not a There's
not a sparrow that falls apart from the Lord, every hair of
your head is numbered. The casting of the lot, it's
every turning up is from the Lord. The heart of the king is
in the hand of the Lord and as rivers of water, He channels
it whichever way He will. All of this is from Him. And then note the word purpose
in verse 11. That means resolved. We used
to have a conference called Resolved. Jonathan Edwards was resolved.
Well, let me tell you, God is even more resolved and God purposes
to carry out His sovereign will. He will not be turned away. There
is no plan B. There is no plan C. There is
only plan A that belongs to God, and God is absolutely unwavering
in His purpose to carry out His will. And if that were not enough,
the fourth and last word is predestined, which means the destination is
determined before the journey begins. And the word predestined
means that God has guaranteed from all eternity past not only
what the end will be, but all of the means to accomplish that
end. And do you notice in verse 11?
that He works, not that He simply sits back passively just watching
the universe go its own way, but that God is actively upon
His throne working and causing. Notice it says, all things. Now
God is not the author of sin. But God is the author of a plan
that does include sin and God brings greater glory to Himself
by choosing to have sin be a part in the world so that God can
send His Son to die upon the cross to bear our sins so that
He can demonstrate His grace and His mercy and His love of
which we would know nothing of if it were not for the black
velvet backdrop of sin and evil in the world. And we would know
nothing of the wrath of God either if it were not for the presence
of sin and evil in the world. And God is so brilliant and God
is such a genius in an incomprehensible way that we can say of history,
it is His story. And we can say of providence
that everything that comes to pass has been prescripted by
God. Therefore, there is no such thing
as good luck, bad luck, blind fate, random chance, accidental
occurrences, all of those are vain, pagan superstitions that
have no basis in reality whatsoever. And so, as it relates to history
and providence, it's all from Him. It is all through Him as
God is the one who is bringing it to pass what He purposed in
eternity past, and it is all to Him. It is for His own pleasure
and for His own purpose. So this God-centered theology
is true in creation. It is true in history and providence.
And most of all, it is true in salvation. And that has been
the main focus of the Apostle Paul up to this point in the
book of Romans. And in Romans 11 and verse 36, When he says, from Him and through
Him and to Him are all things, in its larger context, this is
Paul's bottom line summation as it relates to the doctrine
of salvation. Everything is from Him. Meaning
that it is God and God alone who is the author of the gospel,
who is the architect of the plan of salvation. That's Romans 1
verse 1, that it is the gospel of God. That means it is the
gospel that has come down from God. And not only has God designed
the plan of salvation, God has chosen the people for salvation
And in Romans 8 and verse 29 and 30, it says, "'Those whom
He foreknew, He predestined,' and the word foreknowledge does
not mean foresight. Now the word foreknowledge means
whom God previously loved with a special, distinguishing, saving
love. In Romans 9 verse 13, He will
say, "'Jacob I loved, and Esau I hated.'" God has chosen for
salvation from before the foundation of the world a bride for His
Son, which is the true church and all of the redeemed of all
of the ages. All of this is from God, and
it was God who also designed in the gospel that He would send
His Son into this world to be born of a virgin, to live a sinless
and perfect life, to go to the cross, to be lifted up to die,
to bear the sins of His people, to purchase their salvation,
to be buried, to be raised from the dead, to be ascended to heaven,
and to be seated at the right hand of God the Father. All of
that is from God. If we met for the next ten thousand
years and tried to design a plan of salvation, none of us could
have ever come up with what the genius of God has designed, that
He would send the second person of the Trinity into this world
to be born of a virgin. and then to live a perfect life
and to die in the place of guilty hell-bound sinners and bear their
sin upon the cross and shed His blood. This has all come from
God. This could not have come from man. This hasn't come from
any denomination or any church or any preacher or any convening
council. It has come from God. The plan? those who are chosen
to be believers in the plan and the object of their faith. It's all from God and eternity
past. And then it's all through Him,
meaning all of the means by which this eternal plan of salvation
and the salvation of all of His chosen ones, it's all brought
about through Him. not Him and us, not through us,
not planned by Him and carried out by us, but planned by Him
and carried out through Him. And time only allows me to address
one particular aspect of this, but in Romans 8, 29 and 30, it
says, those whom He foreknew, He predestined, and whom He predestined,
He called. It is the sovereign call of God
that guarantees the salvation of all of the elect. It is a
call that is so powerful. It is a call that is so irresistible. It is a call that is so overpowering
that all those to whom it is extended are made willing in
the day of God's power And when God calls, God births them into
the kingdom and at that moment gives them the gift of repentance
and the gift of faith. It's all from God. Even our faith
does not come from us. That's silly. Even saving faith
has come from Him and through Him. And the gift of repentance
has come from Him and through Him. Jesus is the author and
perfecter of faith. And it's all to Him, meaning
for His purpose, for His glory. that there would be more worshipers
around the throne of grace in heaven forever singing the praises
of God. So what Paul is saying here in
Romans 11, 36, you and I must understand this,
and we must own this, and we must believe this. because it
is the very Word of God and this could have only come from God
because no human mind could have ever designed the very simplicity
and profundity of what Paul is saying here. Do you have this kind of Christian
worldview? Do you have this kind of comprehensive
understanding? that God has a purpose even through
all of your trials and even through your adversity? Do you understand
that God is not making this up as He goes? Do you understand
that God is so awesome that God is not having to be continually
changing His plans for our lives, that we're not on plan Z to the
third power? that there is plan A and man plans his ways, but God
directs his steps. Now, it is only this kind of
a theology that produces the back half of this verse. In fact,
unless you believe what Paul says here in verse 36, you must
be silent and you cannot praise God to the fullest extent that
God desires to be praised, you will have a lesser praise for
God because you have a lesser God. And you have a lesser understanding
of history and providence because you have a lesser understanding
of salvation. You have a lesser understanding
of the universe and of creation. You have such a small God, therefore
you have small little praise to offer to God. That'll just
have to be propped up with mood music. But when you understand this,
you can be in a prison cell, or in the hall of the Mayflower,
or in the catacombs of Rome, and you can sing the praises
of God because you understand, no matter where you are or what
is going on in your life, that all things are from Him and through
Him and to Him. So please note the end of this.
Here is the only rational, logical response. Anything else would
be theological insanity, would be worshiping insanity to respond
in any way other than what Paul says here to Him, to God, to
God alone be the glory forever. Amen. Four things very quickly. Who is to be glorified? To Him, not Him and us. This
isn't a joint partnership. This isn't a co-relationship. It is all of God. Therefore all
praise goes to God. We contributed nothing to our
salvation. We have not been allowed into
the inner throne room of heaven before eternity passed to design
the plan that God has for all that comes to pass. And we were
not there at creation when God spoke everything into being.
Therefore, God will not share His glory with another. Any attempt to add man's contribution
to the front half of this verse is a frontal assault on the glory
of God. And that is serious. No, only God is to be worshipped
because it is only from Him and through Him and to Him. Who is to be worshipped? God. To God. Be the what? The second question,
what is glory? It is the praise and the worship
and the adoration and the exaltation and the magnification and the
coronation of His name. Those who have this theology
should be those who worship God the most fervently and the most
passionately. Third question, for how long
should we worship God? Notice what he says, to Him be
the glory forever, throughout all of the ages to come. The
first half of this verse is so expansive that it will take an
eternity in heaven to even begin to give proper worship to this
God. And what should be our response
is the fourth question, it's the last word of verse 36, amen. Amen means it is so, it
is true, it is right. Amen says, yes, God. To argue with the first half
of this verse would be to not be able to say amen at the end
of the second half of this verse. The only people who can truly
say amen are those who buy into and believe the first half of
this verse. And it is those who have such
a high, towering, lofty, majestic, transcendent view of Almighty
God in heaven, whose theology and Christian worldview puts
its arms around everything and can testify with Paul that from
Him and through Him and to Him are all things, it is only this
person who can worship God and say amen to God because any less
understanding of who and what God is and is doing will be to
dilute your own heart and to water down your own praise and
it will be a lesser worship of God. So, what is your Christian worldview? What is your understanding of
the universe? What is your understanding of
history? What is your understanding of the affairs of providence?
Tell me how salvation works. From whence has it come? And
how is it applied? And what is its purpose? The answer is contained in verse
36. Our only response must be to
be those who give glory and honor to God. And so, I want to call
you this day and challenge you to have the big lens, wide-angle
lens understanding of reality, of the universe. and all that
takes place in it, and to understand that your time in history, your
place in this world, and your salvation, and the end for which
you were created. can only be explained in its
fullest in understanding a verse like this. This is how awesome
God is. The universe is not being run
by a democracy. The universe is being run by
a theocracy. It is by the rule and government
of one. who is God Himself. We have a part to play, but our
part in preaching the gospel and praying and in living a godly
life is a part of the means that even God has foreordained would
come to pass. So, as we bring this message
to a close, May you have such a big God. May you have a transcendent understanding
of who God is. May you not have a tiny little
God who is trying to do certain things. May you have an understanding
of God that is so comprehensive that you understand that there
are no maverick molecules in this universe and that God is
orchestrating all that comes to pass for a greater purpose
and design for His own glory, Romans 8, 28, and we know that
God causes all things to work together for good to those who
love Him and who are called according to His purpose. May we enjoy
and rest in the sovereign purposes of God. Let us pray. Father in
heaven, open our eyes that we might see and understand with
greater clarity. how high, how infinite, how awesome
You truly are, that You have spoken everything into being
out of nothing, that Your hand is upon history, that You are
guiding the affairs of nations and rulers, that You oversee
even events and circumstances, and that You have ordained our
salvation. And for those of us here today
who are in Christ, we can truly say that You chose us before
the foundation of the world to have mercy upon us. Father, we bless You that You
are this in control of everything. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.