J.C. Ryle called that the greatest
hymn in the English language. There wasn't any argument for
me out of that. A lot of great hymns, that's certainly one of
them. I appreciate that so much. Would you turn back to Romans
chapter 11? This is a rather unusual way
to introduce a message, but I know at the outset of this message
I'm gonna fail. it would be impossible to plumb
the depths of this doxology of praise. Let's read it once again,
beginning in verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are
his judgments and his ways past finding out. For who hath known
the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor, or who
hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto
him again. For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. To whom be glory forever. Amen. Now, I have entitled this
message, The Three Prepositions of the Gospel. The Three Prepositions
of the Gospel. Of Him. He is the source. He is the cause of all things. Through He is the means. He is the executor of His own
will. And to Him, He's the goal. He's the end. He's the reason
for all things. And there is only one appropriate
response. To Him be glory forever. Amen. Now do you see why I would
say I know I'm going to fail in trying to attempt to preach
from this passage of scripture? Because no body could ever give
this passage its due. It is perhaps the most sublime
strain of praise found in all the Word of God. So it's with
a pleasing despair I begin this message from this most comprehensive
statement in all the Word of God. You can see that, can't
you? Of Him and through Him and to
Him are all things to whom be glory both now and forever. Now, I covet your prayer, even
now, that the Lord will enable me in some measure to speak from
this passage of Scripture. Now, the truth of the gospel
had been set forth so clearly in these first 11 chapters of
Romans. I love the book of Romans. I'd
like to start preaching on it again when I finish chapter 16.
I'm not going to, but I'd like to. In the first three chapters,
after Paul has let us know that the gospel is the gospel of God,
and it's the gospel concerning his son. I love that, don't you?
It's God's gospel, and it's concerning his son. It's not about me and
you. It's about him. It's about his glory. It's about his It's
about his salvation. And then he so clearly defined
the sinfulness of man to the point where he said, if we look
down our nose at anybody in judgment, all we're doing is being hypocrites
because we do the exact same things. He said that regarding
every sin. You can read about it in Romans 2.1. And then he
clearly set forth in chapter 3 and chapter 4 justification
by faith. And in chapter five, he set forth
salvation through a representative. Condemnation through a representative
and salvation through a representative. In chapter six, he lets us know
of our union with the Lord Jesus Christ. I was buried with him.
I was raised with him. Whatever he did, I did. And that's
true of every believer because we're united to him. In chapter
seven, he set forth the two natures of the believer. So clearly,
and I'm so thankful for Romans chapter 7. In chapter 8, he gives
the great golden chain of salvation for whom he did foreknow, then
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
son. That's what you're predestinated
to. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called. Whom He
called, them He also justified. Whom He justified, them He also
glorified. What shall we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? In chapter 9, He
set forth clearly God's absolute sovereignty in salvation. In
chapter 10, He sets forth clearly, whosoever shall call upon the
Lord shall be saved. In chapter 11, he speaks of the
salvation of all of Israel. What glories are found in these
first 11 chapters of Romans, the gospel, and here is his conclusion
to it all. For of him, and through him,
and to him are all things, to whom be glory, now and forever. Amen. Now, he begins by saying in verse
33, and this is his response to everything he's written up
to this point. Oh, the depth of the riches,
both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How deep is this? How rich is this? the knowledge of God. You know, he knows everything.
There isn't anything he doesn't know. He's omniscient. He knows all things. He's never learned anything.
He's never been informed of anything. He knows everything. Oh, the depth. of the riches,
both of the knowledge and of the wisdom of God. Wisdom is
the right use of knowledge. Oh, the wisdom of God. Paul said,
now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. Be honor and glory forever and
ever. Amen. Now, when I think of the
knowledge and wisdom of God, what man could ever come up with
the genius of the gospel? God, the living God, has made
a way to be absolutely just and justify somebody as ungodly as
me. What genius that God could actually
do that. That He could actually make me
just when in and of myself I'm unjust. What man could come up
with this glorious gospel? And if he could, what man could
execute it? It couldn't be. Oh, the depth. Oh, the depth
of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Then Paul
says, how unsearchable are his judgments? You know, what he
means by that is we can't comprehend. We can believe. We can understand
a little bit, but you know, if I could comprehend everything
about God, wouldn't be much to him, would there? Not really. But how unsearchable are his
judgments and his ways past finding out? Verse 34, for who hath known the mind of the
Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Who gave him advice? Who's known
the mind of the Lord? You know, there was a time when
there was no time. That's impossible for us to understand,
but speaking of eternity, we're creatures of time. It's hard
to grasp that. But there was a time when there
was no time and all there was was God. No creation, no stars,
no sun, no space, no universe. All there was was God. And there wasn't anybody around
to give him any advice. There wasn't anybody around to
even know his mind. And who has known the mind of
the Lord? Who has been his counselor, his
advisor? Verse 35. Or who hath first given
to him? And he'd have to pay him back.
Never has happened, never will. Somebody giving something to
him first. Somebody initiating something
with him. Never has happened, never will. Now here we have the three prepositions
of the gospel. Verse 36, for of him and through
him and to him are all things. Now what bigger statement could
be made? Of him and through him and to
him are all things. Of Him, and through Him, and
to Him are all things of creation. Of Him, through Him, and to Him
are all things of providence. Of Him, through Him, and to Him
are all things of salvation. Now let's consider those in that
light. Creation is His work. in all
ways. Providence is His work in all
ways, and salvation is His work in all ways. Of Him, through
Him, and to Him are all things. Now, all things are of Him in
creation. We admire creative people, whether
in technology, government, the arts. We admire that, but we
realize they're not doing anything but pushing around dirt, don't
we? Only God creates. The creative
people we admire, and we do admire them. God gave them that ability,
didn't he? And he gave them the raw materials
to work with. When God created, he had no raw
materials to work with. He's so glorious, He simply brought
the universe into existence as an act of His own will. He had no help. He simply did
it. Of Him are all things in creation. Genesis 1.1 says, In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth. In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things
were created by Him. And without Him was not anything
made that was made. In Him was life, and the life
was the light of men. Colossians 1.16 says, by him
were all things created that are in heaven and earth, visible
and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities
or powers. Now that covers everything. That
talks about human government, that talks about angels, that
talks about demons, that talks about everything there is. All
things were created by him and for him. And he is before all
things. I love thinking about that, don't
you? He's before. Whatever you're talking about,
He's before it. When you speak of creation, He's
before it. It is of Him. Before there was a universe,
He was, and all that has come into existence has come into
existence simply because He willed it. Of Him are all things in
the physical creation. And secondly, of him are all
things in providence. Now, providence covers everything
that happens in time. It concerns what you were thinking
about when you woke up this morning. It concerns all the thoughts
going around your head, not just the events, not just the acts,
but the thoughts. He's in control of. What happened
to you yesterday is part of God's providence. What happened to
you 20 years ago is part of God's providence. The good things,
part of God's providence. The bad things, or so we esteem
them as bad, is all a part of God's providence. Everything
is of Him. Whatever it is, it is of Him. The Lord said, not a sparrow
falls to the ground without your Heavenly Father. You think of
how insignificant that seems? A sparrow over on the other side
of the world, falling off a tree and dying. That's our Heavenly
Father. The King's heart is in the hand
of the Lord. As the rivers of water, he turneth
it whithersoever he will. Everything that happens in providence,
he is in control of. He declares the end from the
beginning. And from ancient times, the things
that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I
will do all my pleasure. I have purposed it. I also will
do it. The lot is cast into the lap.
We think of that as luck. The lot is cast into the lap,
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. So he's in control
of everything. All things in providence are
of him. And all things in salvation are
of the Lord. It all begins with Him. He's
the source. Now, I hope everybody in this room
can say this. I'm saved. The Lord saved me. The Lord did something for me.
And I know that all things in salvation are of the Lord. You see, my salvation began with
his choice of me. Not my choice of him, but his
choice of me. The Lord said to his disciples,
you've not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that
you should go and bring forth fruit. My salvation began with
him and Every aspect of my salvation is of Him. I'm justified. You know why? He justified me.
I'm sanctified. You know why? He sanctified me.
I'm redeemed. You know why? He redeemed me. I'm regenerated because He gave
me life. I'm preserved because He preserves
me. That's the only reason I'd fall
like that if it wasn't for Him. He right now is interceding for
me. You see, salvation is of the
Lord. He did it all. If I'm saved, He saved me. By grace are you saved. by grace. He by himself purged our sins. Now listen real carefully. If
you really believe that, you believe the doctrine of grace?
It's impossible to believe what verse 36 says, of Him, through
Him, and to Him, and not believe what we call the doctrine of
grace, that God elected a people, that Christ died for them, and
accomplished their salvation, and God's grace is irresistible
and invincible, and God's people will persevere because He preserves
it. It's impossible to not believe that, and really believe of Him,
through Him, and to Him are all things. Now, not only are all
things of him in creation, providence and salvation, that's the first
preposition, but all things are through him in creation, in providence
and salvation. Not only did all things originate
with him and he's the cause of all things, but it's through
him, everything takes place. You know, that's easy to see
in creation. It means he didn't have any help.
He didn't have any help. He didn't have us assisting him
in the great work of creation. He did it. He's the one who did
it. In Providence, he is the executor of his own will. He's
the one who makes sure everything happens, and he's the one who
does it. I think of my Redeemer standing as my surety. But not
only did He stand as my surety before time began to guarantee
my salvation, in time He came and He worked out my salvation.
He kept the law for me. He obeyed the law for me. He
died on Calvary's tree to put away my sin. He was raised for
me. He ascended for me right now.
He's seated at the right hand of the Father as my Redeemer. He came in time. He caused everything
that's happened to happen and He came in time and actually
executed my salvation. He caused my salvation. Now 2nd
Timothy 1.9 says He saved us and He called us. He saved us
first and then He called us in time. All things are through
Him. Think about this. Right now you really do love Jesus Christ. How come? He caused us to do. That's the reason. The reason
is not found in you. It's not found in anything you've
done. It's because he caused it. All things are through him
in creation, in providence, and in salvation, and all things
are to him. He's the cause, he's the means,
and he's the end. He's the goal. He's the purpose
of all things. All things are for his glory. That's what that means. Now the
hymn of Him and through Him and to Him are all three persons
of the Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
All things are for His glory. He's the end. He's the purpose. Everything God does, He does
for His own glory. Now somebody's thinking, well
isn't that selfish? No. It's only right. Now if you or I do something
for our glory, But for Him to act for any other
motive would be beneath the dignity of the glory of His person. Creation was for His glory. Thou hast created all things
for thyself, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. The Lord hath made all things
for Himself, Yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Now if you
die without Christ, do you know you're going to glorify God?
You're going to glorify His justice. He's going to be honored in your
condemnation. If I die without Christ, He's going to be glorified
in my condemnation. But oh, if I'm saved, if I'm
saved by the grace of God, do you know I'm I believe that I'm
speaking as a spokesman for every believer when I say this. You're
going to believe that you're the biggest instance of salvation
by grace in all of the human race. You'll believe. I'm the
example of just how much salvation is by grace and just how much
He gets the glory. To Him are all things. He's the one who gets the glory. Paul had a response to these three prepositions of the
gospel. Of him, through him, and to him are all things. I told you ahead of time I'd
fail. at saying what ought to be said about this. I've said
everything I know to say, and it's glorious, but this is one
of those things where I don't feel bad about failing. How could
I? How could I nail this down as it should be? Of him, through
him, and to him are all things. But what is the response? What
is the response? Now look at Paul's response to
what he just said. It's actually a twofold response.
He said, to whom be glory forever. Amen. I beseech you, therefore,
by the mercies of God, these mercies I've been talking about,
that you present your bodies, not just your hearts, your bodies. your eyes, your ears, your tongue,
your hands, your feet, all that you are. This is the only response. I beseech you, therefore, by
the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. Anything else is utterly unreasonable. Literally, your logical service. That's where we get the word
logic from, that word. Now, this is the only response
to the gospel. Number one, to whom be glory. You hear of this great and glorious
God, and this is what comes out of your heart. To whom be glory. Forever. Amen. So be it. Let it be so. This is what I
believe. This is just the truth. Amen.
Of Him, through Him, to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Where do I come in? I beseech you, therefore, brethren,
we're going to talk about this more next week. I beseech you,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present, that you place
yourself at his disposal is what that means. You don't tell him
what to do or what you're going to do or what he's to do with
you. You just present yourself to him. Here am I. Here am I. Whatever you do. A living sacrifice,
wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. In light of this, this is what
I have, not what I have, what Paul gives us really is a summary
of all truth in these three prepositions of the gospel. And someone that
is running contrary to this, you're running contrary to God.
This isn't something that's okay if you reject. No, of him and
through him and to him are all things. He did it all. There's
no other options. But in light of this glorious
truth, There's several scriptures that came to my mind about all
things. Of him, through him, and to him
are all things. With that in mind, I think of
when the disciples said to the Lord, after they saw the Lord,
watch the rich young ruler walk away. And their response was,
who then can be saved? Have you ever asked that question?
Who then can be saved? And the Lord's reply was, with
men, what? It's impossible. But not with
God. For with God, all things are
possible. You hear that? All things are possible. Now in this thing of salvation
with men it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all
things are possible. God can save you and anybody
else he's pleased to save. And then In Mark chapter 9, verse
23, the Lord tells us, all things are possible to him that believeth. Since of him and through him
and to him are all things, all things are possible to him that
believeth. And then we have those precious
words of Romans 8, 28. of him and through him and to
him are all things, we can say with Paul, and we know. I love
the way he says this. We know. Somebody says, I don't
know that. Paul says, I do. We know that
all things work together for good to them
that love God to them who are thee called according to His
purpose. And then because of Him and through
Him and to Him are all things, we can say with David in Psalm
57 verse 2, I will cry unto God, unto God that performeth all
things for me. I'm holding on to that. Lord,
perform all things for me. Work in me both to will and to
do your good pleasure. Cause me to believe. Cause me
to repent. Work all things for me. Can you? Is that your God? The
one who works all things for you. You know, if you're a believer,
you know that He works all things for you. He performs all things
for you. You believe, but it's because
He causes you to. You repent, but it's because
He causes you to. And then, Ephesians chapter 5
verse 20 says that we're to give thanks for all things unto God
the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Him and through Him
and to Him are all things. I can thank Him for all things,
no matter how painful they may be, no matter how joyous they
may be. I can thank Him for all things.
In everything give thanks. Paul said, for this is the will
of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. In all things, give thanks. And here's the passage of scripture
that hit me the most. Because of him and through him
and to him are all things, all things are now ready. Nothing you need to do, nothing
you need to be, nothing you need to make yourself. All things
are now ready. You don't bring anything. All
things are now ready. Come ye to the feast. Whosoever will, let him take
the water of life freely. Now I hope you and I can grab
a hold. Now we can't, I know that, but
this is a summary of everything we believe. It's a summary of
all that God is. It's a summary of all things.
Of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To whom be glory forever. Amen. Can you say amen to that
from the very depths of your heart? Let's pray.