A Fitting Conclusion

Well, we come this morning to the final words of this incredible epistle, Paul’s letter to the Romans. And it is perhaps appropriate if we feel a bit wistful about that, I know I do. We’ve been informed, encouraged, exhilarated by this review, but now we’ve come To the end, our hearts have been made full, but like the dearest of friends, we part again until another day. If God’s people would turn one more time to Romans, into chapter 16, the very end of this letter, Romans 16, verses 25 through 27. Here at the end of this epistle, Paul provides a fitting conclusion to this grand epistle. Quite literally, it’s a call to worship. What could be more appropriate?

After all that we’ve read, even within that very basic outline that I provided at the outset, All that we’ve read in that outline, sin, salvation, sanctification, sovereignty and service, each section declaring some of the most awe-inspiring statements in all of scripture.

Think of this, that section that we’ve identified as a description of sin, in 1-8 through 3-20, that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. That section on salvation in 3-21 through 5-21, that having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. That grand section on sanctification, chapter 6 verse 1 through 8-39, that we are to consider ourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. That section that we’ve identified as sovereignty, 9.1 through 11.36, that from him and through him and to him are all things. Finally, that section on service, 12.1 through 15.12, that we are to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Some of the most profound statements in all of the Bible are found in this very epistle. That’s why I’ve called it the greatest treatise ever written.

What more appropriate response for the believer but to respond with a heart of worship, if you would. Romans 16 verses 25 through 27. Now to him who is able to establish you, according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested. And by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, to the only wise God through Jesus Christ, be glory forever.

These three verses present a beautiful doxology. It’s essentially a hymn of praise from the great apostle. Such eruptions of praise are common in Paul’s letters. In his letter to the Ephesians in 321, Paul gushes, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

In his letter to the Philippians 4.20, Paul declares, now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever, amen.

To young pastor Timothy, he writes in 1 Timothy 1.17, now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever, amen. And even earlier in this very letter, Romans 11, 36, Paul says, to him be the glory forever, amen.

And so after all that Paul has shared in this incredible letter, what more fitting conclusion is there but an overview of the believer’s readiness to worship? These three verses are almost certainly statements that Paul wrote himself. In verse 22 of this chapter, Paul tells us that up to this point, Paul’s fellow worker, Tertius, has been writing as Paul dictated. That was a standard practice for Paul.

In his letter to the Galatians, he calls attention to the end of the, at the very end of that letter, to the largeness of the letters with which he writes. Letters written by his own hand, he says. He calls attention essentially to his penmanship. What he refers to as a distinguishing mark in every letter. This is the way I write, he says. But now in a solemn mark of attestation in this epistle, Paul takes up the pen himself.

And who better to summarize this fantastic paper In three verses, Paul summarizes 16 chapters of rich doctrine. He articulates the elements of the gospel found in the Old Testament. He tells us of the fullness of God’s plan of redemption, salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, and the wideness of this salvation, that it was to include all, all nations, all peoples, Gentiles as well as the Jews.

It’s a synopsis of the entire letter. In fact, it’s a paraphrase. Let me show you this. If you’re there in Romans 16, 25, I want to show you it’s a paraphrase of the first five verses of the letter, which essentially tell us what Paul is about to tell us. Glance down, if you would, at our passage and listen as I refer back to chapter one, verses one through five. In the second line of verse 25, Paul mentions the gospel.

That’s just how he starts in 1.1. Set apart for the gospel of God. In the third line of verse 25, he refers to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past. In chapter one, verse two, he says it more succinctly, he promised beforehand.

Look there at verse 26, where he speaks of the scriptures of the prophets. They too were telling about the Messiah. At the end of chapter one, verse two, he says that God communicated through his prophets in the holy scriptures. And at the end of verse 26, he says that this revelation has been made known to all the nations, leading to the obedience of faith.

That’s the same thought in chapter one, verse five, where he said his goal was to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles. It is as if this author takes up the pen himself and intentionally echoes the thoughts of the first five verses of this epistle. This passage, I have to tell you, comes at a very interesting time for all of those who are engaged in our class Diligent Bible Study.

Having just introduced some concepts, I hoped for a simple set of verses to lay out as an example to these men. but I forgot about the complexity of these three verses. You’ll often hear me insist that we need to begin by identifying the simple sentence of a passage. Well, that is exceedingly difficult in these three verses because there is no main verb. Our translators have had to supply it for us in order to make these lines understandable.

They supply in verse 27 that little word, be. The last line of verse 27, Paul is calling for glory to be given, that is to be ascribed to God himself, it’s obvious. And so we agree with our translator’s decision here, but the simple sentence is not so easily discerned. The problem is that in verse 25, Paul breaks off his sentence before it’s even completed. Now to him, he says. But he doesn’t complete that. expression until verse 27. So what I would call men is the not so simple sentence reads like this.

Now to him who is able and then into verse 27 to the only wise God be the glory forever. Amen. And you know what you young students of scripture That is not only and not even the biggest challenge of this passage. We’ll address the other issues as we proceed, but for now it is enough to say that God’s word is true and it’s trustworthy.

And when we come to difficulties in a passage, we have to stay at it until we understand what is written. I trust that We will demonstrate that as I proceed. In these short, if difficult, three verses, Paul issues a perfect summary for this incredible letter. It’s an overview that we ought, by now, to see as obvious. That we are to cultivate a heart of worship. It’s a fitting conclusion. And in this conclusion, Paul provides a summary of the believer’s readiness for worship.

If you would, track back to verse 25, where we see Paul’s call to worship, and this call to worship is based on the character of God. Lance, if you would again, at the not so simple sentence, verses 25 and 27, now to him who is able to the only wise God be the glory forever, amen. Paul begins this doxology by basically issuing a call to worship to him, to the one who is able to the only wise God be the glory forever. It’s a call to worship based on the character of God, one who he says is able and one who he says is only wise.

Worship is the chief end of man, Westminster Catechism has it, or as a noted reformer put it, the most important matter with which we have to deal. It’s the most important thing that a believer will ever engage in here on earth. the worship of God. And here, worship is prompted by our thoughts and our understanding of God himself. Truly, our worship begins with thoughts of God.

Who he is, what he is, what he has done. And here in this complex sentence, Paul reminds us of just two of God’s attributes. It’s enough. He reminds us of his power and of his wisdom. First, when Paul calls attention to God who is able, to him who is able, he says, he’s pointing out one of the most wonderful aspects of the God that we love. He is able. He’s omnipotent.

“‘Nothing is too difficult for you,’ the prophet Jeremiah acknowledged.” We come to God with anything. We can come to God with any request, any challenge, any trial, any difficulty. But God’s ability indicates that not only is He powerful enough to accomplish some tremendous thing, something that no horde of humanity could accomplish. It’s a vague promise until such power is actually exercised. And so this ability clearly suggests here that at various points in history, various points of our own lives, God has exercised that ability.

He has proven himself again and again With overwhelming clarity in this doxology in Ephesians 3, Paul says now, to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory.

Paul had seen it. Paul had seen God’s ability on display as every believer. no doubt has observed. That statement is made possible by the fact that Paul had seen God’s exercise of that ability in his own salvation, in his equipping for ministry, in the salvation of souls, and so much more. For Paul, for us, it’s not merely an awareness that God is powerful enough, capable of magnificent deeds. We’ve seen it with our own eyes. We’ve experienced God’s exercise of his ability. God is the unbounded source of all potential. There’s a second attribute of God here in this passage that calls us to worship.

As Paul refers to him in verse 27, he is the only wise God. If ability calls attention to God’s power, this wisdom speaks of God’s sovereign intentions. His decrees, if you will. God knows and understands and orders all things according to his will. And we cannot overlook the superlative nature of this wisdom. When we think of God’s attributes, it’s beyond just a uniqueness about his character. In him, there is unmatched excellence. There’s no one like him, no one even close. Paul expresses the superlative nature of God’s wisdom in several ways.

In Ephesians 3.10, he speaks of the manifold wisdom of God.

In Colossians 2.3, he says that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Well, here, in order to capture it, Paul uses a familiar and simple little word, a monos. You probably can hear it, only, alone. That little word is used to capture numerous aspects of God’s unique character.

In John 5, in John 5.44, he is the one and only God.

In John 17.3, he is the only true God.

In 1 Timothy 1.17, he is the only God.

And in 1 Timothy 6.15, he is the blessed and only sovereign. And so as such, with this word monos, our translators have rendered it down through the centuries here as the only wise God or God who alone is wise. Only God.

God alone demonstrates wisdom as his will is supremely wise. His ways are made manifest to the world. God is infinitely and supremely wise. We can trust even when we are unable to understand the intricacies of his ways and his works. We know that in his wisdom, it is good for us. Even if this particular element stood alone, his wisdom, it provides a call to worship that is impossible to ignore. Call to worship is prompted first and foremost by God’s character, his ability, his power, his wisdom. But it does not stand alone.

There is a second element brought about by Paul’s summary. And it’s the lengthiest of all three of these points of summary. It begins there in verse 25 and it courses all the way down through the entirety of verse 26. Here, secondly, Paul provides, if you will, the reason for worship.

And it’s God’s work magnificently accomplished in the lives of his people. Would you glance? there at verse 25. To him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past but now is manifested. And even by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the eternal God has been made known to all the nations. leading to the obedience of faith.

As I said, this is the lengthiest of Paul’s three points in this passage, but all of these lines should be taken together. It’s a unit. Paul’s making one point, as I hope to show, and he begins by telling us that God’s ability is demonstrable. We can see it. He is able, Paul says, to establish you.

This is a statement that every reader from the Romans, the Roman believers down to us, every believer can recognize this. That God has and is also in active pursuit of establishing his children. That word establish speaks of God’s work of confirming or strengthening believers, giving them spiritual fortitude. It’s a work that only God can accomplish in a believer’s life to make them strong and faithful so as not to wander or stumble.

Back in 1-1, pardon me, back in 1-11, at the outset of this letter, Paul expressed it as a much more distant hope for these believers. He had hoped to visit the Church of Rome, he says, in order to impart some spiritual gift to you. Why? That you may be established. They seem to be lacking something in that statement.

It was a work of God for which Paul also desired of the Thessalonian believers, that he may establish your hearts without blame in holiness. He wanted them to be steadfast, strong, but here, Paul speaks of that work of God as well underway. Here, God has clearly begun this work. And it’s here that he immediately begins to extol the means of this grounding, this establishment. How it is that believers are made steadfast.

And he makes four statements. And all of them are introduced by the preposition kata. That preposition could be translated as according to or by means of. And there’s no little discussion about the arrangement, the structure of these statements. Some people see them as parallel, four coordinate thoughts, where Paul just keeps adding one to the other. Some see them as building upon each previous statement. Either way, it’s one point, and they present the method or the instrument by which God uses to establish his children. Glance down at the passage, if you will, as I lay them out to you. His prayer is that they would be established.

And the first thing that he asks is that Christians are established according to my gospel. But second, and adjacent to that, believers are established by the preaching of Jesus Christ. Thirdly, he adds, that we are established according to the revelation of the mystery. And then lastly, as a believer in Christ, we are established according to the commandments of the eternal God.

Now, as to the structure, in the end, it doesn’t matter. Whether we take these as four coordinate statements or statements that build upon one another, either way we take it, these statements present the approach that God takes in establishing his children. I would present it like this.

Paul is speaking of him who is able to establish you, but there can be no establishment without the gospel. until someone is saved through the message of the gospel, they cannot be established, made steadfast. And so he adds, according to my gospel. But truly, there can be no gospel until it is declared, until it is proclaimed in the world. And so he adds, secondly, that this gospel is communicated by the preaching of Jesus Christ. Both of those statements stand under that same preposition, kata.

But, there can be no preaching without divine revelation. And so Paul includes, thirdly, that according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept secret for long ages past, the world has not always known of the message of salvation through faith in Christ, And they could not figure it out were it not for God revealing it. But finally, obviously there is no revelation of this mystery unless and until God commands it, until God decides. So Paul tells us that this revelation there in the middle of verse 26 is according to the commandment of the eternal God. If we may, let’s consider each of these statements very briefly. First, Paul says that the believer is established according to my, that is Paul’s gospel. He frequently refers to the gospel as his in his writings.

Here, the apostle is not suggesting that his gospel was different from the gospel. Paul rebuked the Galatians for the very idea of leaning into another gospel. Nor is Paul suggesting here that he has some kind of exclusive right to the gospel, as if it were copyrighted. He’s only pointing out here the fact that it had been entrusted to him.

He took it personally. The gospel was not according to man, he says, because he received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ, he says in Galatians. In other words, Paul learned the gospel directly from Jesus Christ. And so he takes the gospel to himself as a personal responsibility. His gospel is the gospel. To him, it was the glorious gospel of the blessed God, and a message about which he was not ashamed.

He expressed the same truth to the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 15, 1. Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand. The Roman Christians, just like the Corinthians, were established. They were made to stand because of the message of the gospel. Secondly, and immediately following his mention of the gospel, Paul adds, and the preaching of Jesus Christ. The Roman Christians, all Christians, are established in and by the gospel because of the preaching of Jesus Christ. In a sense, the gospel is not good news until it’s declared, until it’s proclaimed, until it’s heard. That is accomplished by the preaching of the good news of a Savior, Jesus Christ, For Paul, there was no such thing as preaching if it was not preaching about Christ. We preach Christ crucified.

He told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 1.23, and then in 2 Corinthians 4.5, we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord. When the Lord Jesus Christ is the subject of our preaching, then and only then is the gospel proclaimed. And it’s only by these means, the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that believers are established in the first place. Back in chapter 10, Paul made essentially this same point. Same Lord, 1st Corinthians, pardon me, Romans 10, verse 12. The same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him. For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

How then will they call upon Him whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? The gospel goes forth when Christ is preached, and only when sinners place their faith in that Savior are they established.

Glance, if you would, at the third related statement there at the end of verse 25. Paul says that this gospel, this preaching of Christ, is only made possible by divine revelation. When he refers to it here as a mystery, he isn’t suggesting that God’s plan of redemption should be sleuthed, deciphered, that it’s up to us to figure it out. No, by mystery here, he simply points to the fact that the secret counsels of God could not be uncovered by men.

Until Jesus Christ came, there was no understanding of a sinless Savior. There was no idea of substitutionary atonement, that one who would die on behalf of others. There was no grasp of salvation by faith. There was no understanding of an imputed righteousness.

All of that, as Paul characterizes it here, was a mystery. It was until Christ’s coming kept secret, he says, literally silent. And that by God himself. God kept it a secret. It was completely hidden from humanity. No person, no team of theologians, no great religion, No matter how reverent could have ever figured out the gospel, it had to be revealed by God or it would never be known.

There’s a fourth and final statement in this series. We find it in verse 26. The gospel having been revealed is preached because and only because God declared it. God commanded it. Even the declarations by the prophets were not comprehended, that is, until Christ’s coming. It was, as Paul puts it, according to the commandment of the eternal God. God willed it to be known in time, The revelation of this gospel ministry, gospel mystery, could only be opened when God said so. Paul said it so plainly in Galatians chapter four, when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his son.

And God was the one holding the watch. God’s mysterious plan of redemption was at long last revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ. Paul declares it even more plainly in the opening words of his epistle to Titus. Speaking of what he calls there, the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago. He says at the proper time, When God said so, when God commanded it, at the proper time manifested even His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior. Down through the centuries, even the millennia, uncertainty and ignorance prevailed in the world until God commanded the revelation of this mystery so that our Eternal God, who in His sovereignty ordains every aspect of His plan of redemption, He also stipulated the precise moment in which it would be revealed. And all of this, all of this is God’s doing. establishing his believers through salvation by the gospel, good news once hidden, now revealed by God’s express command. Preached by other believers.

Simply put, as Paul said it to the Philippians, it is God who is at work within you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. God is the one who worked to save us. God is the one who is at work sanctifying us. God works to protect us, to guide us, to equip us, to teach us, to comfort us. It’s God who is at work.

There is yet one final element of this summary provided by Paul that readies us for worship. Not only the call to worship because of the character of God, And the reason for worship, God’s work in us, saving us, sanctifying us, shaping us, transforming us, but this third element of our worship is so subtle that we might have missed it. We might have glossed right over it in the reading of this passage. We find it in verse 27. It’s a fitting conclusion, these three verses, a summary of the believer’s readiness for worship. And we see not only the call to worship in the character of God and the reason for worship in the work of God, but we see the gateway of worship in the Son of God.

Would you look at verse 25 through 27 again? Now, to him who is able to establish you, 27, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. Here is another of these significant difficulties in this passage. Our translators have made a lot of decisions here for us. most prominently here in verse 27. To begin with, the verse picks up, completing the thought begun in verse 25, now to him who is able to the only wise God. And I suppose that we could leave well enough alone and just run with the way that our translators presented here to us, but I’d like you to see this.

I mentioned it at the outset that there is no main verb in this section, nothing that allows us to even locate the simple sentence, not easily anyway. The verb is provided by our translators, as I suggested, it’s that little word be, to the only wise God, be the glory forever. Overall, that’s a helpful translation. And without it, we might still come to an understanding of what Paul’s saying here, but it would be clunky. It might go something like this. Now to him who is able, to the only wise God, glory forever, no verb.

But there’s another concern in this passage, an even bigger concern, a tiny little two-letter pronoun that we could translate as to whom. The problem is it isn’t really clear who is referenced by that little pronoun to whom. Does it point back to God? That would complete the thought that was begun back in verse 25 or when Paul says to whom is he actually referring to Jesus?

Grammatically, that is the better of the two choices, but it leaves the statement about God incomplete. It’s not clear, and there are difficulties either way that we take it. Now, Paul does ascribe glory to Christ elsewhere. 2 Timothy 4 is one of those places, but there are at least seven clear examples in Paul’s letters where he ascribes glory to God the Father. All things considered, it’s probably better here to finish Paul’s incomplete thought in verse 25, now to him who is able to the only wise God be the glory. But here in verse 27, Paul makes another profound statement.

He says that this praise or glory given to God is done through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ then is the means by which glory is expressed to God. The phrase that the apostle uses here presents Christ as kind of a portal through whom believers have access to the Heavenly Father. It’s a feature that Paul frequently employs in this letter. Listen to this.

In 1.8, he said, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all.

In 7.25, he says essentially the same thing. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And it’s not the only letter where Paul uses this phrase.

Paul echoes the same thought in Colossians 3.17. We give thanks through him, that is through Jesus Christ, to God the Father. One godly Puritan expressed this so clearly, just listen.

All the glory that will redound to God through the ages of eternity, from the salvation of sinners proceeds through Jesus Christ. Through him, it is manifested. It is through Jesus Christ that we ought to ascribe to God glory. In Jesus Christ, all things are united which are in heaven and which are in earth. but you should know that this portal goes both ways. Glory is communicated either from God or to God through Jesus Christ. God has communicated to us every spiritual blessing through Jesus Christ. Listen to this. In 1 Thessalonians 5, 9, Paul tells us that we obtain our salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 8.6, we exist, our very being, the fact that we can take a breath of air, we exist through him. Paul’s epistle to Romans is rich with this imagery.

And 5.1, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In 5.2, it is through whom we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. And in 5.11, through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have received reconciliation. Everything is through Christ.

Ephesians 1.5, our adoption as sons is through Jesus Christ.

In 2.17, through him we have access in one spirit to the Father.

In Philippians 1.9, the fruit of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ.

In 4.13, we are divinely enabled. Paul says, I can do all things through him. who strengthens me.

And finally, Titus 3.6, Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ, our Savior.

From God to mankind, from mankind back to God, everything proceeds through Jesus Christ. Using that same access to reveal himself to humanity. Christ provides us the same means of that access to God. We give glory to God through Jesus Christ. God manifests his glory through Christ and we reflect it back to him through his son, our Lord Jesus. We are called to worship God because of his character. He is able, capable, all powerful and wise. We worship God because of his work in our lives that he has established us through Christ’s gospel. We worship God because of the access that God has provided to himself through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, would you humble yourself before this great God?

Our merciful King, we humble ourselves and as we are wistful at the conclusion of this incredible letter, Lord, we know that other riches await in the consideration of other portions of scripture. Lord God, all we can do is express our gratitude for the privilege of having been able to take and to understand these incredible chapters.

Lord, we do ask your sweet blessing on our worship. We pray that you would render your power and wisdom in establishing us as believers. Lord, we thank you that you have done everything and given everything pertaining to life and salvation. Lord, we thank you for who you are, a holy God who is perfectly capable and to all wise. We thank you for your work of grace begun in our lives and we plead that it would continue until we are perfected for glory. Lord, we thank you. We thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, our Redeemer, through whom we have confident access and eternal fellowship with a holy God.

Lord, if there are any in our midst who do not know this Savior, who have not placed their faith in this Savior, There is no amount of effort, nothing that we can ever do, not even a lifetime of good works would earn us salvation. Ours is to humbly fall before you and acknowledge that we are sinners in need of your grace. Lord, we know. Those of us who know the Lord Jesus, we know that there’s nothing that you will not forgive.

That your work of grace is so thorough in our own lives that we are eager to proclaim Christ to others. Father, we thank you for this call to worship. We pray that you would draft in other worshipers. others who yield in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus name. Amen.