Title: GOD Text: Romans 11: 36 Date: August 18, 2013 Place: SGBC, New Jersey Our title and subject is: GOD. The reason that is the title is because this is our text: Romans 11: 36: For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. None of man s imaginary gods can make that claim. God is first God is the source of all things, for of him are all things. God is in the midst, the means by which all things are created, consist and are governed, for through him are all things. God is the end of all things, for to him are all things: to whom be glory forever, amen. Proposition: All things are of God in the planning, through him in the creating and working and to him to glorify his name in Christ. This is true from the largest events in creation and providence to the most microscopic details. Romans 11: 36: For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Nothing helps us to trust Christ and gives us soul assuring comfort and peace as knowing: God is the source of all things; God is the means by which all things consist and are governed; God is the end of all things to bring glory himself. Romans 11:36: For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. I. GOD IS THE SOURCE OF ALL THINGS v36: For of him are all things. When there was only eternity there was only God. There was nothing made that was made: no universe, no earth, no creatures. There was only God in his self-existent, self-sufficient, solitary glory. God is the source of all things. The First Thing God Did The first thing God did before creating anything was to settle the purpose for which he would create the world, the end toward which all things are worked. Verse 34 says, who hath been his counsellor? the council was the eternal council between the triune God. Christ said, For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? (Lk 14: 28) It is certain our God could never fail for the LORD of hosts, is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. (Is 28: 29) But God did council with God and enter into covenant with God, counting the cost and determining he had sufficiency to finish the work. According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Eph 3: 11) In that eternal council, God the Father expressed his will to save his elect, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? The Son of God entered into covenant with the Father, saying, Then said I, Here am I; send me. (Is 6: 8) Application: Believer, this is when God the Father blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,.. (Eph 1: 3-4) By choosing Christ to perform his will and by choosing his elect in Christ: fight then the vessels of mercy were afore prepared unto glory (Rom 9: 23); right then every elect child of God was ordained to eternal life (Acts 13: 48). It was then that God appointed us not to wrath but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, (1 Thess 5: 9) By Christ agreeing to be made of woman and finish the work, right then God laid help on One that is mighty, exalted one chosen from among the people (Psalm 89:19,20.) Right then, God did this:
Isaiah 46: 10: Declaring 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: By entering into covenant Christ became Surety of the elect of God, and right then became the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev 13: 8) The determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, determined right then that wicked hands would take Christ and nail him to the cursed tree. And that by bearing the sin of his people and laying down his life on the cross, Christ would declare God just and justify his people. (Acts 2: 23) And because his council shall stand, because the word of our God shall stand for ever, (Is 40: 8) right then the works were finished from the foundation of the world just as Hebrews 4: 3 says they were. Isaiah 48: 12: Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. 13: Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. 14: All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The LORD hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon, and his arm shall be on the Chaldeans. 15: I, even I, have spoken; yea, I have called him: I have brought him, and he shall make his way prosperous. 16: Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, hath sent me. 17: Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go. This is the mystery we preach: 1 Corinthians 2: 6: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. So then having all this settled in the beginning before the beginning when In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God (Jn 1: 1-3); God having elected a people unto salvation in Christ Jesus, Christ having agreed to take flesh, fulfill the law, magnify and make it honorable by being made the sin of his people, suffering and dying in their room and stead; having promised to call them out through the Holy Spirit by our gospel, to loose nothing but present them all faultless to the Father in the end; all for the purpose of giving God the Father glory and giving his Beloved Son, Christ Jesus, all Preeminence with all having been settled beforehand then God began to build the stage upon which he would bring it all to pass according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. (Eph 1: 11) Application: Brethren, what joy to know that God determined the end from the beginning! Ever since God created the first second of time, God has worked every detail according to this purpose settled from eternity! When the rulers of our nation leave make you anxious remember Of God are all things! II. SECONDLY, THROUGH GOD ARE ALL THINGS GOD CREATED, UPHOLDS AND GOVERNS ALL THINGS v36: For through him are all things. (Turn to Col 1) The entire work was put into the hands of God s Son, Christ Jesus even creation. Colossians 1: 15: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18: And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19: For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And so we read in Genesis 1: 1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. God our Savior spoke all into existence from nothing.
Hebrews 11:3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. The earth was without form and void but God said let there be light and there was light. God appointed the bounds of the sea He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end. (Job 26: 10) He created all his creatures: setting the years, months, hours and seconds that each will live. Concerning the worthless sparrow, Christ said, Not one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Mt 10: 29-31) Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:. Our Creator made man from dust and breathed into him the breath of life. Then God made woman from the man. Genesis 2: 21: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22: And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. I do not know exactly when, but at some point, God created angels they would play a significant part in God s eternal purpose. The elect angels, God made to be ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. (Heb 1: 14) And he made them to praise Christ, And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. (Heb 1: 6) But the other angels, would be the means by which sin would enter the world. Though created good, Satan was an angel that abode not in the truth. God would exalt his Son to all Preeminence not only as God, but as Man. So Satan rebelled and a host of angels were cast out of heaven with him. Christ said, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (Lu 10: 18; Is 14: 3) Did Satan s sinful rebellion catch God by surprise? Of course not, it was exactly according to God s eternal purpose: That God might manifest his glory through sending forth his Son to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. He made Satan for the evil day when wicked hands would nail Christ to the cursed tree, according to God s determinate council and foreordination. (Acts 2: 23) For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. (Acts 4: 28) Proverbs 16:4: The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Satan, nor any other creature, can do one thing of themselves for of God and through God are all things. Remember what happened to Job? Job 1: 8: And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?...[satan said] 10: Hast not thou made an hedge about him,?...12: And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. Likewise, Satan did not enter the garden without God s permission. Application: What comfort for a believer! God has absolute sovereign rule over our chief adversary-- your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he MAY devour: not whom he shall, only whom he may at our God s permission. Remember, God overruled Satan s sifting for Job s good and for Peter s good. God overruled Satan and the wicked hands that nailed Christ to the tree for the eternal salvation of the elect for whom Christ died. So be assured that if God permit the devil to do anything toward us God shall work it for our good, as well. So cling to our Sovereign Savior and resist [the devil] stedfast in the faith
Nor did Adam s fall in the garden take God by surprise-- For of God and through God are all things. God allowed Adam to do what Adam was willing to do because it was according to God s eternal purpose. Adam willingly sinned with his eyes wide open. Rom 5: 12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Be sure to get this: God is the force of good. Without God s keeping hand the creature will fall: Satan fell, angels fell, and Adam fell. But only according to the determinate council and foreordination of God our Savior For of him and through him are all things. This ought to make us fall at God s feet and beg him to keep us by his sovereign hand! Isaiah 40: 12: Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? 13: Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him? 14: With whom took he counsel, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding? Whatever God does is right because God did it! Isaiah 40: 15: Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing. 16: And Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering. 17: All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity. 18: To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19: The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20: He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.21: Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? Men dare to question God! They are saying, if I were god I would do a better job with this world than he has. Have you not heard who God is? Isaiah 40: 22: It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24: Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 25: To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26: Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 27: Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28: Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29: He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30: Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. III. ALL THINGS ARE TO HIM Romans 11: 36: For of him, and through him, and TO HIM, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. Everything God is and does is glorious and glorifies him. He is the glorious LORD (Is 33: 21) His glorious and fearful name is THE LORD THY GOD. (Deut 28: 58) His work is honourable and glorious. (Ps 111: 3) The
liberty he gives is child is the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Rom 8: 21) The gospel is called the glorious gospel of Christ. (2 Cor 4: 4) His power is called his glorious power. (Col 1: 11) When Christ returns it will be the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. (Tit 2: 13) Everything God is and does is glorious. Someone will say, But how can God possibly bring glory to himself with all this sin abounding? God only permits that which shall bring glory to his name. Ps 76:10: Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. Romans 5: 20: But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: God declared the end from the beginning so let s just stay in the garden and see his glory. In creation we see God s glory. God made the creation to declare God s glory in Christ Psalm 19:1: The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. God spoke into the void earth and there was light. Here we see the glory of God in regeneration. God the Holy Spirit moved Paul to use this to declare how God gives light to his people in 2 Corinthians 4:6, For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God made the sun to typify the Sun of Righteousness, Christ Jesus. In his light we see light. As the sun gives light to the moon which has no light in itself, so Christ gives Light to us sinners that have no light in ourselves. God designed the seed to fall into the earth and die then bring forth fruit God did that to picture Christ and his work, that he might stand on this earth and say, John 12: 24, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25: He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. When he put Adam to sleep and created woman God showed that through Christ s death on the cross his bride came forth perfect Paul saw it; he quoted Genesis in Ephesians 5: 25, Husbands you re your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26: That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27: That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 29: For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: 30: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 31: For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32: This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. He made Adam Head and Representative of his people, picturing Christ the Last Adam, the Head and Representative of God s elect Romans 5: 19: For as by one man s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. God even overruled Adam s sin showing a picture of Christ: as Adam, in love for his bride, willingly chose to be made a curse for Eve rather see her perish alone, likewise, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. (Gal 3: 13) The LORD came, sought Adam, made him confess his sins, even as Christ the Shepherd seeks and finds his lost sheep. Genesis 3:21: Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them Christ is the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth.
Even Satan s fall was to this end: that God would glorify Christ in his destruction. The Lord declared it to the devil Genesis 3: 15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Application: Everything God has done in your life and mine, believer, it has been to the glory of God! Isaiah 48: 11: For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. Sinner, God will not accept any but those who come to him through his Son. Believe on Christ and you shall be saved; Reject him and you are condemned already. (Jn 3: 18-19) Believer, rest in our glorious Redeemer knowing: 1 Chronicles 29: 11 Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Now, I pray our absolutely sovereign God and Savior Hebrews 13:21: Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Amen!