Romans 16:25-27 Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ… If you consult the Revised Version, you will there find the accurate reproduction of the Greek words, "to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever." The words, "through Jesus Christ," and the place of the words "be the glory" at the end of the passage, furnish at once the representation of the original. It is clear that after the lengthened construction of the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth verses, the apostle intends by the words, "to the only wise God," to complete and explain the pronoun — "to Him," with which the whole passage commences. So far it is clear. Then comes the expression, "through Jesus Christ," understood by some to be the instrument through whom the glory is given, and by others the person by whom God is the only wise. Neither of these interpretations perfectly contents me. Have we not the true parallel to this passage in the words of St. Paul to the elders at Ephesus: "And now brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace who is able to hold you up." The idea is not altogether foreign from that of establishing which we have in the passage. Would not such a prayer more naturally find its place at the end of the Epistle than even a doxology, the latter being generally more incorporated into the very substance of the letter itself? Might not this be one of the prayers to which Paul refers in the opening words of the Epistle (ver. 19) — prayers, the end of which was this very establishing of his correspondents? Then the phrase "through Jesus Christ" is natural and appropriate, the entire construction of the clause easy and unbroken, the concluding relative fittingly introduced, referring to Jesus Christ just mentioned, the ascription of glory to Him being quite in harmony with other such ascriptions, found in other portions of the apostle's writings. We shall therefore base our discourse upon the passage viewed as a combined prayer and doxology, as if the words ran, "To the only wise God do I look for aid and blessing upon you, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory of the eternal ages. Amen." I. THE CONSIDERATION OF THE GOSPEL AS A SCHEME OF UNIVERSAL SALVATION, NATURALLY DIRECTS THE ATTENTION OF THE DEVOUT AND EARNEST HEART TOWARDS THE ONLY WISE GOD. Christianity, though rich in its ideas, is also always a practical and an efficient system. It is not the parent of dreams, it is not a mere poet. It presents the dream only as the token of what it will produce. It chants its sublime rhapsodies only as preludes of what shall be the song of triumph when its redeeming, its new creating work, is done. Thus, is it an ideal man that it would paint? It manifests Him and makes us touch Him, and hear Him, and walk with Him, and live in the light of His beauty and perfectness, in the person of Jesus Christ. Or is it a Divine power which, it declares, man needs? This power it gives to man. The Holy Ghost is shed abroad. The Comforter has come, and has abided for all the past years, and throughout all the world He is now dwelling as a real and actual strength and grace and life among the saints. So with this conception of the perfected and glorified Church of the redeemed: the race restored and made one not only with itself but with its God and Governor, its Lord and Ruler. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ which supplies the conception. Nowhere else has the grand vision been displayed. II. SUCH TURNING OF THE HEART GODWARDS DEMANDS THE MEDIATION OF JESUS CHRIST, NOT ONLY AS THE MEANS OF FINDING GOD, BUT ALSO AS THE INSTRUMENT THROUGH WHOM GOD WILL BESTOW ALL GRACE. Two attributes that necessarily are involved in this mystery of a world's salvation are clearly displayed. The one is power and the other love. All natural reasoning upon the state of man and his relation to God would lead us to conclude that the only possible end of human life must be everlasting destruction and eternal loss. All that we can see is the law and the sin. Man needs no revelation to make this plain. But the gospel declares that man can be rescued, and rescued without any loss of the dignity of law, without any lessening of the sanction and obligations of moral duty. This is done by a sacrifice on the part of God, not of the law, but of Himself, at a vast cost of suffering and shame, and weakness and death, all borne in the person of Jesus Christ. What is this, then, but the wisdom which we have seen God alone possesses in the fashion and guise of love? Nay, it is love itself. And all so necessarily and inherently Divine, that the love becomes a showing of that very being of God which is Love. But this thought of a world's salvation that leads us to our God is not only a thought of love, but also a thought of power. To bring it about will need a strength far beyond any wielded by a human arm. III. THE CONCLUSION OF THIS GODWARD ASPECT WILL BE THE ASCRIPTION OF ETERNAL GLORY TO THE AUTHOR OF THIS SALVATION. This glory is ascribed to the God of salvation by the conscious and uttered praises of the redeemed. How wonderful is that song of praise which ever ascends to the eternal throne! And what will be the ascription of glory when earth is exchanged for heaven, and the curtains of the eternal world are withdrawn, and the redeemed race has entered into its promised inheritance of bliss! But the glory that will be rendered to the Author of our salvation will not be the mere ascription of praise from the assembled myriads of the redeemed; it is to be found also in the very nature and character of the salvation itself. You all remember how the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral has no tomb or sculptured monument, to bear his name and tell the story of his skill in carven effigy, or cut upon the lasting brass. A brief inscription over the entrance of the cathedral gives his name, and then bids you "if you seek his monument to look around." And such as this is the true ascription of glory to the Lord. It is not the mere voices of the angels; it is their hosts themselves, kept in their places, holden in their high, unfallen blessedness. It is not the cry of jubilant triumph from the creation of life; it is that very creation itself, in its being, in its growth, in its perfectness, made by His word, sustained by His power, completed for the great purposes of His changeless will. IV. THE PRAYER AND DOXOLOGY OF THE EARNEST CHRISTIAN WORKMAN WILL RECEIVE THE ACCORDANT ACCLAIM OF THE UNIVERSE. The word Amen is used as the expression of agreement, of consent, of assurance, of certainty. The doxology uttered by St. Paul is such as all will unite in. The prayer, the commending to God, the giving of glory, are the consentaneous expressions of all who may catch the ideas and hear the words. 1. It is the consent of wonder. All will marvel at the great achievement of God and His Christ. In awe and reverence profound the universe shall cry, "Amen." 2. It is the consent of delight. Throughout the universe of spiritual being, then freely traversed by the purified minds, all parts being in harmony, a communication opened up between all spheres, the delight shall spread when the glory of God shall be seen in the heavens. 3. It is the consent of approval. God's right to judge will be recognised, and His higher right to save will be equally assured. Splendid will be the state of heaven; high will be the joys of that serene condition. But chief of all, men and angels will perceive the justice and the righteousness of that salvation which the human race shall gain. 4. Then finally, this consent shall be the consent of all. Not a single spirit in the entire universe shall hold back its acclaim. All men who shall be saved must surely join in the "Amen." It will be impossible that any of the redeemed will be silent. (Ll. D. Bevan, D.D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, |
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