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TO GOD BE THE GLORY!
"Now to Him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith - to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen." Romans 16:25-27.
What a magnificent doxology and ending to this superb letter! In Paul's characteristic style, and in one long sentence, he encapsulated the gospel.
The gospel - what is it about? It is the message Paul proclaimed about Jesus Christ. He is the good news; His birth, foretold by the prophets in detail - who He was, His ancestry, the circumstances of His birth; His life, His character and His works; His death and resurrection; His rule and His coming kingdom - it's all there in the Old Testament and fulfilled with precision and to perfection by His coming.
The good news, hidden from men's understanding in the past but revealed in Jesus Christ, is that God's mercy is for the whole world, not just for the Jews. The prophetic message was that the Gentiles would have a share in this salvation. The Jews thought that God was exclusively for them. The Gentiles were despised and side-lined in their estimation, but they missed the plot. They were to be the vehicle of God's revelation to the world so that the Gentiles also should come to the obedience of faith.
The purpose of the gospel, and Paul never lost sight of this, was that God's glory would be revealed to all of creation and, in the process, the usurper, the devil, would be publicly unmasked, disarmed and judged for who he was, once and for all - a liar, and a fraud, claiming the title of "Lord" which belonged to only one person, the Son of God.
God chose a drastic but effective way of exposing him; He put His own Son in the firing line. Jesus - as a human being - faced the worst that the devil could inspire fellow humans to throw at Him, betrayal, injustice and execution in the cruellest way possible, without retaliating. He absorbed it all and then bounced back - alive and free to claim His title because He had earned it by the life of a perfect son, and the death of a perfect Lamb.
"In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what He suffered." Hebrews 2:10.
Could there have been another more effective way to show His love for all mankind and to reveal His wisdom than by the plan He devised? He punished His own Son for guilt that was not His so that the guilty might go free. Perfect justice and perfect love!
What comfort for his readers to know, and for all readers down through the ages, that this God who accomplished this magnificent salvation, is also able to establish weak, frail and fallible humans in the truth so that they will both stand and persevere until the moment they are removed from the presence of sin into the glorious presence of God forever!
Paul's reassurance must have meant much to these people who lived under the constant threat of death at the hands of ruthless persecutors. Like believers in the Middle East today who have the sword hanging over their heads for no crime other than claiming that Jesus is Lord, many of the faithful men and women who heard Paul's words would perish under cruel persecution, but God had established them and they were safe anyway.
To this God, who planned salvation, carried it out and rescues those who believe in Him, goes all the glory and honour. Through it He revealed to all mankind who He really is - not some far off, indifferent or callous tyrant but a God who came near, lived and died and returned in victory to proclaim liberty to the captives.
To Him, and Him alone be the glory! Amen.
Acknowledgement
Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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