Created For God
Charles H. Spurgeon said the following concerning this verse: “Our great God alone can expound this verse for He only knows Himself and He only can worthily set forth His own perfections. Yet I am comforted by this reflection that maybe, in answer to our prayers, God Himself may preach from this text this morning in our hearts. If not through the words of the speaker, yet by that still small voice to which the Believer’s ear is so well accustomed. If thus He shall condescend to favor us, our hearts shall be lifted up in His ways.” I pray the same.
GIST: The Church believes and has been changed by these truths about Jesus: everything is from, through, and to Him.
SCRIPTURE: Romans 11:36 (But, let’s read back to verse 33 just for a little immediate context.)
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
This weekend at Vacation Bible School, we’ve been focusing on how we are “made by God and built for a purpose”. As I prayed about what to talk about this morning, this verse popped into my mind. Not only is it an awesome picture of who God is--which happens to fit perfectly into the theme of our Maker Fun Factor VBS--but it also connects to the conversations we’ve been having on Sundays about what the Church is supposed to be like. The Church believes and has been changed by these truths about Jesus: everything is from, through, and to Him.
This verse is packed. I don’t feel like I can even begin to scratch the surface of all that is expressed in this one line of Scripture, but pray even this brief discussion will spur us to love Jesus more fully.
- BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THESE TRUTHS
In The Context Of Salvation. Leading into this doxology, Paul has been talking about salvation. Specifically, he has been discussing how all people, Jews and Gentiles alike, can be saved only through Jesus. He emphasizes this with this marvelous statement about the depth of His riches and wisdom and knowledge (which I wish we had time to break down a bit, but do not), pointing out His majesty and our need (we don’t have these qualities). That’s the context of this passage, and it’s the context of our lives. I’ve said this a million times, and hope to say it millions more; we are all sinners deserving of Hell and in need of a Savior. Jesus chose to come and die for us to provide that salvation. “9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). If you’ve been a Christian for 50 years or are only hearing this for the first time, this is the most important truth I can tell you, and it’s echoed in these three prepositional phrases.
From Him Are All Things. He is the source of… everything. Genesis 1:1 starts with these four words: “In the beginning, God…” Then, we’re given the account of all creation. Before this world was made, there was only God. Without Him, there is nothing. Oh, how contentious this claim can sound in our world today! Yet, this truth is central to who God is, and understanding it is central to understanding our place as His creations.
Through Him Are All Things. Now, this phrase might just seem like a subtle restatement of the previous, but this is a key point. Everything is from God; He is the source. Everything is through God; He is the cause. This is both deliberate and continual. If we stopped with from, it would be easy to distance ourselves from God. He is not simply the starting point or substance everything sprang from; He made it happen...on purpose. I am not a super chef, but my wife is, and I attempt to assist her in the kitchen. Now, if she’s making a cake, she’ll put her wet and dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them, then bake them...etc. When the cake is finished, you could say that it came from those ingredients. But the ingredients themselves had no intentions of making a cake; Melissa did. They were the substance. She was the cause.
Jesus is not only the substance of all we see, but Himself the cause. He made this world on purpose; He made you on purpose; and He chose to die for you to save you from your sin...on purpose. This is love. This is grace. This is why we’re here. God, without whom there is no life, deliberately made you. And though you are a sinner--and we are; we cannot even live up to our own standards, let alone God’s--He died to save you. “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Furthermore, Jesus is not only the original source and cause, but the continual. Spurgeon puts it like this “all things are through Him. Let but God withdraw the emanations of His Divine power and everything would melt away as the foam upon the sea melts into the wave which bore it! Nothing could stand an instant if the Divine foundation were removed.” Creation cannot continue without God’s hand. This is true of us spiritually, as well. Jonathan Edwards famously explained this in his often misrepresented sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”: “"You probably are not sensible of this; you find you are kept out of hell, but don’t see the hand of God in it, but look at other things, as the good state of your bodily constitution, your care of your own life, and the means you use for your own preservation. But indeed these things are nothing; if God should withdraw his hand, they would avail no more to keep you from falling than the thin air to hold up a person that is suspended in it." It is by the grace of Jesus alone that we are not all in Hell at this very moment.
To Him Are All Things. There is so much energy spent in this world trying to determine our purpose. Why are we here? What should we be doing? How can our lives have meaning. And until we embrace this truth, all of our energy will be spent in vain. Jesus is the meaning of life. King Solomon was one of the wealthiest and most prosperous kings in antiquity. He had everything life could offer. Yet, when he wrote his reflections on life in Ecclesiastes, he clearly proclaimed: everything this world has to offer is meaningless. Then, he closed with these thoughts: “13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
Everything is from Him, everything is through Him… where else are you going to find meaning? We are made for Him. Period. If we’re looking for meaning in anything else, it simply will not be found. I’ve put it this way before: nothing in this world can carry the weight of your worth and purpose. Define yourself by position, or family, or friends, or wealth, or abilities… and you will be let down. These are all transient and unfaithful. The God who died to save your soul is not.
- WE’LL BE CHANGED IN THIS WAY
These truths are fundamental, and as a Church, we should embrace them. When we do, our lives will be changed. And we see that change reflected in this closing statement: “To him be glory forever. Amen.”
We Will Give Him Glory. I know glory is a word that can have negative connotations. A lot of times, when we think of someone getting glory, we associate it with being praised for something done well. If someone wants glory, we view that as arrogance. Therefore, it’s really hard for us to hear statements like “we’re meant to give God glory” and not assume pride is somehow at play. Here’s the deal. In a human context, glory is almost always circumstantial. Think about classic knight tales--quests in search of glory. The knight wants his fame to be known across the land, so he rescues a princess, wins a tournament, or slays a dragon in pursuit of this cause. And that is exactly how man's glory works. There is some deed, or title, or reputation for which we receive honor or praise. Some of these acts are truly worthy ones (an upright reputation or a deed of valor). Others are not (family names, financial standing, popularity). Either way, this standard is fickle.
In God, however, there is a difference. Men receive glory when the they do something deemed worthy of praise. God by nature is always worthy of ultimate praise. God's glory, therefore, is a full revealing of His character. (See notes on John 13). So when we say we’re living to give Him glory, we aren’t making Him something He’s not, or ignoring His faults and praising the good He sometimes does; we are living to make Him known. In fact, this is where Paul goes next in the letter. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). Everything about our lives should point people to the God who is the entire point of our lives and theirs.
Forever. And we will do this every day of our lives here and for all eternity. I think sometimes we hear statements like this and, if we’re a Christian, try to fight the urge to consider them boring, and if we’re not...well we just call them boring straight up. But, if God really is who His Word tells us He is, then we will never get tired of living like this. “22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).
Amen. We say this word a lot. It means “it is true”, or “let it be so”. And so should this be of our lives if we are truly saved. We cannot say we are believers and not embrace these truths and live for Jesus anymore than Chris Myers can claim to be vegan and continue to live on his all-meat diet. There will be a change. “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
TAKEAWAYS
1. You were made by God...on purpose. This was the whole point of night one of VBS: You were created for a relationship with God. There are so many hurting in this world. They need to know this truth. We need to know this truth.
2. You were made for God...that’s your purpose. One of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes is from Mere Christianity where he says, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” You will find your worth in no one and nothing else. For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things.
3. Do you know these truths? You need Him. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
4. Have they changed your life? Having information in your head that does not penetrate your heart, will not save you. Have you let God make the difference?
RESOURCES:
- I am indebted to this sermon by Dr. Steve Lawson for expanding my understanding of these verses. If my outline in any way resembles his, it is because his was better. I want to give credit where credit is due here: Check out the message by clicking this link!
- Spurgeon on Romans 11:36 I did not stumble upon this message until Saturday, but benefited from its reading.
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