Untitled Sermon (12)

God Is

Romans 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

From Him - Source - From Him means God is the all-sufficient cause and source of everything. God is the Originator of all things. All things come from Him.

was a time when there was nothing but God. Matter and mind created mind were yet unmade or unborn.

No sun - dwelt in glorious light; No earth - throne stood fast; No heaven yet His glory unbound

God = self sufficient I Am Who I Am - Exodus 3:14 “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ””

He was complete, and everything came from him - Since he created eveything, first idea came from HIm

Through Him - Accomplisher - through, by means of, as Maintainer, Preserver, Ruler: to or unto, He is the point to which all tends. All men and things are for His glory 1 Corinthians 15:28 “When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.”

as the power by whose continuous energy the world is sustained and ruled

through Him - by means of Him. He is not the Source only, but the Means. He did not only originate all things, but incessantly sustains and overrules all. In the special case of the saints, He not only wills their salvation, but—through their regenerated will—gives them power to believe and persevere. “He keeps them, by His power, through faith, unto salvation.”

1 Peter 1:5 “who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”

One second with out God’s power and everything would disappear

To Him - Goal - unto Him, as their goal, for whose glory they exist.

To Him means God must call every creature to account to Him. All things flow toward God. He is the end purpose. All things will find their culmination in God. He is the reason why all things exist.

great doxology - the primary focus which harmonizes with the Romans 9-11 is God’s great plan of salvation through history, not just for Israel but for all mankind. And thus it is only fitting that Paul ascribe glory to Him Who is the Source, Accomplisher, and Goal of man’s salvation, now and forevermore, world without end. Amen.

 "for" - The reason why man can lay God under no obligation is, that God is himself all and in all; the source, the means, and the end. By him all things are; through his power, wisdom, and goodness, all things are directed and governed; and to him, as their last end, all things tend.

all things are of him, as the efficient cause; through him, as the disposing cause; to him, as the final cause. They are of him, without any other motive; through him, without any assistance; and to him, without any other end, i.e. for his sake alone. 

Lit. out of Him; not in the Pantheistic sense, as if all things were evolved from God—phases of God; but in the Christian sense, that His will is the ultimate source of all being, all life and force, all conscience, will, and thought.

It is all of Him: This plan came from God. It wasn’t man’s idea. We didn’t say, “I’ve offended God and have to find a way back to Him. Let’s work on a plan to come back to God.” In our spiritual indifference and death we didn’t care about a plan, and even if we did care we aren’t smart enough or wise enough to make one. It is all of Him.. It is all through Him: Even if we had the plan, we couldn’t make it happen. We couldn’t free ourselves from this prison of sin and self. It could only happen through Him, and the great work of Jesus on our behalf is the through Him that brings salvation.. It is all to Him: It’s not for me, it’s not for you, it’s all to Him. It is to the praise of the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6 “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” ).

It’s for His pleasure that we are created, and we find our fulfillment in bringing Him glory and honor. To whom be glory forever: The fact that Paul can’t figure out God makes him glorify God all the more. When we understand some of the greatness of God, we worship Him all the more passionately.

Colossians 1:16–20 “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.”

An elementary but correct way to think of God is as the One Who contains all, Who gives all that is given, but Who Himself can receive nothing that He has not first given. (The Knowledge of the Holy)

Christ created all things, sustains all things and reconciles all things!

As R Kent Hughes reminds us "One second without God’s power and everything would disappear!… Matter is not God, but God is in everything, and nothing works or exists except through his might."

Revelation 4:10–11 “the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.””

As in creation; so is our salvation; Salvation is from Him! God ordained plan, the hour it was promised, the moment Jesus would come, when He should be born, what death He should die, When He would arise and ascend.

Salvation is through Him - came the prophesies; Son was born; Through Him came atonement; through Him the Word is preached

Salvation is ultimately To Him - Philippians 2:9–11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Material Cause: The underlying substance or stuff from which something is made (e.g., the bronze of a statue, wood for a table). 

Formal Cause: The essence, pattern, or blueprint that defines what a thing is (e.g., the sculptor's design, the definition of a "chair"). 

Efficient Cause: The primary source of change or the agent that brings something into existence (e.g., the sculptor, the parent of a child). 

Final Cause: The purpose, goal, or end (telos) for which something exists or is made (e.g., the purpose of the statue, the reason a house is built). 

2 Peter 1:3-4 By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

Sufficiency = self-sufficiency à having all that is necessary à independent of external circumstances à our Spiritual resources provided by His divine Grace are sufficient to meet life’s demands

God is not just sufficient à Sustainer à Even without asking for more we have all the spiritual resources needed to preserver n holy living

Life and Godliness = sanctification à living of the Christian life on earth to the glory of God

Life = zoe à absolute fulness of life à real; genuine life the way God intended us to live à Adam and Eve lived in harmony with God and each other

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

If EVERY saint has EVERY thing they need to live the ABUNDANT LIFE, why are so few living on that high plane?

How many Christians are, possessors of "all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge" in Christ (Col 2:3+) and yet living day by day as in spiritual poverty?

Illustration – having an unlimited gift card/access and not taking advantage of it.

One thing about God = Inexhaustible; Infinite à means God can never be exhausted and is everlasting; this flows to His Grace à His Grace is Infinite; Inexhaustible; Everlasting à it is Sufficient for everything in our life!

Sufficient Grace means there is no shortage of His Grace toward us and our lives!

Its not just Grace for our Salvation but Grace that empowers us to live our life for Him and one thing I realized is no matter the season/where you are at in life His grace is more than enough!

This year we all need to realize all we need is found in Christ à He Alone is the Embodiment of Grace and He alone is Sufficient to meet our every need!

Colossians 1:15-17 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: 16 for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

Everything is Found in CHRIST à Begin this Year with this at the forefront of your mind/heart!

Why? Because the main reason we lose track and fall short every year = we go from Christ Sufficiency to Self- Sufficiency

All Sufficiency = adequate resources w/in à thru Jesus we can have the adequacy to meet the demands of life

· We need encouragement but not need to be dependent on each other!

· Dependency must be on the Lord alone!

· He Alone can give us that well of Water in our hearts/lives that alone is sufficient!

Hold the world in His hands – Isa. 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span

Need Reason to Praise in the Hard times = à God is in CONTROL! à Drivers Ed à teacher in passenger seat but is able to brake if student loses control

Creation listens to its creator… mankind should take notice and follow suite!

Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea; Jesus calming the storm; God stopping the rain for Elijah; The fire not harming Shadrack Meshack and Abendigio; The lions not harming Daniel; The sun standing still as Joshua fought; •           The darkness at the death of God’s one and only Son Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 15:10 “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.”

Romans 11:12 “Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!”

Revelation 1:8 ““I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.””

Hebrews 10:1–2 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?”

Hebrews 12:1–2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews 1:3 “And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

Ephesians 1:11 “also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,”

Romans 9:16 “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”