Powerful Prepositions

According to Merriam-Webster, a preposition at its most basic form shows direction. Romans 11:36 is packed full of three powerful prepositions. Not because the words themselves hold power, but because they are providing direction to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

It says, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36 ESV

There are three prepositions in this verse: from, through, and to. As I said earlier, all three of these words show directional flow. Let’s break that down a little further.

If the prepositions show a directional flow, what is flowing, and to whom is it going?

In this verse, all things are what is flowing. Now, it is important to walk out the order of these prepositions as described in the verse. It starts “from” him. All things are from Him.

James 1:17 (ESV) says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

God is perfect and what flows from Him is perfect.

It is complete. There is no need to add anything.

The second preposition is “through” (Him).

God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3 (ESV) says, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,” It is “through” the knowledge of Him who has called us to his own glory.

Once we receive something from above, from the Father of lights, who is never playing games with us, we then need to operate through the knowledge He is giving us as it relates to His gift from above.

God doesn’t give us a task without telling us how to do it. Granted, it may be step-by-step directions with a constant dependence on Him. And, you would be walking as Jesus walked on this earth as you follow in a step-by-step fashion. Jesus received His directions from the Father.

Finally, the third preposition from Romans 11:36 is “to” (Him). Jesus didn’t come to earth, receive directions from above, operate in divine power, and then somehow try and keep the glory here on earth for himself.

Philippians 2 says that Jesus emptied Himself and took on the nature of a servant. Why a servant? Because a servant operates under the direction of his master, bringing everything back “to” him.

In the parable of the talents, the servant with five talents and the servant with two brought back the earnings “to” the Master. God doesn’t bless us for us to come back empty-handed. He didn’t send Jesus to die in order for us to enjoy a peaceful life but then hide his knowledge in the ground like the servant with one talent.

And this should be a release from stressing over what it is you feel like you need to do in life. You don’t want to go down that road. Instead, you do want to go down the road of “Father, please let my direction come ‘from’ you, today. Lord Jesus, please allow me to operate ‘through’ the knowledge of your power and grace today. Holy Spirit, please direct my steps to bring all the glory back ‘to’ God today.”

These are three powerful prepositions. Just as a preposition provides directional flow, we can lean into this verse and better work with the flow of what God wants to do in and through us.

We don’t want it to come from us–let it come from Him. We will fail if we do it through our own understanding–let it be through His. We will falter if we do not bring the glory to God, let His Spirit guide us back to Him.

And in the end, we can say, “To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36

To God be the glory.

Amen and amen.