“The Only Way to Glorify God”
Romans 11:36b
For two weeks we began our time around God’s word with the sentence: “Good and sound theology or the study and knowledge of God, begins and ends with doxology.”
We look at the setting of our text, which is Romans 11: 33-36: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" 35 "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?"
In looking at the first part of verse 36, we began last week with the statement that “God-centered theology begins and ends with God.” We looked at the most concise one-liner in all of the Bible, which describes what SHOULD BE, the God-centered theology and personal world and life view of EVERY CHRISTIAN, not just of the Apostle Paul: “For from him and through him and to him are all things.“
God is the beginning and source of ALL THINGS, the means, the sustainer, and provider of ALL THINGS, and the end or goal of ALL THINGS. All things through Creation, all things throughout the entirety of History, and all things pertaining to Salvation are “from Him, and through Him, and to Him.” To have any other understanding than this is to live in direct defiance to the character of God and how He operates SOVEREIGNLY in HIS universe. To have any other understanding also deviates from a correct Biblical knowledge of “who YOU are” in relationship to Him and what He has done.
Today we look at the last part of verse 36: “To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”
1. Who is it that is to be glorified? Now, If all things are From HIM and all things are THROUGH Him and all things are to HIM, then God alone must be glorified; It naturally follows that To God ALONE belongs ALL GLORY. What is the first commandment? You shall have NO OTHER gods beside ME. You should NEVER worship or esteem something or someone MORE than you esteem God! God demands that there be no rivalry to His glory or worship because He is jealous and zealous for His Glory ALONE. Not one of His creatures can honor himself more than he honors God.
If the first part of the verse 36 is true, and the second part is true, then all glory must exclusively belong to God. Do you believe that the Bible is our ONLY God-GIVEN, infallible source of knowledge for faith, salvation and holiness? Do you believe that the heart of the Gospel is Christ alone, not in morality or any other activity, not in any other leader or system of religion?
Do you believe that only God’s Grace saves you without personal claim or merit to deserve Christ? That Salvation is a gift without a cost and it’s not a reward for the righteous? Do you believe from Genesis to Revelation, the cornerstone of salvation is that you are only justified by the gift of faith? That forgiveness, justification, and sanctification are by faith in Christ, not by any work of your own? That saving faith does not originate within yourself, but is given as a gift? Then you will be able to give ALL GLORY to God for all things.
Psalm 29:1-2 commands us then to “Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.” This tremendous verse in 1 Timothy 1:17 says: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
2. What is “the GLORY” which is to be offered to God alone? The root word for “Glory” in the Old Testament, “Kabad”, means “to be heavy, be weighty, be grievous, be hard, be rich, honorable, glorious, be burdensome, be honored.” God’s honor is so great and rich compared to anything else, that it SHOULD BE HEAVY to us; it should weigh us down. His majesty should press us down with awe and worship.
The word in our text from the Greek is “doxa”, from which we get the word “doxology”. Listen to the definitions of this word: “opinion, judgment, view, estimate, whether good or bad concerning someone, splendor, brightness, praise, honor, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity.”
I did a bit of research on this word: 23 out of the 27 books of the New Testament use the word for “glory or “doxa”. 140 times out of the150 times the word refers to the GLORY of God or Jesus Christ. In the 10 times that it does NOT refer to God or Jesus, the “glory” described is clearly LESSER than God’s Glory. Generally, the word “doxa” could pertain to something good OR bad, but the New Testament always speaks about a good opinion concerning glory, an opinion that results in praise, honor, which belongs to God alone.
We use some words which are derived from “doxa”: The word “Orthodox” describes the Orthodox Christian Faith, that is, the faith which adheres to the faith as expressed in Jesus’ teachings, supported by the Apostle’s teachings, and expounded in the early Christian ecumenical creeds. “Orthodox” is a straight opinion, (from ortho- meaning (straight, correct, right” (ORTHOdontics) and “doxa”, meaning “opinion”. We use the word “paradox”, which is a seemingly contradictory statement: para-, meaning “beyond” and “doxa” meaning opinion. Heterodox: Hetero meaning “different”, and dox meaning opinion: so it is a statement or opinion NOT in agreement with accepted belief or opinion.”
Your “opinion” of who God IS will define your praise OF God, and how often you praise Him. If you have the highest and Biblical opinion of who God is, God will receive glory. ONLY the highest praise of God belongs to Him because “all things are from Him, through Him and to Him.” “Doxa” is giving the most worthy, the highest and greatest praise and honor to God. Only God’s opinion matters and only the highest honor belongs to Him alone. Revelation 11:4: "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."
3. Who alone can give glory to God? Not just anyone will be able to give glory to God. Only those who have the highest and CORRECT opinion of God in their hearts and lives can give glory to Him. Only those to whom God’s greatest glory has been revealed can give the proper honor to God. Michael Houdmann from gotquestions.org explains it this way: “To glorify God is to extol His attributes—His holiness, faithfulness, mercy, grace, love, majesty, sovereignty, power, and omniscience, to name a few—rehearsing them over and over in our minds and telling others about the singular nature of the salvation only He offers.”
Only those who have known and experienced His Glory in their hearts and lives can know, profess, confess and LIVE in the reality that ALL THINGS are from Him, through Him, and to Him. Only those who have beheld the Son and have the Spirit, can truly glorify God. John 1:14 exclaims: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
4. Where and when is God to be glorified? God is FOREVER to be glorified. “Forever” in the Greek is two words, “eis aion” ( pron.- ice I own) “into or for an unbroken age”. We get the word ”aeon”. In all things and at all times, in all places. Do you realize that You should NEVER be out of worship to God? Freedom and liberty in Christ does not remove us from the obligation we have to bring God glory in every aspect of our lives. Freedom and liberty in Christ does not remove us from us from God’s Law, and it certainly doesn’t take away God’s Supreme Right to receive Glory and Worship FROM US. What we should consistently and constantly be asking OURSELVES is: “HOW CAN I BRING TO YOU the MOST Glory, Almighty God, right now in my life?”
Psalm 106:48a: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting.” Psalm 30:12: “that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever. “(Hebrew root word means to be concealed or hidden.) Romans 16:27 ends: “To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.”
5. What is the last word to all things? The last word is one of the most universal words ever used in this world. It is basically the same word in the Hebrew, the Greek, the Latin, and every language that has originated from the Latin. I could not find a word that was more universally accepted: The word AMEN, meaning to support, confirm, agree and acknowledge. It is the way that Paul ends the first 11 chapters of Romans as well as the last chapter. It is the last word in the Bible, and very basically means that there is NO variation to this profession. 2 Corinthians 1:20 states it so clearly: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through Him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.”
When we say AMEN to the truths of God’s Word in Christ we are saying, “I will place ALL THINGS in my life BENEATH the Divine Perfect Sovereignty of God. I am nothing, God is all. I owe all things to the grace, mercy and glory of God and I give all praise to HIM ALONE. I am what I am solely by the grace of God; I cannot justify myself in anyway. My mind is NOT higher to God’s.” We are saying “YES” to the purpose and will of God in all things, to the total depravity and radical corruption of man. We are saying YES to the free grace of God, to justification and sanctification and preservation by the power and faith of God. We are saying “AMEN” to God’s election and reprobation of man, to a future salvation of Israel, to an eternal future in God’s Kingdom.
Psalm 106:48 again, says: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, From everlasting even to everlasting. And let all the people say, "Amen." Praise the LORD !”
If all things are through Him, all things MUST BE TO HIM. Do not DARE to rob glory from God. You supply NOTHING for salvation because Faith is a gift, and since faith is a gift from God, He must receive all glory. That’s God-centered theology. “For from him and through him and to him are all things.” That is why it is “To Him be the glory forever! AMEN.”
Don’t try to turn up the volume on man. Instead, turn OFF man’s volume and voice and THEN God WILL receive all Glory. When we agree to place EVERYTHING in our lives to be in submission and IN ALIGNMENT WITH HIS Character and Will so that He might receive all glory, we are agreeing to be discipled by our Lord Jesus. He was in total alignment with the Father’s Will and endured the suffering of the Cross for us.
In Peter’s message at Pentecost He said in Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: " 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
When we bring God the GLORY that He alone deserves, He brings about our great greatest good, for His glory, that HIS will would be done, and that HIS kingdom would come.
SO what is the Only Way to Glorify God? To Glorify Him ALONE in ALL THINGS, at all times. Every breath, every investment, every penny spent, every step I take, every moment I spend, all from Him, all through Him, all TO Him, because all glory belongs to Him.
Lord, we submit willfully to the supreme sovereignty of You, our God, in all things, in all areas of our lives, every day, for your GLORY alone. Instill in us by your Word and Spirit a passionate fire in our hearts for your glory and honor alone, that we would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls us into His own kingdom and glory. (1 Thess 2:12) Cause us to have never ending worship for you in our lives as we serve you alone. For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. AMEN.
OUTLINE:
1. Who is to be glorified?
To God ALONE belongs ALL GLORY (Ps. 29:1-2, 1 Tim. 1:17)
2. What is “the GLORY” which is to be offered?
“Doxa” is giving the highest and greatest praise and honor to God.(Rev. 11:4)
3. Who alone can give glory to God?
Only those who have beheld the Son and have the Spirit, can truly glorify God. (John 1:14)
4. When and where is God to be glorified?
FOREVER: In all things, at all times, in all place! (Ps. 30:12, 106:48a, Rom 16:27)
5. What is the last word in all things?
AMEN: to support, confirm, acknowledge (2 Cor. 1:20, 1 Thess. 2:12, Acts 2:22-28)
When we bring God the GLORY that He alone deserves,
He brings about our great greatest good for His glory.
The Only Way to Glorify God is to Glorify Him ALONE in ALL THINGS, at ALL times.
