For more information about our teaching and preaching ministry, you can find us online at cornerstoneorlando.org. The following sermon has been brought to you by Cornerstone Orlando, making disciples for the glory of God. The title of our sermon this morning is To God Be Glory. To God Be Glory. In Romans 16, verses 25 through 27. So this morning now, we have arrived at the last of our consecutive studies through Paul's epistle to the church at Rome. This letter has been, is a staggering revelation of the grace and mercy of God. To meditate on this letter, you know it is an astonishing display of the wisdom of God, an astonishing, a staggering display of the power of God at work in the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Martin Luther said, it is impossible to read or to meditate on this letter too much or too well. The more that we deal with it, the more precious it becomes and the better it tastes. And after many years now in our detailed study of this letter together, I pray that you know Luther's statement to be true. The more that we read or meditate on this letter, the more precious it becomes, the better it tastes, the more applicable to our hearts and minds, the more that we benefit and prosper by it. Now at the end of this book, having walked through this cathedral of the Christian faith, Paul closes the letter now in an eminently appropriate fashion. He offers praise and worship to God. Verse 25. Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, but now made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith, to God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. The verses of our text this morning constitute what we call a doxology. From doxa, meaning glory, and logia, referring to words or to speech, a doxology is comprised of words of praise ascribing glory to God. Paul's purpose in this closing doxology is to ascribe glory to God for the gospel. To God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. The Book of Romans, this letter, has been an explanation of the gospel. Paul announces that theme in the very opening chapter of the book and says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of God, for it is the power of God to everyone who believes. The power of God unto salvation for everyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Paul expresses his confidence in the gospel. Paul expresses his desire to impart to them wisdom through the gospel. So the theme of this letter has been the gospel, and now in our closing section of text, Paul ascribes glory to God for the gospel. The gospel that Paul has faithfully explained in this letter leaves absolutely no room for men to glory in themselves. There is absolutely no room for men to glory in themselves. Paul from 1 Corinthians 1, verse 26. He says to us even, for you, you see your calling brethren, notice, not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. And he has chosen the base things of the world and the things which are despised, God has chosen, and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are, so that no flesh could glory in his presence. But of him Him you are in Christ Jesus who has become for us wisdom from God and righteousness and sanctification and redemption So that as it is written he who glories let him glory in the Lord We cannot we must not Glory in anyone or anything else. We certainly cannot glory in ourselves. Let him who glory glory in the Lord and All of the glory for our salvation from start to finish, all of the glory for our salvation belongs to God and to God alone. The gospel is the power of God alone to salvation for everyone who believes. And so Paul pens a closing doxology to ascribe that glory to God. For of him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. The theme of this letter has been the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, justification, the justification of a guilty, undeserving sinner by the grace of God through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone. It is by faith alone. In other words, the theme of this letter has been that there is no contribution on the part of man. There is nothing that you can contribute to your salvation other than the sin that made it necessary. And God alone is to be glorified for the gospel. As we saw with benedictions last week, these doxologies or these offerings of praise and worship, words of glory to God, are not unusual to Paul. The scriptures are replete with doxologies of praise. Ephesians 3, verse 20, for one example. Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1, verse 17. Now, to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. You see, you recognize themes, don't you? 1 Timothy 6, verse 15. He who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen. These are outbursts of praise. And these outbursts of praise on the pages of Scripture are in consideration of who God is and what God has done. As the apostles are writing the text of Scripture, as they're meditating and thinking on these things, they cannot help themselves but to praise and worship God for them. It's the same, the same is true for you and I in our Christian lives, brothers and sisters. As we meditate on who God is and what God has done, we cannot help but praise and worship Him. Your understanding of who He is should lead to worship. Your understanding of what He has done for you should lead you to praise and to worship Him. The apostles couldn't help themselves. The knowledge of God, true knowledge, leads to expressions of doxology. True understanding will lead to expressions of worship and praise. Otherwise, knowledge is simply puffing you up. What is the point of knowledge if it does not terminate upon the glory of God? What is the point of wisdom if it does not terminate upon the worship of God? As light produces heat, revelation produces adoration. That's why Paul's doxology here at the end of this letter to the church at Rome is a fitting and appropriate conclusion. All that we've learned in this letter, all that we've learned should lead us to praise. This is an invitation. for the people of God to praise God for the sake of His name, to praise God for the gospel, to praise God for who He is and what He has done. If it does not lead you to worship, if it does not lead you to praise, there's a problem. There's a problem. It works the same way in our Christian life. Light produces heat. So you need light. You need light. Light produces heat. Revelation produces adoration. That's why sound biblical doctrine is so important. It's why we emphasize teaching of the Bible here. It's why doctrine is so critically important. It's one of the many reasons why this book is so important. The worship of God, I want you to think with me now, the worship of God is at the very center of who we are as created by God. You were created to worship Him. What is the chief end of man? What does the catechism say? To glorify God and to enjoy the fullness of Him forever. You were created for worship. We are not merely or only homo sapien, thinking men. We are, at our core, homo adorum. We are worshiping men. What good is wisdom in this world if it does not lead to the worship of God? We were created such that worship is at the very core of what it means to be human. Have you ever considered why it is that true worship is often counterfeited as much as it is? Everywhere you look, true worship is counterfeited. It's attempted to be counterfeited. Why is true worship counterfeited? Because we're made for it. We were made, we were created, we were woven. It's woven into the fabric of our DNA to worship our creator, to praise him. We were made for it. But because of our fallen condition, because of our sin, it is only possible in spirit and in truth when you come through the door of the sheep to do it. It is only possible to worship God in spirit and in truth through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many, many, many are not willing to come to him that they might have life. And so they suppress that truth in their unrighteousness. Or they try to climb over the wall like a thief or a robber, and do it on their own terms, instead of coming to Him through Jesus Christ. For them, for those who are climbing over the wall, for them who are suppressing that truth in their unrighteousness, for them, true heat isn't going to come from the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and so they have to counterfeit it. They have to counterfeit it. And they counterfeit heat by emotion. Or they counterfeit heat by experience. They counterfeit heat in their error. Charismania is little more than man in pursuit of a counterfeit. Most so-called Christian music is little more than man in pursuit of a counterfeit. You look at many churches today, most churches, a vast majority of churches today, most of that so-called worship is little more than men in pursuit of a counterfeit heat. You and I, brothers and sisters, need to be very careful, very careful that your Christian life isn't simply you in pursuit of a counterfeit. Heat is going to be based upon light. It's light that produces heat. How do you know if you're pursuing a counterfeit? Ask yourself this question. What is your relationship to His Word? What light do you have? What is your relationship to His Word? To the degree that you do not hunger and thirst to live by every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God is to the degree that we are too much filled with something else. that our appetites are being satisfied with cotton candy, something else, something worldly. We're too much filled with some counterfeit that ultimately cannot, will not satisfy. Sanctified emotion, sanctified experience comes only in response to divinely revealed truth. The disciples on the road to Emmaus said to one another, Remember, don't you? Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, while He opened the scriptures to us? Because of the Spirit of God in the heart of a genuine Christian, because of the Spirit of God, when the scriptures are opened, your hearts burn within you. That's heat produced from light by a power, by a work of God's Spirit, you see? The light of God's revealed Word, applied by His Spirit, produces the heat and praise of Christian worship, produces the heat of adoration. That's why we find this doxology at the end of Paul's epistle to the church at Rome. And brothers and sisters, that's why you and I should be studying His Word and learning of Him. Light produces heat. We need to know the Word of God. We need to know of Him on the pages of Scripture. We need to study His Word. His Word needs to be central, take center place in our lives as we seek His face on the pages of the Bible. We need true, genuine heat that's going to be produced by the truth applied by His Spirit. Now consider Paul's doxology then in Romans 16, verse 25. This doxology is a response of worship a response to light and the praise and worship that it elicits here, Paul gives, offers to God in praise of God for the gospel. Paul ascribes glory to God. He ascribes glory to God for the gospel. Verse 25. Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, and maybe better translated, even the preaching of Jesus Christ. In verse 25, Paul describes it as my gospel because it's the gospel that's been entrusted to him. Paul has been given the grace of apostleship as an apostle to the Gentiles. It's the gospel that Paul preached. as opposed to all those false gospels. It's the gospel that Paul preached. So he refers to it in verse 25 as my gospel. In verse 25, it's the gospel that consists of the preaching of Jesus Christ. In other words, it's the gospel that has Jesus Christ as its subject. It's the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified. Now, that preaching, preaching of the gospel, is, verse 25, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, now made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations. And the gospel is according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith. To God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. And notice with me in the text. In ascribing glory to God for the gospel, Paul emphasizes three attributes of God in his doxology. He gives us three reasons to praise God in worship. One, he emphasizes God's power. Two, he emphasizes God's grace. And three, he emphasizes God's wisdom. Now first, Paul ascribes glory to God for his power. Look at verse 25. Now to him who is able, speaks of God's power. To him who is able to establish you, to him be glory through Jesus Christ forever. In Romans 1, the very reason that Paul expresses such confidence in the gospel, the reason that he is not ashamed of the gospel, the reason that he preaches the gospel with such boldness, is because the gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. It is God God alone who is able to establish you. That word for established there literally means to strengthen you. It is God and God alone who is able to strengthen you. It is God and God alone who is able to root you. God and God alone is able to ground you, grow you. It is God alone who is able to sustain you, to preserve you, to protect you. The word translated established there refers to rendering you immovable. Immovable. It is God and God alone who can render you immovable. God alone has the power to cement you in the faith. You are not called, you are not justified, you are not established, sustained, sanctified, preserved, protected, matured, raised, or glorified in any other way or through any other power. God alone has the power to establish you. To God alone be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 7, that the incalculable, the immeasurable treasure of the gospel has been deposited or entrusted to us clay pots so that, or for the purpose that, the excellence of the power may be seen to be of God and not of us, that him who glories glory in the Lord. Amen? It's just striking. how sinful men consistently want to claim that power for themselves. I'll make the decision. I'll do this or that. I walked the aisle. I said the prayer. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter one, where Paul explains this in a little more detail. Ephesians chapter one. Our salvation is all of God, all of grace, all of his power. Ephesians 1, look at verse 15. Paul says, therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him. Why would Paul pray that our God and Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, why would Paul pray that he gives to us the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of him? Because light produces heat. Verse 18, that the eyes of your understanding then being enlightened that you may know What is the hope of His calling? What are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints? And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe? That comes through a means, doesn't it? That's what Paul is saying in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 15. That power is at work in us through a means. It's through the means of the knowledge of Him. so that you may know, verse 19, what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. To him, to him who is able to establish you be glory through Jesus Christ forever, amen. Paul speaks here of God's ability. God's power. Having begun a good work in you, He, and He alone, is certainly able to complete it. And He will. Now notice in Ephesians chapter 1, notice in Romans chapter 16, that God's power is manifest through means. This is a critical point to your Christian life. It's a critical point to our own sanctification, to your growth, to your maturity. God's power is at work in us through means. Look at Romans 16, verse 25. His power is at work through or according to the gospel. His power is at work through or according to the preaching which has Jesus Christ as its subject. Do you see? In other words, His power is not at work in a vacuum. If you're a little older, like me, you'll remember, I think it was mostly in the 70s and 80s, they used to sell tapes. That was tape, many of you don't know what a tape is, but you put it in the thing and you press play and it plays stuff on a tape. And you would put a tape in a tape machine, press play, and it would repeat mantras while you slept. And there was the idea, the thought, people bought these things up like crazy. And the idea was that as it repeated those things to you while you were sleeping, that you would actually gain some benefit from having that repeated to you while you were sleeping. God's power does not work that way. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. It doesn't happen by osmosis. You can't just expect that there's going to be some download in the middle of the night. God works through the means which he has appointed God's promises, His Word is accomplished in you according to the means or through the means which God has appointed, namely, the Word of God which reveals the person and work of His Son. It's through a knowledge of Him so that the eyes of your understanding being then enlightened, you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of His glory of the inheritance in the saints, what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe. He is able to establish you according to or through the means of the gospel and according to or through the means of the proclamation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians 3, verse 10. We have put off the old man and the new man is being renewed by God in or through what? Knowledge. Knowledge. We are putting onto the new man which is being renewed by God in or through knowledge. And that renewal, Colossians 3.10, is according to the image of Jesus Christ himself who created us. True worship is not possible apart from the means of his word. It is amazing how this world runs out after all kinds of so-called worship that is not according to his word, but it's after the devisings and imaginations of men. True growth and holiness, true sanctification, is not possible apart from the means of His Word. You will not be firmly established in the faith apart from the means of His Word. You will not. We are renewed after knowledge, the knowledge of Him who created us. Romans 12, verse 2, a text we're very familiar with. Do not be pressed into the mold of this evil present age, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Ephesians 4.23, be renewed in the spirit of your mind. The source of that knowledge And the means through which that renewal is effected is the Bible. It's the Word of God. It's the Word of God. We've been predestined to be conformed into the image of His Son. And you can be sure, you can be certain that God works in power to accomplish that end. And He works in power through an increasing knowledge of His Son. He conforms us into the image of His Son through an increasing knowledge of His Son. That knowledge gained from our understanding of Jesus Christ through the pages of Scripture. That increasing knowledge comes through His revealed Word as He shines in our heart by His Spirit to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And that light, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, applied by the Spirit, taken off the pages of scripture, that light produces the heat of love and devotion and worship. We want to sometimes imagine this mechanical Relationship between the two, that if I just read the Bible, read the Bible, read the Bible, read the Bible, sometimes this mechanical thing is just going to take place. It is a work of His Spirit as the Spirit of God applies His Word in our hearts and minds. And that work of His Spirit applying a revelation of who Jesus Christ is and what Jesus Christ has done for us, the Spirit of God applying that understanding to our hearts and minds, illumining our understanding, and that light produces heat. Not a hymn who is able to establish you. according to my gospel, to him who was able to establish you according to the preaching of Jesus Christ, to him be glory for that through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. In ascribing glory to God for the gospel, Paul first emphasizes God's power. Second, Paul ascribes glory to God for his grace. And it's his grace in making the gospel known to us. Notice the gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ and him crucified, verse 25, is according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began. That mystery, verse 26, has now been made manifest, and by the prophetic scriptures, it has been made known to all nations. That revelation, verse 26, is according to the commandment of God. We are the beneficiaries of extraordinary grace. We are the beneficiaries of extraordinary grace. We have been conferred an astonishing blessing. Paul speaks of the gospel as a mystery. A mystery because it's known only fully by God. And uses that term, a word translated kept secret. That mystery was kept secret since the world began. That word translated kept secret refers to an absence of speech, an absence of words. It was seen as in a mirror dimly. due to a lack, if you will, of words or an absence of speech. It was revealed from the very beginning in the garden. We know that, Genesis chapter 3. Promised seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. It was further revealed in the covenants of the promise. More light, more light given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. It was revealed to Moses and the prophets. We've seen in our study of the book of Romans how often Paul turns to the Old Testament, and particularly the prophets, to prove a point about the gospel that he's making in the text we're studying. Paul refers frequently to the Old Testament. But until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, what was revealed was seen only as in a mirror dimly, There was, as it were, an absence of the fullness of speech. Then Peter says, this is 1 Peter 1, verse 10, of this salvation, The prophets have inquired, they've searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you and come to me. Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them, to the prophets, it was revealed that not to themselves, But to us, they were ministering the things which have now been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Things which angels desire to look into. We have been blessed by staggering grace. Extraordinary grace has been poured out on us. This mystery has now been made manifest. Not simply proclaimed, but made manifest. Not simply or only in words, but manifest in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter one, verse three, God at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by his son, whom he has pointed air of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. He is the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person. We've been blessed. Grace has been lavished upon us, and that by the command of the everlasting God. That revelation, conceived in eternity, is being made known to all the nations in the preaching of the prophetic scriptures. That revelation made known now to all the nations in the preaching of the gospel. This is grace. It's by the grace of God, Paul says, that he has not left himself without a witness in this world. Now you and I, brothers, are that witness. We are as lights that shine in a dark place. In grace, he sent his son, and in grace, he sent the gospel of his son into the world for the salvation of sinners. Now, the aim to which this revelation is directed, verse 26, is for obedience to the faith. The aim for which this grace was manifest is for obedience to the faith. In Romans 1, verse 5, Paul described there that he was given the grace of apostleship in his ministry of the gospel for, if you remember, for the obedience of the faith or obedience to the faith among all nations for the sake of his name. Paul was given the gospel for the sake of obedience to the faith among all nations for the sake of his name. Here in Romans 16, verse 26, The gospel here has been made manifest to the nations according to the commandment of God for obedience to the faith. Those are two bookends, if you will. That's an inclusio to the book. That inclusio gives us an important insight into the mind of Paul with respect to this particular theme. In this case, Paul is not only speaking of obeying the command of the gospel by placing your faith in Jesus Christ. He is certainly referring to that, but he's not only referring to the obedience of faith. That's certainly included. However, Paul here is thinking more broadly. Paul is thinking here of the evangelical obedience from the heart that flows from a true and living faith. for obedience to the faith among all nations for the sake of his name, so that, Romans 8, verse 4, the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. We were saved that we might obey the precepts, the principles associated with the gospel, that we might obey God's word, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh. We do not walk simply to fulfill the lusts of our appetites. that we might fulfill the righteous requirements of the law. The grace of God that brings salvation, Paul explains to Titus, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. And that grace teaches us that denying ungodliness, denying worldly lusts, we should live as obedient believers as obedient, faithful slaves of our Lord Jesus Christ. We should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people, zealous for good works. How does Paul respond to such knowledge? With Paul's understanding of the gospel, how does Paul respond to such understanding? How should we respond as we grow in our understanding of the gospel? That almighty God, in the eternal counsel of his will, determined to redeem undeserving, hell-deserving sinners through the shed blood of his own son, Paul responds with worship. We should respond with worship to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen and amen. So Paul draws our attention to God's power. He draws our attention to God's infinite wisdom or to his grace. Finally, Paul draws our attention to God's infinite wisdom. In Acts 15, verse 15, with the words of the prophets, this agrees, just as it is written. The Lord says, after this, I will return. I will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. That's a prophecy of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Lord says, I will rebuild its ruins, I will set it up so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord who does all these things, known to God from eternity are all his works. He alone, he alone is wise. It was Paul's meditation on God's saving wisdom that led to the doxology that we considered at the end of Romans chapter 11, if you remember. Paul just had an outburst of praise and worship, considering God's saving wisdom. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. Paul is in awe of God for his wisdom. How unsearchable are his judgments, his ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has become his counselor? or who is first given to him, and it shall be repaid to him. For of him and through him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." You recognize doxology in those words? From revelation to adoration, from light to heat. As infinite and as inexhaustible the riches of His blessings to us through the gospel of His Son, so too are the depths of His wisdom and knowledge." Dr. Murray, knowledge refers to God's all-inclusive and exhaustive cognition and understanding. Wisdom refers to the arrangement and adaptation of all things to the fulfillment of His holy designs. But having decreed with wisdom all things whatsoever that come to pass, God then, with indescribable, unfathomable wisdom, providentially orders all things to their decreed end, not a stray molecule in the universe. To God alone, wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. How blessed are those who take heed according to his word, according to that wisdom. The wisdom of God is magnified in the preaching of the gospel to the praise of his glory. And that's why Paul here praises God for his infinite wisdom. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 3 and look there at verse 8. Ephesians chapter 3 verse 8, Paul says, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all see." How are they to see? God's revealed light, God's revealed word. So the preaching of Paul is to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ, to the intent or for the purpose that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Jesus Christ our Lord. To God alone wise be glory. The message of the cross, Paul said, is foolishness to those who are perishing. To us who are being saved, it is the power of God. It is the wisdom of God. For it is written, Paul says, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise. I will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? That foolishness is on manifest display everywhere around us right now in this world. For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. The Jews request a sign, the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. To the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men. and the weakness of God is stronger than men. There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of that way is death, and many, many, many follow in it. Seek the wisdom of God in the gospel for your eternal good. Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone. God alone is able to establish you. to God alone wise be glory. That glory, the glory of God, is displayed in the face of Jesus Christ. That glory ascribed to him in the worship of his saints forever and ever is displayed in the face, as it were, of Jesus Christ. We're to seek him in his word that we might be established, we might be the beneficiaries of grace, that we might experience the power of God the same power with which God raised him from the dead. Don't be foolish. God alone, to God alone wise be glory. Paul closes this magnificent letter then with a hymn of praise. That a hymn who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. According to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations According to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith to God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever all God's people said Amen, let's pray Father in heaven praise be to your name All glory, dominion, power be to your name. Lord, we praise you and we thank you for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord, for your power at work through the gospel to save those who believe. Your power at work through the gospel to save us, to transform us, to give us a new heart, to renew our minds, to indwell us with your spirit, to cause us to walk into your statutes and judgments and to keep them. Lord, thank you. Thank you for establishing us through the gospel. Thank you for justifying us. Thank you for granting us repentance and faith. Thank you, Lord, for working in us now by your power to sanctify us, to grow us, to mature us, to sustain us, to preserve us. And thank you, Lord, for the promise of your word that one day you will glorify us. We praise you and thank you for your wisdom, your manifold wisdom that is on display through the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is simply not a word that was conceived by men. This is the word of the living God, and we put our faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ and adhere to it, Lord. We desire from the heart to obey your word. Grant us grace, Lord, that we might live according to what you've said here, that we might live according to your word. And Lord, on the basis of that light revealed to us, by work of your spirit, may it lead to heat, Lord, the heat of devotion, the heat of service, the heat of love, the heat of affection for your name, Lord, the heat of service, the heat of zeal, may light lead to heat of worship, Lord, witness We pray these things for the sake of your name. We pray these things in the name of our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has observed them for us, and has already shed blood and calibrated them. In his name we pray. Amen. Hello, and thanks for listening. My name is Mark Brashear, and I have the blessed privilege of serving with the saints at Cornerstone Church near Orlando, Florida. We're so grateful that you've connected with us through the sermon that you've just heard. For more information, visit us at cornerstoneorlando.org, or better yet, come and see us on the Lord's Day at 3370 Snow Hill Road in Oviedo, Florida. We're just east of Orlando and about 15 minutes from the campus at UCF. It would be a joy to have you worship with us.