Focus: Our lost and broken world may rejoice today, because the mystery of God’s salvation is revealed in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Function: To encourage the people to take to heart the scriptures’ call to rejoice in God’s salvation, which is revealed through Christ, our Lord.
Text: Romans 16:25-27
His name was Isaac Watts. He was born in England on July
17, 1674. Already as a young child, Isaac Watts demonstrated a feel for rhyme
and poetry. Sometimes, he even spoke in rhyme to his parents. Once, for
example, his father asked Isaac why he had his eyes open while they were
praying. The boy responded, saying: “A little mouse for want of stairs ran
up a rope to say its prayers.” It seems that Isaac had been watching a mouse
climbing a rope during prayer time. Isaac’s father was not happy with his son’s
response—and said so. The boy then replied to his father, saying, “O father,
do some pity take. And I will no more verses make.”
Well,
it so happened that young Isaac Watts grew up to be a prolific, Christian hymn
writer. And one of his most famous Christmas carols is “Joy to the World.”
Isaac Watts did not write the tune we know and love so well today. He only
wrote the text, based on Psalm 98. (It was Lowell Mason, in 1848, who wrote the
present-day tune of this Christmas carol).
Even
though we may know the tune and words of this Christmas carol so well, I would
not be surprised to discover that most of us would be hard-pressed to explain
to a stranger why the world should rejoice in this season of Advent and
Christmas.
How true! Our world needs joy! For we live in a lost, broken, and dark world. Lost in ignorance of our Creator, and broken by the misery of sin and death, our world experiences alienation from God. Millions of people bow down to all kinds of gods—some in defiance to their Creator; others in ignorance of their Creator and his will for all of us. And again, others bow down to themselves and live as gods, pretending that all of life centers on them, and being accountable to no one but one oneself. Our world needs joy, because our world has lost its way to God.
Our world is also broken by violence, despair, and disunity. In our own country we are experiencing uncivil discourse among politicians and political parties. The voices and often hate-filled actions of extremists on the left and on the right are shrill and deafening. These voices make civil discourse and the exchange of ideas nearly impossible.
We live in a dark world, where rioting youths paralyze the streets in Athens, where a shoe-throwing Arab reporter nearly hits the president of the U.S. at a press conference in Iraq. We live in a world where lewd behavior is in, and where clean conduct is scorned as old-fashioned and probably motivated by bigotry and narrow-mindedness.
We live in a world where terror is at the forefront of daily news. Consider, for example, the slaughter of innocent lives in Mumbai, India a few weeks ago; or the dynamite sticks found in a department store this week in Paris, France. Also, we live in a world where a global economic meltdown is taking place right before our eyes. It’s in that world of terror and economic uncertainty that we hear the song “Joy to the World.” Can anybody explain why the world should rejoice today?
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Here is the good news: our lost and broken world may rejoice today, because the mystery of God’s salvation is revealed in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. I declare this good news in light of the passage in Romans 16:25-27. Let me therefore say a few things about these two verses.
First of all, in the original Greek language, these two verses constitute one long sentence. When you study Paul’s letters, you’ll notice that he has a way of breaking out in exuberance and praise to God. And when he does, he is not afraid to pack his doxology or song of praise with all kinds of themes and attributes that belong to God and to God’s work of salvation. In his doxologies, Paul wraps all kinds of gold nuggets about God’s saving work. And this passage is no different. It’s a first class song of praise. A doxology!
Secondly, this passage concludes Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. In this letter, we find the missionary apostle doing theological thinking and integration at his best. Paul is a deep Christian thinker who explains the saving work of God in light of the O.T. scriptures. Paul’s letter to the church in Rome is not in the same vein as a memo or a Christmas letter to the extended family. It’s not light reading. In fact, Paul’s letter to the Roman church is loaded with rich, biblical themes and complex explanations about God’s saving work in Christ. And just as the beginning and middle of Paul’s letter call for mature, scriptural knowledge and spiritual wisdom, so also the conclusion. Paul ends his letter, then, not with a whisper but with a bang—a doxological gold nugget of rich, biblical proportion.
Thirdly, this concluding passage contains 4 parts (cf. John Stott). In the first part of his doxology, Paul writes of the power of God: “Now to him who is able to establish you….” That is, to him who has the power to make you strong, mature, and wise…. At the very beginning of Paul’s letter (in Romans 1:16), Paul speaks of the power of God to save us through the gospel. Now, at the end of his letter, Paul speaks of the power of God to establish us through the gospel. In this first part of Paul’s doxology, then, we must take note of God’s power.
In the second part of his doxology, Paul writes of the gospel of Jesus Christ: “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ….” Here we take note of the centrality of preaching the gospel as it relates to the person and work of the Lord Jesus. “Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again,” stands at the heart of Gospel preaching. The gospel of Jesus Christ emits the power of God. It is through the gospel that God’s power reaches to the core of our being. In reference to the gospel, the apostle Paul also makes reference to “the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God….” I will say more about this in a moment. For now, I want you to observe the four parts that make up this awesome doxology.
The third part of Paul’s song of praise touches upon the spread of the good news to all the nations. Paul refers to the gospel, the revelation of God’s mystery “…so that all nations might believe and obey him….” This, of course, touches upon the question, why should the nations rejoice? It’s because the gospel is being proclaimed to the entire world. God is opening the door or pathway for all peoples to be reconciled with him, to find shalom, peace and eternal salvation offered to all who turn to Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. The apostle Paul, though a deep biblical thinker and theologian, remains at heart an evangelist. “Joy to the world!” flutters or vibrates through Paul’s doxology.
The final part of Paul’s song is in praise of God’s wisdom: “…to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ.” Paul is deeply aware of God’s saving wisdom, which is all bundled up in Jesus Christ. For as we read in Colossians 2:3, in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” This doxology, with its four parts—in praise of God’s power, God’s wisdom, and in praise of God’s saving work in Christ and the spread of the gospel—this song declares joy to the world.
The root
cause for joy to the world lies with the gospel. Paul refers to that gospel as “the
revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made
known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God….”
Note: the term “mystery”
suggests that God’s gospel or work of salvation was not fully revealed. For a
long time, the O.T. scriptures or prophetic writings were obscure; but with the
coming of the Lord Jesus—his incarnation, his death and resurrection and
ascension—we now have a key to interpret the O.T. scriptures in such a way that
the mystery can now be seen and understood clearly. The person and work of
Jesus are the key to understand God’s awesome work of salvation.
For a long time that mystery was hidden, says Paul. Here are some O.T. texts that confront us with God’s work of salvation—in an obscure fashion:
Genesis 3:15 (God spoke to the
serpent in the context of Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience). God said: “And
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and
hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 12:2-3 (God entered into a
covenant relationship with Abram, saying “I will make you into a great
nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a
blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will
curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
II Samuel 7:12-13 (God spoke to
King David through the prophet Nathan). God said, “When your days are
over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed
you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is
the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of
his kingdom forever.”
These, and many other prophetic words in the O.T. writings, obscured, yet also revealed God’s ongoing project of saving the world from sin and death. That project of salvation comes to fulfillment with the coming of the Lord Jesus in the flesh. It is revealed, says Paul.
More than
that, today it is being made known to the world. What is that mystery that the
world needs to know? It is that God has reconciled the world to himself into
one body. There is no longer division between Jew and Gentile; there is now one
nation, one body, one true Israel. Today, God is calling Jews and Gentiles,
that is, all people, to himself through faith in Christ Jesus. This is why Paul
can say to the church in Ephesus: “…remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the
covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the
blood of Christ.”
Thus we may say in light of today’s Scripture that our
lost and broken world may rejoice, because the mystery of God’s salvation is
revealed in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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So, let’s apply the Scriptures to our lives. I will ask you two questions and then leave you with a call.
(1) Do you know the mystery of God and his saving power? Have you come to terms with the Lord Jesus? He is the key to God’s saving work. He reveals the mystery of the triune God. You must not bypass Jesus. You can’t keep the Christ-child in his manger at Bethlehem. We must come to him in faith and open our hearts and minds for him to dwell within us.
To invite the Lord Jesus Christ into our lives, we must confess our sins, acknowledge our need for Jesus to transform our hearts, and yield to his will for our lives. We do these things as a response of trust and faith to God’s saving work in Christ Jesus. Do you know the saving power of God as it is being revealed today through the preaching and teaching of God’s Word?
(2) Do you know the power of God to establish you in the Christian faith? That is, are you growing and maturing in your relationship with the triune God? Are you growing strong in doctrine and faith? Are you open to the work of the Holy Spirit within you to become more and more like Christ? It’s God’s will that we not only shall be saved through Christ. God also wills that we become mature and strong in faith. The joy that comes to anyone who turns to Christ in faith becomes a steely, steadfast resolve to live under the umbrella of God’s Word and love. Are you becoming established in the gospel and the Christian faith?
These are my questions.
Here’s my call: Rejoice in the midst of darkness and brokenness. Marvel at God’s mystery of salvation. Sing the songs of Advent and Christmas! Let that joy to the world enter your heart! It will make all the difference in your life.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.