“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” (Romans 16:25-27).
God has always sought to root and ground His people so they can grow in the grace and knowledge of their Savior, without being tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. By divine design, every person who trusts in the Lord “shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).
In Paul’s final sentence of this epistle, he answers two questions about God’s establishment of you and your faith:
How? God seeks to deepen the roots of faith in the good soil of your heart by the preaching of Jesus Christ. No greater, more compelling attraction exists. As revealed in the gospel, Christ and Him crucified is the drawing force of the power of God for salvation. Its extraordinary uniqueness proves that the ultimate source of the gospel is divine in nature. No human could have possibly devised it. The testimony of the prophetic Scriptures and their precise fulfillment provides a mighty chorus of overwhelming proof that the gospel is an eternally-purposed commandment of the everlasting God.
Why? God seeks to deepen the roots of faith in the good soil of your heart so that it results in an abundant harvest of continuous obedience to the faith. When you are living an obedient life, the God of heaven is deservedly glorified through Jesus Christ; the glorious gospel of the blessed God is doing exactly what it is designed to do.
