In Jason Dohm's sermon 'The Wisdom of God Displayed in Jesus the Christ,' delivered at an unknown church, the focus is on the display of God's wisdom through Jesus Christ. The sermon marks the conclusion of a series on the Book of Romans, with an exploration of the final chapter. Dohm emphasizes that Jesus is the anointed Christ, set apart to save sinners, thereby showcasing God's wisdom. The sermon discusses the dual nature of benediction and doxology, highlighting both the blessing from God to His people and the praise from people to God. Paul’s final words in Romans commend Phoebe and offer greetings to numerous individuals, warning against divisive individuals, and extending warmth to believers in Rome. Dohm stresses the power of God to establish believers, urging listeners to claim this promise and not merely intellectualize it. The sermon underscores the Gospel's role in establishing believers and its basis in historical prophetic scriptures, now revealed through Jesus Christ. God's eternal plan, once a mystery, is now disclosed for all nations, demanding a response of faith. The wisdom of God, shown in the salvation of sinners through Jesus, brings Him unending glory. The sermon concludes by reaffirming God’s ability and willingness to sustain believers through His wisdom and the Gospel.

Well, after today we're out of verses. This is it. No more verses in Romans. Next week will be a summary sermon. That shouldn't be hard.

Just summarize the 16 chapters of Romans. And then the week after that, James will be preaching on our recitation text, Lamentations 3. Can't wait for that. So that's what's coming. And then after that, we'll have a period of time where we'll probably, I'm sure we'll preach on some individual psalms and some topical things.

And then Genesis 1 through 11. Title of the sermon is the wisdom of God displayed in Jesus the Christ. Jesus is the Christ. Christ just means anointed. Jesus has been set apart to come and save sinners.

And in Jesus being set apart to come and save sinners, the wisdom of God is put on display so that God will be known as great. That's essentially a summary of this sermon. Benediction is a pronouncement of the blessing of God on the people of God. So we are ending every service with a benediction, a pronouncement of God's blessing on God's people. A Doxology is a little bit different.

It's the pronouncement of praise to God from the people of God and This this is really both the uninspired heading in my Bible has Benediction it's actually I think more properly a Doxology It really isn't more properly praise to God, but there's certainly the blessing of God pronounced on the people of God woven in through here, so we'll maybe call it a tie. Something like that. It's both benediction and doxology. In this final chapter, Paul commended Phoebe of the church in Sincrea. Sincrea being this port city just six and a half miles away from Corinth.

Paul wanted the believers in Rome to receive her really well and to give her whatever help she needed while she was in Rome. Paul sent his personal greetings to 24 individuals and the members of two households. That was verses 3 through 16. Paul gave a final warning, a warning about those who caused divisions and offenses. That was verses 17 through 20.

Paul provided an opportunity for believers who were with him, they were probably with him in Corinth, to send their greetings to the believers in Rome. So we see in verses 21 through 25 the love that believers have for other believers even though they're far away. Their hearts aren't far away. And now in the final three verses, Paul pronounces this benediction and doxology. Let's pray, ask God to help us.

God, if you don't help us, the results will be so radically different than if you come and help us understand this text. Let your spirit throw light on it so that we see what you're saying and the truth is the truths are pressed on our hearts and we know then we'll be moved by the truth. And so I pray that that would happen. God that you wouldn't leave us alone but that your spirit would be here as our instructor. Let your spirit be here teaching in Jesus name.

Amen. All right. We are going to subdivide into three. Actually splitting the first verse in half. So forgive me for that.

I'm gonna look up to the comma. So hopefully your Bibles are still open to Romans Chapter 16. Follow along as I reread the first half of 25. Paul starts this benediction slash doxology. Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ." Here Paul speaks of God and His power to establish believers.

So if you're taking notes on the handout by filling in blanks, power fills in the blank. God and his power to establish believers. Now, I want to warn you against something in this text. We could take this up as a purely intellectual exercise. We're a classroom, I'm the head of the class, I'm the teacher, and we just get very intellectual about it.

Paul was writing to the believers in Rome. He had these specific things to say and we can take the specific things and break them down into their component parts and look at the pieces in detail. But I want to say this, let's not do that. That is far too detached for what we have here. This is a promise of God for me.

This is a promise of God for you. Brothers and sisters, the God of the universe has power to establish me. That is a promise to be claimed. The God of the universe has the power to establish you. That is a promise for you to claim.

So with Paul, we have all these modifying phrases. This is not a surprise to us at the end of Romans. All these modifying phrases. Every phrase inspired, all rich and helpful, but sometimes complicated, sometimes even confusing if we aren't disciplined about how we handle these, all these phrases that can seem like they're tangled up together. What happens if we just strip out the modifying phrases?

Just for now, not to lose the content, but just to get a top-level overview of what Paul is doing overall before we proceed with the rest. So I promise we'll get to all the modifying phrases. But for now, to get a top-level view of what Paul is really about in this text, I propose that we just strip out all the modifying phrases and see what's left. Here's what's left. Now to Him who is able to establish you believer, to God alone wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever.

Amen. There is a God who is able to establish you, believer. His wisdom is displayed through that. He's going to receive honor and glory because of Jesus and his work forever. That's what's here.

Everything else is icing on that cake. That's the cake. That's the gravy. Everything else is the gravy. That's the meat.

In this half verse, the first half of verse 25, Paul teaches us two things. One, what God undertakes by His power, and two, how he accomplishes it. What does God undertake by His power? He establishes each individual believer, every individual believer. He undertakes that by his power.

Now to him who is able, King James renders it, of power. Now to him who is of power to establish. It means to have both the authority and the strength. You have the right to do it and you have the might to do it. All the authority to do it and all the ability, strength, might to do it.

What does God have the power to do? Anything and everything? But in this case, specifically, God has the power to establish, What does the Greek lexicon say about this word that is translated, established? To fix firmly in place. To strengthen and make firm.

So, I don't want to just intellectualize that. I want to claim that as a promise of God for me, the Almighty God of heaven and earth, has the authority and might to fix me firmly in place, to strengthen me and make me firm. Can you think of anything more comforting than that? Is there a more comforting doctrine in the Bible than that? Here's what Matthew Poole says.

Matthew Poole was on fire this week. You're going to hear him several times. Here's what Matthew Poole says. Our own weakness and Satan's power are such that unless God did establish us, we should soon totter and fall. Do you believe that?

If you don't, you haven't been in the Lord long. If you've been in the Lord for a while, you understand that your weakness and Satan's power are such that unless the mighty power of God was committed to fix you firmly in place, you would soon totter and fall. Then Matthew Poole says this, see chapter 14 verse 4. Okay, let's see chapter 14 verse 4. Who are you to judge another servant?

Remember this is the whole text about the weaker and stronger brother and how one shouldn't despise the other one shouldn't judge the other he says who who are you to judge another servant to his own master he stands or falls do you remember what he says next Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. Don't you judge that brother or sister? That's not your servant, that's God's servant. He or she will stand or fall to his own master, and he or she will stand. Will be made to stand for God is able to make him stand, is able to make her stand.

God is the master of the believer and God is able to make him or her stand. Willing and able. That's the whole point. Not just having the might, but having the will, the purpose, the desire, the love to make the believer stand. Master but also Father.

A master might be able but the Father is willing. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 3. But the Lord is faithful who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. How will you be firmly fixed in place, strengthened, and made to stand? Because God is faithful.

It's really not any more complex than that. It is rooted in the faithfulness of God. The believer will stand because God is able to make the believer stand, willing to make the believer stand, not just Master but also Father and a faithful Father. The Lord is faithful who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. Period.

Amen. And how does God accomplish it? How does He establish me? Through the gospel. The realities that form the Good News, and through the proclamation of the Gospel, the declaration of who Jesus is, and what He has done.

So, this is what Paul says. Now, to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel. It is the realities of the gospel. So The Gospel is a message, but it's a message about reality, about realities. Things that God has accomplished.

It's not just words. We think of the Gospel as words, and it includes words. It is a message to be declared, but it's a message about things that are real. He establishes you according to the gospel, the realities that are at the base of the message. It's what we have to talk about.

It's what we have to declare. The realities. So God establishes us through the realities that form the good news. The good news isn't just wishful thinking. Hey, here's some nice things to say.

The good news is really good news because it stands on realities. And through the proclamation of these realities, the declaration of who Jesus is. Nobody but Jesus could provide what we need, could do what needs to be done. The person and work of Jesus. Listen to Rob Ventura.

We're saying goodbye to Rob Ventura. He doesn't have a commentary on Genesis. Bye, Rob. It's been great. Rob Ventura says, as we keep hearing the apostolic gospel faithfully taught and proclaimed, God is going to use it to help us stand steadfastly all our days.

He will use the good news of our Lord Jesus to fortify our souls and to keep us spiritually safe and sanctified on the straight and narrow path that leads to life. As he has just unfolded the Gospel throughout the book, he now assures us that as we continue to hear it expounded, God will use it for much good in our lives. Oh yes. The realities of the Gospel and the proclamation of the Gospel is what God uses in His power to fix firmly in place the believer, to strengthen us and make us stand. I love the final verse of I Love to Tell the Story.

From time to time we sing I love to tell the story listen to the final verse I love to tell the story for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest and when in scenes of glory I sing the new song will be the old old story that I have loved so long. This is true of believers. The better they know the story, the more they want to hear it again. Oh, you're saying that again? Yes, we're saying that again.

Let it make your heart sing again. The Gospel is what makes the heart of a believer sing. We don't grow tired of it. Those in the Lord don't grow tired of it. If you've grown tired of hearing it again, that should concern you.

That should worry you. That is a flashing red light. Those who know that song the best are hungering and thirsting to hear it again. Remember what Paul said about the Gospel in chapter 1. He's ending the letter this way, talking about the Gospel.

But he also started the letter this way. Listen to Romans 1, 16 and 17. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. For it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. For the Jew first, also for the Greek.

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith." It's the source of our life. But it also sustains us. It's not just the starting point of life. That's why we can't just leave it behind.

Oh well, I guess it got me into the kingdom, now move on to other things. No, no, no, we do not move on to other things. What would we move on to? Move on to other things. It's the power of God to salvation.

And to just live by it. It is the source of their life, but then it sustains their life. So brothers and sisters, the Almighty God is both willing and able to fix you firmly in place and strengthen you through the realities and proclamation of the gospel claim that here it is claim it live that way I feel weak but God is strong. I feel weak, but God is faithful. I feel so unfaithful.

God is faithful. My weakness doesn't rule the day. God's strength rules the day. My unfaithfulness doesn't rule the day. God's faithfulness rules the day.

So I rest in that. I claim that. I rest in that. Alright, let's keep going. Starting at the halfway point of verse 25, so 25b through 26.

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." In this verse and a half, Paul speaks of an eternal plan to save sinners kept secret, but now revealed to the nations. So, sinners, fills in the blank if you're taking notes that way, an eternal plan to save sinners kept secret, but now revealed to the nations. This tells us something about the Gospel, some things about the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. The Gospel was kept secret for all of human history, but with the living and dying and rising again of Jesus, it has now been made known to all nations. So from the beginning of human history till the coming and living and dying and rising again of Jesus, it was kept secret.

But now, with the coming of Jesus and the completion of his work, it has been made known to all nations. So, for all of human history leading up to the coming of Jesus, the gospel was a mystery. It was hidden, waiting to be revealed. So it was a firm fixed plan in eternity. It was always going to happen because it was God's purpose, only mankind didn't know it was a mystery hidden, waiting to be revealed.

But now it is revealed to all nations through the prophetic scriptures. But wait, the prophetic scriptures go way back in human history. In every instance, hundreds of years before Jesus left heaven and took on flesh to save us. Meaning, the prophetic scriptures, the young ones, the young prophetic scriptures, are hundreds of years old, and the old ones are thousands of years old, before the coming of Jesus. So How can you call it a mystery?

Hidden. Let's get some help. John Calvin, help us. Here's what he has to offer. Calvin says, if anyone objects and says that there is an inconsistency in the words of Paul because he says that the mystery of which God had testified by His prophets was hid throughout all the ages.

The solution of this knot is plainly given by Peter, meaning how are we going to untie this knot? Peter tells us how to untie the knot. "...that the prophets when they inquired of the salvation made known to us, ministered not to themselves, but to us." 1 Peter 1.12. I'll come back and read that. Calvin says, God then was at that time silent though he spoke, For he held in suspense the revelation of those things concerning which he designed that his servants should prophesy.

God was in the prophetic scriptures silent though He spoke. He said some things, it was enough to peel back the veil just a little. But how these things would be fulfilled... Prophecy is easy in hindsight. Prophecy is really easy in hindsight.

Really hard to know exactly what that means and exactly how that would be fulfilled. Listen to what Calvin references here, 1 Peter 1 verses 10 through 12. 1 Peter 1 verses 10 through 12. Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have 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." Now, what's he saying there?

The prophets didn't know either. The prophets were given these prophecies that gave a little light, peeled back the curtain a little bit, and they wanted to look further in and couldn't. And God revealed to them, yeah, I'm ministering these things for the people who will receive the fulfillment of them. Here's what Matthew Henry says. So those prophecies were as much or more for us after the fulfillment of them as they were for the people who received the prophecies.

Not exclusively for us, but as much or more for us. That's why it's such a tragedy when people say, yeah, I think we ought to throw the Old Testament away. It's just, it's a thinner book. Let's just keep the thinner one. That's a terrible idea for a bunch of different reasons, and this is one of them.

Here's what Matthew Henry says. Now the event, so he's talking about the gospel, he's talking about Jesus and the fulfillment of these things, Jesus and who He was and what He came to do. Now the event has given the best exposition to the prophecies of the Old Testament. As we're looking back through the fulfillment of them, The event is the best exposition of those prophecies. Amen.

Being accomplished, they are explained. The preaching of the prophets as far as it related to this mystery was in a great measure dark and unintelligible in the ages wherein they lived. In the ages of the prophets these things were very dark, very unintelligible. But the scriptures of the prophets, the things which they left in writing are now not only made plain in themselves, but by them this mystery is made known to all nations. If the New Testament explains the Old, the Old Testament very much illustrates the New.

Amen! Amen! The New Testament explains the Old. We know the meaning of the Old Testament so much better than any and every Old Testament saint. But the Old Testament now beautifully illustrates the new, doesn't it?

It gave them hope and at least taught them to look forward to the salvation that God was promising, but it gives us confidence. How much confidence do you get by seeing? Here and here and here and here and here and here, God said these things would happen and they've all come to pass. How much confidence does that give you? That gives me so much confidence.

Now you can go to the nations and say, God promised this for thousands of years and He has fulfilled it in Jesus Christ. You can have confidence that this is a saving gospel. This gospel will save anyone to the uttermost who comes to God by faith in His Son Jesus Christ. This is not a new thing that popped up out of nowhere. This is a thing that happened in fulfillment to thousands of years and hundreds of years of prophecies across all that time.

Many prophets, many prophecies over centuries and millennia all fulfilled in Christ. We go to the nations with that message. This is the eternal plan of God. How do we know? Because God was talking about it thousands of years before He purposed to bring it to pass and has brought it to pass.

And this is according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith. That's the exact words of the text. Why is the gospel going to all nations? God commanded it. Why are we sitting here in North America having the gospel?

It happened. Continents away from us. But God commanded that it would make it to us and it has made it to us. God mobilizes His people and empowers His people and has commanded and is commanding his people to take the gospel to the nations. He has commanded it.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Paul is drawing on that in this benediction slash doxology. And what is the purpose of taking the gospel to the nations obedience to the faith it's so that they would embrace salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The Gospel is a declaration that concludes with a demand for a response. If the gospel is ever shared, ever preached, ever told, without a concluding demand for a response.

You're just not done yet. You might have said everything right about God, man, Christ. This is our four-part outline of the Gospel. God, man, Christ. All well and good.

It demands a response. You have no claim on the person and work of Jesus Christ until you respond to these truths. You can explain all about God and His good perfect goodness, His perfect holiness, all about mankind and His hopelessness in His corruption, All about Christ and what he has done. We cannot end there. It demands a response.

It is obedience to the faith. This isn't works based righteousness. This is demanding a response to who Jesus is and what he's done. Salvation is by grace alone, Comma, not period. Salvation is by grace alone, comma, through faith alone.

Trusting Jesus And entrusting ourselves to Jesus is the alone instrument by which we gain access to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. I say alone instrument because that's the language of the confession. And it means there's only one way to gain an interest in what Jesus did on the cross. It is trusting Him and trusting yourself to Him. It is the alone instrument.

You'll not find another one. It's all alone. Faith. God commands all people everywhere to repent and believe in His Son Jesus Christ. Those who do respond in repentance and faith are saved, but Only those who do respond in repentance and faith are saved.

No one else is saved. There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. No other way. Verse 27. Paul concludes, to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever.

Amen. Here he speaks of the unending glory brought to the all wise God by Jesus Christ. Filling in blanks, unending in glory, fills the two blanks. The unending glory brought to the all wise God by Jesus Christ. Filling in blanks, unending in glory, fills the two blanks.

The unending glory brought to the all wise God by Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ brings him unending glory by putting his wisdom on display. Three things to say. Number one, only God is wise. That he gives his people wisdom does not make that not true.

Well she's wise, yeah God gave her that. That's God's wisdom. He's still alone wise. If God left us to ourselves, we would have no clue how to apply truth for the purpose of our good in His glory. That's what wisdom is.

Taking truth, taking knowing something rightly, truth, knowledge of the truth, and then applying it for our own good in God's glory, knowing what to do with truth. God is wisdom. God is the source of wisdom. Any wisdom that you have has God as its source. It's God's wisdom.

We lower the bar and said, man, he's smart. No, not what Paul is talking about here. Matthew Poole. He is said to be only wise, because none is as wise as He, and all the wisdom of others is from Him. The wisdom of men and angels is but a ray from his light." Again, he is said to be only wise because he is originally wise.

His wisdom is of himself, yea, his wisdom is himself. The Greek word itself means, you should note this, this is great, the Greek word itself means forming the best plans and using the best means for their execution that's what this word means that's being translated wisdom forming the best plans and using the best means for their execution. Isn't that a perfect description of what God does? Have you ever formed the best plan? And even if you said, yeah I had this one plan, it was the best plan, did you devise the best means for its execution?

I doubt it. But it's a perfect description of what God does. That's number one. Only God is wise. Number two, the wisdom of God is made known through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

God's dealings with sinful mankind through his son Jesus displays his wisdom. Do you want to know something about the matchless wisdom of God? You want to know something? Watch God save sinners! And you'll know something about the matchless wisdom of God.

Watch Him take rebels and make them sons and daughters in His household. That's number two. The wisdom of God is made known through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Showing us His wisdom. Number three, God receives glory for this now and forever.

God receives glory for this now and forever. Paul wasn't waiting. He erupts into praise here. But Paul understood that there would be no end to it either. So he says that the glory through Jesus Christ will be to God forever.

Amen. It's going to last forever. This is what we're going to do in eternity. We're going to worship God for His wisdom and how He saved sinners. Applications.

I'll give you three and then a closing text. Number one, believer. The Almighty God is perfectly willing and perfectly able to fix you firmly in place, to strengthen you, and make you firm. You say the storms of life are going to sweep me away. That's not true.

False. Why isn't it true? Aren't you weak? Don't you have enemies that are like a lion? None of that matters.

None of that matters. Why? Because God has undertaken your protection. God has undertaken to fix you firmly in place. Who could stop Him from doing that?

God has undertaken to strengthen you and make you firm. Who could stop Him? No one. What does Paul write to the Philippians? Philippians 1.6.

Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Will complete it. 2. In the form of a question, Yes. The preaching of Jesus Christ is for unbelievers.

Taking the Gospel to the nations, the preaching of Jesus Christ is for believers. Oh, hunger and thirst to hear it like the rest. The better you know it, the more hungry you are to hear it one more time. You're never beyond needing it. The preaching of Jesus Christ has within it the kernel of saving grace, but also sustaining grace, establishing grace.

It's not just saving grace which meets up with the preaching of the gospel. It's also sustaining and establishing grace. Three. Meditate on the wisdom of God in bringing glory to himself by saving sinners through Jesus. What if you just took five minutes of silence?

You've got to be away from the hubbub. What if you took just five minutes away from the hubbub to just think about the wisdom of God in bringing glory to Himself. Okay God, how are you going to glorify yourself? Here's how I'm going to glorify myself. I'm going to glorify myself by displaying my wisdom in the saving of sinners through my son.

That's how I'm going to do it. You just spent five minutes just thinking about that. That would be profitable. Let's close with another benediction slash doxology that is so very similar. Jude 24 and 25.

Just listen. As I read it, I'm going to read it slowly. Think about all the overlap with our text. It's almost like there's a single author for these things and not multiple authors. How could we explain that?

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy to God our Savior who alone is wise be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and forever. Amen. God I thank you that you have all the authority and all the might to fix us firmly in place to keep us from stumbling. Thank you that you have determined to display your wisdom and to secure for yourself eternal glory through the saving of sinners through your Son, Jesus. Receive all the honor.

We know that it's impossible that it could be otherwise. You will receive honor through all eternity. You have secured it for yourself through Jesus' work. We're glad. Receive the glory.

You ought to have it. In Jesus' name, Amen.