³⁶ For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

Doxology” is the theological term for the praise of God. The first part of the word comes from the Greek “doxa,” which means “praise,” and the second part from “logos,” which means “word” or “utterance.” No matter what Paul was found to be teaching, he often exploded into a word of praise for God. He would have surely agreed with the psalmist, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it” (Ps 139:6). He touched the edge of the eternal, and so do we when God’s truth settles in on us—the absolute awe of the knowledge of God.

For Paul, the overwhelming, arresting, wonderful conclusion to his theological dissertation on the righteousness of God (which envelops the truth of grace and mercy) was the praise of God. But as the justifier of the unjust (Rom 3:26) who has revealed true righteousness through Christ, He has shown Himself to be a God who is at work in His creation. Paul uses three prepositions to covey the totality of the Lord’s work. All things are “from” Him—He is the Creator and Originator of everything that exists. As Creator, God is over and above all of His creation, but the emphasis here is that all that exists finds its origin in God. The apostle John wrote, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3, see also Col 1:16). Even our faith, as mysterious as this may be, finds its origin in God, for as the writer of the letter to the Hebrews puts it, “He is the “author and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:2). The NLT renders it, the “champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”

But God is also praiseworthy because He is not only the catalyst for all things, He is the agent through whom all things happen. All things are “through” Him. “In Him all things hold together” (Col 1:17). He is the animation behind life (Gen 2:7). God’s plan and purpose for creation are brought into being by means of Christ. He is God’s activating agent, bringing everything along according to God’s plan for creation.

Finally, all things exist for God’s benefit, “to Him.” The goal is to glorify Him, as Paul is doing now in his letter. As has been popularly coined among Christians today, “It’s all about God, not about you.” The knowledge of God and His ways, especially the truth of His righteousness and justification, leads us to this inescapable conclusion: “To Him be glory forever. Amen.” Paul rests his theological case and enters the ultimate goal, the praise of God!

Lord, what can I say? I praise and worship and adore You, for You are worthy!