All About Him

(Rom 1:5) "Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name…”

There are six strong assertions in this one verse!

Ø It’s all through Jesus
Ø Through Him we receive Grace
Ø Through Him Paul received apostleship and we each receive a mission
Ø Through Him we teach obedience to the faith
Ø Through Him We reach out to all nations
Ø All of this is for the Glory of His Name

1. It’s All “…Through Him…”

a. It is absolutely impossible to minister in the Spirit unless all is done through Christ Jesus and For Christ Jesus—(John 15:5) ""I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

b. He is the Head of the church

(1) (Col 1:18) "And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence."
(2) (Col 2:10) "and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."

(3) Eph 1:19 “…His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 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. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

c. In the end of all things, it will be His Name that is worshiped by every creature under heaven—(Phil 2:9-11) "Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

d. The Reason That God Made Everything is for His Own Glory—we will see more of that tonight when we talk about His Name.

(1) WE are saved “…(Eph 1:6) "to the praise of the glory of His grace…."

(2) He created us for His Glory—(Isa 43:7) "Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory…"

(3) He brought Israel out of slavery (Psa 106:8) "Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, That He might make His mighty power known."

(4) He promised to end the exile (Isa 48:9-11) ""For My name's sake I will defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off. 10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. 11 For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another."

(5) Christ came so that “… the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy…” Rom 15:9

(6) Our entire life is to be dedicated to His Glory (1 Cor 10:31) "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."


2. Through Him We Are Saved –“…through Him we have received Grace…”

a. What is Grace?

(1) God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense

(2) Unmerited favor (which does not go far enough)

(3) First, what is Grace NOT?

(a) It is not showing common mercy, as one might express in dropping a small bill in a homeless man’s lap.

(b) Grace is not something that man may produce, call forth, unleash, call down, create, or enhance—Grace is all of God.

(4) What then, IS Grace?



(a) Grace is kindness and mercy beyond human understanding

(b) Grace is power and love beyond human understanding

(c) Grace is not unmerited favor, as is commonly said—true, but not far enough at all

(d) Grace is kindness, mercy and favor of a supernatural kind, to one who has “positive DE merit” (Pink)

(e) Grace is not me giving money to a beggar. Grace is me adopting as my child a man who killed my own son.

b. Grace in the New Testament.

(1) Grace secures our justification—(Rom 3:24) "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"

(2) Grace and faith work together to eliminate works as a part of salvation—(Rom 4:4-5) "Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness," (Rom 4:16) "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all"

(3) Grace gives us a hope and a place to stand—(Rom 5:2) "through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

(4) Grace Reigns over death—(Rom 5:20-21) "Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

(5) Grace and works do not mix in salvation—(Rom 11: 6 And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work."

(6) Grace empowers believers to use their spiritual gifts—(Rom 12:6) "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…" (Eph 4:7) "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift."

(7) Any doctrine that ignores grace is a different Gospel—(Gal 1:6) "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,"

(8) Grace is NOT license to sin!

(Rom 6:1) "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"


(Rom 6:14-15) "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!"

(9) Those who try to turn grace into license are denying the Lordship of Christ—(Jude 1:4) "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ."

(10) Grace Makes us accepted in the Beloved—(Eph 1:6-7) "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved….”

(11) Grace Saves Us—(Eph 2: 8”… For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…"

(12) Grace, mercy, and help is found at the throne of Grace—(Heb 4:16) "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

(13) Grace is something in which the believer grows—(2 Pet 3:18) "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen."

(14) And we received this grace through HIM!


3. Through Him We are Empowered for service—“…and apostleship…”

a. Apostleship—again, as we have said several times, to be an apostle was a special thing which cannot be repeated and is not repeated now

(1) An apostle was an eyewitness of the risen Lord

(2) An apostle was a special messenger of Christ

(3) An apostle was given miraculous signs to prove and reinforce the authority of the Word he brought, whether written or spoken.

(4) The Apostles were foundational to the church—(Eph 2:20) "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone,"


b. The True Believer Glorifies God’s Grace by Exercising God’s Gifts: We are not all apostles, but we are all witnesses.

c. God gives to each believer a ministry and one or more gifts.

(1) (1 Cor 12:7) "… the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all…”

(a) First, if you are a believer, you have at least one spiritual gift for the building up of the body

(b) If you have no gift, you are not a believer—but if you are gifted and are not serving the Lord in your local church, then you are short changing your brothers and sisters in Christ.

(2) Every Gift must be exercised by Grace, just as it was a gift of grace.

(a) We must be realistic, neither puffed up, nor in false denial of the gifts God gives us—(Rom 12:3 "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith..”

(b) The Unity of the Body is the basis for gracious usage of the gifts given to us by God. Rom 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

(c) But this unity must NOT be false unity, a temporary truce or peace to make us think we are one.

(d) John 17:17ff and Eph 4:1-6 plainly tell us that there is no unity outside of Truth. As Amos said: (Amos 3:3) "Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"

(e) We are to Use God’s Gracious gifts to us, and we are to exercise them in a godly way. Rom 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; 7 or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; 8 he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness."