“Of Him”

1 Corinthians 1:30

            The Scriptures declare, to the everlasting consolation of our souls, that all things are “of him.” God our Father is the original cause of all things. It is written, “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen” (Romans 11:36). When speaking specifically about the salvation of our souls, the Apostle Paul wrote, “all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:18). Salvation is altogether the work of God. Man makes no contribution to the work, neither by his works nor by his will. “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Romans 9:16).

Absolute Sovereignty

This great work of God is a work of absolute sovereignty. Salvation belongs to God (Psalm 3:8). He gives it to whom he will. He is under no constraint to bestow his salvation upon any; but he has graciously chosen to bestow it upon some. Indeed, this is his glory. He will be gracious to whom he will be gracious. He said to Moses, when Moses asked to see his glory, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion…Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth” (Romans 9:15, 18).

Infinite Wisdom

God’s salvation is a work of infinite wisdom. It is the display of “the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus the Lord” (Ephesians 3:10-11). In infinite wisdom the God of all grace devised a means by which he could be both “a just God and a Saviour” (Isaiah 45:21). If God is true to his word (And he assuredly is!), every sin must be punished to the full satisfaction of divine justice, every transgression and disobedience must receive a just recompense of reward, and every sinner must die under the wrath of God. Yet, infinite wisdom found a way to save. The Lord God says of his chosen, “Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom” (Job 33:24). And through that ransom, by the substitutionary sacrifice of his own dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, “by mercy and truth iniquity is purged” (Proverbs 16:4).

Strict Justice

The salvation of our souls is accomplished by the strict, unbending justice of God. When Christ was made sin for us, the Lord God poured out on his darling Son all the fury of his holy wrath and justice. At last, when the Lamb of God cried, “It is finished” and gave up the ghost, when the sword of justice buried itself in his dear Son, God said, “Enough! Justice demands no more!” And now he declares to every soul for whom Christ died, to every sinner who trusts his Son, “Fury is not in me” (Isaiah 27:4).

Free Grace

This great salvation, justly obtained by our Lord Jesus Christ by the price of his own precious blood, is freely bestowed upon chosen, redeemed sinners as the unconditional bounty of God’s free grace. It cannot be earned by man, or lost by man. It is the gift “of God!”

Don Fortner

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