Conclusion - 2 Repentance

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 which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 16:25-27)

In my last post I arranged this text in an outline form to present one option of how it might fit together. I feel that there are possibly many ways that the various pieces may compliment and enforce each other and I would like to possibly look at several. At the same time I also want to start unpacking what some of the words and phrases mean as well as how the context influences that.

Now to Him is an interesting phrase that confused me somewhat when I looked it up in the Greek. I could not find any reference to the to Him part of this phrase. But when I contacted a theology professor who taught Greek he assured me that it was inherent in the language nuances of the original Greek words. I have to take his word for this since I have no training in Greek myself.

What does seem more evident to me is that Paul begins to apply a long list of qualifiers to this first subject and does not return to “finishing the sentence” until the very end of the last verse where he then identifies who the him is. Paul is known for some of his rather lengthy and sometimes convoluted language structures which at times evidently even caused some of the other apostles to scratch their heads trying to figure out just what he was trying to get across. (see 2 Peter 3:15, 16)

But in the end, the him referred to is interestingly God the Father. I find this very helpful and informative given that very often Christians tend to put so much focus on Jesus that they create a rift in the minds of many between Jesus and the Father and cause many to think that Jesus and God are somehow different in their attitudes and feelings towards us. But in this passage Paul makes it very clear that everything we learn about God is expressed from the Father through Jesus. But now I am referring to the end of this text instead of starting at the beginning as I intended.

What does become more clear at the beginning of this passage is that it is the Father God who is the one causing us to be established using all the following ways listed of accomplishing this goal. I find this very compelling and even comforting. For too many years I, like many others, lived in secret fear of God the Father while Jesus seemed much more likable and approachable. I was taught externally that Jesus and God were supposed to be the same, but the implications of much of the religious teachings that I absorbed growing up often implied something quite different than this. So I lived with the assumption that Jesus was somehow sent to this earth to run interference between me and God and to satisfy His hunger for vengeance, to exhaust His wrath against me and to protect me from the fierce punishments that the Father seemed eager to dish out on anyone not thus shielded.

I am very glad to be in the process of coming free of these terrible lies about the Father. It still makes me very upset when I hear people teaching and promoting such concepts, but I have to remember to be patient with them as well, just as God has been patient with me for so many years while I changed my opinions about Him. Now I am coming to realize the glorious truth that God the Father Himself is just as eager and willing to draw me into His grace and peace and love as anything I have ever learned about Jesus. This verse tells me that it is the Father who is the one who is able to establish me through the various ways that are spelled out in these two verses.

I looked up the Greek word for this establish and found it helpful in enhancing my understanding of what God wants to do for me. Here is the explanation of what this word means from Strong's definition.

to set fast, i.e. (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (figuratively) to confirm:--fix, (e-)stablish, steadfastly set, strengthen.

One thing that I really like to remind myself of when thinking about this definition is that it is God, yes even God the Father, who is the one who causes me to turn resolutely in a certain direction, which is toward knowing Him and drawing close to Him. This reminds me of the text that reveals one of the real truths about repentance which is what this seems to be likely referring to.

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. (Acts 5:30-31)

Repentance is a gift that must be received from God before anyone can use it or implement it in their salvation. Too often we think that we can just repent any time we feel like it and turn our life around when we get around to it. But this is not the truth as taught in the Word of God. Repentance is a change of mind and direction inwardly that can only happen in us when we choose to accept this work in our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit sent to us by Jesus. The changing of direction in our hearts is only accomplished through the power of God, not by our own willpower. The part we have in this is to accept the spirit of repentance when it is offered to us, take possession of it by choosing to own it and then exercise it immediately in obedience to the promptings of the Spirit, which then gives the Spirit permission to implement it effectively into our experience.

As I accept this gift of repentance and experience the transformative changes that it brings into my life, I will also become established, steadfastly set, settled and strengthened in the truth, the truth about reality and my relationship with God and how He thinks about me. And the really good news (which is what the gospel is all about) is that it is God the Father along with His Son and His Spirit that are all eager and ready to do this in my life personally. They want me to be set in my ways and unmovable as I settle into the real truth about God and come to know and love Him more and more.

I choose to accept this invitation by the Father to have Him grant me repentance and settle me into the truth about Him. I accept the truth in this verse that He is able to do this in my life and I ask Him to do it right now.

Next time I want to explore more of just how this is to take place – through the gospel, the preaching of Jesus Christ, through the unveiling of the great mystery that is waiting to glow with transforming light deep within my soul.

(next in series)