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Wednesday, October 07 2020
Contributor: Isekhua Evborokhai INTRODUCTION The first 11 chapters of the book of Romans cover amazing truths about the foundation of our faith. In these chapters Paul shows God’s faithfulness to His Word and that He has a saving purpose that will not fail! He has a gracious purpose in election, and choosing a remnant of Jews. He also has a sovereign plan for the inclusion of Gentiles in His saving purpose! In last week’s study we saw how God in His sovereignty allowed the rejection of Jesus by the Jews become an avenue for the rest of the world to be saved. Interestingly, we saw that He is ready to allow the hearts of the Jews continue to be hardened until all the Gentiles He’s determined to be saved are; and then He will release the grace for salivation to the Jew so that all the Jews will be saved! The point of all the deep doctrinal truths of Romans Chapters 1-11; and the knowledge of God’s sovereignty; how He designed and carried out His plan for salvation history is one that should instinctively bring a person to the place of awe and worship. It is the proper response to God and His sovereign purposes. And so Paul begins verse 33 with the exclamation, “Oh!” Verse 33: God Is Beyond Comprehension – A Trigger of Delight and Worship “33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” “Oh the depth of the riches . . .” Here, Paul runs out of words to express the greatness of God. “Both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” God’s knowledge is His active involvement in the affairs of men. Not merely knowledge about, but making it happen. God’s wisdom is the execution of that knowledge in the world. God’s judgments are unsearchable and His ways are incomprehensible! Here Paul gives praise to God, not just for what he knows of God, but also because of what he doesn’t know! For the apostle Paul, not being able to understand what God is doing was not a reason to abandon the faith. Instead it was a reason for praise. This is what God declares of Himself in Isaiah 55:8-9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. God is far greater than we can ever comprehend. His riches, wisdom, knowledge, judgments and ways are beyond comprehension! Matter of fact, we can never know Him completely on this side of eternity! This awareness triggered in Paul a level of delight in worship that he expressed by starting off with “Oh!” It should have the same impact on us too! Verses 34-35 God Is Above All – A Trigger of Silent Amazement in Worship “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counsellor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?” Not only was Paul filled with awe at the greatness of God’s plan, he was also speechless at God’s greatness! Who wouldn’t be? In these verses, Paul asks three rhetorical questions; all three have the assumed answer of “No one!” These questions have the effect of silencing all who hear them. Habakkuk 2:20 says “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” These questions serve to shut the mouths of all those who might seek to boast in God’s presence. In verse 34, the apostle uses the language of Isaiah 40:12-17 (which in its context is dealing with the return of the nation of Israel from the Babylonian captivity). The implication is that no one could have foreseen God’s deliverance of the nation of Israel from their Babylonian captivity. No human could have devised this plan. In a similar way, Paul uses this verse in Romans 11 to highlight that no human could have devised the plan for God to turn again to the nation of Israel in the last days and remove their blindness that they might experience salvation, but this is exactly what God has done. Also, in Job 38:2, God begins by asking Job: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?” He proceeds to hammer Job with question after rhetorical question, such as (38:4-5), “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements? Since you know. Or who stretched the line on it?” In the verses just before Job 41:11 (cited in Rom. 11:35), God continues pounding Job by asking whether he can draw out Leviathan with a fishhook. God taunts him (41:8), “If you so much as lay a hand on him, you won’t live to tell the story.” If neither Job nor anyone else cares to tangle with the Leviathan, God concludes (Job 41:10b), “Who then is he that can stand before Me?” In verse 35, the same question God asked Job in Job 41:11 is repeated - “Who has given to Me that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine.” The question is who gave first to God, tell us and He’ll pay you back! Silence! There in the context of chapters 40-42, God questions Job and Job is reduced to silence! See Job 40-42. Silence is usually the response of those who have encountered the greatness of God. They are silenced at His majesty! It should have the same impact on us too! Verse 36a God Is All in All – A Trigger of Exalted Praise and Glory “36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Finally, in verse 36, Paul was struck by the centrality of God in all things! This is the basis of doxology, God Himself! God is shown here to be the source of all things, the means of all things, and the goal of all things!
Verse 36b CONCLUSION To whom be the glory forever. Amen. Only God deserves the glory. Psalm 115: 1 says “We don’t deserve praise! The Lord alone deserves all of the praise, because of his love and faithfulness.” Also see Revelation 4:9-11 The primary desire for anything and everything we do and seek to have should be so that God is glorified. Whether it is in the rearing of godly children, or succeeding in our careers or to any other goal. Our main aim should be that Christ would be exalted through us, whether by life or by death (Phil. 1:20). It should all end up in Him and for His glory! In concluding this I will like to read these four verses in the MSG version “Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favour that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.” |