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Our Awesome God
Romans 11:33-36
It’s not often that a
book title tells the whole story. Usually titles are chosen because they are catchy, not because they are
informative. But occasionally you stumble on a title that both catches
your attention and also tells you exactly what the book is about. A
generation ago, back when I was in high school, J. B. Phillips wrote a
book called Your God Is Too Small.
The title says it all. Many of us struggle because our God is much
smaller than the God of the Bible.
So
this morning I thought we would remind ourselves just exactly who is the
God of the Bible?
Over
the centuries theologians have used certain words to describe His
essence: Sovereign, Almighty, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent,
Infinite, Eternal, and Immortal, to mention only a few. But no
list of adjectives could ever adequately picture the immenseness of God.
Because
he is God, no words or thoughts of mortal men and women could ever
compass his greatness. He is far bigger than we imagine, his presence
fills the universe, he is more powerful than we know, wiser than all the
wisdom of the wisest men and women, his love is beyond human
understanding, his grace has no limits, his holiness is infinite, and his
ways are past finding out.
He
has no beginning and no end. He created all things and all things exist
by his divine power. He is perfect in all his perfections. Our best
efforts fall so far short of his divine reality that we flatter ourselves
to think that we truly understand him at all. He is the one true God.
It
is against that backdrop that we must consider the meaning of verses such
as "The secret things belong to the Lord our God"
(Deuteronomy 29:29) and “As the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your
thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). There is a fundamental
category difference between God and his creation. His thoughts are
“higher” precisely because …He is God and we are not!
Therefore it shouldn’t surprise that God does many things we
don’t understand. Or that most of our questions about life will go
unanswered. Job discovered this when God engaged him in a long series of
questions starting with “Where were you when I laid the
foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4) and ending
with “Who
dares to open the doors of his mouth, ringed about with his fearsome
teeth?” (Job 41:14).
In
dealing with our deepest struggles, in facing our most difficult trials
it helps to remind ourselves of who God really
is. The greater our view of God, the more strength we will have to
face the trials of life. Similarly, the lower our view of
God, the more likely we are to be blown away when tragedy strikes.
With
that background, this morning let’s take a look at Romans 11:33-36.
Of all the passages in the Bible that speak to God’s greatness,
perhaps none contains so much truth compacted into only four verses. This
passage has been called a “doxology of theology” and an
“explosion of praise.”
For
our purposes we can arrange the major thoughts of these four verses
around simple statements. Three
Facts About God and then 3 Things No One Can Do? Then 3 Reasons to
Praise God.
First
of all, these verses teach us . . .
Three Facts About God
1. He Knows Everything There Is
To Know.
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the
wisdom and knowledge of God!”
(33a) The Apostle Paul was as well acquainted
with God as any man ever was, yet he confessed himself at a loss to know
the depth of God.
When
a man wades into the ocean, he feels safe as long as he can feel the sand
beneath his feet. Once the sand disappears from beneath your feet you may
cry out, "Oh, the depth." This is what Paul felt as he came to
the end of his contemplation of God's sovereignty, man's sin, God’s
judgment and God's love and mercy in spite of man’s sin. Finally, its as
if Paul says, "Let us stop reasoning and simply praise our God for
his incredible plan of redemption." Theology must eventually become
doxology or else we will be guilty of thinking that we truly understand
God.
Oh,
the depth of God's wisdom.
Oh, the depth of God's justice.
Oh, the depth of God's grace.
Oh, the depth of God's forgiveness.
If
a man claims an intimate knowledge of God, we must suspect that he knows
God no better than he knows himself. Those who know most must confess how
little they actually know. For God is deeper than our minds can
fathom. We have no mental category
for the depth of God’s character.
Trying
to understand God is like trying to empty the ocean with a tiny bucket.
Dip your bucket in a thousand times and you haven’t made a dent in
the vast expanse of water. Your bucket is too small, your arms too weak,
and the ocean is too large, too wide, too deep. So it is with God. We
can’t begin to comprehend the depths of his being.
Not
only his knowledge deep, it is also wide. He
knows everything that has been, everything that is, and everything that
will be. He even knows everything that could have been, or could be, or
could ever be. Not only does he know it, but he has known it all from the
beginning of time.
Several
years ago Dr. Sproul in one of his seminary
lectures referred to the "the prevenient
grace of God." The phrase--which was new to me--refers to “the
grace that goes before.” Here’s a working definition:
"In every situation of life, God is already at work before I get
there. He is working creatively, strategically and redemptively for my good and His glory." Wow! So
many times I limit my thinking to the fact that God’s presence goes
with me as I move through life. That’s true, but it’s only
part of the story. He’s not only with me now,
he’s already way up the road ahead of me. Think about this way. While
I am struggling with the problems of today, God is at work providing
solutions for the things I am going to face tomorrow. He’s
already there, working creatively in situations I have yet to face,
preparing them for me and me for them.
Or
to say it another way: While I’m in Tuesday, he’s clearing
the road for me on Friday. That’s what Proverbs 3:6 means when it
promises that "he will make your paths straight." God
is already at work providing solutions for problems I don’t even
know I have yet! Are you worried about next week? Forget
it. He’s already there. What about that crucial meeting next
Monday? Don’t sweat it. He’s already there. What about that
surgery your oldest daughter faces in a few days? Fear not. He’s
already there.
It
would be enough if God simply walked with you through the events of life
as they happen. But he does much more than that. He goes ahead of you,
clearing the way, arranging the details of life so that when you get
there, you can have confidence that God has already been there before
you. That’s the prevenient grace of God.
He goes before his people. He’s at work in the future while we live
in the present. He can do that because he knows everything there is to
know.
2. He Makes
Plans We Can’t Understand.
“How unsearchable his judgments!” (33b)
Other translations use the word “inscrutable”, which means
“beyond human understanding.” Eugene Peterson (The
Message) offers this version of verse 33: "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." I like that phrase--"It’s way over our heads." Not only
does God make plans we don’t know about, even if we did know about
them, we couldn’t understand them. That explains why some things
remain unexplainable forever. It’s
not that God is unwilling to explain, it’s that our little minds
can’t begin to comprehend the infinite purposes of God. John Wesley
said it this way: “Show me a worm that fully comprehend a
man, and I’ll show you a man that can comprehend God.”
It can’t be done.
3. He Alone Knows Why
Everything Happens.
“And his paths beyond tracing
out!” (33c) Matthew Henry has a helpful word
about this. The main things God wants us to know are clear and
plain. They are, he said, like a highway open for all to travel….and
these things are revealed to us in the Scriptures”
Then
Matthew Henry added this sentence: “God leaves no footprints
behind him.” In other words, you can’t tell where he’s
been or where the Almighty is going. There are many things hidden from us,
where the highway is closed to us. He leaves no track or trail that we can
follow. That means that in life many things will happen that we simply do
not understand. Sickness, accidents, violent crimes, sudden financial
collapse, divorce, crumbled dreams, cancer, tornadoes, hurricanes,
earthquakes, floods, hunger, war, evil triumphing over good, lost jobs
– no job, children dying. The list is endless and
heartbreaking.
We can't pretend to fully
understand the relation between God’s providence on the one side
and human responsibility and the problem of evil on the other side. The
judgments, the purposes of his hands are dark and
mysterious….because He is God and We are Not. Therefore we
must not pry into the mysteries of God, as the Belgic
Confession advices us:
We do not wish to inquire
with undue curiosity
into what he does that surpasses human understanding
and is beyond our ability to comprehend.
But in all humility and reverence
we adore the just judgments of God,
which are hidden from us ...
There
comes a point in time when all we can do is keep silent before God and
accept His will for our lives and bow before him in adoration for things we don’t understand.
Second,
this text tells us . . .
Three Things No One Can Do
Verses
34-35 contain three rhetorical questions, each one expecting a negative
answer. They all begin with the same two words . . . “Who has
. . . Who has . . . Who has?” The answer is always the
same: “No one . . . No one . . . No one.”
1. No
One Can Explain God
“Who has known the mind of the
Lord?” (34a) Lots of people think they know what God
is like, but the only thing we know about God are things he has chosen to
reveal to us. I’m sure you’ve heard the story of the six
blind men who were trying to describe an elephant. The first man
felt the tusk and said, “An elephant is sharp, like a
spear.” The second man touched his massive side and
exclaimed, “No! An elephant is like a wall.” The third
man stroked his wiggling trunk and concluded that an elephant
was most like a snake. The fourth man tried to wrap his arms
around one of the elephant’s legs. When he couldn’t,
he said, “He is like a tree.” The fifth felt the
expanse of his huge ears and said, “It’s easy to see
that an elephant is much like a fan.” The last man felt the tiny
tail and said, “You’re all wrong. An elephant is
shaped like a rope.” We are all like those blind men when it comes
to knowing God. Who among us can claim to fully understand the infinite
and Almighty God of the universe? No one knows enough to fully explain
God.
2. No One Can Counsel God.
“Or who has been his counselor?”
(34b) I love the way Eugene Peterson puts it: Is there
“anyone smart enough to tell him what to do?” He needs no
counselor for he is infinitely wise.
An
ill-prepared high school student was struggling through her final exam in
economics. She happened to be taking the test just before Christmas. In
desperation she scrawled across the bottom of the paper, “Only God
knows the answer to these questions. Merry Christmas!” When she
got the paper back, the teacher marked it: “God gets 100. You
get 0. Happy New Year!”
No
one knows as much as God does, no one can explain God, and no one can be
his counselor.
3. No One Can Accuse God of
Unfairness.
“Who has ever
given to God, that God should repay him?”
(35) This question comes from Job 41:11 where God asks Job, “Who has a claim
against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to
me.” No one can ever say, “God, you owe
me something,” because the Lord will be no man’s debtor. No
one can say, “You cheated me,” because God cheats no one. No
one can say, “I’ve earned your favor,” because
everything this side of hell is mercy, and everything this side of heaven
is grace. Consider what our God does:
1) He restores rebels by granting them his
righteousness.
2) He
redeems transgressors and takes away their rebel hearts.
3) He
promotes his own glory by saving those who ought to go to hell.
Let
us be very clear on this point. God saves those he is in under no
obligation to save. He could have destroyed the human
race and started over again with better raw material. But he didn't. What
he did was quite literally unthinkable.
The
Infinite became finite.
The Almighty became a tiny baby.
The Deity was wrapped in diapers.
God
has done everything necessary for you to go to heaven. No one can accuse
God of unfairness because his offer of salvation goes out to the entire
world. No one who believes in Jesus will ever be turned away.
No
one will end up in hell except those who truly deserve to be there.
No one will end up in heaven except those who have been saved by God's
grace.
Everything
this side of hell is mercy, and everything this side of heaven is grace.
Finally, this text gives
us . . .
Three Reasons to Praise God
It
is as if Paul can contain himself no longer. He means to show that
God is all in all. Everything comes from him, everything exists by his
power, and everything will ultimately answer to him. James Montgomery Boice calls this verse the secret of a
“Christian worldview” because it dethrones man and puts God
on the throne of the universe. He makes his point by asking a trivia
question: What was the last song recorded by the Beatles before they
broke up? Answer: “I, Me, Mine.” Dr. Boice
comments that the Beatles’ last song is also the first song as well
as the last song of the unregenerate heart. But the song of the redeemed
is Romans 11:36!
1. He is the Source of All
Things.
“For from him.” He is the
source of all things, which mean that all things flow from Him.
The
creation and all that has been created is from Him. Even the very breath you breath this morning come from Him and if He did not
provide you will breath you would not be sitting with us this morning. He
is truly the source of all things.
2. He is
the Sustainer of All Things
“And through him.” Not
only do all things flow from Him, but he is the reason for the continued
existence of the universe. He alone understands the purpose
for everything that he created. One of my favorite
stories involves George Washington Carver, the man who discovered 255
different things you could do with the lowly peanut. Dr. Carver is
revered for his years of work at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
Because of him, the South began to move away from a cotton-based economy
to one based on other crops. George Washington Carver was a devout
Christian who had a deep knowledge of God. When he was asked where he
came up with so many uses for the peanut, he told this story. He said
that when he was a young man, he went for a walk in the fields and while
he was there, he and the Lord had a conversation. When he asked the Lord
to show him why he had created the universe, the Lord said, “Son,
that’s much too big for you. Ask me for something you can understand.”
So he tried again. “Lord, show me why you created the world.”
“Still too big for you. Try again.” George Washington Carver
dropped his eyes to the ground and happened to see some peanuts on the
vine. “Lord, could you tell me why you created the peanut?”
“That’s a good question. Now we’ve found something you
can understand.” The Lord showed Dr. Carver the secrets of the
peanut, and he used what God showed him to change the world.
All
things come “through him.” All knowledge, all wisdom,
everything we have comes “through him.” He is the
Sustainer of All Things--even the peanut!
3. He is the Supreme Purpose of
All Things
“And to him are all things.”
This is a breathtaking statement because Paul includes “all
things” in his exclamation. Nothing is left out, no part of
creation excluded. God is the beginning, the middle, and the end of
“all things.” Everything comes from him,
everything continues by him, everything finds it ultimate purpose in him.
I
am reminded of Augustine’s famous words, “You have made us
for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in
you.” All things are made by him, and through him, and for him. He
is the source, the means, and the goal of all creation. They are part of
the “all things” of Romans 11:35.
To Him Be the Glory Forever!
What
is left for us but the words of Paul in verse 36? “To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
The mysteries of God lead us in one of two directions. Either you give up
your faith altogether and become a skeptic or you bow the knee before the
God who is too great, too vast, too awesome for you to fully
comprehend.
God
always leaves us with a choice, doesn’t he? You can believe and be
saved or you can doubt and be damned. But either way many of your
questions will never be fully answered. If you choose to believe, then we
are left with these final words: “To him be the
glory forever!”
In life and in death--To
him be the glory forever!
In joy and in sorrow--To him be the glory forever!
In good days and dark nights--To him be the glory forever!
In sickness and in health--To him be the glory forever!
In your career and in your home--To him be the glory forever!
In your marriage and in your children--To him be the glory
forever!
In your prosperity and in your poverty--To him be the glory
forever!
In days of peace and in times of war--To him be
the glory forever!
In gentle breeze and in gathering storm--To him be the glory
forever!
In the classroom and in the boardroom--To him be the glory
forever!
In moments of victory and in darkest defeat--To him be the glory
forever!
In prayers answered and in prayers unanswered--To him be the
glory forever!
In yesterday’s tears, today’s rejoicing, and
tomorrow’s adventures--To him be the glory forever!
In heaven and on earth--To him be the glory forever!
Whatever
comes, whether tragedy or triumph, in the midst of the years, with the
changing of the seasons, when we know enough or nothing at all, when hope
is gone and all we have left is God,
To him alone be the glory forever! Amen.
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