Romans 11:33-36

 

The first question and answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is well known. The question: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “Man’s chief end” – our purpose in this life and throughout eternity – “is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” And one of the three Scriptural references for that answer is from Romans 11:36: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.”

 

The doxology of praise found in our text closes out three deeply doctrinal chapters of Romans (chapters 9, 10 and 11). In chapter 9 we read about God’s sovereign choice in election. After pointing out that “not all who descended from Israel belong to Israel” (9:6), the example is given of the twins born to Rebecca, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was a deceiver, his name literally means “he grasps the heel” which figuratively means “he deceives.”  It is an appropriate name because he used deceit to gain the birthright that belonged to his brother. Later, Jacob elaborately deceived his father Isaac to get the blessing that belonged to Esau. Yet in chapter 9, Paul quotes from Malachi 1 where the Lord declares: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (13; Mal. 1:2, 3).

 

“How can that be?” many have asked. “Is that fair? How can a just God love someone as sinful and deceitful as Jacob, and yet not extend his love to Esau?”

 

Romans 9 answers those questions by pointing out that our Lord is the Potter; we are the clay. He has the sovereign right to extend his mercy to whomever he wills. In the words of Romans 9:19-21:

 

 

The question isn’t, “Why didn’t God choose to save everyone?”  but “Why did God choose to save anyone? Why did God choose to save you and me?” And the question can be turned around: “Is it fair that you and I should be saved, since we are sinners deserving eternal damnation for our sins?” But we understand that it is not a question of fairness. That we are lavished with the love of our triune God reveals God’s awesome and astonishing grace! (Rom. 9:22-24; Eph. 2:8-10)

 

Chapter 9 leads into a truth that is expanded in chapters 10 and 11. There we read how Israel hardened themselves against the truths of God’s word and thus opened the doors for the Gentiles to be grafted in.

 

This was an almost inconceivable thought by Jews and Gentiles in the first century. The Jews and Gentiles harbored hostility toward one another that was deep and divisive. It was exemplified by the inscription on the barricade that separated what was known as the “Court of the Gentiles” from the rest of the temple. On that barricade was this inscription: “No foreigner (Gentile) may enter within the barricade that surrounds the sanctuary and enclosure. Anyone who is caught doing so will have himself to blame for his ensuing death.”

 

Yet Christ brought peace between Jews and Gentiles. In the words of Ephesians 2:14, “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” The two groups that had opposed each other so viciously became one in Christ. Instead of rancor and hatred, there was love and acceptance. That is also why in heaven there will be people from every race and tribe. And in the true church here below, there must be that same peace and reconciliation, that same Christ-like love, regardless of the color of skin or ancestry.

 

A third truth that these chapters of Romans teach is that although “not all who descended from Israel belong to Israel” (9:6), yet “all Israel will be saved” (11:26). Romans 11:25-27 explains:

 

 

 

In the view of many (including myself) the “Isreal of God” (Gal. 6:16), is a reference to the true church. It is a reference to all who like Abraham, “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6). Abraham was saved through faith in Christ – which is a gift of God’s grace – just as we are. Jesus said, in John 8:56, “Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”  

 

Everyone, whether Jew or Gentile, who has faith in Christ alone is saved. Because of our common faith, we form one body, the true church which is composed of people from every tribe and nation. Galatians 3:6-9 explains it in these words: “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Gal. 3:6-9).

 

Galatians 3 concludes, in verse 29: “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” We who have saving faith in Christ become “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), and seek to live to the praise of his glorious grace given to us in Christ Jesus, for as Romans 2:28-29 point out: “No one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.”

 

 

It is after describing, these truths drawn from chapters 9 to 11, that the apostle breaks into the doxology of praise in verses 33-36:

 

 

 

How are we to respond to such a God? If we take this doxology to heart, how will it reflect in your life and mine? We respond, first, by recognizing God’s greatness through the three rhetorical questions in verse 34 and 35:  

 

 

The questions are rhetorical, meaning that the answer is clear. The answer is self-evident. The answer to each question, three times over is, “No one.”  “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” No one. “Who has been his counselor?” No one. “Who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” No one.

 

The first question, “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” reminds us that all we know about the Lord, all the wealth of information in the Bible, and all the commentaries written about the Bible, all the sermons produced and preached, all the Bible studies held during the week – all these are a glimmer of the rainbow’s depth, just a scratching of the surface of an unfathomable mine of treasures, just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

  

We are reminded of God’s greatness, and our limited, finite condition, by that first question, “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” It is the Lord himself who declares, in Isaiah 55:8–9:

 

            For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

 

Or, as Zophar the Naamathite put it, in Job 11:7-9:

 

            “Can you find out the deep things of God?

 

No wonder Paul, as he reflected on God’s plan of salvation for fallen sinners, and God’s might and power to redeem people from every nation, not just Jews but Gentiles, wrote: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

 

We are reminded of God’s greatness, and our limited, finite condition by that first question, “Who has known the mind of the Lord?” and by the second question, “Who has been his counselor?”

 

It is a sign of human depravity that we would think somehow that we could give God counsel in how to run the universe he has created. Yet all of us try to do that, in subtle, if not obvious ways. As Christians we subtly try to counsel God when we look in the mirror and ask, “Why did you create me this way?” Or “Why didn’t you give me a spouse?” Or “Why did you allow debilitating sickness in my life?”  Or “What right did God have to take a way someone I loved, especially at a young age?”

 

Job went through that whole experience. Initially Job did not sin against God when all that he had was taken from him. His classic response was: “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away, may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:20).  Later his friends came, supposedly to console Job, but actually they accused him of bringing on the calamity by his sin. In the process of defending himself, Job became somewhat self- righteous, and seemed to think that God could have worked differently in his life after all.

 

But then in Job 38:1, 2 we read: “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?’” And in Job 40:2, “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Or, as some translate that verse: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” (NIV)

 

Finally Job stammered: “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further” (40:3, 4). “…I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:3, 6)

 

“Who has known the mind of the Lord, or been his counselor?”  No one. Absolutely no one.

 

The third question is “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” is drawn from the Lord’s words to Job, in Job 41:11, “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. It should be obvious that none of us can begin to repay the Lord for all he has done for us, yet our depravity is so deep that we can subtly trick ourselves into thinking that God owes us for the good that we perceive ourselves doing.

 

Dr. R.A. Torrey, a pastor of Moody Church many years ago, was at a conference in Melbourne, Australia. Torrey had preached at the conference and then opened it up for a question and answer period. One of the questions was in the form of a hand-written note. The person who wrote the note was very perplexed. God had not answered his prayers as he wished. The writer explained that he had been a member of the Presbyterian Church for 30 years, that he had been the Superintendent of Sunday School for 25 years and also had served as an elder for 20 years.  He wrote. “Yet God does not answer my prayer, and I cannot understand it. Can you explain it to me?”

 

Torrey read the note out loud and replied, “It is very easy to explain it. This man thinks that because he has been a consistent church member for 30 years, a faithful Sunday School superintendent for 25 years, and an elder for 20 years, that God is under obligation to answer his prayers. He really is praying in his own name, and God will not hear our prayers when we approach Him in that way.”

 

After Torrey had finished speaking, a man came up to him and admitted that he had written the note.  He said, “You hit the nail square on the head. I see my mistake.”  (R. A. Torrey, The Power of Prayer and the Prayer of Power, pp. 138, 139, cited by James Boice, Romans Vol 3; pp. 1462, 1463)

 

“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” Absolutely no one.

 

 

As we recognize both God’s greatness through the three rhetorical questions, and our own finite helplessness, we are to praise him, forever.  Verse 36: “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”

 

And we are to praise him, not only with our lips, but with our lives. As this 11th chapter draws to a close, it is yet linked to the next chapter. Romans 12:1 is one of the best-known verses in the Bible, and it contains the key the word, “therefore”: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

 

You see, God doesn’t just want the praises from your lips, He wants the praise from your life. He doesn’t just want your worship on Sunday morning and Sunday evening, but rather that your whole life, and mine, be lived with worshipful praise to him for what he has done and for who he is.

 

Our lives are to be wholeheartedly committed to him, for he is the One who owes us nothing but judgment, but has given us all things, salvation and every other blessing of this life and the next at the cost of his Son.

 

John Calvin, in his commentary on Romans, summed up this doxology by writing: “Whenever we enter on a discussion respecting the eternal counsels of God, let a bridle be always on our thoughts and tongue, so that after having soberly spoken and within the limits of God’s word, our reasoning may at last end in admiration.”

 

Is that the way you and I respond to the eternal counsels of God? Do we look at the history of Israel and the history of the world and stand in admiration and awe as we see it is truly “His Story” as he, the Almighty Sovereign Lord hardens one nation while drawing his elect from every nation to himself? Do we stand in amazement at his care for us? His calling? His electing love? Do we acknowledge as verse 33 does: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”

 

These three chapters, along with the doxology that sums them up, should remind us that as finite creatures of dust we cannot fully and completely understand the wisdom, knowledge, and might of our infinite triune God. With the hymn writer, we acknowledge:

 

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible, hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.  (Walter C. Smith, 1867)

 

No wonder the Westminster Catechism, in its first question and answer, teaches that “Man’s chief end” – our purpose in this life and throughout eternity – “is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” May that be the chief goal of your life and mine, this day, and always. Amen!

 

 

 

 

Bulletin outline:

 

                                                                                     Romans 11:33

 

                                     Romans 11:33-36

 

I. The context of this doxology includes:

     1) God’s sovereign choice in election (Romans 9:10-16)

 

 

 

     2) The hardening of Israel so that salvation includes Gentiles and

         Jews (Romans 10:12, 13; 11:25)

 

 

 

     3) The salvation of “all Isreal” (Rom. 11:26) which many see as the true

          church, “the Israel of God” (Rom. 2:28, 29; Gal. 3:6, 7, 29)

 

 

 

II. Our response:

     1) Acknowledgment of the infinite wisdom and knowledge of God (34a)

 

 

 

     2) A confession of our inability to fully understand God's judgments and

         his paths (34b; Job 11:7-9; Isaiah 55:8, 9)

 

 

 

     3) Praise for His infinite wisdom and knowledge (33-35)

 

 

 

III. Application: Our triune God is all-sufficient, all-powerful, (36a) and

      worthy of all our praise (36)