OH, THE DEPTHS OF THE RICHES OF GOD! Romans 11:25-36 Steve Higginbotham 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! For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become his counselor? Or who has first given to Him And it should be repaid to him? For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen (vv. 33-36). [All Scripture references are from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.] In my judgment, one of the most neglected and consequently needed Bible doctrines is the doctrine of God. The reason is that we frequently treat God as a presupposition and get on to more relevant matters, such as What does God want me to do? and How does God want me to live? While those topics are good, they have no compulsion when removed from the personage of God. I once heard someone say, Rules without relationship result in rebellion. I find this statement not only true, but insightful. If a man does not know God, why would he deny himself to please Him? Why would he choose the difficult path rather than the easy path? If we do not come to know the one who gave the rules, we will break the rules when it becomes convenient. God calls us to do some difficult things. Jesus said that if we are to be His disciples, we must deny ourselves, take up a cross, and follow Him (Matt. 16:24). Before I do all that for someone, I am first going to have to get to know him. Are there not things that you would readily decline if a stranger asked you to do it for them, but if it was someone you loved, you would not hesitate in doing it? Overlooking God and treating Him as a presupposition will catch up to us eventually. We need to spend time learning about Him: His nature, character, and desires. I have observed that we miss God even in passages that explicitly speak of Him. For example, how many times have we used John 14:6 to teach that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ? But that is not what the passage says. The passage says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6, emphasis added). This passage does not even mention heaven! But someone might say, No, but that is where the Father is, right? So, it is just semantics. But I beg to differ. It is more than semantics. It is the difference between a place and a person. Suppose a child returns home for a visit after being away for many months. Do you think it would matter to the parents of this child if his reason for their child wanting to come home was to sleep in his old bed or visit with them? Surely the place should not be more important than the parents. Likewise, we should not become disciples of Jesus because He can take us to a place (heaven), but because He can take us to a person (our Heavenly Father). At some point, we must stop bypassing God and develop a relationship with Him and not just what He tells us to do or what He has to offer us. So, let us consider a few points concerning the depths of the riches of God. God Is Worthy to Be Praised! While I do not want to wander far from the context of the passage that has been assigned, I do want to consider several passages that testify to the greatness of God, our Father. I can almost see the wonderment and awe on the faces of these men who recorded these words for us. As we begin this lesson, I want to establish that it was not just the apostle Paul who stood in awe of God, and I want us to take a moment and soak in this reverence and awe.
Consider the feeding of the five thousand (Matt. 14:17-21). Have you ever tried to picture the scene? On this occasion, there were five thousand men present, not even counting the women and children. This could have potentially been a crowd double or triple the size of five thousand. And all these people were told to sit down and Jesus was going to feed them all with five loaves and two fish. This would be impossible for anyone except God, but nothing is too big for God. I have often wondered how the fish and bread were replenished in the disciples bags as they served this multitude. Did they get down to one final piece of food, then suddenly, their bag got heavy again, causing them to look in and see that it had been refilled? Or was it the case that every time they handed out a piece of bread or fish, the bag was instantly filled again? I do not know the answer to that, but I do know that if I were present that day, I would have been impressed with the strength and power of God through this miraculous display. Imagine being present at the raising of Lazarus (John 11). Imagine the tension, anticipation, and excitement that must have existed when Jesus said, Take away the stone (11:39). As they must have eagerly peered into the darkness of that tomb, they must have wiped and widened their eyes as they saw the first glimpse of movement in the darkness of the shadows. Then, before their very eyes, He appears in full view, alive! Who but God can do such works? Consider Moses as he had just been called by God out of a burning bush (Exod. 3:3-10). Can you imagine how Moses must have marveled in reverent fear as he watched the ten plagues befall Egypt (7-12)? Then, imagine how Moses must have felt when being pursued by the Egyptian army, only to be delivered through the midst of the Red Sea and to watch as the waters collapsed on the Egyptians. Would you not join him as he stood on the other side of the Red Sea and sang, Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. You in your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation (15:11-13). Or, consider the prophet Micah as he expresses bewilderment at the redemptive work of God. Consider his words: Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea (7:18-19). While Moses was amazed by God s power, Micah expressed amazement at God s redemption. Who is a God who would love such a weak and sinful people? Let that soak in. Like the prophet Micah, Paul in Romans 11 is marveling at God s greatness in redemption. In light of these truths, can we sing the words to this song without feeling them? You are beautiful beyond description, Too marvelous for words, Too wonderful for comprehension, Like nothing ever seen or heard. Who can grasp Your infinite wisdom, Who can fathom the depth of your love? You are beautiful beyond description, Majesty enthroned above. And I stand, I stand in awe of You, I stand, I stand in awe of You; Holy God, to whom all praise is due, I stand in awe of You. (Altrogge, no. 937)
Let us now turn our attention to the immediate context of Romans 11 and examine why God is worthy to be praised. Why God Is Worthy to Be Praised Because He Has a Plan for Saving Both Jews and Gentiles I never cease to be amazed at how frequently I discover Christians who think that God was concerned about only Old Testament Israel, and furthermore, not concerned if you were the unfortunate soul who was born to Gentile parents. Such a view, on the very surface, appears to be unjust. How could one be condemned based on something over which one had no control? Gentiles have always been loved by God, and it has always been God s desire to save them. If God had no plan for the Gentiles, then how could God command the following: Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles! Laud Him all you peoples! (Psalm 117:1). How could Gentiles fulfill this command if God would not save them? Can you imagine God saying, I will not save you, but I want you to worship and praise Me? Further proof that God loved the Gentile nations is seen in the prophecy of Caiaphas (John 11:51-52). Caiaphas, the high priest, prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation (Jews) and not for that nation only, but would gather into one the children of God who were scattered abroad. Notice, He was not going to gather them into one and make them children of God; rather, He was going to gather the children of God from all nations and make them one with the Jews. This was a part of God s plan. From before the foundation of the world, God had a plan to save all men (Rev. 13:8). This plan began to be revealed in Genesis 3:15, when God promised that the seed of woman would bruise the head of the serpent. This promise is clarified even more when God calls Abraham (Gen. 12) and promises that through his seed, all nations of the earth would be blessed. As history was awaiting the coming of this Savior, God made a special covenant with the Jews. This covenant did not imply that God no longer cared for the Gentiles. It did not imply that God was not going to save the Gentiles. No, God still loved and desired the salvation of the Gentiles as He did the Jews. God s plan was to reconcile both the Jews and the Gentiles to each other and to God in the church (Eph. 2:16). While the Gospel was initially given to the Jews, it was later given to the Gentiles (Rom. 1:16). Today, whether Jew or Gentile, salvation belongs to those who reconciled to God through the cross of Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:16). Because He Loves All Men It is incomprehensible to me how a holy God could love such wretched people. All of us have sinned and fallen short of God s glory (Rom. 3:23). Not a one of us is righteous (3:9-10). And it is not like we made a handful of mistakes. We have countless sins to our charge. These sins amount to an affront against God. Through these sins, we have declared our independence from God, and yet, He loves us anyway. Who is a God like this? Who has such patience? Who can be sinned against time and time again, and remain willing to take us back if we humble ourselves? When one reads the descriptions of the Gentiles in Romans 1 and the Jews in Romans 2, how is it that God still offers us the gift of salvation to all men in Romans 3:23? The apostle Paul tells us that his life is a case study in the depth and riches of God s love. He said: [A]lthough I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. (1 Tim. 1:13-16) After telling us how deeply mired in sin he once was, Paul gave credit to God for His exceedingly abundant grace (1 Tim. 1:14). The grace contained within the Gospel is not barely able to save us, but it abounded much more than our sins (Rom 5:20). It can grant us an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of God (2 Pet. 1:11). And it is measured out to us in fullness, grace upon grace, i.e., accumulated grace (John 1:16). Because God Desires to Be Merciful You learn much about a person s character by identifying the things in which they take delight. Paul states in this chapter that God desired to show mercy to the Jews and the Gentiles (vv. 31-32). This mercy was not shown out of obligation. Neither was it granted grudgingly. Instead, God s word tells us that God delights in mercy (Micah 7:18). Is that not great to know? Does that not speak volumes about the character and nature of the God we serve? Mercy is not something He has to extend; it is something He takes delight in extending! Maybe if we understood how God delights in showing mercy, we would not fret and worry so much about whether we are really forgiven or not. Because His Wisdom Surpasses the Wisdom of the World No one is equipped to be God s counselor (v. 34). His ways and judgments are past finding out on our own (v. 33). His wisdom is not conventional. His scheme of redemption would never have been figured out by mortal man, but only through revelation. This way, there is no room for boasting. Rather, all must humble themselves and admit that their salvation was a gift revealed, not a prize that was earned. Paul said it this way: For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Cor. 1:26-29) Who by man s wisdom would have ever thought that God s Son would leave heaven and take on flesh and live among us? That He would then be hated and murdered? But through the shedding of His blood on the cross, all those who are spiritually washed in that blood through reenacting His death, burial, and resurrection in baptism would be forgiven and justified in God s eyes? To the Jews, it was a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles it was foolishness, but to those who trust God, it is the power and wisdom of God and our salvation (1 Cor. 1:23-24). Brethren, let us stop treating God as a presupposition that we do not need to discuss. Rather, let us teach and preach more about the character and nature of God. In doing so, we will find ourselves enthralled by His wisdom and grace. Work Cited Altrogge, Mark. I Stand in Awe. Praise for the Lord, Praise Press, 1998, no. 937.
Biographical Sketch Steve Higginbotham is a native of Chester, West Virginia. He and his wife, Kim, have four children. He has been preaching the Gospel since 1984. The last eight years, he has been the preaching minister for the Karns church of Christ in Knoxville, Tennessee, and he serves as an adjunct instructor at the Southeast Institute of Biblical Studies.