Trusting in God's Sovereign Plan (Romans 11:17–36)

Introduction

These last couple of weeks have been quite interesting. Last Saturday, my son came to me and he said that president Trump had been shot. I put on the news, and I’m sure, like many of you, I was shocked. I watched the Secret Service jump on him and then saw him stand up, put his fist in the air, blood coming down from his ear. I remember feeling just a profound sense of sadness. I was saddened by the hatred in a heart that brings someone to kill someone else. I was saddened by both the hatred and the confusion that seems to be filling our society and affecting young people. The shooter was just 20 years old.

I watched the Republican convention this past week, and many people commented on God's protection over the former president to turn his head and save him from the bullet. And it is true that God protects. Certainly it wasn't President Trump’s time in that moment.

As I was preparing for the sermon today, it strikes me that we accept God's protection and provision. we accept his plan for our life when things seem to be working in our favor. But what happens when it doesn't? What happens when the head does not turn? Are we willing to trust God's plan in our life when things don't seem to be going our way?

We're continuing our series in the book of Romans, and today in Romans 11, you're going to see Paul needing to trust God's sovereign plan when the circumstances around him don't seem to be going the way he'd like them to go. And I believe this is going to help us to trust in God's plan for our life when things are going our way, and when things are not going our way.

So if you have your Bibles open up to Romans chapter 11 starting in verse 17.

Scripture Reading

Romans 11:17–36 CSB

17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree, 18 do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 True enough; they were broken off because of unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but beware, 21 because if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 22 Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you—if you remain in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not remain in unbelief, will be grafted in, because God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from your native wild olive tree and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. 27 And this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins. 28 Regarding the gospel, they are enemies for your advantage, but regarding election, they are loved because of the patriarchs, 29 since God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable. 30 As you once disobeyed God but now have received mercy through their disobedience, 31 so they too have now disobeyed, resulting in mercy to you, so that they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may have mercy on all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? 35 And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

Pray

The beginning of this text focuses on a comparison between two olive trees. One olive tree is the wild olive tree and another one that is the cultivated olive tree. Then this picture, this discussion, affects the rest of the text.

The wild olive tree and the cultivated olive tree

These olive trees are metaphors for two groups of people.

On the one hand, the wild olive tree is a metaphor for the Gentiles.

On the other hand, the cultivated olive trees is a metaphor for the Jews.

You can see Paul describe this in Romans 11:17 where it says,

Romans 11:17 CSB

17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree,

What's key to remember here is that Paul has already identified the audience to whom he's speaking to. He has said in Romans 11:13, “Now I am speaking to you Gentiles.” So everything that comes up after verse 13, such as verse 17, the “you” that Paul is describing in verse 17, that “you” is the Gentiles, anyone who is not of Israel. Verse 24 also clearly mentions the metaphor of these two trees. If you jump down to verse 24, you also see that in Romans 11:24,

Romans 11:24 CSB

24 For if you were cut off from your native wild olive tree and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be grafted into their own olive tree?

A lot of discussion about an olive tree. Now the picture of Israel as an olive tree has both biblical and cultural significance.

reference slide of olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane

Culturally, the olive tree was a common tree in the Mediterranean world, and it was used for its fruit and especially for the production of its oil, which we know as olive oil. If you lived or grew up in Israel, you would be familiar with olive trees.

An example for us might be a palm tree in San Diego. Just as a palm tree would be familiar to us, an olive tree would be familiar to the Israelite.

Biblically speaking, the olive tree shows up a number of times in Scripture. The prophet Jeremiah described Israel as an olive tree. Look at the first part of Jeremiah 11:16,

Jeremiah 11:16 CSB

16 The Lord named you a flourishing olive tree, beautiful with well-formed fruit. He has set fire to it, and its branches are consumed with the sound of a mighty tumult.

We had the description of a wild olive tree as the Gentiles and a cultivated olive tree as the people of Israel, or the Jews. Now what's the difference? Why make this distinction between a wild olive tree and a cultivated olive tree that we see in Romans 11?

A wild olive tree, this is a tree that grows in the wild and not on a farm, it would generally not have good fruit. The fruit of the wild olive tree would typically be small and bitter. The soil is not taken care of. It's not in good soil. It would typically not be a fruitful olive tree.

A cultivated olive tree is different. A cultivated olive tree is taken care of, nurtured and cared for by a farmer. Because the farmer makes sure there is good soil, the cultivated olive tree can have good roots. Because the farmer does pruning on the olive tree, the olive tree can become fruitful and give good fruit.

So Israel was a cultivated olive tree because Israel was blessed by God. God nurtured her, and took care of her, and provided for her. And as a cultivated olive tree, God expected good fruit from Israel.

But what do you do when the tree does not bear good fruit? You prune the tree. You break some of the unfruitful branches.

Now, particularly with olive trees, when farmers saw a cultivated olive tree with bad branches, the farmer would break off the bad branches off of that olive tree. Then, they would talk the healthy branch from another healthy olive tree and graft that healthy branch into the cultivated olive tree to help that tree produce good fruit.

Now there's a twist with Paul illustration, because a farmer in Israel would never graft in a wild olive tree branch onto a cultivated olive tree. That would be unheard of.

But what Paul is saying in Romans 11 is that God is doing something that is unheard of. There is a miracle happening, because Gentiles are coming into the faith, and they are being grafted into the spiritual tree of God’s work, a tree with healthy roots that go back in time.

Take a look at Romans 11:18, where he tells the Gentiles,

Romans 11:18 CSB

18 do not boast that you are better than those branches. But if you do boast—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you.

What he is saying is, Gentiles, you should realize that you are being grafted into the special, sovereign, and spiritual history of God's work with his people. And the history of God's work on with his people includes the history of God's work with Israel. Israel is part of the spiritual tree of God’s work in human history.

Balancing God’s kindness and severity

Now, as Paul is observing the kindness of God towards the Gentiles as God is drawing Gentiles to faith, at the same time he is also observing the fall of the Jews as they reject the Messiah of Israel.

And he makes an interesting point that I think is very applicable to us today and answers questions that you may have heard people ask you. We often hear people ask how can a loving God judge people so severely? Paul addresses that question in Romans 11:22, where he says,

Romans 11:22 CSB

22 Therefore, consider God’s kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen but God’s kindness toward you—if you remain in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

Now that word “consider” there can also be translated as “to see.” The NASB says, “See then.” The New Living says, “Notice.” Paul is making the observation of everything that he is seeing happening between the Gentiles acceptance of Christ and the Jews rejection of their Messiah. What he is saying there is to look at both the kindness and severity of God in these two circumstances.

He gives a a powerful observation of the character of God in dealing with humanity. Since God is all powerful, both his love and his judgment come from an all powerful God.

On the one hand, his love is powerful. His kindness, his love, is incredible because it comes from his power, his wisdom and his authority. He has incredible grace and an incredible, powerful love for people.

On the other hand, when God is left to impose his justice upon people who reject him, that justice also comes from his power, his might and his authority. God's judgment is powerful, and it's a terrible thing to fall under the all powerful judgment of God.

Heaven and hell derive from the power of God. Heaven, an incredible place for people under God's kindness. And hell, a terrible place for people under God's judgment. As Paul would remind us, remember that God is powerful in his kindness, and severe in his authority against sin.

The mystery of this age and Israel’s coming salvation

Now where are we getting with this? The picture of these two olive trees representing two groups of people, the Gentiles and the Jews, and the observation of the kindness of God towards the Gentiles (in the present moment) and the severity of God toward the unbelief of the Jews, brings us to a place in Romans 11:25 where Paul wants us to be aware of something.

He stops us in our tracks and makes this statement in Romans 11:25,

Romans 11:25 CSB

25 I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

“I don’t want you to be ignorant of this...”: Paul does this every time he wants to highlight a teaching and make sure it doesn't go over our heads. He does this a number of times in his letters (Rom. 1:13; 1 Cor. 10:1, 12:1; 2 Cor. 1:8; 1 Thess. 4:13). It's his way of saying, “Pay attention to this.”

“…mystery”: Now he’s called what he is about to say a “mystery.” What he's describing here is a divine secret, a divine secret that's now openly being revealed by God. It’s a prophecy. He often uses this term “mystery” to describe a divine secret that's being revealed now. For instance, you’ll see this in 1 Cor. 15:51,

1 Corinthians 15:51 CSB

51 Listen, I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,

You also see him do this in Eph. 1:9,

Ephesians 1:9 CSB

9 He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ

So in summary, what he's saying is, pay attention to this revelation from God, this work of God that he's revealing to us now. What is this revelation? He says in Romans 11:25 “A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” What is Paul describing here?

What he is describing is a new movement or a new dispensation of God's work in human history. There is a shift occurring, a movement of God's work, moving out of the Jewish world and into the Gentile world.

And I believe this shift begins in Acts 2, at the day of Pentecost, when the church is born. And we are living within this current movement of God's work in the world in a period of time called the church age.

In this revelation of this mystery, Paul gives us two limits to this movement of God at this present time.

One limit to this movement of God is that the hardening that has come upon Israel is “partial,” or in part. It is not impossible for a Jewish person to come to faith in Christ at this present time. We need to preach the gospel to all people, including Jewish people. But as a whole, as a nation, the nation of Israel will continue to reject their Messiah during the church age.

The second limit to this movement of God is time. He uses the word, “until.” The word “until” is a time-based word. He says, “until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” So during the church age, the nation of Israel will continue in rebellion against God until the time of the Gentiles, the church age, has been completed.

Now, what is the end result of all this? Romans 11:26,

Romans 11:26 CSB

26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.

What he is saying is that at the culmination of this present time, after all of the Gentiles have come in, and this current church age is completed, the promises of God to Israel will come to pass. He reminds us in Romans 11:29 that “God’s gracious gifts and calling are irrevocable,” including God’s calling to the nation of Israel. All Israel will turn to their Messiah and the promises of God given to Israel in Isaiah 59:20-21, or Jeremiah. 31:31-34, those promises of God to Israel will be fulfilled. In the future, at the end of the church age, Israel will turn as a nation to Jesus.

The need to trust in God’s plan

Now Romans 11 is a lot to digest. And in chapters 9 through 11, Paul has really struggled with coming to grips with what is happening in the present moment that he is in with his community, the nation of Israel. He began this portion of Romans in Romans 9:2-3,

Romans 9:2–3 CSB

2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.

That heartache for the nation of Israel has really guided these chapters. And as he walks us through Romans 11, he takes us to a final place of assurance in his own heart, where he says at the end of the day, I know that Israel will come to Christ.

And this is where it gets really applicable to us. Sometimes we wonder about where we are, and if we are where God wants us to be. Have you ever wondered whether you were in the wrong job? You're working at one place, doing one particular job. But you wonder if you should really be somewhere else, doing something else.

See for Paul, he currently has a ministry to the Gentiles, but he obviously has a deep love for the Jews. And you can almost hear him saying, “God, I am having all this success in this ministry to the Gentiles, but maybe I should really be over there with the Jews, having success with them. God, do you know what you're doing having me where I'm at right now?

How does Paul settle this in his own heart, and how can we settle this in ours? The culmination of all of this, to Paul and to all of us, is to trust in God’s sovereign plan, and you can hear Paul release all of his concerns and all of his worries and questions at the feet of Jesus, by focusing on the depths of the wisdom of God through this doxology he gives at the end of Romans 11.

I believe this doxology of praise from Paul is a great lesson to us in learning to trust God's plan.

This is the main point I want us to remember today, and it’s this,

Trust in God’s sovereign plan over present circumstances and conditions, because everything will work out in the end to his glory.

Take a look at how Paul resolves everything that we’ve read through these verses in Romans 11:33-36,

Romans 11:33–36 CSB

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways! 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? 35 And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid? 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

Paul stops and focuses on the wisdom of God over the things that he's seeing at the present time. He might say, “I don't understand why God has me where he has me right now. I don't understand the things I'm seeing in the world. But in the end, I know that God has a plan and the depths of his wisdom ,in his plan, is far greater than anything I could ever dream.”

You know, when you are focusing on who God is, oftentimes you can't help but praise him. Then think of what's just happened: After he's thought through the plan of God for the Gentiles and the Jews, he realizes that God's plan comes from the depths of his riches, wisdom and knowledge.

There are four elements of God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge that he points out.

First,

God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are beyond measure.

He says, “Oh, the depth of the riches, wisdom and knowledge of God.” Depth has to do with the extent downward, backward, inward, the full breadth of something.

The first thing that we usually question when it comes to God's plan is his understanding. Does God understand the depth of everything that's happening here? Does he understand the depth of everything that I'm facing?

We're in the middle of an election season and in an election you get two people that present two plans meant to address the depth of everything this country is facing, the economic issues, the security issues, and the social issues of our day. Both of them claim to understand the depths of the country’s issues. They'll tell you why the other one is wrong. Then you get a chance on election day to come in and vote on which plan that you prefer.

We see that in our election time and we think we have that same solution with God. We ask,”God, can I come in and cast my vote on your plan? Because God, maybe you don’t understand about some things that have come up. Can I have an alternate plan, and then we can vote?

Thank God he does not do that, because his his plan comes from the depth of his wisdom and his knowledge. His wisdom and knowledge is beyond measure. We say, “Lord, I trust your plan with my work. I trust your plan with my family. I trust your plan with my retirement. I trust your plan with my circumstances.” We don’t vote on his plan, we trust his plan, because, like an ocean or a universe going beyond anything we can see, the depth of his wisdom. knowledge and understanding are beyond measure, and we trust him.

Second,

God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are beyond understanding.

He says in Romans 11:33 “How unsearchable his judgments and untraceable his ways!” And if there's anything we want to do with God's plan, we want to be able to search out his judgments. What we want to be able to trace out his ways. We want to be able to look at the whole scope of the whole thing and and trace it out and look for the flaw in the plan. Maybe something was missed.

We don't want to submit to the plan. We want to be a partner in the plan. We want to say, "God, just give me the blueprint of everything you've mapped out, let me go through it, and I'll let you know if I see anything.”

But have you ever attempted to understand the work of an expert in his field? I guarantee you get the academic paper of a nuclear physicist and, unless you're an expert yourself, you're going to surrender to the expert pretty quickly.

I looked at some of the titles in an academic journal on physics. One title was “Polarized-deuteron scattering by spin-zero target nuclei at intermediate energies.” Another title, “Microscopic parametrization of the near threshold oscillations of the nucleon time-like effective electromagnetic form factors.” Some of the titles just had these long algebra equations in them. I didn't even have to click on the link for the article. I said if you can just write a title like that, I trust you understand what you're saying.

It's so often we can recognize an expert in his field, but we don't recognize the expert of the plan in our own life. His judgments are unsearchable. His ways are untraceable. And even if the plan feels beyond understanding, we trust in his plan because he is the expert of our life.

Third

God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are beyond knowing.

Paul quotes from Isaiah 40:13 when he says in Romans 11:34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?”

What do we do when we don't understand something? We go to an expert. We go to a counselor. We say, “Help me through these things. Help me understand and process what I'm seeing.”

The point here from Isaiah and Paul is, who does God go to? Is God's wisdom so limited that he needs to find someone smarter than him to get counsel from? He doesn't. There is no one wiser or who has more understanding than God.

When circumstance seem beyond our reach, beyond our knowledge to understand, know that it might be beyond our knowledge, but it is not beyond his. We are the ones that need his counsel. and his guidance. and even when things seem like they are beyond knowing, we trust his plan.

Last,

God’s riches, wisdom, and knowledge are beyond anticipating.

Look at what Paul says as he quotes from Job 41:11 in Romans 11:35 “And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?”

When we give, we expect something back, don't we? It might not always be financial. Maybe we give our attention, and we expect the other person to listen. Maybe we give our time and we expect the other person to give their time as well. When we invest, we expect a return on that investment. We anticipate the return on our investment.

And we are people who have received things in our life. No matter who you are, someone has invested something in you. Maybe it was a parent, maybe it was a teacher, maybe it was a friend. Someone has invested some time and energy in you.

God has never been invested. God has never had any one give him anything. There's nothing that he needs or lacks. He has every resource under the sun. All the resources are his.

And when we don't trust his plan, we don't trust it because we may think the resources aren't there. But God does not lack anything. He's not waiting to be repaid for anything.

Our Savior, our Lord, owns the universe and the stars. He owns the resources that we think are lacking, and his plan is bigger and better than anything we could ever anticipate. Because every resource is his resource, we trust him.

So what's the end of all this?

Conclusion

God sovereign plan is based on his riches, wisdom and understanding.

His riches wisdom and understanding are beyond measure. It's beyond anything we can see.

It is beyond anything we can understand. Thank God he is the expert, and we can trust his plan.

His riches wisdom and understanding are beyond knowing. When something seems like it's beyond what we can understand, we know that no matter what, he understands.

His riches, wisdom, and understanding are beyond anything we can anticipate. His plan is bigger and better than anything we could ever dream.

So when things in our life seem too difficult to understand, through the power of Jesus Christ in our life, we can trust in God’s sovereign plan over present circumstances and conditions, because everything will work out in the end to his glory. Amen.

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!