Rom 11-Beyond Understanding 1
| BEYOND UNDERSTANDING 1: GOD’S KNOWLEDGE & WISDOM! Romans 11:33-36
December 30, 2008(NLT) 33Oh, what a wonderful God we have! How great are his riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods! 34For who can know what the Lord is thinking? Who knows enough to be his counselor? 35And who could ever give him so much that he would have to pay it back? 36For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen.(NIV) 33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. PRAYScripture Memory:For from him & through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:36 (NIV)(***song***) Intro:The older I get, the more I realize that I do NOT know….A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing….How many of you, here this morning, know God?We tend to take a low view of theology….“The highest science, the loftiest speculation, the mightiest philosophy, which can ever engage the attention of a child of God, is the name, the nature, the person, the work, the doings, and the existence of the great God whom he calls his Father.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)“Thinking about God improves the mind and expands it.” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)“There is always something about God that is indescribable, and this makes it hard to think about Him.” (James Montgomery Boice)This morning: (v. 33) – Beyond Understanding 1: Knowledge and Wisdom Next Sun: (vv. 33-34) – Beyond Understanding 2: The Inscrutable GodIn 2 wks: (vv. 35-36) – Beyond Understanding 3: The All Sufficient God 1. The Unbelievable Knowledge of God☞ The Vast Extent of God’s KnowledgeChris Tomlin: Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light? Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night? No one can fathom…Indescribable! Uncontainable! You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name! You are amazing God!All powerful! Untamable! Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim: You are amazing God!The Immensity of the Universe:Light – 186,000 mps Circle the earth 7X/sec1 light yr = 5.88 trillion miles (5,880,000,000,000 miles – 999 million miles, 60 thousand times)Milky Way Galaxy – 100,000 light years across (picture)Our solar system is to the Milky Way Galaxy As a quarter is to the N. American continentOur galaxy contains BILLIONS of starsTo count them at the rate of 1/sec. – 2500 years100’s of billions of other galaxies in the known universe…The Detail of the Subatomic God knows each star, each planet, each atom, each subatomic particle… DVD Isaiah 40:12-15, 25-26 (NIV)12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 13Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor? 14Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? 15Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. 25“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. ☞ The Unique Quality of God’s Knowledge“The unique quality of the knowledge possessed by God is its perfection…. God knows all things, and He knows them exhaustively. We also know things, but our knowledge is partial and imperfect.” BoiceØ God Knows ALL Things.“God is omniscient. He knows everything; everything possible, everything actual; all events all creatures, of the past, the present, and the future. He is perfectly acquainted with every detail in the life of every being in heaven, in earth and in hell…. Nothing escapes His notice, nothing can be hidden from him, nothing is forgotten by Him…. He never errs, never changes, never overlooks anything.” A. W. Tozer“God knows instantly and effortlessly all matter and all matters, all mind and every mind, all spirit and all spirits, all being and every being, all creaturehood and all creatures, every plurality and all pluralities, all law ans every law, all relations, all causes , all thoughts, all mysteries, all enigmas, all feeling, all desires, every unuttered secret, all thrones and dominions, all personalities, all things visible and invisible in heaven and in earth, motion, space time, life, death, good, evil, heaven, and hell…. Because God knows all things perfectly He knows no thing better than any other thing, but all things equally well. He never wonders about anything nor (except when drawing men out for their own good) does He seek information or ask questions.” A. W. TozerØ Our Knowledge is Extremely Finite. “God’s knowledge is so much greater than ours that we can only stand in awe of it.” BoiceIsa. 55:8-9 (NIV)8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. 9“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. ☞ Some Implications of God’s Knowledge for usFour things understanding God’s perfect knowledge should do for us:Ø It should humble us. | 23 124 25 2 26 3 4 27 5 6 28 7 29 8 30 9 10 31 11 32 12 33 34 1335 14 36 1537 16 38 1739 4018 41 19 20 21 42 22 43 | “We do not mind an ignorant God, or a God who forgets. But what are we to do with a God ‘before whom all hearts are open, all desires known’? Such a God is immensely threatening, which is why we try to banish Him from our thinking.” BoiceWe have a natural propensity to think of God in human terms… “because we can handle a god who is diminished in that way.” (Boice)Job’s trials and deliberations…Job 42:1-6 (NIV)Then Job replied to the Lord: 2“I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. 3You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4“You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Ø It should comfort us.Micah 7:18-19 (NIV)18Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. 19You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. “The very fact that God is not like us is part of the problem, and it would be an insurmountable problem were it not that God has condescended to reveal Himself to us.” Boice Ø It should motivate us to live for Him. Ø It should motivate and enable us to pray. 2. The Wonderful Wisdom of God☞ True Wisdom Requires KnowledgeKnowledge of all the cause and effect of every decision which might be madeKnowledge of all the possible resourcesIntimate Knowledge of every creatureKnowledge of every possibility, of every contingency, of every potential reaction, of every ramification of every action, word or even thought…“Wisdom, among other things,is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means.” A. W. Tozer ☞ True Wisdom Requires Goodness“Without morality or goodness, wisdom is not wisdom. Instead it is what we call cunning.” Boice“Wisdom consists in knowing what to do with the knowledge one has and in directing that knowledge to the highest and most moral ends.” Boice “Wisdom is the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it. Wisdom is, in fact, the practical side of moral goodness. As such it is found in its fullness only in God.” J. I. Packer ☞ True Wisdom is Seen in the Gospel “As soon as Paul speaks of God’s wisdom as exceeding human wisdom, he thinks of the gospel—since it is there above all that God’s perfect wisdom is seen.” Boice ☞ True Wisdom Requires Power“Omniscience governing omnipotence, infinite power ruled by infinite wisdom, is a biblical description of divine character.” J. I. PackerFor wisdom to anything more than mere sentimentality it requires the power to implement what it good and right. Wisdom without power is impotent. God’s wisdom is omnipotent. ☞ We do not really believe in God’s wisdom.Ø We show this in our refusal to obey.“We are accustomed to admit freely that God is more powerful than we are, but not that He is wiser than we are. To be sure, we say that He is; but when it comes to a showdown, we do not want to act on what we say.” Martin Luther Ø We show this in our refusal to believe. “From our perspective, the workings of God are irregular, and we like events to run like a train on fixed timetables and along predictable tracks. Because they do not, we are always thinking of how we would be able to do things better. What this means is that in the final analysis we do not trust God to order both the ends and the means to them.” Boice 1 Corinthians 1:18-1918For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” ☞ We MUST pursue God’s wisdom if we want to know Him.Proverbs 9:10 (NIV) – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.In Colossians 2:3 Paul says that in Christ “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”2 Timothy 3:15 (NIV) – From infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV)15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.“We need to repudiate our folly, seek wisdom in the Bible, where alone it may be found, and then seize every opportunity to live for and witness to our all-wise God and heavenly Father.” Boice Summary / Review:God knows ALL things. He is not limited by unending vastness, nor by infinitesimal microscopic smallness. He is not limited by sight or by possibility. He knows every thought, every word, every action. He knows every creature and every place. There is NOTHING He does not know. This should humble us, comfort us and motivate us to live for Him and in dependence upon Him.He is also all wise. This means that He has the power to see, and the inclination to choose, the best and highest goal, together with the surest means of attaining it.This truth points us to the foolishness of the gospel and should motivate us to believe & obey Him in all things…. A Truth to Remember: God’s knowledge and wisdom are beyond our ability to even begin to comprehend. A Challenge to Consider: Are we willing, trusting and believing in His matchless wisdom, to obey Him and praise Him even when things seem to make no sense? One thing I heard this morning was… |