The Glory of God in Salvation Forever.

Romans 11:33-36 is so rich, we are going to study it in small portions. This week, we focus on verse 33 as preparation for the rest of the passage. Paul's doxology is a hymn of praise for what God has done in salvation history. This is a natural response of a Spirit-filled, born-again Christian.

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!"

"Oh"

Paul begins with one word: "Oh!" God's work in salvation took Paul's breath away. His heart is overwhelmed with the grandeur and simplicity of God's plan. God made the way for us to be saved so simple to understand that anyone can grasp it. The majesty in simplicity leaves Paul speechless.

The outline of the book of Romans details the simplicity of this plan.

• All people are condemned (Romans 1:18-3:20).
• All are offered salvation in Christ (Romans 3:21-8:30).
• All people can be vindicated through Christ (Romans 9-11).

"Depths"

Oceanographers have only explored 3% of the Earth's oceans, but every time they go deeper, they find a new habitat and new species. There is so much more to God's magnificent plan of salvation than we can see. It goes on in ways unfathomable to the human mind.

The depths of riches and wisdom are all sourced in God. All 3 words are repeated later in the passage in reference to each person of the Godhead.

"Riches"

There are many places on this earth we can witness nearly unimaginable riches. The Bible tells us that God owns it all (Deuteronomy 10:14, Psalm 24:1). One author said, "All that you see that is not God, God owns." In the Lord Jesus Christ, those who have been saved share all this. God has given us so much that we will never comprehensively fathom. Another author said, "The poorest heir of God is a trillion times richer than Bill Gates." See also Romans 9:22 and Ephesians 1:7-8.

"Wisdom and Knowledge"

Knowledge is knowing facts from the Bible. Wisdom is knowledge lived out. We apply what we learn from God's Word to the way we live daily.

Consider all the information housed in the Library of Congress, hard drives, the cloud, and the collective knowledge of each person on earth. The sheer magnitude would explode one person's brain, but God knows it all and more (1 Corinthians 1:20-25, Isaiah 9:6, Colossians 1:15-20).

When we get to Heaven, we will not need the written Bible anymore because we will be in God's very presence. And we will find out that God is much more than He described of Himself in those 66 books. We will be sinless, but still finite (1 John 3:2). Rolland McCune taught that we will continually know God more and more, without ever coming to a full comprehension of His infinity.

Application Points

• Those who have said "yes" to Christ, praise God! Do you offer daily expressions of thanks to God for your salvation?
• Reflecting on the awe we have when surveying the "Gospel Mountain" makes us even more grieved for those who say "no" to Christ. How can they miss the simplicity of God's redeeming plan? Keep praying for them to know the pinnacle of God's grace and see its beauty.