Paul’s Doxology Extolling the Riches, Wisdom, and Knowledge of God

Friday, April 12, 2024 Submitted by Kay Crumley

Paul’s Doxology Extolling the Riches, Wisdom, and Knowledge of God – Romans 11:33-36 

Those of us who have been in church for a long time probably remember singing the Doxology hymn.  

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow 
Praise Him, all creatures here below 
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host 
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 

Amen, amen, amen, amen. 

 

What does doxology mean? Just reading these lyrics gives us a pretty good idea what it is, as song of praise to God. One definition I found says it is an expression of praise which gives glory to God. That leads me to another question, who do we usually give glory to if not God? I believe we humans are guilty of taking glory for ourselves when it should be His. The lyrics of this song remind us that all blessings come from God therefore all of creation should praise Him more than anything or anyone else. We praise Him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That should be our tribute to Him every day of our lives.  

 

In Romans 11 Paul is writing to the church, specifically the Jewish people, reminding them of the goodness and blessings of God. He provides a detailed explanation of the gospel of Jesus Christ reminding them that the coming of the Messiah was foretold by the prophets. He then explains to them that just because the Israelites are His chosen people doesn’t mean they are exempt from submitting to Him in obedience. They had grown spiritually hardened. Thus, God opened the way for the Gentiles to hear and accept the gospel and become adopted sons and daughters of God. Paul was the messenger God raised up to take the gospel to them. Our salvation comes from God’s grace and not from what we can do to earn that salvation. Jesus paid the price for our sins by His sacrifice on the cross. We are welcomed into His family by our faith in Him. God is our redeemer and only through Jesus Christ can we have the privilege of His blessing of those who have been redeemed. Paul concludes this first 2/3 of the chapter with the fact that regardless of our disobedience and hardened hearts, God is a God of mercy and forgiveness. It seems he is overcome with the knowledge of who God is so concludes the chapter with by glorifying God in an expression of praise. 

 

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of 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 Or who has ever first given to Him, and has to be repaid?  

Paul takes the first three verses to marvel at the person of God. The depth and knowledge of God is deep and rich. His wisdom is more wonderful than we are capable of comprehending. His thoughts are beyond our understanding, they are higher than our thoughts, Isaiah 55:8-9. Our minds cannot conceive the things in His mind as He is so much greater than us and reasons in ways we are incapable of perceiving. He has no counselor as He is the beginning and the end of all, He is the self-sustaining being having no need for guidance or discussion for the right choices. We need that kind of help for daily decision making but God has absolutely no need, He is the Master and Creator over all. He owes us NOTHING. He needs nothing from us, and we have given Him nothing for which He must repay. God is. You can try to add to that, but the truth is that your list would be never ending. He is ALL of anything and everything we can think or imagine. This is Paul’s expression of the wonder of our God and praise for His Lordship over all.  

Paul ends summarizing who God is and giving Him all honor and glory. 
 

36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. 
To Him be the glory forever. Amen.  

 

He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things; everything is because of Him. He is the maker of all things. We use the created materials to make things, but we do not create the basic materials from which those things are made. The universe is held together by Him. Man cannot control nature, that if from God. Our purpose in life is to give glory to Him. He is our purpose. He alone is worthy of our praise. 

I challenge you to take time today and every day to focus on His greatness and to list the many attributes that is God. Give Him your praise and glory. Recognize your relation to Him which should bring you to your knees in humility of His Awesomeness. 

  

Come and See – Go and Tell

Thursday, April 11, 2024

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.” Matthew 28:1-7

Come and See – Go and Tell

The last few days had been so hard. We cannot imagine the trauma and pain of watching someone you love go through what they had witnessed Jesus experiencing before his death. Their hearts were broken. They were tired from little, or no sleep and they were emotionally exhausted. On top of the fact that they had seen the brutal treatment of Jesus, he hadn’t even been properly anointed for burial because of the rush to get it done before the sabbath. So these two Mary’s had prepared spices and came on the third day to finish the preparation of Jesus’ body. 

When they got there, instead of finding the body of Jesus as they expected, they found an empty grave. The stone had been rolled away and an angel sat on top of the stone. The guards were so afraid they became like dead men. The angel spoke to the women, first telling them not to be afraid. He told them that he knew why they were there and that the Jesus they were looking for was not there. The tomb was empty, and they were invited in to see with their own eyes. 

The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘

These two women were the first ones to witness that Jesus rose from the dead. Even though they may have heard him say he would rise again on the third day, they did not come expecting to find an empty tomb. They came expecting to anoint his body. Instead, they received the greatest invitation of all - to come and see and go and tell.

The stone was not rolled away so Jesus could come out of the grave. He is God – he didn’t need help getting out. The stone was rolled away so they could go in and see that he was not there. They saw his body laid in that tomb and now there was no question that he was not there any longer. The angel told them to go and tell, to be the very first messengers of the Good News. Their eye-witness account gave them solid ground to stand on when they told others. 

“One eye-witness is better than twenty ear-witnesses; men will believe what you have seen if they do not believe what you have heard.” (Spurgeon)

The invitation that these women received is the invitation for all of us. Come and see… go and tell. It isn’t just the message of Easter; it is the eternity long herald of all believers. He is not dead. He rose from the dead and defeated sin, death, and hell, providing us the perfect atonement from our sin. He justified us before God and bought our place in eternity if we repent and believe. Although many of us have never stood in what is believed to be Christ’s tomb, we have seen the goodness of our risen Savior in our own lives. It is this testimony that we are to share, to go and tell.