Seven Attributes of God
Romans 11:33-36
INTRODUCTION: This little passage is the "tail-end" of last week's passage, and we ran out of time last week! These verses demand time all for themselves, because they are so important. They tell us about God. Who is He? What has He done? What is He like? This is important. Your conception of God will influence everything else you believe about God, the Bible, Jesus, the Plan of Salvation, and how to live as a Christian. I have seven facts about God from this passage in Romans eleven.
I. God's wisdom is infinitely deep and rich.
The word in Greek for "deep" is "bathos." From this Greek word we have the word we use to describe a deep sea submarine. Those which can go much deeper than Navy submarines, down to the very bottom of the deepest ocean trenches. We call this sort of submarine a "bathyscape."
The bathyscape Trieste, made it to the deepest point in the ocean, the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, a few hundred miles east of the Philippines, 10,916 meters (35,813 ft -- Seven Miles) below sea level. The water pressure at this depth is over 1000 atmospheres. The Trieste has long been dismantled, and there currently exists no manned or unmanned craft capable of making it to this depth.
Trieste was manned by two people and funded by the United States Navy. The pressure sphere used was 2.16 m (6.5 ft) across, with steel walls 12.7 cm (5 inches) thick, able to withstand 1.25 metric tons per cm² (110 MPa) of pressure.
This descent to the deepest part of the Marianas Trench has never been replicated. The deepest-diving large, military-style submarine was the Soviet submarine K-278 Komsomolets, with a hull made of titanium, making it very expensive, but able to withstand significantly deeper dives than the best submarines made of high-grade steel, like American nuclear submarines. The Komsomolets was a nuclear powered submarine specially designed to make trips as far down as 1300 meters (4265 feet) below sea level, definitely less than the Trieste, but very significant because the Komsomolets had to "defend" a much larger air bubble against the encroaching pressure of the surrounding ocean.
Compared to the best American nuclear submarines, of the Seawolf class, Komsomolets had about 78% better diving capabilities. Seawolf submarines have an estimated crush depth of about 2400 feet (730 m). The Seawolf submarines are constructed of a high grade steel called HY-100, capable of withstanding 100 atmospheres of pressure. As a rule of thumb, the pressure increases by one atmosphere for every 10 m you descend.
What is wisdom? Wisdom is knowing the right thing to do...the smart thing to do...the suitable thing to do...the farsighted thing to do...and so on. God is all wise. He never makes mistakes. He never leaves something out. He never misses the significance of a detail. He never embarrasses Himself. He never goofs up. He is never short-sighted. He never acts compulsively. He never "flies off the handle." He always fully understands every situation, and knows just what needs to be done or said.
II. God's knowledge is infinitely deep and rich.
* Elihu describes God as the one "who is perfect in knowledge" (Job 37:16 c.f. Job 36:4)
* John says that "For God is greater than our hearts and he knows everything." (1 Jn 3:20)
* The writer of Hebrews says that "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Heb 4:13 c.f. 2 Ch 16:9)
* Job said "for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens" (Job 28:24).
* God said to Isaiah "for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done" (Is 46:9-10 c.f. Is 42:8-9)
* Psalm 139 - all of it, but in particular: "How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand." (vv. 17-18) "All the days ordainded for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (v. 16)
God has never learned anything. God has never been taken by surprise. Before He made the angels, He knew that Satan would sin and fall from Heaven. Before He made the world, or Adam and Eve, He knew that they would sin; and that He would send Jesus to be our Savior. He knows our thoughts, words and deeds. He knows our circumstances. He knows about every person, every animal, every blade of grass, every star in the universe, every planet, every moon, everything. And He has always known everything from the beginning of time. His knowledge is infinite.
J.B. Phillips wrote a book that was a best seller in the '60s: about the "attributes of God," and he chose a great title: "Your God is Too Small." God is bigger than most people have any idea. We try to comprehend Him. We try to put Him in a box. But we cannot.
III. God's judgments are unsearchable.
God is pictured often in the Bible as the Judge who provides justice for everyone: rich or poor, strong or weak, man or woman.
The word "unsearchable" in Greek is anexichniasstoi, which can also be translated: "unfathomable." This word is a synonym for "bathos." In other words, God's judgments are so good, and so fair, that they are 100% PERFECT. Not only are God's judgments completely just and fair, they are also merciful. Consider the story of Sodom and Gomorrah...
IV. God's ways are past finding out. We do not know His thoughts.
God's "ways" are His plans and purposes and His actions. In some versions the word "paths" is used instead of ways. We cannot know or understand God's mind. We cannot know or understand WHY God does what He does, and why He allows what He allows. We are constantly puzzled!
We study the Bible. We think as hard as we can. Some of us go to Bible College or Seminary, and prepare to be pastors. We study the Bible for decades. But we cannot understand everything. We can understand some things, but we must also have Faith in God, and simply believe in Him, and trust that He is doing right, and that He is wise.
British Christian poet William Cowper wrote a famous hymn in the 18th century: It is reportedly the last hymn Cowper ever wrote, with a fascinating story behind it. Cowper often struggled with mental depression and doubt. One night he decided to commit suicide by drowning himself. He called a cab and told the driver to take him to the Thames River. However, thick fog came down and prevented them from finding the road to the river. After driving around lost for a while, the cabby finally stopped and let Cowper out. To Cowper’s surprise, he found himself on his own doorstep: God had sent the fog to keep him from killing himself. Even in our blackest moments, God watches over us.
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
V. He is the great Giver of life and all things; He is our Creator.
"Of Him, and through Him, are all things."
The secular world is crazy over Naturalism, Evolution, Darwin, Dinosaurs and the "Big Bang." The Bible says that God made all things.
Ps 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
VI. He is never obligated to anyone.
No one ever did something for God, and now God "owes him" for what he did. You can't make deals with God. You can't bargain with God. You don't have anything that God needs or wants. You don't have anything that isn't really God's already. Whatever you have, it came from Him. Your life, your health, your possessions, your mutual funds, your bank account, your spouse, your children, etc. etc. We are only stewards of what God has allowed to pass into our hands. Even if you have worked hard and long for your possessions, it was God who freely gave you the intelligence, the strength, and the opportunities you have. You will always be in debt to God. He will NEVER be in debt to you.
VII. He is the Center and Reason for all things. It's all about Him! He is worthy of our eternal worship
"... and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
Everything was created by God for His own glory. Not for OUR glory. HIS glory. We were made for HIM, not the other way around. You and I are not the center of the Universe. In fact, we may be only a very small part of what God is doing in the Universe. We just don't know, do we?
Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."
Westminster Confession of Faith -- Chapter IV
Of Creation
"It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning, to create, or make of nothing, the world, and all things therein whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days; and all very good."
Jesus died for us because He loved us. But even more so: the reason He died for us was to do the will of His Heavenly Father. He did it more for HIM, than for US. In John 12, verse 28, Jesus prays, "Father, glorify Thy name". To that, the Heavenly Father answers, "I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again". And, in what is called 'The High Priestly Prayer' of John 17, Jesus prays, "I have glorified Thee on earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do"(17:4).
There is no debating the Jesus accomplished a great deal through His birth, life, death, and resurrection, but what we must not lose site of is His ultimate purpose for accomplishing these things. Jesus came to earth "seeking the glory of the One who sent Him".
Our self-centred sinful flesh has trouble comprehending that salvation is not all about us-it is about God and the demonstration of His glory. In Psalm 79, verse 9, the psalmist prays, "Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Thy name; And deliver us, and forgive our sins, for Thy name's sake". "I am the Lord, that is My name; My glory I give to no other", says the Lord(Isa. 42:8). When Jesus was born, angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest heaven"(Lk. 2:14) and, shortly before His death, Jesus prayed, "Father, glorify Thy name". From Jesus' birth to His death, God's purpose remained the same-the manifestation of His glory.
SUMMARY: