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With the contemplation of God's great overruling, using the blindness of Israel for
Gentile blessing, and Gentile mercy for Israel's ultimate salvation, the Apostle ends his
reasoning and breaks into a doxology:
"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the
mind of the Lord? Or who hath been His counselor? Or who hath first given to Him, and
it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are
all things, to Whom be glory for ever, Amen" (Rom. 11: 33-36).
At the close of the great doctrinal section of Romans, we have the glorious
"persuasion" that nothing can separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8: 38, 39). At
the close of the dispensational section, we have the doxology quoted above. And at the
close of the epistle itself there is a further ascription of praise: "To the only wise God"
(Rom. 16: 25-27).
In Rom. 11: 33-36, the Apostle is thinking particularly of the wisdom, knowledge and
judgment of God in the working out of His purposes--wisdom that infallibly uses and
overrules all means to one end, knowledge that sees the end from the beginning and can
never be taken by surprise, and judgments or decisions that are beyond the understanding
of man, being indeed "unsearchable" (anexereunetos). Parallel with this last phrase is the
statement that "His ways are past finding out", the word "past finding out"
(anexichniastos) being translated "unsearchable" in Eph. 3: 8. The word is a compound
from the Greek for "a footstep", and emphasizes the fact that we are completely
dependent upon the revealed will of God. Apart from His Word what knowledge should
we have? Or how should we set about acquiring it? If the Apostle himself, whose
reasonings and explanations given by inspiration of God are so difficult to comprehend,
has to cease from argument and exclaim "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom
and knowledge of God", how much more we of so much lower calibre. Full as are the
words already considered, they are but the steps that lead to the sanctuary itself. There,
in a blaze of glory that robs the eye of its natural vision, we perceive something of the
glory of Jehovah, the One "Who was, Who is, and Who is to come".
HE WHO WAS.
"Of Him."
Ex - origin.
In the PAST.
HE WHO IS.
"Through Him."
Dia - cause.
In the PRESENT.
HE WHO IS TO COME.
"To Him."
Eis - goal.
In the FUTURE.
"All things" here it ta panta, a form to be distinguished carefully from panta, without
the article. The Apostle uses these terms with discrimination. "All things", without
reserve, are made to work together for good, but it is "the all things" (not the evil as well
as the good) that are freely given us with the gift of Christ (Rom. 8: 28 and 32). In
Rom. 9: 5 Christ is set forth as "over all things, God blessed unto the ages". No
discrimination is intended here; the evil as well as the good, defective Israel as well as
the believing Gentile, Esau as well as Jacob are all included. In Rom. 11:, however, it is
not all things, evil as well as good, that find their origin, cause and goal in Him, but rather
those "all things" that are a matter of promise and election. So in Col. 1: 16-20, we have
ta panta: "For in Him were created the all things." The Apostle's intention here is not to