Doxology – Romans 11:33-36

Songs in the New Testament, part 4

I sat alone on a rock in a dark place. The odd flicker of torchlight lit for a moment and was gone. It was pitch black; nothing could be seen, and yet on the horizon the sky started to lighten; dawn was coming. The light increased; I was sitting on the edge of a large chasm, and the September light showed it getting deeper and deeper. It was enormous. Surely that was the bottom. But no, as the sun rose in direct line with this gorge, the bottom was still dark. For over an hour, I sat silently. I could see now that others had the same idea, spread out in ones, twos, and threes on their own rocks, watching silently in awe.

The pink light of dawn on the Grand Canyon near an equinox is something that cannot be imagined. Even the largest cinema screen does not do justice to its majesty.

Saint Paul is talking of something more majestic than even the Grand Canyon.

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways!

³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
    or who has been his counsellor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him
    that he might be repaid?”

³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.

Romans 11:33-36 ESVUK

This song of praise is at the end of a lot of teaching. Paul has not been to Rome at this point but wishes to go. This letter is a condensed form of Paul’s teaching. However, not all of Paul’s teachings are included; he mentions other things in letters to other churches.

The form of Romans: I vave taken this from the notes in the ESV Study Bible.

• Chapter 1 verses 1-17 – Introduction and the righteousness of God.
• 1:18-3:20 – God’s righteousness in his anger against sinners.
• 3:21-4:25 – The saving righteousness of God.
• 5:1-8.39 – Hope is a result of righteousnedd by faith.
• 9:1-11:36 – God’s righteousness to the Jews and to the Gentiles.
• 12:1-15:13 – God’s righteousness in everyday life.
• 15:14-16:23 – The extension of God’s righteousness through Paul’s mission.
• 16:25-27 – A final summary of the righteousness of God.

So what is righteousness?

For us, righteousness means being who we are meant to be, free from the self-doubt that hold us back. The ‘right’ in righteousness refers to doing the right thing. It’s about being right, from your actions on the outside to your innermost essence. It’s that simple, right?

So that is our righteousness. It is about being whole, how God made us, and the good things that we do and our good thoughts spring from that. But what of the righteousness of God, one of the main themes in the book of Romans?

The concept of becoming righteous does not apply to God, as He is righteousness itself, which He offers to us as a free gift through Jesus Christ. While it might be tempting to say that God’s righteousness defines His essence, this would be a misunderstanding since God is far more complex than that. God’s righteousness is only a small glimpse of His true nature.

Which brings us around to the song of Paul, which starts, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Paul has finished the theoretical part of the letter to the Romans, and rather than writing more theology, he ends in a song of praise.

The main point of Paul’s theology in Romans is to evoke awe and wonder at God’s wisdom and encourage worship. He highlights this by quoting two Old Testament verses: Isaiah 40:13, “Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or who can give him advice?” and Job 41:11, “Who has given to me that I should repay him? Everything under heaven belongs to me.” Paul shifts the perspective, making God’s words a declaration about Himself.

Verse 36 says, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory for ever. Amen.” This means that:

God is the creator of everything.
God sustains and directs everything in the universe.
Everything exists to fulfill God’s purpose and bring Him glory, ultimately returning to Him.

Paul emphasizes God’s righteousness and realizes its greatness, prompting him to praise. Studying God should inspire praise, which serves as a turning point in Romans. Such study leads to praise, and from that praise, we understand what actions we should take next.

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Afterthought:
As I studied this, I felt the need for gentleness in my life. It’s not connected to the subject, but one of those AuDHD rabbit holes my mind often goes down. It’s from the list of Paul’s fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But I feel the Holy Spirit is calling me to gentleness in the way I write. But that’s not the subject of this post.