romans 11

“Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.” Psalm 44:21

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Matthew 10:30

Of all the blog posts I’ve written so far in this series it’s this one that I’ve spent the most contemplating. It’s not for lack of material to work with; no, it’s the abundance that has caused me to ponder my focus.

God’s omniscience shows up in scripture in various ways, both in the obvious and not so obvious. It’s why I chose the two pieces of scripture to get us started. One exemplifies the idea of God knowing exactly what we think and feel. While the other represents God’s knowledge of everything in the natural world. He is not only everywhere and all-powerful; He sees and understands all.

“By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” 1 John 3:20

The Apostle John apparently was paying attention during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. If you drill down into all that Jesus taught and can be found in Matthew 5-7, He’s talking about God knowing our thoughts and hearts. Even back in the book of Isaiah God told His people not to come with empty sacrifices; He wants our hearts. This was the downfall of Cain.

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3

There is no place to hide, as the post on God’s omnipresence reminds us. He is both physically everywhere and knowledgeable about all. To truly grasp God’s mercy we must understand this.

No one gets away with anything. God is a just God and cannot let sin go unpunished. We should be thankful for that. Conversely, we should be eternally grateful that the punishment for our sins has already been paid. As Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished.” We may not understand it all but we don’t need to.

“God does not require us to understand His will, just obey it, even if it seems unreasonable.” Life Principle #5, Charles Stanley, 30 Life Principles

When we completely accept as truth the “3 O’s of God,” as I once titled a blog post on His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, we let go of our wills and submit gladly to the power of Christ. When we accept that the Holy Spirit is not just the angel on our shoulder balancing the red devil on the other, we move into a Christian life free of bondage to sin.

His Eternal Wisdom and Knowledge

“Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel? Whom did he consult, and who made him understand? Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” Isaiah 40:13-14

When James tells us in His book to seek God’s wisdom if we are lacking, he’s simply building on the truth of God’s omniscience told throughout the Old Testament. From the creation of the world to leading His people out of Egypt and the wisdom books to prophets foretelling both the first and second coming of Christ, we can see God knowing what came, what is happening and what is to come. All knowledge and wisdom finds its source in Him.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans 11:33

Friends, when we realize this truth, we can laugh when scientists “discover” something “new.” In fact, I read there are at least 10 major scientific ideas found in the Old Testament. For example, long before explorers circled the earth pronouncing it round, Isaiah tells us, “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22).

Rest In His Insight

Honestly, when we feel lost, unsure, unseen, unheard, unloved by those around us in this physical world it can be very discouraging. But God. He sees you, has wisdom and knowledge to impart to you, and loves you. He has a plan laid for you and for me. And it is good.

Countless Stars: At a time when people believed the stars could be easily numbered, Scripture declared the opposite: “As the host of heaven cannot be counted…” (Jeremiah 33:22). Modern astronomy reveals billions of galaxies each containing countless stars. The more we look, the more we discover that it’s truly an innumerable multitude sparkling in our night sky. Science and The Bible, Bible Hub

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” – Romans 11:33

Humanity’s oldest question may be only one word long: why. We have answered many “whys” about the universe—about stars, seasons, and gravity—yet each discovery seems to open the door to even deeper questions. When suffering touches our lives, the question becomes painfully personal. Why death? Why tragedy, broken relationships? And still, the answers often remain just beyond our grasp.

Scientific atheism pretends it can answer all our questions, from astronomy to psychology and biology to zoology. Yet, like an annoying two-year old, we can still ask “yes, but why?” Of course, a big question is why does God’s incomprehensibility matter for how we live and suffer?

Great Mysteries in Job

In the Bible, the book of Job seems to lead us into so many of these “whys” with a few “hows?” Why did God let satan torment Job? Why did God have to punish a man who seemed so loyal to Him? The scripture has God telling Job something we humans just don’t like to hear:

“Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?” – Job 11:7

My father struggled with this very problem of “why?” He couldn’t allow himself to acknowledge that if God is God, then there is no ability on our part to fathom Him in entirety. I’m not even fully assured we will understand Him completely when we find ourselves in the new heavens and new earth.

God is God and we are not. Oh, we may try really hard to fill our minds with solutions to the mysteries of the world. But let’s be honest, there are just some things we are not meant to know, at least not yet. As modern people we get caught up in thinking we know so much more than the ancient peoples. We set ourselves up thinking we don’t need God to explain anything of this world. But the more we “discover” the more questions we find ourselves asking.

Knowledge Revealed

“He replied, ‘The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’” – Luke 8:10

“It is the glory of God to conceal things” Proverbs 25: 2

I love how these two scriptures tell us something so amazing about God. It is His right and authority to conceal things. And because we are told throughout scripture how much God loves us, I would imagine He conceals things we can’t understand or accept at this time. Scripture also tells us that He has been revealing secrets to us for a long time.

When Jesus came about 2,000 years ago, He came revealing the Kingdom of God. In parable after parable, He showed us what God’s kingdom is like for believers. And for those who hate God, they struggle to see His truths. I’m always surprised at how atheists view God and specifically the Christian faith. They call it a “cult” or “hateful.” Yet all Christians know that we come freely to Christ to repair our broken lives. We are told to forgive, release all greed and malice, avoid immorality, love others especially our enemies. While not every Christian is a perfect example of this, we all should be working towards these goals.

Mystery In The Ordinary

Living our ordinary lives in light of God’s mystery was the topic of my BSGs’ study on the book of Ruth by Alistair Begg called “God of the Ordinary.” Naomi was a perfect example of a person who struggled with the “whys” of life. She became bitter and angry with God. Then through others she began to see Him at work in ordinary people in ordinary situations. God revealing Himself a bit at a time to her and her daughter in law, Ruth. As believers we have to opportunity to see God’s providence in retrospect. It’s a gift to look over generations and see Him at work in the most ordinary of ways.

Friends, we all ask “why” throughout our days. We should be comforted, however, knowing that God has us safely positioned in His great plan. When tragedy strikes, illnesses are revealed, or relationships fail let us look to God the incomphrensible in faith knowing we are in good hands.

I Am Not Skilled To Understand (1^st stanza) Dora Greenwell (1873)

“I am not skilled to understand
what God has willed, what God has planned;
I only know that at his right hand
is One who is my Savior!”

Tag: romans 11

He Knows All Things

The Incomprehensible God: Living Faithfully with Unanswered “Why”