Expository Preaching

Rom 11:33-36

*
PCJB
PP Presentation
devised and prepared
at
Gujranwala Theological Seminary
may be copied for non-commercial use only
March 2008
PRAY…

• For God to speak to you

• For His Spirit to guide your
thoughts
• For Jesus to be glorified through
this study
Rom 11:33-36 The TEXT

Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom

and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgements, and his
paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?”
Who has ever given to God, that God should
repay him?
For from him and through him and to him
are all things,
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
 Asking
The Right Questions

What are
the most significant questions
to address?
Not every possible aspect of
exegetical study
needs to be explored
every time!
 Asking
The Right Questions

• Is it a good idea to chop up the passage into units

of thought? (Not if it is a long narrative)
• Is the form of writing significant? (Very, if it is
poetry, for example!)
• How important is the grammatical structure? (Very,
if it is a letter.)
• Is the context crucial to finding the heart-beat of a
passage? (Generally, but not necessarily if e.g. it a
short narrative, or a proverb)
The UNITS of THOUGHT
Oh the depth of the riches
and wisdom
and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgements,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?”
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
For from him
and through him
and to him
are all things.
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
The GENRE

Belongs to Paul’s
LETTER
to the Christians in Rome

This section
is in the form of
A DOXOLOGY
(Expression of praise)
The STRUCTURE
Oh the depth of the riches
and
wisdom
and
knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgements,
and
his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?”
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
For from him
and
through him
and
to him are all things,
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
The Literary CONTEXT

A comprehensive
account of the Gospel
BEFORE
of salvation
precedes the passage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOXOLOGY Analysis and argument

give way in this passage to
adoration.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AFTER Practical implications

of the Gospel
follow.
ANALYSIS: Content
Who is doing what?
Oh the depth of the riches
and
wisdom
and
knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgements,
and
his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or
who has been his counsellor?”
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
For from him
and
through him
and
to him are all things,
To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
ANALYSIS: Sections
Oh the depth of the riches AN ASTONISHED EXCLAMATION
and
wisdom
and
knowledge of God!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How unsearchable his judgements, A RHETORICAL QUESTION
and
his paths beyond tracing out!
“Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counsellor?”
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For from him A THEOLOGICAL AFFIRMATION
and
through him
and
to him are all things,
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To him be the glory for ever! FINAL ADORATION
Amen.
ANALYSIS: Topics
Oh the depth of the riches GOD’S RICHES
and
wisdom GOD’S WISDOM
and
knowledge of God! GOD’S KNOWLEDGE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How unsearchable his judgements, GOD’S JUDGEMENTS

and
his paths beyond tracing out! GOD’S WAYS
“Who has known the mind of the Lord? GOD’S MIND
Or who has been his counsellor?” GOD’S COUNSEL
Who has ever given to God, GOD’S CREDIT
that God should repay him?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For from him GOD’S RELATIONSHIP

and TO CREATION
through him
and
to him are all things,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To him be the glory for ever! GOD’S GLORY

Amen.
Over-All SUBJECT
Oh the depth of the riches GOD’S RICHES
and
wisdom GOD’S WISDOM
and
knowledge of God! GOD’S KNOWLEDGE
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

How unsearchable his judgements, GOD’S JUDGEMENTS

and
his paths beyond tracing out! GOD’S WAYS
“Who has known the mind of the Lord? GOD’S MIND
Or who has been his counsellor?” GOD’S COUNSEL
Who has ever given to God, GOD’S CREDIT
that God should repay him?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For from him GOD’S RELATIONSHIP

and TO CREATION
through him
and
to him are all things,
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To him be the glory for ever! GOD’S GLORY

Amen.
Subject: The wonderful greatness of GOD
COMMENTARY (John Stott)
• Paul worships
– Humble wonder at God
– Utter dependence on him
• Wealth and wisdom
– Deep & unfathomable / inscrutable (cf Is 55:8f)
– We cannot penetrate into the infinite mind of God!
• Judgements and paths
• Revelation and gifts
• What He thinks and decides (his mind)
• What He does and where He goes (his activity)
COMMENTARY (John Stott cont.)

• To reverse roles would be to dethrone God!

• Our thinking about God should never be
separated from our worship of God
– Worship without theology becomes idolatrous
– A purely academic interest in God without worship
– Where all things come from? (Source)
– How all things come into being? (Means)
– Where everything is going? (Goal)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- John Stott, Bible Speaks Today Commentary: Ch 15 (pp 309-312)
COMMENTARY (James Dunn)

Exalting the inexhaustibility of God’s riches

both of his wisdom and of his knowledge

• Oh! expressing very strong emotion!

• The depth of the riches > a treasury which has no
bottom > inexhaustible resources of God
• The wisdom of God > in creating the world,
revealing His will, and redeeming His people
(c.f. the mystery of God’s saving purposes treated
in ch 1-11)
COMMENTARY (Dunn cont.)
Celebrating God’s Judgements & Ways
• the judgements > c.f. the overarching thought of a
divine purpose whose wisdom and justice is beyond
human comprehension, such as at times of crisis in
Israel’s history when this ruling purpose of God must
have seen particularly obscure.
• his ways > c.f. even though the mystery (of God’s plan
of salvation) has been revealed (v 25), there is far, far
more to God’s purposes and actions than human mind
can ever take in.
• Paul felt that, like Job before him (c.f. Job 26:14), he had
only caught a mere glimpse of the edge of God’s
doings! His sovereign purposes remain a mystery.
• The very idea of offering advice to God is ridiculous. So
is the idea that we could place him in our debt! (c.f. Job
41:11)
COMMENTARY (Dunn cont.)

Relating the Creator to His creation

• From…through…to Him > God is the source,

the medium, and goal of everything, the
beginning, the middle and the end.
• To Him be the glory c.f. The climax of the
history of salvation is the glory of GOD.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Dunn, James D.G., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 38b:
Romans 9-16, (Dallas, Texas: Word Books, Publisher) 1998.
The Canonical CONTEXT
Where the passage fits into the big picture of the
whole Bible’s narrative

• The mystery of God’s saving purposes treated

in ch 1-11
• The climax of the history of salvation is the glory
of GOD.
TEACHING on
Over-all SUBJECT
What this passage tells us about
the greatness of God

God’s riches are inexhaustible

His wisdom and knowledge boundless
His ways and thoughts beyond our
comprehension
No-one can advise God or oblige Him
Everything comes from Him,
is sustained by Him,
and finishes with Him
He deserves our eternal worship.
His glory is the climax of creation and
 The HEART-BEAT

Everything about God

is so awesome,
we should always
give God the glory
for everything
for ever!
Amen!