Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out!
"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?"
"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 forever! Amen.
These four verses say so much about God. I have to break it down. We shall start with the first 2 lines. Knowledge can best be described as knowing what the beginning of something was. How can we know something's beginning? We don't even know how old the earth is. We know that God was the beginning of everything. So knowledge is understanding that God created everything in the beginning. We are shown this in Proverbs 1:7. It says,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
If we understand that the Lord is the one who created everything there is, we automatically fear Him. But not with a fear like of bugs, storms, the dark, NO. We fear Him with a respectful fear, showing that we know He is more powerful than us and wipe us away with a word. But, we know that He won't, because we know He loves us.
Next is wisdom. The Bible tells us that there are 2 kinds of wisdom. James 3:13-18 says,
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
The first type of wisdom comes from the earth and is good for nothing except self gain. Riches, sex, power; that is earthly wisdom made by the devil. True wisdom comes from the Lord and is not for gain. It is for living a life that the Lord wants us to live. It is the instructions of our Greatest Father, The Lord Our God. Proverbs 4:1-9 says,
Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. When I was a boy in my father's house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said,
"Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor."
The instructions of our Father. Wisdom is knowing what will happen if something is done in life. If we listen to God's wisdom from heaven, we will live the life that God wants us to live.
So, knowledge is knowing the beginning of something, and wisdom is knowing what will occur if something happens. God knows everything there is to know about these 2 things. He was the beginning of everything, and He knows what will happen until the end of time. We can't even begin to know any of that. Our sin-filled lives prove that day in and day out. So of course as it says in the second sentence, "How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out." We can't search them out. We can't trace those things. It's impossible! Human kind has created a word for this. A single word to describe this quality of God. Omniscience. It means all-knowing. That is just what God is, all-knowing.
The next line sounds like a sort of repeat of everything I just said, but when it comes to God I've learned something, looks are most deceiving. They actually go with the next line as well.
"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?"
"Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?"
These lines spell out one thing, God is above us. God is greater than us, his creation. And no matter what we do that will never change. Ephesians 4:5-6 says,
One Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
God is one being that is above ALL His creation. Again our kind has come up with a word for this. Transcendence. He is above all and watches us from above. You can't help but feel belittled by that I know. I felt that way when I read it, and I still feel that way writing it right now. But do not feel down about it. No! Instead, feel joyful. For God is unfathomably above us, and yet He tells us who He is. He actually told us. How do you feel now about being so small? I feel pretty joyous about it. That is all we can feel or do about it anyways. Because it says it right there that we can't repay Him no matter what. It's impossible to repay Him. But that does not mean we shouldn't try and do everything in our ability to give back and tell others about Him. That is all He asks for in return.
The next line sounds like what was said in Proverbs 4:5-6. "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." We can rephrase this as, "Everything comes from God, through Him all things exist, and everything belongs to Him."
The first is that we come from God. We come from the one being that knows everything in all existence, and as we will see in a moment has power over everything that exists. We come from Him who is above all. We, who are imperfect and dirty come from Him. I do not feel deserving of that whatsoever. When I realized that, I felt undeserving of even existing. But God tells us that we should not feel that way. He tells us that we matter to Him and we have a purpose in His plan. 1Corinthians 12:12-13 says,
The body is a unit, though it is made of many parts; and though all its parts are many, They form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
The body is the church and God's purpose. And no matter who we are, we are part of that purpose. We came from God with a purpose.
The second is that through God all things exist. God is life and lives in everything that exists. Yet another word can describe this. Immanence. Meaning God is within all His creation. So God is with all He created as well. Is that not amazing. God is so far above us, and yet He chooses to live, not just "with" us, but "within" us. Within our sin-filled bodies. And because He chose to do that, we are saved. This also means something incredible. If God lives within all His creation, then He exists within everything. In other words, God is everywhere. From the smallest cell in your body to the most vast galaxy in the cosmos. Another word was made to describe this trait. Omnipresence. Meaning God is everywhere. We cannot hide from Him, or run away. God is always where we are at. God is always with us.
The third is still not fully understood by people. Everything belongs to God. That means everything. Not just nature, or our things. It means our parents, our siblings, our friends, our children, all the people in our lives. They belong to Him. We have no control over what happens to them. They belong to God. We belong to God. Our bodies, and souls, and lives belong to Him. He has control over them, He has power over all things. We cannot control our lives or the lives of the people around us. Only God can. And no matter how hard it is, we must remember that. Again a word can describe this quality. Omnipotence. God is all-powerful. He has control over everything, He has the power to do anything.
The last line, "To Him be the glory forever! Amen." Has a meaning of its own. God deserves Glory Forever. What does forever mean? We know that God has always and will always deserve Glory. Form when He was and on. But God always was and will always be. Thereis another word that can describe this. Eternity. Meaning God had no beginning, nor does He have an ending. God deserves Glory and praise for Eternity.
That is what this Doxology means. It tells us that God is Transcendent, above us; Omniscience, all-knowing; God is Immanence, within everything; Omnipotent, all-powerful; Omnipresent, He is everywhere; and God is Eternal, always was and always will be. God is all these things. And yet, God Loves you. He loves you. John 3:16-17 says,
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
I will say right now that we cannot understand this unless we know what love is. Romans 12:9-21 says,
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in afliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be concieted.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay." says the Lord. On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this you will heap burning coals on his."
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
This is what the Bible tells us what love is. Putting others above us. Sacrificing what we want for someone elses want. To treat others better than ourselves, even if it is our enemy. Even if the person wishes to kill us, and our families. We must treat them better than ourselves. However, this is the version written in the Bible for human kind. This is the most that human love can be. God's love is the love that is described in John 3:16-17. God's love is different than ours. For God can Not be known or understood by by us. God is perfect and we are imperfect. God's love is perfect. So when the Bible tells us that God loved the world and its people, it's talking about a love we can not even comprehend.
The same God who is all-knowing, meaning He knows the worst things about us deep in our hearts, and is Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Eternal, Transcendent, Immanence, and so much more, has a greater love for us than we could ever know! He saved us from our deaths! He sacrificed His perfect son for us! The Same God! That is so amazing and so beyond thought that I have no words for it! Nor the for the feeling it gives!
God Is Truely Amazing. Blessed Be His Name Forever. Amen.
Never stop reading His Word or wanting to know more about Him. Ask God for wisdom and knowledge always, for He will grant it to you. Always remember that He who is everything Loves you.
Thank You For Reading
Long Live Jesus Christ
Amen
