Romans 11:33–36 (NKJV)

Oh, 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 has known the mind of the LORD
Or who has become His counselor?”
“Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?”

For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

This feels like the chorus to go with the previous verses. Paul has revealed unfathomable mysteries; now he sings God’s praises. Drawing from Isaiah 40, Jeremiah 23, and Job 41, Paul takes an interesting tack.

Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, or as His counselor has taught Him? With whom did He take counsel, and instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? — Isaiah 40:13 (NKJV)

For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD, and has perceived and heard His word? Who has marked His word and heard t? — Jeremiah 23:18 (NKJV)

Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. — Job 41:11 (NKJV)

These verses don’t just praise God; they challenge us to praise Him. Rather than say how wonderful God is, they ask, “Who has done this?” They make the case for God’s greatness. So, where is Paul going with this? Might Paul’s legalistic background as a Pharisee be bubbling to the surface?

No, this is a normal and beautiful form of praise.

Suppose you wanted to praise someone’s work in a technical field. What’s the best way to do it?  Should you use lots of flowery words, like “brilliant” and “elegant?”

Or is it more powerful to note how many times their work is cited in the literature?

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. — 1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)

Knowing why you believe what you believe makes everything you do for the Lord more solid. This glorifies the Lord constantly, often in unintended ways.

In the 1750s, the Reverend Thomas Bayes wrote down an argument for the historicity of the resurrection of Christ. That argument used a mathematical technique that went on to become the foundation of modern probability theory. Google “Bayesian statistics” and you’ll get millions of hits.

That’s a lot of citations.

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