For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?
No one has ever known the mind of the Lord, and no one has ever instructed Him as His counselor, for His wisdom and knowledge are deep beyond searching and His judgments and ways beyond finding out. This stands as praise at the close of Romans 11 for the riches of His wisdom and knowledge, declaring that His works are known to Him from the beginning and that all things are from Him and through Him and to Him, to whom glory belongs forever. He needs no guidance or direction from human beings, for He is perfect in knowledge and terrible in majesty, understanding thoughts from afar and knowing every path and every word. Finite and erring human beings cannot fully comprehend His acts in creation or grasp the mysteries of His providence, and they are not to explain Him or make Him a subject of debate, but to revere and fear Him as the source of all wisdom. Therefore in suffering and in all that remains unrevealed, trust is the right response to One whose judgments cannot be fully searched out, leading into a life presented as a living sacrifice and transformed by the renewing of the mind to prove His good and acceptable and perfect will.
Meaning and Context in Romans
No human mind has ever fully grasped the Lord's thoughts, and no person has ever served as His adviser, because His wisdom, knowledge, judgments and ways lie beyond human searching and understanding. His wisdom is set forth as too deep for human knowledge to measure and too high for human counsel to guide. No one knows His mind completely, no one instructs Him, and no one gives Him advice that places Him under obligation.
This declaration stands at the close of Romans 11 as a burst of praise for the depth of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge, whose judgments are unsearchable and whose ways are past finding out. His works have been known to Him from the beginning, and all things are from Him and through Him and to Him, to whom glory belongs forever. No one has first given to Him so that He must repay, for He alone is the source, means and end of all things and He alone receives the glory.
The whole chapter is to be read carefully and prayerfully. This praise leads directly into the call to present the body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. That consecration is joined to being transformed by the renewing of the mind in order to prove the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
God Beyond Human Understanding
No one has known the mind of the Lord or has been His counsellor, for He is perfect in knowledge and terrible in majesty and needs no guidance, direction, or instruction from human beings. He is the One who understands thoughts from far off, is acquainted with every path, and knows every word on the tongue. His wisdom and purposes lie beyond human knowledge, and no one directs Him.
His creative works cannot be fully comprehended by human reason, and He has not revealed to mortals exactly how He accomplished creation in six literal days. Scripture provides the guide for understanding what He has revealed, while what He has not revealed cannot be discovered by speculation. The mysteries of His providence likewise cannot be fully grasped by human reason, for His wisdom, knowledge, judgments, and ways are beyond human searching and finding out.
His wondrous works in nature prove His incomprehensibility, for He directs snow, rain, and lightning for correction, for the good of the land, or as an act of kindness. He displays the balancings of the clouds, the lightning of His cloud, the sky spread out strong as a molten mirror, and the bright light in the skies that men cannot look upon. By reason of darkness human beings cannot set their speech in order before Him, and touching the Almighty they cannot find Him out, for He is excellent in power and in justice and plenteous in righteousness, and men therefore fear Him.
Reverent Trust and Obedience
Finite, erring human beings stand below the all-wise, all-knowing One whose riches of wisdom and knowledge are depths beyond human reach, whose decisions cannot be searched out and whose paths cannot be traced, and no person knows what He thinks or gives Him advice. For this reason He must not be made an attempt at explanation or a subject of debate, where silence is eloquence. Because He understands thoughts from afar, is acquainted with every path, and knows every word on the tongue, He must be spoken of with great care. Speculative words will be brought to light when truth and falsehood are set in sharp contrast, and foolish human reasonings will speedily be brought to nothing, for all things are from Him and through Him and to Him, to whom glory belongs forever.
He is perfect in knowledge and terrible in majesty, and no one has known His mind or been His counselor. Human beings cannot set their speech in order before Him by reason of darkness, and His wondrous works in nature prove it: the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous workings of Him who is perfect in knowledge, the lightning of His cloud, the sky spread out strong as a molten mirror, and the bright light in the skies that men cannot look upon. Touching the Almighty, He cannot be found out, for He is excellent in power and in justice and plenteous in righteousness, and men therefore fear Him. Human learning is placed under the recognition that God is the source of all wisdom, His wisdom and knowledge exceed human understanding and His judgments and ways cannot be fully searched out, people cannot fathom all the mysteries in His dealings, and this calls them to reverence and fear Him. In the face of suffering this calls for trust in God whose judgments and ways cannot be fully searched out.
The depths of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge are beyond human reach, His judgments are unsearchable and His ways past finding out, and of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. This gives ground through faith in the precious Saviour who gave His life to ask the Father in Jesus' name for strength of body, eyesight, brain, clearness of conception, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and to receive the benefits of hiding the life with Christ in God. In the chapter's teaching about the work for the Jews, His wisdom beyond human knowledge or counsel calls for special wisdom. That work belongs to the outline in Romans 11, must not be ignored, and requires the wisdom of God to come to His people so they act wisely and righteously, clearing the King's highway in all wisdom and righteousness and giving the Jews every opportunity to receive the light and come to the light.
The Lord is not to be instructed by human beings, and self-importance and refusal to accept counsel, as seen in a boy's conduct, stand in contrast to this truth.
No one has ever known the mind of the Lord, and no one has ever instructed Him as His counselor, for His wisdom and knowledge are deep beyond searching and His judgments and ways beyond finding out. This stands as praise at the close of Romans 11 for the riches of His wisdom and knowledge, declaring that His works are known to Him from the beginning and that all things are from Him and through Him and to Him, to whom glory belongs forever. He needs no guidance or direction from human beings, for He is perfect in knowledge and terrible in majesty, understanding thoughts from afar and knowing every path and every word. Finite and erring human beings cannot fully comprehend His acts in creation or grasp the mysteries of His providence, and they are not to explain Him or make Him a subject of debate, but to revere and fear Him as the source of all wisdom. Therefore in suffering and in all that remains unrevealed, trust is the right response to One whose judgments cannot be fully searched out, leading into a life presented as a living sacrifice and transformed by the renewing of the mind to prove His good and acceptable and perfect will.
Meaning and Context in Romans
No human mind has ever fully grasped the Lord's thoughts, and no person has ever served as His adviser, because His wisdom, knowledge, judgments and ways lie beyond human searching and understanding. His wisdom is set forth as too deep for human knowledge to measure and too high for human counsel to guide. No one knows His mind completely, no one instructs Him, and no one gives Him advice that places Him under obligation.
This declaration stands at the close of Romans 11 as a burst of praise for the depth of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge, whose judgments are unsearchable and whose ways are past finding out. His works have been known to Him from the beginning, and all things are from Him and through Him and to Him, to whom glory belongs forever. No one has first given to Him so that He must repay, for He alone is the source, means and end of all things and He alone receives the glory.
The whole chapter is to be read carefully and prayerfully. This praise leads directly into the call to present the body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. That consecration is joined to being transformed by the renewing of the mind in order to prove the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
God Beyond Human Understanding
No one has known the mind of the Lord or has been His counsellor, for He is perfect in knowledge and terrible in majesty and needs no guidance, direction, or instruction from human beings. He is the One who understands thoughts from far off, is acquainted with every path, and knows every word on the tongue. His wisdom and purposes lie beyond human knowledge, and no one directs Him.
His creative works cannot be fully comprehended by human reason, and He has not revealed to mortals exactly how He accomplished creation in six literal days. Scripture provides the guide for understanding what He has revealed, while what He has not revealed cannot be discovered by speculation. The mysteries of His providence likewise cannot be fully grasped by human reason, for His wisdom, knowledge, judgments, and ways are beyond human searching and finding out.
His wondrous works in nature prove His incomprehensibility, for He directs snow, rain, and lightning for correction, for the good of the land, or as an act of kindness. He displays the balancings of the clouds, the lightning of His cloud, the sky spread out strong as a molten mirror, and the bright light in the skies that men cannot look upon. By reason of darkness human beings cannot set their speech in order before Him, and touching the Almighty they cannot find Him out, for He is excellent in power and in justice and plenteous in righteousness, and men therefore fear Him.
Reverent Trust and Obedience
Finite, erring human beings stand below the all-wise, all-knowing One whose riches of wisdom and knowledge are depths beyond human reach, whose decisions cannot be searched out and whose paths cannot be traced, and no person knows what He thinks or gives Him advice. For this reason He must not be made an attempt at explanation or a subject of debate, where silence is eloquence. Because He understands thoughts from afar, is acquainted with every path, and knows every word on the tongue, He must be spoken of with great care. Speculative words will be brought to light when truth and falsehood are set in sharp contrast, and foolish human reasonings will speedily be brought to nothing, for all things are from Him and through Him and to Him, to whom glory belongs forever.
He is perfect in knowledge and terrible in majesty, and no one has known His mind or been His counselor. Human beings cannot set their speech in order before Him by reason of darkness, and His wondrous works in nature prove it: the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous workings of Him who is perfect in knowledge, the lightning of His cloud, the sky spread out strong as a molten mirror, and the bright light in the skies that men cannot look upon. Touching the Almighty, He cannot be found out, for He is excellent in power and in justice and plenteous in righteousness, and men therefore fear Him. Human learning is placed under the recognition that God is the source of all wisdom, His wisdom and knowledge exceed human understanding and His judgments and ways cannot be fully searched out, people cannot fathom all the mysteries in His dealings, and this calls them to reverence and fear Him. In the face of suffering this calls for trust in God whose judgments and ways cannot be fully searched out.
The depths of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge are beyond human reach, His judgments are unsearchable and His ways past finding out, and of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. This gives ground through faith in the precious Saviour who gave His life to ask the Father in Jesus' name for strength of body, eyesight, brain, clearness of conception, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and to receive the benefits of hiding the life with Christ in God. In the chapter's teaching about the work for the Jews, His wisdom beyond human knowledge or counsel calls for special wisdom. That work belongs to the outline in Romans 11, must not be ignored, and requires the wisdom of God to come to His people so they act wisely and righteously, clearing the King's highway in all wisdom and righteousness and giving the Jews every opportunity to receive the light and come to the light.
The Lord is not to be instructed by human beings, and self-importance and refusal to accept counsel, as seen in a boy's conduct, stand in contrast to this truth.