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Romans 11:34
“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?”
Time and again throughout Romans we have seen Paul make an argument, then back it up with Scripture. Now he turns once again to the Old Testament, but this time he is seeking support not for a theological argument but for his praise of God’s knowledge and wisdom. However, his choice of Isaiah 40:13 (and perhaps elements of Job 15:8 and Jer. 23:18) sets up a comparison between the limitless knowledge and wisdom of God and the tiny scope of human understanding. “Paul is still thinking about God in this verse,” Dr. James M. Boice writes. “But here he also turns our attention from God’s attributes—the perfection of His wisdom, knowledge, judgments, and ways—to our limitations as measured by them.”
This verse posits two questions that make this comparison quite well. “ ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?’ ” The first question is almost absurd. It is essentially asking whether any man has ever stood in the position of knowing God well enough to grasp His motives and purposes, the thinking that drives His actions. The answer, of course, is no. God’s ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:7–8). Indeed, His ways are necessarily far, far higher than ours, for He is the holy, infinite, self-existent Creator, while we are fallen, limited, and dependent creatures. We cannot know His mind unless He chooses to reveal it to us in Scripture, which He has sometimes graciously deigned to do. The second question goes even further; that is, it is even more absurd. In order for any man to give God counsel, that man would have to be in the position of being able to teach God something, of knowing more than He. Such clearly cannot be. He knows every possible outcome and is able to distinguish the best without our aid. Boice sums the matter up this way: “The bottom line is that no human being, however wise, has anything to offer to God in the matters of His knowledge and wisdom.”
Our calling as human beings is to humble ourselves before the knowledge and wisdom of God; to seek to know His mind as He has revealed it in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; and to let Him be our counselor in all things. Like Job, we should lay our hands on our mouths (Job 40:4) and freely confess that His ways are too wonderful for our minds (Job 42:3).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Have you been exposed to teaching or preaching that aims to explain the ways of God without reference to Scripture? In light of today’s verse, can you see that such teaching is guesswork? Resist speculations about God’s purposes, and prayerfully consider the revelation of His ways by reading the Bible, studying it, and hearing it taught.
For Further Study
- Proverbs 9:10
- Proverbs 19:21
- 1 Corinthians 1:20
- James 1:5