What is the most beautiful place you have ever visited? How did you respond to encountering such beauty?

When we encounter grand things, whether natural landscapes, works of art, or impressive feats of human engineering, we can’t help but respond with awe. We find ourselves overwhelmed, de-centered, and driven to wonder—to praise.

There is no one grander, more beautiful, and more awe-inspiring than God himself. In this session, J.D. will take us into the mind of the apostle Paul, who, when confronted with the grandeur of God’s glory, explodes in praise.

Show Session 7: Romans 11:28–36 (13 minutes).

As we learned in this session, the mercy of God should spark a strong reaction among those who receive it. What is our proper response to the mercy of God? In what ways do we sometimes miss or overlook his mercy? How can we get better at recognizing and celebrating God’s mercy to us?

As J.D. said in this session, Paul’s turn in verse 33 is like an explosion of praise. How would you summarize Paul’s argument in verses 28–32? What was it that led him to respond with praise?

 The content of Paul’s praise begins with wonder: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God.” When was the last time you were in awe of God’s character? How might doing so bring about greater spiritual health and vitality for you?

Further into verse 33, Paul speaks of God’s judgments and ways as being “unsearchable” and “untraceable.” When we say God works in mysterious ways, we don’t mean that his ways are odd or unusual. Rather, his mind and choices are so beyond us that they are beyond comprehension. Do you ever want to understand why God has chosen to act in a particular way? How did you react when you did not receive an answer? What would it look like to surrender to his unsearchable ways instead of trying to evaluate them?

Paul proceeds to pose three rhetorical questions, each of which is pulled directly from the Old Testament. First, with the prophet Isaiah, he asks: “For who has known the mind of the Lord?” In what ways do you sometimes seek to know things that God hasn’t revealed to you in his Word? What situations and scenarios lead you to such behavior? Why? 

Paul’s second rhetorical question comes from the prophet Jeremiah: “Who has been his counselor?” No one can advise God, though we sometimes think we can. In what ways do you try to “counsel” God on what he should do for you? What are the differences between trying to act as God’s counselor and expressing our desires to him? Why do we try and exert our will upon him instead of trusting that he is infinitely wise and good?

The third and final rhetorical question that Paul poses in this passage comes from the book of Job. He asks, “And who has ever given to God, that he should be repaid?” What are some of the ways that you attempt to relate to God transactionally? Do you ever try to bribe him with your words or pay him back with your attempts at obedience? Why? How might it affect your relationship with God when you approach him transactionally?

The assumed answer to each of these questions is “no one.” No one knows the mind of the Lord, no one can serve as his counselor, and no one can give anything to God that he doesn’t already own. He is all-knowing, infinitely wise, and the creator and owner of all things. What is Paul trying to teach us with these questions? If God is all-knowing, infinitely wise, and the creator and owner of all things, what are some of the implications for us?

Verse 36 goes a step further. While the assumed answer to each of these questions is “no one,” Paul proceeds to tell us why. Because “from him and through him and to him are all things.” What does it mean that all things are from God? What does it mean that all things are through God? What does it mean that all things are to God?

Paul ends this chapter with a statement that shows up several times throughout the Scriptures, “To him be the glory forever. Amen.” As J.D. said in this session, this is the goal of creation—the glory of God. In what ways does Paul glorify God in this passage? Considering what we read in verses 33–36, why is the glory of God an appropriate place for Paul’s praise to end?

What does it look like to glorify God? How can you be more active and intentional in the task of glorifying God in your life?

In this passage we learn four things about worship: God’s works lead us to worship, our Bible study should end in worship, worship is grounded in who God is, and worship doesn’t depend on our understanding. Which of these four points resonated most with you? Why?

What can you do this week to worship God using what we learned in these four points?