The Marvelous Mind of God Part 1

About this sermon

Introduction: Pride never marvels at God. It often marvels at itself. It glories in what it believes it has accomplished. It sometimes praises what is outside itself, but in a way that does not acknowledge the one who is the source of it and should be given glory for it. Pride is blind, it is insensible, to the wonder of God. This is a good question for self-evaluation. Question: Do you ever take account of how many self-praising thoughts you have? Is your mind full of praise for you, or is it full of praise for God? And, in a very strange twist, pride often comes to men in the realm of theological knowledge. The very knowledge that should bring us low, and exalt God in our eyes, sin uses, and Satan uses, to exalt us in our own thinking. Instead of God’s gracious instruction humbling us, it puffs us up. AND THAT PRIDE REVEALS ITSELF IN THE WHOLE OF OUR LIVES. Not only do we glory in what we think we know, we respond to what we think we know in a way that demonstrates that we have not learned it as we ought. Do you know it is possible to know something and yet not know it properly? ESV 1 Corinthians 8:2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. One of the ways that you know you are grasping a biblical truth is that it humbles you and it exalts God in your own mind. It does not fill your heart with pride, it fills your mouth with praise. It also fills your life WITH RESPONSIBLE ACTION, and with God-exalting ATTITUDES. And this is true with every branch of theology, including an often-neglected branch, namely, eschatology. In an unforgettable way, this text reminds us that humility, and God-exalting attitudes, should be found in the knowledge of end times. ESCHATOLOGY SHOULD LEAD TO DOXOLOGY. What has Paul been teaching us? He has been giving us a mystery. A mystery that involves a knowledge of God’s future plans. The mystery concerning Israel makes sense of the present. A purposeful hardening is evidenced in Israel. It is partial and temporary. It has resulted in salvation mercy poured out upon the nations. The mystery also prepares us for the future. The hardness will be lifted when God shows mercy to Israel yet again. How does Paul respond to such knowledge? HE IS NOT UNAFFECTED BY IT. HE DOES NOT PROCESS IT IN A COLD WAY. HE’S NOT LIKE AN ENGINEER WORKING OUT SOME EQUATION, WITH GRAPHS AND CHARTS. HIS RESPONSE, GIVEN THE CERTAINTY OF THE FUTURE, IS NOT THAT WHAT HAPPENS IN THE PRESENT IS MEANINGLESS — HE HAS ALREADY VOICED HIS GREAT GRIEF OVER THE LOST CONDITION OF HIS KINSMEN, AND HE HAS ALREADY VOICED HIS SENSE OF BLESSING CONCERNING HIS ROLE AS AN APOSTLE TO THE GENTILES. The present matters to Paul.

Topics

• Spiritual Growth