Tag: unsearchable

Romans 11:33 – Immeasurable Riches

Posted on by Will

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways intraceable!

Truth to Learn

God has given us a gift of immeasurable worth.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “depth” is the Greek word bathos. This word literally does mean “depth,” but by interpretation it refers to the profundity or the extent of something.

Anexeraunētos is the Greek word translated “unsearchable.” It is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and the noun form of exereunaō, which means “to search out.” So this Greek word refers to something that no one can completely search out. The implication is that his judgments are unquestionable because no one could ever completely understand all that went into them.

 “Riches” is translated from ploutos, which refers to “monetary wealth, richness, or abundance of possessions.” So what Paul is proclaiming in the opening part of this verse is how vast and extensive is the abundance of value of both God’s knowledge and of His wisdom.

The word translated “intraceable” is anexichniastos, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and the noun form of exichniadzō, which means “to explore.”

 

Meaning Explained

Throughout this eleventh chapter of the book of Romans, Paul has been demonstrating why it was necessary for the Israelites to be rejected. But he also teaches that they will someday be brought back into the fold. In this and the following three verses he will now step back to acknowledge and admire the wisdom and sovereignty of God.

He proclaims that no one can completely search out or fully comprehend God’s judgments, nor can anyone discover the fullness of God’s way of doing things. This can surely be applied to God’s plan of election. We certainly can’t understand why He chose whom He did, especially since we know that none of us deserve it.

We who are in the Church age should consider ourselves quite fortunate that we have as much insight as we do into God’s redemptive plan, both for the Gentiles and for the Jews. Many of the truths that are contained in the New Testament were foretold by the Prophets of old, and yet they didn’t understand fully even that which they were prophesying about. Not only that, but we are privy to the truth of God’s grace in a way that even the angels of heaven can’t experience . However, they are desirous of looking into and learning about these things. Both these facts are pointed out by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:10-12 which says:

Of this salvation the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, have sought diligently and searched carefully, searching what person, or what time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels long to look into.

At the risk of using a word which is heavily overused and barely understood, let me ask, “Isn’t our God awesome?!”

 

Application

Do you realize the extreme value of your salvation? Even the richest person who has ever lived could not purchase a “get out of Hell” pass. And yet, we who have believed God’s truth about our sinfulness and Christ’s sacrificial death will not have to pay the penalty for our sins. God has paid it for us. Our gift came in the form of a little baby, born in poverty, in a stable among farm animals. Let’s thank God for our free gift!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 3:8 – A Living Oxymoron?

Posted on by Will

This grace was given to me, being less than the least of all the saints, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Truth to Learn

There is no reason for pride in the body of Christ.

 

Behind the Words

The words “less than the least” are translated from a single Greek word, elachistoteros. This is a very unusual word. It is based on the Greek word mikros, meaning “small.” The comparative of mikros is elassōn, meaning “smaller.” And, the superlative of mikros is elachistos, meaning “the smallest or the least.” But the comparative of this superlative (elachistos) is elachistoteros, meaning “less than the least.”

“To preach” is translated from euangelidzō. This verb is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and angellō, meaning “to tell” or “to announce.” Thus, euangelidzō means “to tell the good news;” that is “to preach the gospel” or “to evangelize.”

“Unsearchable” is from the adjective anexichniastos. This is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of the verb exichniadzō, meaning “to explore.” Therefore, anexichniastos refers to something that is “unexplorable,” “untraceable,” or “unsearchable.”

 

Meaning Explained

In yesterday’s verse we talked about the fact that the apostles of the church in the first century had a common characteristic of downplaying the importance of their position in the church. Perhaps it is because each one of them witnessed the humbleness of Jesus. Upon finally believing that He is the Son of God, each of them must have been struck by the magnitude of His humility given who He really is.

Compared to the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, each of these men realized that they were nothing but sinners deserving of eternal Hell, saved by the grace of God. In today’s verse Paul declares himself to be “least-er” (less than the least) than all Christians. Before we scoff at his improper grammar (even in Greek this would be improper and almost never used except for poets), let’s see what he said about himself elsewhere:

The one formerly being a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insulter; but I was shown mercy because being ignorant I did it in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Faithful is the saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:13-15)

Paul (formerly Saul, the persecutor of the church) considered himself the greatest of sinners, and he considered himself less than even the least of all Christians. This man who wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else, who proclaimed salvation to every sinner who would listen (and even to some who wouldn’t listen), did not have a puffed-up opinion of himself. Few if any Christians have ever lived who were more abundantly and effectively used by God than the Apostle Paul, yet in his own mind, he was the lowest of all.

 

Application

One thing I find most irritating is when any Christian thinks of himself or herself as “hot stuff” in the body of Christ. A proud Christian is a living oxymoron. How can anyone be proud of himself or herself when he or she recognizes what they deserve compared to what God has given them by His grace? Are you a proud Christian or a humble servant?

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

Ephesians 3:8 – A Living Oxymoron?

Posted on by Will

Ephesians 3:8  – A Living Oxymoron?

To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

Truth to Learn

There is no reason for pride in the body of Christ.

Behind the Words

The words “less than the least” are translated from a single Greek word, elachistoteros. This is a very unusual word. It is based on the Greek word mikros, meaning “small.” The comparative of mikros is elassōn, meaning “smaller.” And, the superlative of mikros is elachistos, meaning “the smallest or the least.” But the comparative of this superlative (elachistos) is elachistoteros, meaning “less than the least.”

“I should preach” is translated from euangelidzō. This verb is made up of eu, meaning “good” or “well” and angellō, meaning “to tell.” Thus, euangelidzō means “to tell the good news;” that is “to preach the gospel” or “to evangelize.”

“Unsearchable” is from the adjective anexichniastos. This is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” or “without” and a form of the verb exichniadzō, meaning “to explore.” Therefore, anexichniastos refers to something that is “unexplorable,” “untraceable,” or “unsearchable.”

Meaning Explained

In yesterday’s verse we talked about how the apostles of the church in the first century had a common characteristic of downplaying their position in the church. Perhaps it is because each one of them witnessed the humbleness of Jesus. Upon finally believing that He is the Son of God, each of them must have been struck by the magnitude of His humility given who He really is.

Compared to the Son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, each of these men realized that they were nothing but sinners deserving of eternal Hell, saved by the grace of God. In today’s verse Paul declares himself to be “least-er” (less than the least) than all Christians. Before we scoff at his improper grammar (even in Greek this would be improper except for poets), let’s see what he said about himself elsewhere:

although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. (1 Timothy 1:13-15)

Paul (formerly Saul, the persecutor of the church) considered himself the greatest of sinners, and he considered himself less than even the lowest of Christians. This man who wrote more of the New Testament than anyone else, who proclaimed salvation to every sinner who would listen (and even to some who wouldn’t listen), did not have a puffed-up opinion of himself.

Application

One thing I find most irritating is when a Christian thinks of himself or herself as “hot stuff” in the body of Christ. A proud Christian is a living oxymoron. How can anyone be proud of himself or herself when he or she recognizes what they deserve compared to what God has given them by His grace? Are you a proud Christian or a humble servant?

In God’s service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2011 Will Krause. All rights reserved.

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