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Source: https://www.sermonindex.net/speakers/bruce-rodgers/glory-of-god-part-1-introduction/
So Romans chapter 11, this is at the close of a very important section of the sovereign working of God, and it says in verse 30, for as ye in time past have not believed God yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, that is Israel's unbelief, even so have these also now not believed that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
For God has concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all. Now that's really the conclusion of chapters 9, 10, and 11. The conclusion as far as his argument and thought that he's carrying forward of the working of God through Israel's unbelief bringing salvation to the nations.
And then ultimately back to show mercy to Israel. Now verse 33, down to the end, is what is often called a doxology, and you'll hear that expression, a doxology is an expression of glory to God, and so he says all the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out, for who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who has first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again.
For of him, and through him, and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. And then chapter 12, which is our response, our service really flows out from this. So I want to think with you for a few moments in beginning about a definition for the word glory.
Like other words that are very important words, it's almost impossible to define it. And we find ourselves using the term trying to express the term, trying to define the term, and you're really not supposed to do that.
But it's hard to find other words to convey what is intended by that word glory. Now, how did we learn to understand words? Well, when we were growing up, we didn't walk around with a Webster's dictionary, did we?
We picked up the meaning of words by how they were used. And we gained certain impressions of what that word really means. And that's the same with the word love, the word glory, many other very important terms.
So, I'm just going to give you some other words that convey something of the impact of what we feel when we see something that has glory. Have you ever said words like this? Impressive, wonderful, awesome.
Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that beautiful? What we are doing when we say those kinds of things is we are responding to something that has glory in it. Now, the definition that I like the best myself is that glory is the display of some beauty or excellence.
The display of some beauty or excellence. Now, let's go back briefly to the original terms just for the background from where it comes from in the Bible. I use the term doxology in this passage. The Greek term that is translated glory, the Greek term is called doxa, which actually means an opinion.
And we use the term in English orthodox. You've heard that, I'm sure. Something that is called orthodox actually means the right opinion. So, if you say that someone has orthodox views, that would mean they have the right views according to that group of people.
Orthodox, right opinion. And the word has its impact from the Greek language in this idea that it is a favorable opinion that you gain when you see something, when you listen to something, you observe something, and you think that's good, that's right.
So, it is an opinion that is generated, a response that is generated about it. Now, from the Hebrew language, it's got a totally different root, and it's actually the word to be heavy. Now, that sounds good in the sense that it is substantial, to be heavy or substantial in contrast to something that is light.
And there's a verse that talks about light and vain fellows. Well, you know, that means there's nothing to them. There's really nothing to them. Whereas you say, oh, that has weight. That's saying there's something to it, something impressive again, something worthwhile.
So, those are the original terms that are drawn from to speak of the word glory. But nearly always when we get this word associated with God, it is a display of something. In the Old Testament, when it mentions that they saw the glory of God, well, they saw a splendor, a radiance, an outshining of light that was very, very impressive and awesome.
And so, what I want to look at then, because what we have in this chapter is, as we call it, a doxology, it's a response of glory to God. And here's what it says about Him. In verse 33, after coming to the conclusion that everything that God has been doing throughout the generations is so that He might finally reveal His mercy.
Remember what was wrong with Jonah? What was Jonah's problem? Did he just not like to listen to God? Why did Jonah try to flee from the presence of the Lord when he was sent to preach to the city of Nineveh?
Well, he reveals what was wrong a little later in the little book when he says, Lord, I knew that you were a gracious God. You're slow to wrath. You're quick to show mercy. He really didn't want God to show mercy to those people.
He wanted to see them destroyed. He was out of touch with God. The heart of God, at its core, is mercy. He loves to show kindness. He loves to manifest Himself in mercy. So the apostle here, in appreciating this wonder of God, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.
So you see, he is responding to this beauty, this glory of God, His wisdom and His knowledge. It talks about His unsearchable judgments, His ways past finding out, and so on. And then, when you come to verse 36, again, this is a final summary that captures all of this in one little sentence.
And as we read this again, I want you to ask yourself, is there anybody else in the universe that this could be true about? Here's what it says. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. So you can put that word, all things, with each one of these.
Of Him are all things. This is talking about Him being the creator, the originator. He has brought all things into being. But He hasn't just sat back and let it all go. He maintains a close relationship to what He has created.
And through Him are all things is the progress of history. The progress of what is transpiring. God's sovereign work is undergirding and supporting and bringing it to a final outcome. And that outcome is to Him.
Returning to Him in worship, glory, and honor. Now, if you want to know a little secret of life, it's this. Everybody, everybody must bring glory to God. You say, everybody? Everybody. There are ways in which God wants to glorify Himself in us, but He will be glorified.
Either by us becoming an instrument of His mercy, of His glory, of His goodness, of His love. Revealing the beauties that are His. Or being an object of His righteous judgment. Everything that He has made must return something to Him, one way or the other.
So this is an encompassing statement that tells us He brought everything into being. He is in control, bringing all things to a final outcome. And to Him, this is the outcome. To Him it belongs. So I want to try to touch on what I'm going to call, first of all, His essential glories, and then His moral glories.
When I'm using these terms, essential glories, that is the glories, the greatness of God that relate to His essence as being God or deity. Let me just list them for you. It's easier to list them than to be able to understand them or express them.
His eternal being. His eternal and self-existent being. I was mentioning this briefly this morning already. Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, is the eternal, the eternal is my shepherd. His almighty power.
There is a term that is used in theology called omnipotence. Which means He is all-powerful. All-powerful. There is nothing that is outside of the realm of His power. And then there is His infinite knowledge and wisdom, which is expressed in this section we have just read, and we call that His omniscience.
Omni, omni, omni just means all or everything. So you have a little stereo system that has something that is omnidirectional that means every direction. Omniscience is omniscience, which means all-knowing.
He knows all things. He knows everything. Including the future. And then His limitless presence. His omnipresence. His limitless presence. And the fifth one that I'm linking with this is His sovereignty.
His authority. His majesty. Now, I'm going to just go as far as I'll get this afternoon, and we'll carry on from where we don't, but we don't finish. What does it mean? His eternal, self-existent being.
Well, let's go to Isaiah chapter 42, first of all. Isaiah 42, and verse 8. He says, I am the LORD. Now again, in your Bible, whenever you get in the King James Bible, LORD in all capital letters, it is really the unique name Jehovah.
This title or name of God is given in the Old Testament about 6 ,000 times. So obviously, it is a very, very vital, important revelation of God, of Himself. And He says, I am Jehovah. Now, as I mentioned this morning, even that doesn't really help us very much, unless we know what Jehovah means.
Jehovah is made up of the three tenses of the verb to be. I am, I was, and will be. It's actually in the third person. He that is, and was, and will be. So that is why we say that it really corresponds to the term eternal.
The eternal is the best way to understand what that word is really using. And as I mentioned, your French Bible, if you have one, would tell you that. The eternal. I am the eternal. That is my name. And notice what He says, and my glory will I not give to another.
Neither my praise to graven images. So I'm going to emphasize again that this revelation of God is the most fundamental revelation, and it is the most foundational truth that we can think about. It is the foundation for everything else about God, and everything else that God does.
He is eternal. And He is self-existent. What do we mean by those terms? Well, eternal means having no origin, no end. Now when you are thinking or debating with someone who doesn't really know too much about God, or doesn't really accept the idea that God is the creator and so on, there's a lot of vague thinking that goes on in people's minds.
And something that I appreciated not too long ago was someone who is a Christian, who is both a Bible teacher and a philosopher, who has boiled the issue down to a rather simple way of recognizing this.
When we come to think about the creation, how do we explain it? What accounts for the creation, including ourselves? Well, there's only actually four possibilities of imagining or thinking about the existence of the universe, and all life on it.
There's only four possible explanations that relate to it. Any philosophy, any religious belief, any scientific theory, they can all fit in these four categories. So that kind of simplifies things a little bit, doesn't it?
So let me give them to you. Either the creation itself is eternal and self-existent. Did I define for you what self-existent really means? Self-existent means that you don't need anything from anyone else.
You didn't need someone to start you, you didn't need someone to sustain you. You're not dependent upon anything else. Your life support is entirely within your own being. So either we have to believe that the creation itself, the whole universe and all of life in it, is eternal, and some of the greatest, most effective so-called scientists of our day have taken that position.
Carl Sagan, who is very well known for his anti-God philosophy and thinking, his view was that the universe just is, and it always was. That's it. So that's one option. The second option is that it is self-created.
In other words, it came into existence from itself, without any help from the outside, any supernatural help. And then the third option is what some philosophers have suggested, although not too many, that it's not real anyway.
It's just an illusion. Well, that has been kind of disproved by the simple fact that I think, therefore, I am. That's been around for a long time. But the idea of it being an illusion, that it doesn't really exist.
And I remember one professor who was a Christian, being sort of assaulted by one of his students who wanted to portray that view of the universe, that there's nothing real. And so the professor answered, and he says, And who, shall I say, is asking the question?
There's no reality. Anyway, the fourth option is that the universe has been created by a being who is eternal and who is self-existent. Now, do these things matter? Today, we are debating, as a society, as a people, the very basis of existence has a profound effect upon the meaning of life, and if there is any meaning in life.
Now, let's go through what we have in mind about this. Number four, of course, we know is right. And why is it right? Well, let's look at the others very briefly. How would you answer that claim? Why can't we just believe that the universe always existed?
Do you have to be a fourth degree scientist to be able to answer that question? Well, actually, there are some very basic laws of the universe. Let me give you the first two laws of physics. The first one is called the law of conservation of energy.
Now, you probably learned that in about, well, I don't know where you would learn it now, whether it be maybe grade five or something. I think I learned it in grade nine, maybe. The law of conservation of energy.
What does it mean? It means simply this. In all the things that are happening today, there is no new energy being created or destroyed. It's simply being transformed from one form to another. That means if you burnt capuscasing down, you would destroy the city, the town.
But you would not have destroyed the total amount of energy. You would have just simply changed it into different forms. Light and heat and whatever else. It's all there somewhere if you could measure it.
So the law of conservation of energy means that the creation as we know it now is not in a creating mode. As far as the foundational energy of it, it is simply in a conservation mode. In other words, whatever brought the universe into existence out of nothing isn't doing that now.
That is the very foundational law of everything physical. The second law with that states this. It's called the law of entropy. And that law states that while law number one is true, the amount of usable energy is continually decreasing.
The law of entropy is actually a tendency towards maximum randomness or chaos. In other words, everything is wearing out. Everything is breaking down. Everything is deteriorating towards death. And this has been battled over by evolutionists and creationists for a couple of generations now.
And they would love to be able to escape from the control of this law. But it has to be acknowledged these are the most foundational laws scientifically that tell us that the creation as we know it is not being created now.
It was created, came into existence, and it's dying. It's dying. Now those two laws together deny the possibility that the universe itself could be. For the simple fact that if it was infinitely old, it would be dead today.
It would have already died if it was infinitely old. And so the very first and second laws of what is recognized as controlling every operation that ever happens in the physical universe points to something outside of the creation for its source.
And what does evolution teach? Evolution teaches that somehow the creation created itself. Isn't that right? People will argue, and it is impossible to stop the imaginations of people because if you prove them wrong on one point, they'll just go somewhere else.
And there are theories or ideas spouted around as if they have some meaning or value. You know that life came from outer space on a spaceship. So what? So what if it did? Does that solve the problem? No, it just pushes it back to somewhere else in the universe or another universe or whatever.
It doesn't change the initial problem of how did nothing become something. So evolution attempts to remove the necessity of the supernatural. Attempts to give an explanation for how things could be existing today without requiring God.
That is its purpose. So what are the gods of evolution? What is the magic of evolution? Two things. Time and chance. Time and chance. That's why you will see the necessity emphasized. The earth has to be billions of years old.
The universe has to be many billions of years old. Because it is absolutely essential for their thinking that there be these unimaginable amounts of time. And I could just quote some prominent evolutionist who makes a statement that with time all things are possible.
With time all things are possible. Given enough time the impossible becomes possible. Well is that true? Is there something magic about time? No. And in fact if only people could step back and think clearly they would realize that time is as much an enemy of evolution as it could ever be a friend.
If you can imagine if you are half way along the scale, wherever that scale may happen to be, and you've got some new species arising, let's say it's Mr. and Mrs. Adam, in their framework of thinking.
What if Adam comes on the scene 100 ,000 years before Eve? Well there would be a problem, wouldn't there? The timing has to be perfect. The development of that species is dependent on other things. They have to coincide.
And so time is actually an enemy of evolution, not a friend. But then chance. And what is chance? Well chance is actually nothing. Chance possesses no energy, no wisdom, no guiding intelligence, no force or direction.
Chance is just an explanation. It is nothing more. So if you have time and you have chance, it doesn't create anything. And yet that's the magic wand of evolution. That's all that they've got to replace the infinite.
And we already mentioned that the third option, that the universe isn't real, doesn't really deserve an answer, does it? Both first and second options are refuted by both the law of conservation of energy and the law of entropy, which teach us that instead of there being an ongoing progressive creative force, and that's what evolutionists basically have to believe, that there is somehow an operating force, although they absolutely detest the word intelligence.
That is why in the United States it actually went to the Supreme Court, didn't it, just in the past year, whether intelligent design could be or should be taught as a scientific theory. And it was denied.
Because they have to eliminate the idea of there being any intelligence involved in the development of the creation. And yet what has science discovered? Science has discovered that when you get down to the very basement, the very foundation of all existence, you've got information, you've got intelligence, you've got profound wisdom on the most fundamental existence of life.
It's there. In the beginning was the word, was knowledge, was information, was something that is spiritual and not physical. So actually option number four is the only option that is scientific. Now doesn't that sound weird?
It would sound weird to a lot of people today. The only logical option for the existence of the universe is this, that there is a being who is eternal and who is self-existent, who is outside of and beyond the universe, who has originated and brought into being by his wisdom, by his power, all things that exist.
Now that is from, not even coming from the Bible, but coming from actual simple logic. The reality that creation as we know it points outside of itself something other than me caused me to be. So therefore we're brought back to this fundamental reality.
Eternal being is a glory that belongs to God exclusively. Exclusively. No one else can be an eternal being in the sense of having no origin. Thank God we will exist eternally. But we will always be dependent upon God for our existence.
We will always, always be dependent creatures upon a being who is in himself, unoriginated, eternal, and self-existent. And that is what Isaiah chapter 42 and verse 8 says, I am the eternal, that is my name, my glory will I not give to another.
Now, back in Isaiah chapter 40, this is a very well-known passage and I hope it is well-known to you. Because Isaiah chapter 40 is a very, very important chapter that brings us into awareness of God in his greatness.
Let me just read a few of the verses. It says in verse 12, Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or being his counselor, has taught him? Now that's what was being quoted when we read in Romans chapter 11,. Who has known the mind of the Lord, or being his counselor, has taught him?
With whom took he counsel? And who instructed him? And I like the marginal reading of this in my Bible, it says,. Who made him understand? Who made him understand? And taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and showed to him the way of understanding.
And then verse 15 moves to another aspect of the awesome power of God, and it says, Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance. Behold, he takes up the isles as a very little thing, and Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
And all nations before him are as nothing. They are counted to him less than nothing and vanity. Now this is picked up again, down in verse 25, down where he says, Well, to whom then will you liken me?
Or shall I be equal, Seth, the holy one? And he talks about the stars, and the magnitude of the universe. Lift up your eyes on high. Behold, who has created these things, that brings out their host by number?
He calls them all by names, by the greatness of his might. For that he is strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, Jehovah, the eternal, the creator of the ends of the earth, faints not, neither is weary, there is no searching of his understanding, and he gives power to the faint, and so on.
Now there's far more in what I've read than what I can look at in the next few minutes. Let's think for a brief moment about his almighty power. His almighty power. This passage tells us that the mightiest nations upon the earth are to God as nothing.
It's just like carrying a bucket of water, and when you're carrying that pail of water, there's a little drip falling off the bottom of the pail that you don't even worry about. It's just nothing. Or when you're weighing something, and you just brush off the dust off the balance, that's all that they are to God.
Absolutely nothing. You see, God, in his omnipotence, has unimaginable power to do what he wants to do. And to keep things going that he wants to keep going. I've mentioned this before, and I'm not sure whether...
Anyway, I found out something just in the last year or few months. Something that I've been looking for for a while, but was too lazy to search myself for it. I believe that the way the Lord has designed the creation, even our solar system, is an illustration of this majesty of God.
You know, the sun is too far away from us to be able to control, isn't it? We don't get to control the thermostat. We don't have any control over what the sun is doing. Do you know how much energy we're really using of the sun?
Of the amount of energy. Now you have to think a little bit of a circle, of a sphere, of a ball. And think of energy, light, heat, radiating out from that in every direction. And the earth is 93 million miles away.
A tiny little speck, 93 million miles away. And all our life processes on earth are being taken care of by that minute little line of light that touches on the earth. Now, someone gave me this figure.
I mean, I must have read it in a book. I knew somebody somewhere must have figured it out. We capture or, you know, absorb one two billionth of the energy of the sun. In other words, the sun could be heating two billion earths, and it wouldn't be exhausted.
As a fraction, it is one over two billion. That is the tiniest, tiniest little fraction. It'd be like a needle of the amount of light that is moving from the sun and ever touches the earth. And that keeps us going.
Day and night, year round, century after century. Now who could set up something like that? Like it would be the merest fluke, wouldn't it? The merest fluke that that could exist in that way. And the kind of life that we need to live, to be supported.
I mean, we get complaining about how cold it is in winter and how hot it is in the summer. And even with that being that far away, we need an atmosphere or we would be boiled. And we have to have a rotation of the earth, or we would be overheated.
All of this set up infinite God. And just as we are not in any way by the greatest imagination exhausting the resources of the sun to keep the earth going, neither do we in our lives exhaust the power of God by our needs.
Do you get the picture? And we can't control God. But he can control us. It doesn't matter whether it's 93 million miles away or billions of miles away. It wouldn't matter to God. We are under his power.
And his power is directed toward us for eternal blessing. And that is why in this chapter he is saying, don't you worry about the mighty nations. Yes, Israel as a nation is going to go into captivity.
Come under the power of those nations. But he says, you're really in my hand. So there is an almighty power that is far, far beyond our comprehension. But included in this passage is the realization that it's not just blind brute power that is in operation.
But infinite wisdom, understanding, guiding, and directing that power for our need. And so it says, who has directed the spirit of the Lord or being his counselor has taught him. Now over in Isaiah 42 in verse 9, which I didn't read when I was in that chapter, the Lord talks about knowledge in another aspect when he says, Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare, before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
One of the things that we should be enjoying as Christians who are reading our Bibles is what we call prophecy. And what is prophecy? Well, that's simply the future being told before it happens. Now who can do that?
Who knows what the future holds? Well, this again is one of those unique glories that belong to God. That he can talk about the future in as much detail as you need him to talk about. As many details.
And he does that just in the next two or three chapters. He's looking ahead 150 years to 180 years in Israel's history. And he names the king who's going to bring them back from captivity, which they haven't even gone into captivity yet.
A king that's not born yet. A king whose empire hasn't really come into effect yet. And he talks about a king, Cyrus, who's going to be his servant and who's going to bring them back in God's purposes.
Do we have that kind of confidence in our God? That whatever our present circumstances are, there is a God of such perfect wisdom, knowledge, comprehension, who has his hand and his mind upon all things.
And he's bringing it to his conclusion, his purpose. Now, I've just scratched a little bit around the surface here. It's just about 2 .30 now, and it's almost time to quit. God is infinite. The only way we're going to develop appreciation of him is if we meditate upon him.
Think about these realities. See how this chapter, chapter 40, develops. And ponder this reality. There is not one circumstance. There is not one problem. There is not one issue that can ever arise that he doesn't understand, and that he doesn't have any solution for.
And so he says, as we come down the chapter, he says, Why are you saying? Why are you saying, My way is hid from the Lord. My judgment is passed over from my God. Things aren't right, and God isn't doing anything about it.
He said, Just wait. Wait on God. Put your confidence in him. He is working, and he will bring about what you need for your good, for his glory. Can I just close with one little expression? And that is this.
Whatever is for his glory is also for your blessing. Your highest blessing will always be found in glorifying God. And whatever in you and in your life can honor and bring glory to God, you will discover is your blessing.
So your blessing is security, is glory. May God give you encouragement to value the greatness of the God that you've come to know. Our Father, we are in awe of thee. We acknowledge thou art far greater than our minds can comprehend.
We cannot really think in terms of eternal being, nor can we think in terms of omnipotence. Our Father, we are thankful that thy word reveals these things in such a simple, direct way. We thank thee that thou hast revealed thyself, that we might know thee, and that we might be in awe of thee.
We do pray that thou would deepen within us this awareness of the glory that is thine, and that despite the prevailing human wisdom, that keeps looking for explanations that don't require God. We thank thee that we have never been brought into the light of the knowledge of God, that we understand that thou art the eternal, and that thou art an adequate explanation for the existence of all things.
We would glory in thee today, and bless thee that thou hast ever been pleased to make thyself known to us through the salvation that is in our Lord Jesus. And so we cry to thee that thou would teach us thy ways, that thou would enlighten our minds, and keep us from the corrupted wisdom of this age.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.