The Unsearchable Judgments of God (Smith)

The Unsearchable Judgments of God

Romans 11:33–34

“O 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 hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?”

The Apostle Paul begins not with explanation, but with worship. He declares the immeasurable depth of God’s wisdom and knowledge, affirming that God’s judgments are unsearchable and His ways past finding out. This immediately confronts the presumption that fallen men can fully understand or evaluate God’s actions.

God’s foreknowledge is not God looking ahead in time to see what man will do and then reacting accordingly. Scripture presents foreknowledge as inseparable from predestination. God knows all things because He has determined all things. His knowledge is not reactive but decretive. He foreknows because He foreordains.

God is self-existent—the great I AM. Nothing outside of Him causes Him to act. He is not counseled, corrected, or informed by the creature. To suggest that God adjusts His eternal purpose based on human decisions is to make man His counselor and to deny divine immutability.

God’s Sovereignty and Providence

Scripture consistently teaches that God directs all things according to His will. Though men make choices, those choices are governed by God’s providence. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Providence is God working out His eternal decree in time. Every action, thought, and event unfolds precisely as God has purposed—not because God merely permits events, but because He actively governs all things. Nothing occurs independently of His will.

This truth is illustrated repeatedly in Scripture. Joseph was sold into slavery through the evil intent of his brothers, yet Scripture plainly states that God meant it for good (Genesis 50:20). The brothers acted wickedly, but God’s purpose governed their actions for the preservation of Israel and the unfolding of redemptive history.

Likewise, the crucifixion of Christ occurred through “wicked hands,” yet it was accomplished “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). Redemption itself required the predestination of sin, death, and wicked men acting according to their own corrupt desires.

“Of Him, and Through Him, and To Him”

Romans 11:35–36

“For who hath 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 for ever. Amen.”

Nothing is owed to God by the creature. Man cannot repay God, earn favor, or contribute merit. Even our best works are described as filthy rags. Salvation rests entirely upon the righteousness of Christ alone.

Verse 36 answers the foundational question: Does God receive glory in all things? The answer is unequivocal—yes. All things originate from Him (of Him), are executed by Him (through Him), and ultimately return to Him (to Him) for His glory.

There are no exceptions.

Christ the Creator and the Purpose of All Things

Colossians 1:16 

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

John 1:1–3 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 

Scripture testifies that all things—visible and invisible—were created by Christ and for Christ. This includes thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers. Angels, both elect and fallen, exist by divine decree and serve God’s purpose.

God did not create because He lacked something. He is self-sufficient and needs nothing. Creation exists not to fulfill God’s needs but to serve His will and manifest His glory.

To be created for Him is to be created to serve a divine purpose—whether as a vessel of mercy or a vessel of wrath.

The Wicked and the Day of Evil

Proverbs 16:4

“The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”

This verse leaves no room for theological evasion. God declares that He has made all things for Himself, including the wicked. The wicked are not an accident of history nor an unintended consequence of human freedom. They exist by divine purpose.

The Hebrew word translated "wicked" appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament and is also rendered "ungodly" and "condemned". God defines His own terms. The wicked are created for the day of evil, not merely judged in it, but for it.

This truth does not make God unrighteous. Rather, it magnifies His sovereignty and holiness.