God’s Ultimate Will

Oh the depths of the riches and wisdom of God, (Romans 11:33).

Chapters nine through eleven of Paul’s letter to the Romans have been the subject of much debate throughout the years. I have even had times when I’ve taught through the letter and just skipped these chapters. But I have come to believe that they contain a very important message for all of us.

On the surface, the chapters contain Paul’s inspired view of the relationship between the nation of Israel and the church of Jesus. You might infer that a question is being asked about whether God’s plans for Israel failed and the church is Plan B. Entire theological systems have been built around the idea that God is finished with Israel and all his promises for national Israel now are given to “spiritual Israel”; i.e. the church.

But if you hold that view, you have to do some tricky maneuvering with these chapters. It is quite clear that a time is coming when God is going to move among the Jewish people and bring them to faith in Jesus Christ.

If you break down the chapters, they have a great deal to teach us about the subject of God’s Will. I have come to think of this by using three concepts:

God’s Perfect Will: What did God desire Israel to do? What you might call his “perfect will” would have been for Israel to leave Egypt. Live in full obedience on their journey to the Promised Land; enter the land on the encouragement of Joshua and Caleb, thus avoiding the forty years in the wilderness; build a righteous nation that was a blessing to the other nations; wait for the coming of Messiah; believe in the Messiah when he came; fulfill all God’s promises and welcome in the Age to Come. But what actually happened?

God’s Permissive Will: We all know that the above scenario did not play out. God gave Israel free will, just like he has given each of us free will. Israel sinned repeatedly. They grumbled and complained on the journey out of Egypt; they were idolatrous at Mt. Sinai; they refused to enter the Promised Land as intended; they wandered in the wilderness for forty years; the failed to conquer all the nations under Joshua; they went through repeated cycles of disobedience, invasion, repentance, and restoration; they rejected Jesus the Messiah; and at the time of Paul, were the most vicious enemies of the church.

God allowed all this. He even used it. In this section of Romans, Paul describes how it was through the stubborn disobedience of the Jews that the Gentiles were offered salvation.

God’s Ultimate Will: The big message of these chapters is that God will use all that has come before to bring everything to his desired end. A time is coming when Israel will turn to Jesus. A time is coming when Jesus will return as King. A time is coming when the “old order” of the current age will come to an end and the “new order” of the Age to Come will begin. This is the plan. From before the foundation of the world, God knew humanity would reject his perfect will. But from before the foundation of the world he already had put a plan in place. I imagine that when the day of Christ’s return comes, we will understand that God’s Ultimate Will, including the detours made necessary by his Permissive Will, was his Perfect Will all along! Then, with Paul, we will conclude: Oh the depths of the riches and wisdom of God!

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