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!
All Commentaries on Romans 11:33 Go To Romans 11
Thomas Aquinas
AD 1274
Above the Apostle endeavored to assign a reason for the divine judgments, by which Gentiles and Jews obtain mercy after unbelief; now he recognizes his inadequacy for such an investigation and exclaims his admiration of the divine excellence. First, he extols the divine excellence; 462 secondly, he proves what he says [v. 34; n. 938]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he extols the divine wisdom in itself; secondly, in relation to us [v. 33b; n. 937]. 934. He extols the excellence of divine knowledge: first, as to its depth, saying: O the depth: "It is a great depth. Who shall find it out?" (Ec 7:25); "A glorious throne set on high from the beginning" (Jer 17:12). This depth is considered in regard to three things: first, in regard to the thing known, inasmuch as God knows himself perfectly: "I dwell in the highest places" (Sir 24:7); secondly, in regard to the manner of knowing, inasmuch as he knows all things through himself: "The Lord looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth" (PS 102:19); thirdly, in regard to the certainty of His knowledge: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun" (Sir 23:28). 935. Secondly, he extols the excellence of divine knowledge in regard to its fullness when he says: of the riches "Abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge" (Is 33:6). This fullness is regarded in three ways: in one way as to the number of things known, because he knows all things: "Lord, you know all things" (Jn 21:17); "In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom ad knowledge" (Col 2:3); in another way in regard to ease of knowing, because He intuits all things without search and difficulty: "All things are open and laid bare to his eyes" (Heb 4:13). Thirdly, in regard to the abundance of His knowledge, because He gives it generously to everyone: "If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all men generously" (Jas 1:5). 463 936. Thirdly, he extols the divine excellence in regard to its perfection when he says, of the wisdom and knowledge of God. For He has wisdom about divine things and knowledge about created things. "Who knows all things knows her" (Bar 3:32). 937. Then when he says, How incomprehensible, he shows the excellence of divine wisdom as compared to our understanding. And first in regard to wisdom, whose function is to judge and put things in order, he says: How incomprehensible are his judgments, because man cannot comprehend the reason of God's judgments, since they are hidden in his wisdom: "Thy judgments are like the great deep" (Ps 36:6). Secondly, in regard to knowledge, through which he is at work in things; hence he adds: and unsearchable i.e., his procedures, by which he works in creatures. Even though the creatures are known by man, the ways in which God works in them cannot be comprehended by man: "Thy way was through the sea, they path through the great waters; yet their footprints were unseen (Ps 77:19); "Where is the way to the dwelling of light" (Jb 38:19). 938. The when he says, For who, he proves what he had said by appealing to two authorities, one of which is Is 40(:13): For who has helped the spirit of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? The other is from Job (35:7; 41:11): Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? In these words and those that follow them the Apostle does three things. 939. First, he shows the excellence of divine wisdom as compared to our understanding, saying: For who has known the mind of the Lord, namely, through which He judges and acts. As if to say: No one, unless God reveals it: "Who shall know they 464 though, except thou give wisdom, and send they Holy Spirit from above:" (Wis 9:17) and "The things of God no one knows but the Spirit of God. But to us God has revealed them through his Spirit" (1 Cor 2:12 & 10). Secondly, he shows the excellence of divine wisdom according as it has height in itself, and indeed is that height which is the supreme principle. Two points pertain to this: first, that it does not proceed from something else; secondly, that other things proceed from it [v. 36; n. 942]. 941. That God's wisdom does not depend on a higher source is shown in two ways. First, by the fact that it is not instructed by someone else's teaching. Hence, he says: Or who has been his counselor? As if to say: No one. For counsel is needed by one who does not fully know how something is to be done, and this does not apply to God: "To whom has thou given counsel? Perhaps to him that has no wisdom" (Jb 26:3). Secondly, by the fact that it is not helped by another's gift. Hence he adds: Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid, as one giving first? As if to say: No one. For man can give God only what he has received form God: "All this abundance comes from thy hand and is all thy own" (1 Chr 29:16); "If thou do justly, what shalt thou give him, or what shall he receive of thy hand" (Jb 35:7). 942. Then when he says, For from him, he shows God's depth, inasmuch as in Him are all things. First, he shows its causality; secondly, its dignity [v. 36b; n. 950]; 465 thirdly, its perpetuity [v.36c; n. 951]. 943. First, therefore, he says: It is right to say that no one first gave to him, because from him and through him and in him are all things. Thus nothing can be unless received from God. To designate God's causality he uses three prepositions, namely, "from", "through" and "in". But the preposition "from" [ex] denotes a principle of change; and this is in three ways. In one way the acting or movent principle; in another way the matter, in a third way the opposite contrary, which is the point of departure of the change. For we say that the knife came to be "from" the knife maker, "from" the steel, and "from" the unshaped [matter]. But the universe of creatures was not made from pre-existing matter, because even their matter is an effect of God. Accordingly, created things are not said to be from something but from its opposite, which is nothing; because they were nothing, before they were created to exist: "We are born of nothing" (Wis 2:2). But all things are from God as from their first maker: "All things are from God" (1 Cor 11:12). 944. It should be noted that another Latin word for "from" is de, which seems to suggest the same relationships; however, de always designates a consubstantial cause. For we say that the knife is from [de] the iron, but not from [de] the maker. Therefore, because the Son proceeds from the Father as consubstantial with Him, we say that the Son is from [de] the Father. But creatures do not proceed from God as consubstantial with Him; hence, they are not said to be from [de] Him but from [ex] Him. 466 945. The preposition, "through" designates the cause of an action; but because an action lies between the maker and the things he makes, there are two ways in which the preposition, "through," can designate the cause of an action. In one way accordingly as the action comes from its performer, as something which is its own cause of acting is said to act through itself. In one way this is the form, as we say that fire acts through heat. In another way it is a higher agent, as we say that man begets man through the power of the sun or rather of God. So, therefore, all things are said to be through him in two ways: In one way as through the first agent, by whose power all things act: "Through me kings reign" (Pr 8:15). In another way, inasmuch as His wisdom, which is His essence, is the form through which God makes all things: "The Lord through wisdom founded the earth" (Pr 3:19). 946. In another way the preposition, "through," designates the cause of an action, not as it comes from the performer but as terminated in its products, as we say that the artisan makes a knife through a hammer: not that the hammer works with the artisan in the way described above, but because the knife comes to be from the activity of the artisan by means of the hammer. Therefore, it is said that this preposition, "through," designates authority directly, as when we say that the king acts through his bailiff—which pertains to what is now being said. But sometimes in a causal sense, as when we say that the bailiff acts through the king—which pertains to the preceding mode. In this mode about which we are now speaking, all things are said to have been made by the Father through the Son, as in Jb (1:3): "All things were made through him," not that the Father has from the Son the power to make thing, but rather that the Son 467 accepts the power of making things from the Father, a power not instrumental but principal, not of a lower order but equal, not diverse but the same: "Whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (Jn 5:19). Hence, although all things were made by the Father through the Son, The Son is not an instrument or minister of the Father. 947. The preposition, "in," also designates a causal relationship in three ways: in one way it designates matter, as we say that the soul is in the body or a form in matter. This is not the way in which things are said to be in God, because He is not the material cause of things. In another way it designates a relationship of efficient cause, in whose power it lies to dispose of its effects. In this sense all things are said to be in Him, inasmuch as all things lie under His power and arrangement: "In his hand are all the ends of the earth" (Ps 95:4); "In him we live and move and have our being" (Ac 17:28). In a third way it designates a relationship of final cause, in that the entire good of a thing and its preservation consists in its own optimum. In this sense all things are said to be in God as in the goodness preserving them. "All things hold together in him" (Col 1:17). 948. When he says, All, it is not be taken absolutely for all things which have true being. Sins do not have true being, but insofar as they are sins they lack some being, due to the fact that evil is nothing else than a deprivation of good. Therefore, when he says: From him and through him and to him are all things, this does not include sin, because, according to Augustine, since is nothing and man accomplishes nothing when he sins. yet, whatever entity is present in sin, it is from God. 468 949. Therefore, according to the foregoing, all things are from Him, i.e., God as from the first operating power. All things are through Him, inasmuch as He makes all things through His wisdom. All things are in Him as in their preserving Goodness. Now these three things, namely, power, wisdom and goodness are common to the three persons. Hence, the statement that from him and through him and in him can be applied to each of the three persons. Nevertheless, the power, which involved the notion of principle, is appropriated to the Father, Which is the principle of the entire godhead; wisdom to the Son, Who proceeds as Word, which is nothing else than wisdom begotten; goodness is appropriated to the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds as love, whose object is goodness. Therefore, by appropriation we can say: from him, namely, from the Father, through him, namely, through the Son, in him, namely, in the Holy Spirit, are all things. 950. Then when he says, To him be honor and glory forever, he allows God's dignity, which consists in the two things previously mentioned. For from the fact that all things are from Him and through Him and in Him, honor and reverence and subjection are owed Him by every creature: "If I am a father, where is my honor" (Ma. 1:6). But from the fact that He has not received either counsel or gifts from anyone, glory is owed Him; just as on the contrary it is said of man: "If then you received it, why do you boast as though it were not a gift?" (1 Cor 4:7). And because this is proper to God, it says in Is (42:8): "I am the Lord; my glory I give to no other." 951. Finally, he mentions His eternity when he says: unto the ages of ages, because His glory does not pass as does man's glory, of which it is said: "All its glory is 469 like the flower of the filed" (Is 40:6). But God's glory lasts for all ages, i.e., through all the ages succeeding all ages, inasmuch as the duration of any given thing is called an age. Or unto the ages of ages refers to the durations of incorruptible things, which contain the ages of corruptible things. This applies especially to God’s eternity, which can be spoken of as a plurality because of the multitude and diversity of things contained in it, even though it is one and simple in itself. The meaning would then be "unto the ages that contain the ages": "Your reign is a reign of all ages" (Ps 144:13). 952. He adds: Amen, as confirmation. As if to say: Truly it is so. This is the meaning in the gospels when it says: "Amen, I say to you." Sometimes, however, it means: May it come to pass.
