|
SECTION h – God’s Sovereignty (9:01-29)
Balanced
by SECTION H – God’s Sovereignty (8:31-39)
Romans Nine – Verses 1 to 13
According
to the structure of this epistle, this marks the point of reversal of the
topics handled so far.
01. The truth am I telling in Christ, I am not lying,
my conscience testifying together with me in holy
spirit,
Paul
was in acute sympathy with his brethren according to the flesh for he
himself had been the most rabid of all in opposing the Christ he now
adored. This is a most apt confession as he is about to introduce the great
doctrine of the divine Sovereignty, for he is the star example of God's
sovereign grace.
Concordant
Commentary
‘The truth am I
telling…I am not lying’
Paul says something similar
a number of times in his letters. It is an oath taken to assure his readers
concerning the veracity of his declarations. On occasion, he even calls on God as his witness to the truth of
what he brings to their attention.
1Tim.2:7 for which I was appointed a herald
and an apostle
(I am telling the truth, I am not lying),
a teacher of the nations in knowledge and truth.
Gal.1:20 …what I am writing to
you, lo! in God's sight, I say that I
am not lying.
2Cor.11:31 The God and Father of the
Lord Jesus, Who is blessed for the eons,
is aware that I am not lying.
2Cor.12:19 …you are presuming that we
are defending ourselves to you.
Facing
God, in Christ, are we speaking,
yet all, beloved, for the sake of your
edification.
Rom.1:9 For God is my Witness,
to Whom I am offering divine service in my
spirit in the evangel of His Son,
how unintermittingly I am making mention of you
always in my prayers
Phil.1:8 for God is my Witness
how I am longing for you all in the compassions of
Christ Jesus.
1Thes.2:5 For neither did we at any
time become flattering in expression,
according as you are aware; neither with a
pretense for greed, God is witness;
‘…my conscience testifying together with
me in holy spirit,…’
Clear of any fleshly motive
or agenda, his conscience demands that he delivers only the message and
facts that had been given him for dispensing to the nations, and that he
behaves in accord with that evangel.
2Cor.1:12 For our boasting is this,
the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and sincerity of God,
not in
fleshly wisdom, but in the grace of God,
we behaved
ourselves
in the world, yet more superabundantly toward you.
We, too, are urged to
exercise our conscience so that our attitude and behaviour remains in
accord with our evangel.
1Tim.1:3-6 … that you should be charging some
not to be teaching differently,
4 nor yet to be heeding myths and endless
genealogies,
which are affording exactions rather than God's
administration which is in faith.
Now the
consummation of the charge
is love out of a clean heart and a good conscience and unfeigned
faith,
6 from which some, swerving, were turned aside into vain prating,
02.
that my sorrow is great, and unintermittent pain is in my heart--
Even in his single-minded
dedication to his ministry in the evangel Paul was not cold and callous, or
unfeeling of the situations people were in. He was not a mere courier
carrying out his duty, but an actively involved participant of the evangel. He knew the salvation which
accompanied the belief in the evangel, and that Israel, as a nation, was
not destined, as yet, to be believers in the finished work of Christ on the
cross. His heart went out to the people of his nation.
1Cor.9:19-23 For,
being free of all, I enslave myself to all, that I should be gaining the more.
20 And I became to the Jews as a Jew, that I should be gaining Jews;
to those under law as under law (not being
myself under law),
that I
should be gaining those under law;
21 to those without law as without law
(not being without God's law, but legally
Christ's),
that I
should be gaining those without law.
22 I became as weak to the weak, that I should be gaining the weak.
To all have I become all, that I should undoubtedly be saving some.
23 Now all am I doing because of the evangel,
that I may
be becoming a joint participant of it.
Here, he says that it
pained him that so few of his
brethren in flesh were being saved under the evangel he was commissioned to
bring. Nevertheless he was happy that they were not all to be cut off from that salvation.
Rom.10:1 Indeed, brethren, the delight of my heart
and my petition to God for their sake is for salvation.
He was so involved in the
spiritual welfare of those he preached to and was very much concerned by
the plight of those who were ‘enemies of the cross of Christ’ no matter
whether these were of the nations or of Israel.
Phil.3:18 for many are walking, of whom
I often told you,
yet now am
lamenting also as I tell it, who are enemies of the cross of Christ,
03.
for I myself wished to be anathema from Christ--
for my brethren, my relatives according to the flesh,
‘…to be anathema from Christ…’
Paul here swears to the
fact that he has a terrible heartache over the situation the Israelites,
his relatives according to flesh, are in - even wishing that he could, if
possible, trade places with them concerning the present salvation.
The word anathema is a transliteration of the Greek ‘anathêma’, literally UP-PLACE. Webster’s defines it as ‘to place behind, backward or at a
distance, to separate’. In 1Cor.12:3 it is placed in contrast to ‘Lord’, which is, literally Master.
1Cor.12:3 Wherefore I am making known
to you
that
no one, speaking by God's spirit, is saying, "Anathema is Jesus."
And
no one is able to say "Lord
is Jesus" except by holy spirit.
‘Ecclesiastical’ usage, however, turns this word into
a curse from which there is no
redemption, the one anathematized being reserved for or devoted to destruction.
This is the rendering in the KJV, RSV and NIV in all its occurrences. In
1Cor.16:22, however, the KJV and RSV use ‘anathema’ directly.
Every one is a
son of stubbornness and under the sinister influence of the Adversary.
As such, each individual is
under a curse of not knowing God, of not being able to know God, and even of being prevented from knowing God.
1Cor.12:2 You are aware that when you were of
the nations,
you were led away to the
voiceless idols, as ever you were led.
Gal.4:8 But then, indeed, having no perception of God,
you
were slaves of those who, by nature, are
not gods
Eph.2:2,3 …once you walked, in accord
with the eon of this world,
in
accord with the chief of the
jurisdiction of the air,
the
spirit now operating in the sons of
stubbornness
3 (among whom we also all behaved ourselves once in the lusts of our
flesh,
doing the will of the
flesh and of the comprehension,
and
were, in our nature, children of
indignation, even as the rest),
2Cor.4:3,4 Now, if our evangel is
covered, also,
it
is covered in those who are perishing,
4 in whom the god of this eon blinds
the apprehensions of the unbelieving
so that the illumination of the
evangel of the glory of Christ,
Who
is the Image of the invisible God, does
not irradiate them.
This spiritual curse continues until God intervenes in calling and
justifying those who have been designated beforehand to become believers.
Jn.6:29 Jesus answered and said
to them, "This is the work of God,
that
you may be believing in that One
Whom He commissions."
Jn.6:44 No one can come to Me
if
ever the Father Who sends Me should not be drawing him….
Jn.6:65 "Therefore have I
declared to you
that
no one can be coming to Me
if it should not be given him of the Father."
Jn.14:6 Jesus is saying to him, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.
No one is coming to the Father except through Me.
All who are not called, then, remain under this curse of being sons of stubbornness until God
intervenes.
Rom.11:32 For God locks up all together in stubbornness,…
Under our system of grace and love and conciliation it
is hard to even think that this
placing someone under an even more severe curse can be Paul’s usage.
The expression would be close to saying that the
person is of no account, of no standing in our considerations
and not to be listened to or, in
modern terminology, telling the person to
‘get lost’.
1Cor.16:22 If anyone is not fond of
the Lord Jesus Christ,
let him be
anathema!
Maranatha!
Gal.1:8,9 But if ever we also, or a messenger
out of heaven,
should be bringing an evangel to you beside that
which we bring to you,
let him be
anathema!
9 As we have declared before and at present I am
saying again,
if anyone is bringing you an evangel beside that
which you accepted,
let him be
anathema!
Paul is not initiating
the placing of the false teachers under a curse – he is leaving them under the one that is already over them. He does not want to
waste precious time and energy to even attempt to ‘further enlighten’ such
ones. His concern was for the spiritual welfare of believers of the evangel
he was commissioned to dispense.
In the passage under study,
Paul says he would have even be willing not
to have been called if this could have brought salvation to the rest of the
unbelieving of Israel. This ‘one for the sake of the nation’ concept was
applied to Christ by the Pharisees.
Jn.11:49,50 …Caiaphas, being the chief priest
of that year, said to them,
"You are not aware of anything, 50 neither are you reckoning
that it is expedient for us that one man should be dying
for the
sake of the people and not the whole nation should perish."
51 Now this he said, not from himself, but,
being the chief priest of that year,
he prophesies that Jesus was about to be dying for the sake of the nation,
52 and not for the nation only,….
We see in Paul an attitude
of sacrifice similar to Christ’s where One died for the sake of the nation. Of course, in the case of Christ,
His death was for the sake of all mankind.
2Cor.5:14 For the love of Christ
is constraining us, judging this,
that, if One died for the sake of all, consequently all died.
1Tim.2:5,6 For there is one God,
and one Mediator of God and mankind, a Man,
Christ Jesus,
6 Who is giving Himself a correspondent Ransom for all
(the testimony in its own eras),
‘…my relatives according to the flesh…’
Paul was conscious of his
national roots, and had taken great pride in these.
Rom.11:1 For I also am an Israelite, out of Abraham's seed, Benjamin's tribe….
Phil.3:5,6 in circumcision the eighth day,
of the race of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews,
in relation to law, a Pharisee, 6 in relation to zeal, persecuting the ecclesia,
in relation to the righteousness which is in
law, becoming blameless.
But, having become a
believer, he did not hold on to these ‘qualifications’ which would have
kept him in good standing among his people. What he now had been graced
with was so much higher in value that these could only measure as refuse by
comparison.
Phil.3:7-10 But things which were
gain to me,
these I
have deemed a forfeit because of Christ.
8 But, to be sure, I am also deeming all to be a forfeit
because of the superiority of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus, my Lord,
because of Whom I forfeited all, and am deeming it to be refuse,
that I should be gaining Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having my
righteousness, which is of law,
but that which is through the faith of Christ,
the righteousness which is from God for
faith:
10 to know Him, and the power of His
resurrection,
and the fellowship of His sufferings, conforming
to His death,
But becoming believers does
not mean that our feelings and emotions become suddenly cauterized. God is
not worshipped outside of reality, to the neglect and detriment of all
else. If at all, experiencing and appreciating the love that God has for
us, our love for others, especially for those whom we already love, should
become enhanced, superabounding even more.
1Thes.4:1 … we are asking you and entreating
in the Lord Jesus,
that, according as you accepted from us
how you
must be walking and pleasing God (according as you are walking also),
that you may be superabounding yet more,
1Cor.15:58 So that, my
beloved brethren, become settled, unmovable,
superabounding
in the work of the Lord always,
being aware that your toil is not for naught in
the Lord
2Cor.9:8 Now God is able to lavish all grace on you,
that, having all contentment in everything
always,
you may be
superabounding in every good work,
2Cor.8:7 But, even as you are superabounding in everything—
in faith and word and knowledge and all
diligence
and the
love that flows out of you into us—
that you
may be superabounding in this grace also.
04.
who are Israelites,
whose is the sonship and the glory and the
covenants
and the legislation and the divine service
and the promises;
Physically,
Israel has the monopoly of the eight blessings here recorded. In flesh,
Christ belongs exclusively to them; no other nation can lay claim to the
fathers. The covenants, the law the priestly worship, and the promises do
not belong to the church, but to Israel according to the flesh. The sonship
and the glory are ours only in spirit, not in flesh. Concordant Commentary
‘…who are Israelites…’
Except for some
proselytes, all the Israelites of old were the progeny of Abraham, through
Isaac, and through Jacob. These they referred to as ‘the fathers’. The
promises God made to these stalwarts were to be carried through to their
seed.
The Israel of today is a political entity with its citizens,
who call themselves Israelis, composed mainly of Ashkenazim (Kazar – a
blond, blue-eyed people - converts to
Judaism, proselytes, who migrated to Europe), and who have no blood ties at all to ‘the
fathers’.
“…these Eastern European, Yiddish-speaking Jews
who form the Zionist group practically in
toto [almost entirely], have neither a geographic, historic nor
ethnic connection with either the Jews [Israelite Judahites] of the Old Testament or the land known
today as Palestine” < www.missiontoisrael.org
>.
Many see the formation of the
nation of Israel in 1948 as marking the fulfillment of God’s promise to
reverse the captivity of Israel and to re-convene the people in the land He
had allocated to them. They fail to note that this return to the land and
to being a nation can only take place after
Christ returns and has restored
the kingdom to Israel. The peace and glory the people will have at that time is significantly absent in
the nation of Israel of today.
Jer.50:19,20 And I have brought back Israel unto
his habitation,
And he has fed on Carmel, and on Bashan.
And in mount Ephraim, and on Gilead is his soul
satisfied.
20 In those
days, and at that time, An
affirmation of Yahweh,
Sought is
the iniquity of Israel, and it is not,
And the
sin of Judah, and it is not found,
For I am propitious to those whom I leave!
Isa.49:22,23 For thus says my Lord Yahweh, "Behold!
I will lift My hand to the nations, and to the
peoples will I raise My banner high.
And they
bring your sons in a bosom pouch,
and your
daughters on the shoulders shall be borne,
23 and
kings become your foster fathers, and their chiefesses your wet nurses.
Nostrils to the earth, shall they prostrate to you,
and the
soil at your feet shall they lick up.
Then you shall know that I am Yahweh,
and those expecting Me shall not be
ashamed."
Isa.51:11 And the ransomed of Yahweh shall
return,
and they come to Zion with jubilation, and rejoicing
eonian is on their head.
Elation and rejoicing shall overtake them,
and
affliction shall flee, and grief and sighing.
(The Israeli of today is a
citizen of the political State of Israel and may be a Jew or of any other
religious following, even an atheist. And, without the Temple and its
system in operation, this secular entity is not the Israel of God.)
The Jews, including
proselytes, have been the victims of untold discriminations and of
countless pogroms to exterminate them, to wipe them off the face of the
earth. This has been a sinister attempt at erasing the worship of the true
God. Yet, in spite of all this harsh and vicious treatment, they continue
to survive – not of their own resolve and stamina, but because God watches over them. The fact that
they exist is testimony to the
fact of the true God – Yahweh,
the God of Israel.
Isa.43:10-12 "You are My
witnesses," averring is Yahweh Elohim,
"And My servant whom I have chosen,
that you
may know and will believe Me, and understand that I am He:
Before Me was formed no El. And after Me none
shall come.
11 I, I, Yahweh am El! And there is no Saviour
apart from Me.
12 I tell and save and announce. And an
alien is not among you.
And you
are My witnesses," averring is Yahweh, "And I am El.
13 Moreover, from the eon I am He, and
there is no rescuing from My hand.
I will
contrive, and who will reverse it?"
Isa.44:8 You must not be afraid! And
you must not fear!
Have I not hitherto announced it to you, and
told it?
and you
are My witnesses. Forsooth, is
there an Eloah apart from Me?
And no other Rock is there. I fail to know of
any."
Gen.32:28 And saying is He to him,
"Not Jacob shall your name be called
longer, but rather Israel is your
name.
For upright
are you with the Elohim and with mortals, and are prevailing."
God has chosen Israel to be
His special possession, above and separated from all other nations. He
identifies Himself to mankind as Yahweh, the God of Israel.
Ex.19:5,6 …if you shall hearken,
yea hearken to My voice and observe My covenant
then you will become Mine, a special possession, above
all the peoples,
for Mine is all the earth.
6 As for you, you shall become Mine, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
These are the words which you shall speak to the sons of Israel.
Deut.7:6 For you are a people holy to Yahweh your Elohim;
Yahweh your Elohim has chosen you to become His,
a special
people
from all the peoples who are on
the surface of the ground.
Deut.4:32-36 For ask now
about the former days which came before you,
from the
day that Elohim created humanity on the earth,
and from
one end of the heavens unto the other end of the heavens:
Has there occurred anything like this great thing,
or has anything
been heard like it?
33 Has a people ever heard the voice of the living Elohim
speaking from the midst of the fire just as you heard
it, and lived?
34 Or has an elohim ever tried to come
and take
for himself a nation from among another nation
by trials,
by signs and by miracles, by war, by a steadfast hand
and by an
outstretched arm and by great fear-inspiring deeds,
such as all that
Yahweh your Elohim did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35 You were shown this to know that Yahweh,
He is the only Elohim.
There is
no one else aside from Him.
36 From the
heavens He let you hear His voice, to discipline you,
and on the earth He showed you His great fire,
and you heard His words from the midst of the
fire.
Neh.9:15 and bread from the heavens You have given to them for their hunger,
and water
from a rock have brought out to them for their thirst,…
Jer.31:35-37 Thus said Yahweh, Who is giving the
sun for a light by day,
The statutes of moon and stars for a light by
night,
Quieting the sea when its billows roar, Yahweh
of Hosts [is] His name:
36 If
these statutes depart from before Me, An affirmation of Yahweh,
Even the
seed of Israel does cease from being a nation before Me all the days.
37 Thus said Yahweh: If the heavens above
be measured,
And the foundations of earth below searched,
even I kick against all the seed of Israel, for
all that they have done,
An
affirmation of Yahweh.
Deut.29:10-15 You are stationed today, all of
you, before Yahweh your Elohim--
your heads, your tribal chiefs, your elders and
your superintendents,
every man
of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives,
even your sojourner who is within your camps,
from the chopper of your timbers to the bailer
of your waters,
12 that
you may enter into the covenant with Yahweh your Elohim
and into His imprecation that Yahweh your Elohim is contracting with you today,
13 so that He may set you up today as His people.
And He shall become your Elohim just as He promised to you
and just
as He had sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.
14 And not with you, you alone,
am I contracting this covenant and this
imprecation, 15 (for it is both
with him who
is here with us standing today before Yahweh our Elohim
and with him who
is not here with us today.
God has bestowed tremendous
and exclusive privileges on the
Israelites. We give a partial list of references that concern these special
blessings.
the sonship
- Ex.4:22; Jer.31:9; Deut.14:1,2; Isa.46:3,4;
Jn;1:11-13
the glory ( the shekinah, or
presence)
- Ex.29:42-46; 40:34-38; 34:29,30; Num.7:89;
the covenants
of
circumcision - Gen.17:10-14;
of
the sabbath - Ex.16:22-31; 31:12-17;
Neh.9:14; Ezek.20:12
of
the law at Sinai - Ex.19:3-9; 20:1-21;
24:3-8; 34:27,28; Neh.9:13,14;
- Ezek.20:11; Jn.1:17
in
the land of Moab - Deut.29:1, 10-15
the legislations and divine
service
- Ex.20:24-40:33; Deut.4:7,8,32-35; Rom.3:1,2;
Act.7:38; Psa.147:19,20; Jn.4:22
the promises
to
Abraham
- Gen.15:18; 17:1-8; Heb.6:13-20; Act.3:25
to
Isaac -
Gen.17:18-21; 26:1-6;
to
Jacob -
Gen.35:9-12
to
David -
Psa.89:3,4, 34-37; Jer.33:20-25;
to
the Fathers – Deut.29:10-15; Isa.41:8-10; Jer.33:25; Act.13:32-34
to
the people
- Deut.1:6-8; Jer.31:35-37; Act.2:39
of
territory and kingdom – Gen.15:18; 17:7,8; Ex.19:3-9; Deut.4:37-40;
- Neh.9:15; Psa.89:3,4,
34-37;
of
a New Covenant – Jer.31:33,34; Heb.8:6-12
And, anticipating the next
verse which we deal with in more detail, we include:
‘whose are the fathers’, and
‘out of Whom is the Christ’
05.
whose are the fathers, and out of whom is the Christ according to
the flesh,
Who is over all, God be blessed for the eons. Amen!
Christ,
in flesh, is the God of the eons. All eonian blessing is through Him and
for Him.
Concordant Commentary
‘…whose are the fathers…’
By God’s appointment,
Abraham became the father of many, a
throng of, nations.
Gen.17:1-6 And coming is Abram to
be ninety nine years of age.
And appearing is Yahweh to Abram and is saying
to him,
"I am the El-Who-Suffices. Walk before Me
and become flawless.
2 "And giving am I My covenant between Me and you,
and increasing
am I you exceedingly exceedingly."
3 And falling is Abram on his face.
4 And speaking with him is the Elohim, saying,
"I, behold! My covenant is with you.
And you
are to become the forefather of a throng of nations.
5 And no further shall your name be called Abram.
Yet your name becomes Abraham,
for the
forefather of a throng of nations have I made you.
6 And fruitful I cause you to be exceedingly
exceedingly.
And I make of you nations, and kings from you
shall fare forth.
But the lineage through whom
God was to bestow His promised blessings on is specific – through Isaac and through Jacob. The Ishmaelites
(the line of Ishmael) and the Edomites (the line of Esau) are outside this
context.
Israelites (as different
from Israelis) can trace their lineage to the fathers. Proselytes do not
have this ‘pedigree’ and can enjoy the blessings bestowed on Israel only as
guests of the covenants – even
into the period of the new heavens and new earth (Rev.22:1,2).
Deut.4:36,37 From the heavens He let you hear
His voice, to discipline you,
and on the earth He showed you His great fire,
and you heard His words from the midst of the
fire.
37 For inasmuch as He loved your fathers and chose their seed after them
and brought you forth from Egypt into His presence
by His great vigor,
Deut.7:7,8
It was not because your multitude was more than
all the other peoples
that Yahweh was attached to you and chose you,
for you were the fewest of all the peoples.
8 But it was because of the love of Yahweh for
you
and
because of His keeping the oath that He had sworn to your fathers
that Yahweh brought you forth with a steadfast
hand
and ransomed you from the house of servants,
from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Deut.10:15 But Yahweh was attached to your fathers
to love them
so that He chooses their seed after them, you, out
of all the peoples,
as it is this day.
Act.3:25 You are the sons of the
prophets
and
of the covenant which God covenanted
with your fathers, saying to Abraham:
And
in your seed all the kindreds of
the earth shall be blessed.
Rom.11:28 As to the evangel, indeed,
they are enemies because of you,
yet, as to choice, they are beloved because of the fathers.
And so, to these people of
His belong the fathers, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and from this line, at
the appointed time, came their Messiah, the Christ, according to
flesh.
Gal.4:4 Now when the full time came,
God delegates His Son, come of a woman, come
under law,
These are all very CLEAR
assertions! And yet we are continually confronted by teachings which insist
that the New Covenant and the kingdom promises, at least, have been
TRANSFERRED from the people of Israel to
the Church; that their
forefathers have now become OUR forefathers, too!
As far as Scripture is
concerned, whatever God has
promised to Israel will remain
the privilege of Israel! Nowhere is He about to water down and adulterate
their fulfillment by making His chosen people SHARE, even a little, with non-Israelites, what was promised to them exclusively! Let alone transferring ALL to the Gentiles! That
could NEVER justify God as being faithful. God CANNOT be accused of being
the slightest shade off of being absolutely
faithful!
Take the New Covenant as an
example. Scripture is very clear with WHOM this will be implemented when
Christ returns to rule the kingdom.
Heb.8:6-13 Yet now He has happened upon a more
excellent ministry,
in as much as He is the Mediator, also, of a better covenant,
which has been instituted on better promises.
7 For if that first one were unblamable,
no place
would have been sought for a second.
8 For, blaming them, He is saying, "Lo! the
days are coming," the Lord is saying,
"And I shall be concluding with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
a new
covenant,
9 Not in accord with the covenant which I make
with their fathers
In the day of My taking hold of their hand
to be leading them out of the land of Egypt,
Seeing that they do not remain in My
covenant,
And I neglect them," the Lord is
saying,
10 "For this is the covenant which I
shall be covenanting
with the
house of Israel after those days," the Lord is saying:
"Imparting My laws to their comprehension,
On their
hearts, also, shall I be inscribing them,
And I shall be to them for a God, and they shall be to Me for a people.
11 And by no means should each be teaching
his fellow citizen,
And each his brother, saying, `Know the
Lord!'
For all
shall be acquainted with Me, from their little to their great,
12 For I shall be propitious to their
injustices,
and of their sins and their lawlessnesses
should I under no circumstances still be
reminded."
13 In saying "new," He has made
the former old.
Now that
which is growing old and decrepit is near its disappearance.
Jer.31:31-34 Lo, days are coming, an affirmation
of Yahweh,
And I have made with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
a new
covenant,
32 Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers,
In the day of My laying hold on their hand,
To bring them out of the land of Egypt,
In that they made void My covenant,
And I ruled over them--an affirmation of
Yahweh.
33 For this [is] the covenant that I make,
with the
house of Israel, after those days, an affirmation of Yahweh,
I have given My law in their inward part, and on
their heart I do write it,
And I have been to them for Elohim, and they are
to me for a people.
34 And they do not teach any more each his
neighbor,
and each his brother, Saying, Know you Yahweh,
For they all know Me, from their least unto
their greatest,
An affirmation of Yahweh;
For I pardon their iniquity, and of their sin I
make mention no more.
As for the territorial or
kingdom promises made to Israel Scripture is again very clear - abundantly
so!
Ps.105:6-11 O seed of Israel, His
servants, Sons of Jacob, His
chosen ones.
7 He is Yahweh, our Elohim; His judgments
are in all the earth.
8 He remembers His covenant for the eon,
The word He enjoined on a thousand generations,
9 That He contracted with Abraham, and by His oath to Isaac.
10 He ratified it to Jacob as a statute, to
Israel as a covenant eonian.
11 Saying, To you shall I give the
land of Canaan, the region of your
allotment.
Ex.6:8 I will bring you to the land which I lifted up My hand
in swearing
to give it
to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.
I will give it to you as a tenancy. I am Yahweh.
Lev.26:40-42 If they will confess
their depravity
and the depravity of their fathers in their
offense
(when they had offended Me and, indeed, when
they had gone contrary to Me
41 so that I Myself also went contrary to
them
and brought them into the land of their
enemies),
if then their uncircumcised heart should submit,
and if then they should accept their
depravity,
42 then I will remember My covenant with Jacob
and also My covenant with Isaac;
also My covenant with Abraham shall I remember,
and the
land shall I remember.
Lev.26:44-46 Yet in spite of this, when they are
in the land of their enemies
I will not
reject them nor loathe them so as to finish them,
to annul
My covenant with them, for I, Yahweh, am their Elohim.
45 For their
benefit I will remember the covenant
with the
former ones whom I brought forth from the land of Egypt
before the eyes of the nations to be their Elohim; I am Yahweh.
46 These are the statutes, the judgments
and the laws
which Yahweh put between Him and the sons of Israel
on Mount
Sinai by means of Moses.
Jer.30:3 For, lo, days are coming--an
affirmation of Yahweh—
and I have turned back [to] the captivity of My people Israel and Judah,
said Yahweh, and I have caused them
to turn back unto the land that I gave to their fathers, and they do possess it.'
Jer.50:19,20 And I have brought back Israel unto
his habitation,
And he has fed on Carmel, and on Bashan.
And in mount Ephraim, and on Gilead is his soul
satisfied.
20 In those days, and at that time, An
affirmation of Yahweh,
Sought is the iniquity of Israel, and it is not,
And the sin of
Judah, and it is not found,
For I am propitious to those whom I leave!
These erroneous ‘Christian’
teachings which have been so widely accepted, without even a thought towards
verification, not only attempt to rob Israel of her allotment, they also
attempt to rob GOD of His integrity!
The nations, or Gentiles,
NEVER were promised such privileges.
Deut.4:6-8 And you must observe
and obey them,
for that is your wisdom and your understanding
in the eyes of all the peoples who shall hear of
all these statutes and will say:
Surely this
great nation is a people wise and understanding.
7 For what
great nation is there which has elohim so near to it
as Yahweh our Elohim is in all that we call to
Him?
8 And what
great nation is there which has statutes and judgments
so righteous as all this law that I am putting
before you today?
Deut.4:31-38 For Yahweh your Elohim is a
compassionate El.
He shall
neither neglect you nor bring ruin on you,
nor shall
He forget the covenant of your fathers
about
which He had sworn to them.
32 For ask now about the
former days which came before you,
from the day that Elohim created humanity on the
earth,
and from one end of the heavens unto the other
end of the heavens:
Has there occurred anything like this great
thing,
or has anything been heard like it?
33 Has a people ever heard the voice of the
living Elohim
speaking from the midst of the fire just as you heard
it, and lived?
34 Or has an
elohim ever tried to come
and take
for himself a nation from among another nation by trials,
by signs
and by miracles, by war, by a steadfast hand
and by an
outstretched arm and by great fear-inspiring deeds,
such as
all that Yahweh your Elohim did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35 You
were shown this to know that
Yahweh, He is the only Elohim.
There is no one else aside from Him.
36 From the heavens He let you hear His
voice, to discipline you,
and on the earth He showed you His great fire,
and you heard His words from the midst of the
fire.
37 For inasmuch as He loved your fathers
and chose their seed after them
and brought you forth from Egypt into His
presence by His great vigor,
38 to evict greater and more substantial
nations than you from your presence,
to bring
you in and give to you their country as an allotment, as it is this day,
Eph.2:11,12 Wherefore, remember that once you,
the nations in flesh--who are termed
"Uncircumcision"
by those termed "Circumcision," in
flesh, made by hands--
12 that you were, in that era, apart from Christ,
being
alienated from the citizenship of Israel,
and guests
of the promise covenants,
having no
expectation, and without God in the world.
And yet, in spite of such
wonderful advantages, so few of the Israelites were becoming believers!
‘…out of whom is the Christ…’
When Christ, then
identified as the Word (Greek LOGOS),
became flesh, it was to the people of Israel that He came to be with. Through
the recognized ‘according to the flesh’ lineage of his mother, Mary, and
that of His foster father, Joseph, He is the Seed of
Abraham. It is through Jesus Christ
that all the families of the earth will be blessed according to God’s
promise to Abraham.
Jn.1:11 To His own He came, and those
who are His own….
Mt.1:1 The scroll of the lineage of
Jesus Christ,
the Son of David,
the Son of Abraham.
Mt.1:2-16 Abraham begets Isaac; now Isaac
begets Jacob;
now Jacob
begets Judah and his brothers.
3 Now Judah begets…
6 now Jesse
begets David the king. Now David begets Solomon….
15 … now Eleazar begets Matthan; now
Matthan begets Jacob;
16 now Jacob
begets Joseph, the husband of Mary
of whom
was born Jesus, Who is termed "Christ."
Lk.3:23-37 And He, Jesus, when beginning, was about thirty years
old,
being a son (as
to the law) of Joseph, of Eli, of Matthat,…
31… of Nathan, of
David,
32 of Jesse, of Obed, of Boaz,…
33 …of Pharez, of Judah,
34 of Jacob,
of Isaac, of Abraham,…
In both genealogical lists,
Jesus comes from the royal line of Judah through David.
Rom.1:3 concerning His Son
(Who comes of
the seed of David according to the flesh,…
2Tim.2:8 Remember Jesus Christ,
Who has been roused from among the dead, is of the seed of David,…
Lk.1:30-33 And the messenger said to her,
"Fear not, Miriam, for you found favor with
God.
31 And lo! you shall be conceiving and be
pregnant
and be bringing forth a Son, and you shall be
calling His name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and Son of the Most
High shall He be called.
And the Lord God shall be giving Him the throne of David, 33 His
father,
and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for the eons.
And of His kingdom there shall be no
consummation."
‘…Who is over all…’
It is by God’s own counsel,
through which He operates all (Eph.1:11), that Jesus, His Christ, is His
‘Creative Original’ (the beginning of the creation of God and in Whom all
is created), the Firstborn of every creature, the One who is before all,
the Firstborn from among the dead, the One who in all things is becoming
first.
Rev.3:14 the Amen, the Faithful and True
Witness, and God's Creative Original
KJV - …the beginning of the creation of God
RSV - … the beginning of God's creation
Col.1:15-17 Who is the Image of the invisible God,
Firstborn of every
creature, 16 for in Him is all created,
that in the heavens and that on the earth, the
visible and the invisible,
whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties,
or authorities,
all is created through Him and for Him,
17 and He is before all,
and all has its cohesion in Him.
Jn.1:3 All came into being through
it [the Word],
and apart from it not even one thing came into being which has come into
being.
Col.1:18 …Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead,
that in
all He may be becoming first,
It is God’s design and
purpose to exalt Christ to pre-eminence. In the revelation prior to that
given through Paul, Christ, the Messiah of Israel, will rule the earth (through
His apostles and the faithful of Israel), from Jerusalem. But now we are
given to know that this pre-eminence extends to the whole universe.
Eph.1:10 to have an
administration of the complement of the eras,
to head up
all in the Christ--both that in the heavens and that on the earth--
Though He could take that
position through appointment, God proved Him worthy of that exaltation through His obedience even to the
suffering and death of the cross.
Phil.2:7,8 nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of
a slave,
coming to be in the likeness of humanity,
8 and, being found in fashion as a human, He
humbles Himself,
becoming obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross.
Phil.2:9-11 Wherefore, also, God
highly exalts Him,
and graces
Him with the name that is above every name,
10 that in the name of
Jesus
every knee
should be bowing, celestial and terrestrial and subterranean,
11 and
every tongue should be acclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord,
for the glory of God, the Father.
Eph.1:20-23 rousing Him from among the
dead
and seating Him at His right hand among the
celestials,
21 up
over every sovereignty and authority and power and lordship,
and every
name that is named, not only in this eon,
but also
in that which is impending:
22 and subjects all under His feet,
and gives Him, as Head over all, to the
ecclesia 23 which is His body,
the complement of the One completing the all in
all.
1Cor.15:27,28 For He subjects all under His feet.
Now whenever He may be saying that all is
subject,
it is evident that it is outside of Him Who
subjects all to Him.
28 Now, whenever all may be subjected to
Him,
then the
Son Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him,
that God may be All in all.
Psa.45:6,7 Your throne, O Elohim, is for the
eon and further;
A scepter of equity is the scepter of Your
kingdom.
7 You love righteousness and hate
wickedness;
Therefore Elohim Your Elohim has anointed You
With the
oil of elation beyond Your partners.
In contrast to all of these
blessings listed in this and in the preceding verse, those of the nations
have no such privileges and are likened to puppies that could only be
eating of the scraps falling from their masters’ table (Mt.15:24-27). Not
being graced by God to be knowing Him, they were led to those who were not the true God. They were caught
up by the delusions arising out of the wisdom of the world and remained
estranged, and enemies even, of the truth of God.
1Cor.12:2 You are aware that when you were of
the nations,
you were
led away to the voiceless idols, as ever you were led.
Gal.4:8 But then, indeed,
having no perception of God,
you were
slaves of those who, by nature, are not gods.
Col.1:21 And you, being once estranged and enemies in comprehension,…
Eph.4:17-19 By no means are you still to
be walking
according as those of the nations also are
walking, in the vanity of their mind,
18 their
comprehension being darkened, being estranged
from the life of God
because of the ignorance that is in them,
because of the callousness of their hearts, 19 who, being past feeling,
in greed give themselves up with wantonness to
all uncleanness as a vocation.
Eph.2:12 that you were, in that era, apart from Christ,
being alienated
from the citizenship of Israel,
and guests
of the promise covenants, having no expectation,
and without
God in the world.
‘…God be blessed for the eons…’
A number of times Scripture
ascribes the title ‘God’ to Christ. But these in no way subscribe to a
‘trinitarian’ concept of God. The veneration of this pagan-sourced
‘Christian’ caricature shows that such worshippers do not know the true God and do not believe His declarations concerning Himself and His Son.
Whatever they may claim, God has not revealed Himself to them.
Jn.4:23,24 But coming is the hour,
and now is,
when the true
worshipers will be worshiping the Father in spirit and truth,
for the Father also is seeking such to be
worshiping Him.
24 God is spirit,
and those who are worshiping Him must be worshiping in spirit and truth."
1Cor.8:6 For even if so be that
there are those being termed gods,
whether in heaven or on earth, even as there are
many gods and many lords,
6 nevertheless
for us
there is one
God, the Father, out of Whom all is, and we for Him,
and one Lord,
Jesus Christ, through Whom all is, and we through Him.
God revealed Himself to the
people of Israel as the ‘I-shall-come-to-be’
of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. This comes from the tetragrammaton YHVH,
Yahweh, (literally, will be – is being – was) the name He has chosen to be
known by the sons of Israel
during this eon.
Ex.3:15 And Elohim said further
to Moses:
Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel, Yahweh, the Elohim of your
fathers,
the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac and
the Elohim of Jacob,
has sent me to you. This is My name for the eon,
and this the remembrance of Me for generation
after generation.
However, since the advent
of Christ, God identifies Himself as ‘the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Eph.1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ,….
2Cor.1:3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ,…
Rom.15:6 … glorifying the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph.1:17 that the
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
Father of glory,
may be giving you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the realization of Him,
1Pet.1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ,…
Christ, Himself, declares
that He has a God and that
His God is the ONLY TRUE
God.
Jn.20:17 … Jesus is saying to her,
"Do not touch Me, for not as yet have I
ascended to My Father.
Now go to My brethren, and say to them that I said,
`Lo! I am
ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your
God.'"
Jn.17:1-3 These things speaks Jesus,
and lifting His eyes to heaven,
He said, "Father, come has the hour.
Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son should be
glorifying Thee,
2 according as Thou givest Him authority
over all flesh,
that everything which Thou hast given to Him, He
should be giving it to them, even life eonian.
3 Now it is eonian life
that they may know Thee, the only true God,
and Him Whom Thou
dost commission, Jesus Christ.
As God’s image, He represents God in His operations
with mankind. During the kingdom operation that is to come, even the
faithful of Israel, representing God, will be ‘gods’ to the nations of that
time,.
Jn.1:18 God no one has ever seen.
The only-begotten
God, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He unfolds Him.
Greek = monogenês
theos
Jn.10:34,35 Jesus answered them,
"Is it not written in your law, that `I say
you are gods'?
35 If He said those were
gods, to whom the word of God came
(and the scripture can not be annulled),….
Scripture states that God
spoke to Moses in the incident of the burning bush and also on Mt Sinai
where He gave the Law. But Scripture also clarifies that this ‘God’ was a
messenger with authority from God to represent and speak for Him. And this
messenger, this God, was not even the Christ!
Act.7:30-32 …a messenger was seen by him
in the wilderness of mount Sinai, in the flame
of a thorn bush fire.
31 Now Moses, perceiving it, marvels at the
vision.
Yet, at his approaching to consider it, the
voice of the Lord came:
32 I
am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob….
Act.7:38 This is he who came to be in
the ecclesia in the wilderness
with the
messenger,
who speaks to him in mount Sinai,
and with our fathers, who receives the living
oracles to give to you,
Brought into being to
represent God and to act for Him, Christ does not deem it pillaging to be equal with God. And this being ‘equal with’
declares God as one entity and Christ another. How can one part of a
supposed ‘trinity’ be equal with
the whole?
Phil.2:6,7 Who, being inherently in the form of God,
deems it not pillaging to be equal with God,
7 nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave,
This distinction
between Jesus Christ and God is declared in many passages.
Act.3:15 Yet the Inaugurator of Life
you kill,
Whom God
rouses from among the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Act.4:10 … Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, Whom
you crucify,
Whom God
rouses from among the dead,…
Act.5:30 Now the God of our fathers rouses
Jesus, on Whom you lay hands…
Act.13:30 Yet God rouses Him from among the dead:
Act.13:37 yet He Whom God rouses was not acquainted with decay.
1Cor.6:14 Now God
rouses the Lord also, and will be rousing us up…
1Thes.1:9,10 … to be slaving for the living and true God,
10 and to be waiting for
His Son out of the heavens,
Whom He
rouses from among the dead, Jesus,…
1Cor.15:15 … seeing that we testify by God that He rouses Christ,…
Rom.10:9 …that God rouses Him from among the dead,…
Gal.1:1 … through Jesus Christ
and God
the Father, Who rouses Him from among the dead
With such a distinction in
mind, we understand that Christ is the ‘God blessed for the eons’.
God is carrying out His purpose through Christ during the eons. Through the
eons Christ acts as God for God. At the end of the eons, at
the Consummation, however, when all have become subject to Him, the Son
Himself shall be subjected to God. The purpose and objective of creation
having become fulfilled then, there will be no more need for the Son to act
as God and for God – for God will be the
All to all.
1Cor.15:24-28 thereafter the
consummation,
whenever He may be giving up the kingdom to His God and Father,
whenever He should be nullifying all sovereignty
and all authority and power.
25 For He must be reigning
until He should be placing all His enemies under
His feet.
26 The last enemy is being abolished:
death.
27 For He subjects all
under His feet.
Now whenever He may be saying that all is
subject,
it is evident that it is outside of Him Who subjects all to Him.
28 Now, whenever all may be
subjected to Him,
then the Son
Himself also shall be subjected to Him Who subjects all to Him,
that God may be All in all.)
06.
Now it is not such as that the word of God has lapsed,
for not all those out of Israel, these are Israel;
Ishmael
was Abraham's son as well as Isaac, but he was born of the flesh, not of
the promise. This shows that mere physical descent is not enough to give a
title to the blessing of Abraham (Gen.17:18-20, 21:12).
Concordant
Commentary
‘…not such as that the word of God has
lapsed…’
God has not withdrawn or
abrogated His declarations and promises to Israel though many in
Christendom would like to insist He has. Many times we say that God is
faithful yet we do not believe
the fact – we seem to be just mouthing platitudes and mantras. But, if God
is not faithful to His promises and declarations to Israel, how dependable
can He be in what He says to us?
What surety, then, have we of anything
He says?
1Cor.1:9 Faithful is God,
through Whom you were called into the fellowship
of His Son, Jesus Christ, …
1Cor.10:13 Now, faithful is God,
Who will not be leaving you to be tried above
what you are able,…
2Cor.1:18 Now God is faithful,
for our word toward you is not "Yes"
and "No,"…
1Thes.5:24 Faithful is He Who is calling you,
Who will be doing it also
In a number of places in
Scripture, in the figure of speech called ‘condescension’, God assumes certain human attributes and
reactions to demonstrate how He would
react to man’s misdemeanours if
He were a righteous man.
But the fact is that God is GOD, the Almighty,
the Creator, and not a death-doomed creature.
Num.23:19 El is not a man that He should lie.
Nor a son of humanity that He should feel regret.
Does He say it and then not do it? Or speak and then not carry it out?
Isa.55:11 so shall be My word
which shall fare forth from My mouth.
It shall not return to Me empty, but rather, it
does that which I desire,
and prospers in that for which I sent it.
Mt.24:35 Heaven and earth shall
be passing by,
yet My words
may by no means be passing by.
Mt.5:18 For verily, I am saying
to you,
Till heaven and earth should be passing by,
one iota
or one serif may by no means be passing by from the law
till all
should be occurring.
Jn.10:35 If He said those were
gods, to whom the word of God came
(and the
scripture can not be annulled),
Rom.11:1,2 I am saying, then, Does
not God thrust away His people?
May it not be coming to that!
For I also am an Israelite, out of Abraham's
seed, Benjamin's tribe.
2 God does not
thrust away His people whom He foreknew….
When faced with an ‘option’
between God’s declarations and man’s ‘educated’ pronouncements, there is
only one course for us – even if what man presents in all sincerity seems
‘scientific’ and irrefutable.
Rom.3:3,4 For what if some
disbelieve?
Will not their unbelief nullify the faithfulness
of God?
4 May it not be coming to
that!
Now let
God be true, yet every man a liar,
even as it is written: "That so Thou
shouldst be justified in Thy sayings,
And shalt be conquering when Thou art being judged."
Has any proclaimed god of any
religion ever dared to place itself to be judged by its worshippers? The integrity of the true God,
however, is inviolable, unimpeachable. It is able to stand any test when
the time-frame for all that He has declared is complete.
‘…for not all those out of Israel, these
are Israel;…’
With the descendents of
Ishmael and those of Esau, the unbelieving and disobedient of Israel are
also not reckoned as the true Israel.
Ps.73:1 Surely Elohim is good to
Israel, to those who are pure of
heart.
Rom.2:28,29 For not that which is apparent is the Jew,
nor yet that which is apparent in flesh is circumcision;
29 but that
which is hidden is the Jew,
and
circumcision is of the heart, in spirit, not in letter,
whose applause is not of men, but of God.
From the giving of the law
through Moses and until the advent of Christ, the faithful worshipped God
in accord with the prescriptions of that law. But, when Christ was sent to
His people, He was a watershed among the people. Only those observers of
the law who believed in Christ as
their prophesied Messiah were counted as the true Israel.
Act.3:22,23 "Moses, indeed,
said that:
A Prophet will the Lord your God, be raising up
to you
from among your brethren, as me. Him you shall hear,
according
to all, whatsoever He should be speaking to you.
23 Yet it shall be
that every
soul whatsoever which should not hear that Prophet
shall be
utterly exterminated from among the people.
Rom.11:7,8 What then? What Israel is
seeking for, this she did not encounter, yet the chosen encountered it. Now the rest were calloused,
8 even as it is written, God gives them a spirit of stupor,
eyes not
to be observing, and ears not to
be hearing, till this very day.
The minds of the rest were
held and they were unable to believe in Him – in spite of the many miracles
He exercised before their very eyes. This inability is ongoing.
2Cor.3:14-16 But their apprehensions were
calloused, for until this very day
the same covering is remaining at the reading of
the old covenant,
not being uncovered. 15 for only in Christ is it being nullified. But till today,
if ever the reading of Moses should be reached, a covering is lying on their heart.
16 Yet if ever it should reach a turning back to the Lord,
the covering is taken from about it.
Jn.12:37-40 Yet, after His having done so many signs in front of them,
they
believed not in Him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet,
which he said, may be being fulfilled,…
39 Therefore
they could not believe,
seeing that Isaiah said again
40 that He
has blinded their eyes and callouses their heart,…
07.
neither that Abraham's seed are all children,
but "In Isaac shall your seed be
called."
The children of Ishmael are
not recognized as Abraham’s seed where God’s promises are concerned.
But this does not mean that
God's word is no more in effect. God does not consider every one born into
an Israelite family an Israelite by right. The precedent was already there
- though Abraham had two sons, only the descendents of Isaac are recognised
as his seed - Ishmael's are not; and though Isaac had two sons, only the
descendents of Jacob are considered the seed - Esau's are not. Only the
children according to promise are given these special blessings as the
seed.
Gen.21:12 And saying is the Elohim to
Abraham,
"Let it not be evil in your eyes on account
of the lad,
and on account of your maidservant. In all that
Sarah is saying to you,
hearken to her voice, for in Isaac your seed shall be called.
Heb.11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when
undergoing trial, has offered Isaac,
and he who receives the promises offered the
only-begotten,
18 he to whom it was spoken that "In Isaac shall your seed be called,"
19 reckoning that God is able to be rousing
him from among the dead also;
whence he recovers him in a parable also.
08.
That is, that the children of the flesh, not these are the children
of God,
but the children of the promise is He
reckoning for the seed.
Only those who ensued out
of God’s promise to Abraham are reckoned as ‘the seed’. Those out of Abraham’s
attempt to assist God and make His words come through are not.
Gal.4:28 Now you, brethren, as Isaac, are children
of promise.
Gal.3:26-29 for you are all sons of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For whoever are baptized into Christ, put on Christ,
28 in Whom there is no Jew
nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free,
there is no male and female, for you all are one
in Christ Jesus.
in Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is
no slave nor yet free,
there is no male and female, for you all are one
in Christ Jesus.
29 Now if you are Christ's, consequently
you are of Abraham's seed,
enjoyers of the allotment according to the promise.
09.
For the word of the promise is this:
At "this season" I shall come
"and there will be for Sarah a son."
God had solemnly promised
Abraham a son through Sarah. What both recipients of the promise did not
realize was that it meant that God
would carry out His promise without help or hindrance from anyone. In their
own wisdom, since it had become naturally impossible for them to have a
child, they contrived to ‘assist’ God in this matter – but, that only
brought heartache and loss to Abraham.
Gen.17:18-21 And saying is Abraham to
the Elohim,
"O
that Ishmael should live before You!"
19 And saying is the Elohim to Abraham,
"Nevertheless, behold, Sarah, your wife
is bearing you a son, and you shall call his
name Isaac.
And I set up My covenant with him for a covenant eonian,
and with his
seed after him.
20 "And as to Ishmael, behold! I hear
you. Behold! Bless him do I,
and fruitful do I make him, and increase him
exceedingly exceedingly.
Twelve princes shall he beget, and I make of him
a great nation.
21 "Yet My covenant will I set up with Isaac,
whom Sarah will bear for you at this, the appointed time another
year."
Gen.18:10 And saying is He, "Return,
yea, return will I to you
according to this season of life, and, behold! A son has Sarah, your wife."…
Gen.18:14 Is it a matter too
marvelous for Yahweh Elohim?
At the
appointed time will I return to you according to the season of life,
and Sarah
has a son."
God stood by His
declaration and, in due time, Isaac was born.
Gen.21:2 …pregnant is Sarah and is
bearing for Abraham a son for his old age,
at the
appointed time of which the Elohim had spoken to him.
3 And Abraham is calling the name of his
son who is born to him,
whom Sarah bears for him, Isaac.
10.
Yet, not only so,
but Rebecca also is having her bed of one, Isaac, our father.
As it turned out, Isaac’s
wife Rebecca, too, was barren. Again, God intervened and the twins, Esau
and Jacob, were born.
Gen.25:21 And Isaac is entreating Yahweh
for the
invigorating of Rebecca, his wife, for barren is she.
And Yahweh is being entreated by him,
and pregnant is Rebecca, his wife.
Gen.25:24-26 And fulfilled are the days of
her bearing.
And behold! Twins are in her belly.
25 And forth is faring the first, ruddy, all of
him as a fur robe of hair.
And calling are they his name Esau.
26 And afterward his brother fares forth.
And his hand is holding the heel of Esau. And
calling are they his name Jacob.
And Isaac is sixty years of age when Rebecca
bears them.
11.
For, not as yet being born, nor putting into practice anything good
or bad,
that the purpose of God may be remaining
as a choice,
not out of acts, but of Him Who is
calling,
The
futility of fleshly precedence is next shown in the case of Jacob and Esau.
This is full of comfort for those of us today who feel like classing
ourselves with crooked Jacob, who dId all he could to buy God's blessing,
and stupidly hindered it. Yet, being the object of God's elective purpose
and love, all his perverse ways could not set aside God's predetermined
outcome. Esau was Jacob's senior and superior, yet he became his slave.
This ought to appeal powerfully to the sons of Israel (for whom this
section is especially intended), for they are his descendants. Concordant Commentary
‘…not as yet being born, nor putting into
practice anything good or bad…’
This example should show
that not one of humanity, including us of the body of Christ, has any
choice concerning our individual destiny – this having been determined
beforehand by God.
Rom.8:30 Now whom He designates beforehand, these He calls also,
and whom
He calls, these He justifies also;
now whom
He justifies, these He glorifies also.
2Tim.1:9 Who saves us and calls
us with a holy calling,
not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose
and the grace which is given to us in Christ
Jesus before times eonian,
Scripture declares that we cannot come to God unless and until He
calls us, and when He does, we are simply overwhelmed by His grace and become believers. We do not choose to believe – we just believe
because God enables us to believe
Him through His gift of holy spirit. And His choice of us was determined
even before the eons were created
– yes, even before Adam was
brought into being!
Jn.6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This
is the work of God,
that you may
be believing in that One Whom He commissions."
Jn.6:44 No one can come to Me
if ever the Father Who sends Me should not be drawing him….
Jn.6:65 And He said,
"Therefore have I declared to you
that no
one can be coming to Me if it should not be given him of the Father."
Jn.14:6 Jesus is saying to him,
"I am the Way and the Truth and the Life.
No one is coming to the Father
except through Me.
1Tim.1:14-16 Yet the grace of our Lord overwhelms,
with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
15 Faithful is the saying, and worthy of
all welcome,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners, foremost of whom am I.
16 But therefore was I shown mercy, that in
me, the foremost,
Jesus Christ should be displaying all His
patience,
for a
pattern of those who are about to be believing on Him for life eonian.
Eph.1:4-6 according as He chooses us in Him before the disruption of the
world,
we to be holy and flawless in His sight,
5 in love designating
us beforehand for the place of a son for Him
through Christ Jesus; in accord with the delight
of His will,
6 for the laud of the glory of His grace,
which graces us in the Beloved:
1Cor.2:7 but we are speaking God's
wisdom in a secret,
wisdom which has been concealed,
which God designates before--before the eons, for our
glory,
2Thes.2:13,14 Now we ought to be thanking God always
concerning you, brethren,
beloved by the Lord,
seeing that
God prefers you from the beginning for salvation,
in holiness of the spirit and faith in the
truth,
14 into which He also calls us through our
evangel,
for the procuring of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
‘…that the purpose of God may be remaining
as a choice,…’
Being God, His purpose will
be fulfilled, His objectives will be realized – and all in accord with the
details of His choosing.
Jn.9:1-3 And, passing along, He perceived a
man, blind from birth.
2 And His disciples ask Him, saying,
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents
that he should be born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man sinned,
nor his parents,
but it is that
the works of God may be manifested in him.
Jn.11:2-53 … Lazarus was infirm. 3 The sisters, then, dispatch to Him,
saying, "Lord, lo, he of whom Thou art fond
is infirm!"
4 Yet Jesus, hearing it, said, "This
infirmity is not to death,
but for
the glory of God, that the Son of God should be glorified through
it."…
6 As, then, He hears that he is infirm,
then, indeed, He remains in the place in which
He was, two days….
11 and after this He is saying to them,
"Lazarus, our friend, has found repose,
but I am going that I should be awakening him
out of sleep."
12 The disciples, then, said to Him,
"Lord, if he has repose, he shall be saved."
13 Now Jesus had made a declaration
concerning his death,
yet they suppose that He is saying it concerning
the repose of sleep.
14 Jesus, then, said to
them with boldness then, "Lazarus
died.
15 And I am rejoicing because of you,
that you should be believing, seeing that I was
not there.
But we may be going to him."…
37 Yet some of them said,
"Could not this One Who opens the eyes of
the blind man,
also make it that this man should not be
dying?"…
39 Jesus is saying, "Take away the
stone."
Martha, the sister of the deceased, is saying to
Him,
"Lord, he is already smelling, for it is
the fourth day."
40 Jesus is saying to her, "Did I not
say to you that,
if ever you should be believing, you should be
seeing the glory of God?"
41 They, then, take away
the stone. Yet Jesus lifts up His eyes and said,
"Father, I thank Thee that Thou hearest
Me.
42 Now I was aware that Thou art hearing Me
always,
but
because of the throng standing about I said it,
that they
should be believing that thou dost commission Me."
43 And, saying these things, He clamors
with a loud voice, "Lazarus! Hither! Out!"
44 And out came he who had
died, bound feet and hands with winding sheets,
and his countenance had been bound about with a
handkerchief.
Jesus is saying to them, "Loose him and let
him go!"
45 Many of the Jews, then, who come to Mary
and gaze at what Jesus does, believe in Him.
46 Yet some of them came away to the
Pharisees,
and told them how much Jesus does.
47 The chief priests and the Pharisees,
then, gathered a Sanhedrin and said,
"What are we doing, seeing that this man is
doing many signs?
48 If we should be leaving him thus, all
will be believing in him,
and the Romans will come and take away our place
as well as our nation."
49 Now a certain one of them, Caiaphas,
being the chief priest of that year,
said to them, "You are not aware of
anything,
50 neither are you reckoning that
it is expedient for us that one man should be dying for the sake of the people
and not the whole nation should
perish."
51 Now this he said, not from himself, but,
being the chief priest of that year,
he
prophesies that Jesus was about to be dying for the sake of the
nation,
52 and not for the nation
only,
but that
He may be gathering the scattered children of God also into one.
53 From
that day, then, they consult that they should kill Him.
With this ‘logic’ the
Pharisees conspired to carry out their
dark purpose and manipulated the Jews to back their deed. Herod had his own
axe to grind, and Pilate had his political future to protect and the
soldiers to do his bidding. Unknowingly, they were all actually carrying out God’s overriding purpose.
Isa.53:9,10 … For He does no wrong, and no
deceit is in His mouth,
10 yet Yahweh
desires to crush Him, and He
causes Him to be wounded….
Act.2:23 This One, given up in the specific counsel and foreknowledge of God,
you, gibbeting by the hand of the lawless,
assassinate,
Act.4:27,28 For of a truth,
in this city were gathered against Thy holy Boy
Jesus, Whom Thou dost anoint,
both Herod
and Pontius Pilate,
together
with the nations and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever Thy hand and Thy
counsel designates beforehand to
occur.
Their choice to do what was
actually wrong only served to carry out God’s purpose to bring about the
greatest good. The example of Joseph in Egypt comes to mind.
Gen.45:4-8 And saying is Joseph to
his brothers,
"Come close, pray, to me." And close
are they coming.
And saying is he, "I am Joseph, your
brother, whom you sold to Egypt.
5 "And now, you must not grieve,
and it must not be hot in your eyes, that you sell me hither,
for to preserve life the Elohim sends me before you….
7 "And sending me is the Elohim before you
to constitute you a remnant in the earth
and to preserve your lives for a great
deliverance.
8 And now, not you send me
hither, for it was the Elohim….
As for us who have been
designated beforehand for the place of a son for God through Jesus Christ,
this privilege of being members of the body of Christ was determined long
before it was possible for us to exercise any choice at all.
Rom.8:28,29 Now we are aware that
God is working all together for the good of
those who are loving God,
who are called according to the purpose
29 that, whom He foreknew,
He designates beforehand, also, to be conformed
to the image of His Son,
for Him to be Firstborn among many brethren.
Eph.3:8-11 To me, less than the least of all
saints, was granted this grace:
to bring the evangel of the untraceable riches
of Christ to the nations,
9 and to enlighten all as to what is the
administration of the secret,
which has been concealed from the eons in God,
Who creates all,
10 that now may be made known
to the sovereignties and the authorities among
the celestials,
through
the ecclesia, the multifarious wisdom of God,
11 in accord with the purpose of the eons,
which He makes in Christ Jesus, our Lord;
2Tim.1:9 Who saves us and calls
us with a holy calling,
not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose
and the grace which is given to us in Christ
Jesus before times eonian,
Tit.3:4-7 ..when the kindness and fondness
for humanity of our Saviour, God,
made its advent,
5 not for works which are wrought in righteousness which we do,
but according
to His mercy, He saves us,
through the bath of renascence and renewal of
holy spirit,
6 which He pours out on us richly through Jesus
Christ, our Saviour,
7 that, being justified in that One's grace,
we may be becoming enjoyers, in expectation, of
the allotment of life eonian
‘…a choice, not out of acts, but of Him
Who is calling,…’
We have not been chosen
because of any good we do. Our acts are determined by overriding factors
that we have no control of, all of these being in accord with the counsel
of God.
Incontrovertibly, none of us have the choice of what
period of time we are born in, of lineage and heredity and race, of status
and financial standing in life, of health at birth and through life, of
culture and tradition, of religious affiliation and exposure, even of
behavioural characteristics, just to name a few qualities. We have not been
in any position to determine any of these - and we have the temerity to
insist that we have a free will
that determines our future?
Isa.14:24 Sworn has Yahweh of
hosts, saying,
"Should it not, as I likened it, so come to be, and as I counseled it, be arising?
Isa.14:27 For Yahweh of hosts has
counseled, and who will annul it?
And His hand is outstretched, and who will reverse it?"
Isa.46:10 Telling from the beginning, the hereafter,
and from
aforetime, what has not yet been done.
Saying, `All
My counsel shall be confirmed, and all
My desire will I do.'
It is God Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of
His own will. It is He Who determines what
is to take place, to accord with what He
has set out. He decides who will believe,
and when. He, thereby, also
determines who will NOT believe and remain sons of stubbornness.
Jn.12:37-40 Yet, after His having
done so many signs in front of
them,
they believed not in Him,
38 that the word of Isaiah the
prophet, which he said, may be being fulfilled,
"Lord, who believes our tidings?
And the arm of the Lord, to whom was it
revealed?"
39 Therefore they could not believe, seeing
that Isaiah said again
40 that He has blinded their eyes and
callouses their heart,
lest they may be perceiving with their eyes,
and should be apprehending with their heart,
nd may be turning about, and I shall be healing
them.
Rom.11:7,8 What then? What Israel is
seeking for, this she did not encounter,
yet the
chosen encountered it. Now the rest were calloused,
8 even as it is written, God gives them a spirit of stupor,
eyes not
to be observing, and ears not to
be hearing, till this very day.
Eph.2:8,9 For in grace, through faith, are you saved,
and this is not
out of you; it is God's
approach present,
9 not of
works,
lest anyone should be boasting.
Rom.11:5,6 Thus, then, in the current
era also,
there has come to be a remnant according to the choice of grace.
6 Now if it is in grace, it is no longer
out of works,
else the
grace is coming to be no longer grace.
Now, if it is out of works, it is no longer
grace,
else the
work is no longer work.
1Cor.3:6,7 I plant, Apollos
irrigates, but God makes it
grow up.
7 So that, neither is he who is planting
anything, nor he who is irrigating,
but God
Who makes it grow up.
12.
it was declared to her that "The greater shall be slaving for the
inferior,"
God rules, and He overrules the contrived protocols and
revered traditions of men. He does not accede to the proposals and advice
of men. Neither can men force His hand nor coax Him to change His plans.
Gen.25:23 And saying is Yahweh to her, "Two nations
are in your belly,
and two folkstems shall be parted from your
bowels.
And one folkstem shall be more resolute than the
other folkstem.
And the
greater shall serve the inferior."
Rom.11:34-36 … who knew the mind of
the Lord? or, who became His adviser?
35 or, who gives to Him
first, and it will be repaid him?
36 seeing that out of Him and through
Him and for Him is all:
to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen
13.
According as it is written, "Jacob I love, yet Esau I hate."
Mal.1:2,3 I love you, says Yahweh.
Yet you say, In what way do you love us?
Was not Esau Jacob's brother? (averring is
Yahweh),
yet I am
loving Jacob, 3 yet Esau I hate….
Paul uses the example of
the choice of Jacob over Esau to bring into focus a principle of tremendous
import! Both had not even been born
yet - so there was no possible contribution on their part to the
decision. Therefore, it is ONLY according to GOD's choice and ONLY
according to HIS purpose that the selection was made! God is supreme! He overrides ALL! The Greek for God is THEOS and means PLACEr.
God, the placer! Everyone else is placed!
God exercised this same
right when He chose us to be members of ‘the ecclesia which is the body of
Christ’, and this was decided even before
we were conceived in our mothers' wombs, before Adam, and even before
the eons were created! We have had no choice in this matter.
2Cor.5:18 Yet all
is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ,
and is giving
us the dispensation of the
conciliation,
2Tim.1:9-11 Who saves us and calls us with a
holy calling,
not in accord with our acts, but in accord with
His own purpose
and the grace which is given to us in Christ
Jesus before times eonian,
10 yet now is being manifested
through the advent of our Saviour, Christ Jesus,
Who, indeed, abolishes death,
yet illuminates life and incorruption 11 through the evangel
of which I was appointed a herald and an apostle
and a teacher of the nations.
Tit.3:4-7 …when the kindness and fondness for
humanity of our Saviour, God,
made its advent,
5 not for works which are wrought in
righteousness which we do,
but
according to His mercy, He saves us,
through the bath of renascence and renewal of
holy spirit,
6 which He pours out on us richly through Jesus
Christ, our Saviour,
7 that, being justified in that One's
grace,
we may be becoming enjoyers, in expectation, of
the allotment of life eonian.
Back to:
Index of Articles - Romans
June 2008
|
