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SECTION g (continued) –
Doctrine: Conciliation, National (11:01
– 11:36)
Balanced
by SECTION G – Doctrine: Conciliation, Individual (5:01
– 8:30)
Romans Eleven – Verses 12 to 36
12. Now if
their offense is the world's riches
and their discomfiture the nations'
riches,
how much rather that which fills
them!
Israel is God's appointed channel of blessing to
the nations. If, then, their failure brings the storehouse of God's grace
to the world, what will occur when they take their true place? Then the
world will be blessed far beyond what is possible now. Now only spiritual
blessing comes to the nations. Then, through Israel, physical blessing will
flow out to them, as well.
Concordant Commentary
‘..Now if their offense is the world's
riches and their discomfiture the nations' riches,..’
While the rich blessings of
the kingdom are being withheld from them in this era, and they go on their
way in trouble and trauma, other nations are vying for and enjoying
supremacy and affluence which should have been Israel’s privilege.
In their being
set aside for the offence of rejecting Jesus Christ and His righteousness,
the way has been opened for the scheduled evangel of salvation to be sent
to the nations who, hitherto, have had no knowledge or relationship with the
true God and, therefore, have had no expectation.
Eph.2:12 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.
Gal.4:8 having no perception of God,
you were slaves of those who, by nature,
are not gods.
‘…how much rather that which fills them…’
For now, Israel keeps
herself separate from the other nations, jealously guarding and reluctant
to share with others the promises made to her of old which, however, have
not been realized so far.
The time is coming,
however, when Israel will enjoy the wonder and splendour of the
kingdom blessings and she, herself, will be a blessing to all the
nations. From Zion and from Jerusalem will fare forth the truth of God
for that time to the nations round about. Truly, then, salvation will be of
the Jews.
Isa.11:11,12 And it comes, in that day,
Yahweh will proceed to lift up His hand,
to be zealous for the remnant of His people
which will remain,
from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Babylon,
and from Pathros,
and from Ethiopia, and from Elam, and from
Shinar, and from Hamath,
and from Arabia, and from the coastlands of the
sea.
12 And He lifts up a banner
for the nations, and gathers the
expelled of Israel,
and the
scattered of Judah is He convening from the four wings of the
earth.
Mic.4:1,2 And it comes in the days
hereafter, the mount of Yahweh's house
shall be established on the summit of the
mountains,
and it is borne by the hills,
and all the peoples stream unto it.
2 And many nations go and say:
Go, and we will ascend to the mount of
Yahweh,
and to the house of the Elohim of Jacob,
and He will direct us in His ways, and we
will go in His paths.
For from
Zion shall fare forth the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
During that period, Israel
will be a kingdom and priests mediating between God and the nations.
Truly, then, they will be a blessing to all others. And,
representing God to the nations of that time, they will be duly accorded
the status of gods.
Rev.1:5,6 …
and makes us a kingdom and priests to His God and Father,…
Rev.20:6 … but they will be priests of
God and of Christ,
and they will be reigning with Him the thousand years.
1Pet.2:9 Yet you are a chosen race, a "royal
priesthood," a "holy nation,"…
Isa.61:6 And you, priests of Yahweh
shall be called,
"Ministers of our Elohim," to
you shall be said.
Mic.4:2 … For from Zion shall fare forth the law,
and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem.
Hab.2:14 For the earth shall be filled
with the knowledge of Yahweh's glory,
as the waters are covering over the sea.
Zech.2:10,11 Be jubilant and rejoice, daughter
of Zion! For behold Me coming!
And I tabernacle in your midst, (averring is
Yahweh).
11 And many nations shall be obligated
to Yahweh in that day,
and they become His people. When I tabernacle in
your midst,
then shall you know that Yahweh of hosts sent me to you.
Zech.8:22,23 …many peoples and staunch nations
will come
to seek Yahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and
to beseech the face of Yahweh.
23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts: In those days
ten mortals, from all the languages of the
nations, will take fast hold.
And they will take fast hold of the hem of a
man, a Jew, saying,
We will go with you, for we hear that
Elohim is with you.
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),
13. Now to you
am I saying, to the nations, in as much as, indeed, then,
I am the apostle of the nations, I am glorifying my dispensation,
To the nations Paul explains
his constant insistence and emphasis on the fact that he is their
apostle.
Act.9:15 Yet the Lord said to him "Go,
for he is a choice instrument of Mine,
to bear My name before both the nations and kings, besides the sons of Israel,
Act.13:2 Now, at their ministering to the Lord and fasting, the
holy spirit said,
"Sever, by all means, to Me Barnabas
and Saul
for the work to which I have called
them."
Act.22:21 And He said to me,
`Go! For I shall be delegating you afar to the nations.'"
Act.26:16-18 But rise and stand on your
feet, for I was seen by you for this,
to fix upon you before for a deputy and a
witness
both of what you have perceived and that
in which I will be seen by you,
17 extricating you from the people
and from the
nations, to whom I am commissioning you,
18 to open their eyes, to turn them about
from darkness to light
and from
the authority of Satan to God, for them to get a pardon of sins
and an allotment among those who have been
hallowed by faith that is in Me.'
Gal.1:15,16 Now, when it delights God,
Who severs me from my mother's womb and
calls me through His grace,
16 to unveil His Son in me that I may be
evangelizing Him among the nations,…
Gal.2:2 Now I went up in accord with a revelation,
and submitted to them the evangel which I am
heralding among the nations,
yet privately to those of repute,
lest somehow I should be racing or ran for naught.
Gal.2:7-9 But, on the contrary,
perceiving that
I have been entrusted
with the evangel of the
Uncircumcision,
8 according as Peter of the Circumcision (for He
Who operates in Peter
for the apostleship of the Circumcision operates
in me also for the nations),
9 and, knowing the grace which is being given to
me,
James and Cephas and John, who are supposed to
be pillars,
give to me and Barnabas the right hand of
fellowship,
that we, indeed, are to be for the nations, yet they for the Circumcision--
Eph.3:8 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,
Rom.15:15,16 Yet more daringly do I write to
you, in part, as prompting you,
because of the grace being given to me from
God,
16 for me to be the minister of Christ
Jesus for the nations,
acting as a priest of the evangel of God,
that the
approach present of the nations may be becoming well received,
having been hallowed by holy spirit.
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.
1Tim.2:5-7 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),
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.
2Tim.1:9-12 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 through the evangel
11 of which I was appointed a herald and
an apostle and a teacher of the
nations.
12 For which cause I am suffering these
things also,
but I am not ashamed, for I am aware Whom I have
believed, and
I am persuaded that He is able to guard what is
committed to me, for that day.
14. if somehow I should
be provoking those of my flesh to jealousy
and should be saving some of them
He received his commission to
the nations even though he was an Israelite of the deepest hue, and a
rabid fanatic at that. But God’s grace had overwhelmed all obstacles and
arguments that could have stood in his way. Not only was he made a
believer, by God’s grace, he was put in charge of dispensing
the evangel of God’s grace to the nations. His insistence on the
importance of his dispensation, then, was to agitate and provoke his
fellow-Israelites so that at least some individuals among them may
be awakened and be motivated to re-examine their situation and come to the
realization that for them, too, there was not any impediment to God’s
calling in the evangel.
1Tim.1:12-14 Grateful am I to Him Who
invigorates me, Christ Jesus, our Lord,
for He deems me faithful, assigning me a
service,
13 I, who formerly was a calumniator and a
persecutor and an outrager:
but I was shown mercy, seeing that I do it being ignorant, in
unbelief.
14 Yet the grace of our Lord overwhelms,
with faith and love in Christ Jesus.
1Tim.1:16 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.
15. For if their casting away is the
conciliation of the world,
what will the taking back be if not life from among the
dead?
With Israel aside, God no longer puts barriers
between Himself and the nations, but is conciliated to the whole world.
When men receive this conciliation, then there is mutual reconciliation. Concordant
Commentary
Israel's rejection of her Messiah marks the
introduction of untold blessings into the world (the cosmos). Now the
celestials also begin to see the multi-faceted wisdom of God in their
own salvation through what He is achieving in His operations with the ecclesia
which is the body of Christ.
Eph.3:10,11 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;
And her being set aside
initiates special blessings, previously
unrevealed, to the nations. Not that God planned it as a result of
Israel’s failing – it was something He had determined before the eons
but kept secret until this scheduled time.
Col.1:24-28 …His body, which is the
ecclesia
25 of which I became a dispenser,
in accord with the administration of God, which
is granted to me for you,
to complete the word of God--
26 the secret which has been concealed
from the eons and from the generations,
yet now was made manifest to His
saints,
27 to whom God wills to make known
what are the glorious riches of this
secret among the nations,
which is: Christ among you, the
expectation of glory--
28 Whom we are announcing,
admonishing every man and teaching every man in
all wisdom,
that we should be presenting every man mature
in Christ Jesus;
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,
1Cor.2:9,10 But, according as it is
written,
That which the eye did not perceive, and the
ear did not hear,
and to which the heart of man did not
ascend—
whatever God makes ready for those who are loving Him.
10 Yet to us God reveals them
through His spirit,
for the spirit is searching all, even the depths of God.
Phil.3:20,21 For our realm is inherent
in the heavens,
out of which we are awaiting a Saviour also, the
Lord, Jesus Christ,
21 Who will transfigure the body of our
humiliation,
to conform it to the body of His glory,
in accord with the operation which enables Him
even to subject all to Himself.
1Cor.6:3 Are you not aware that we
shall be judging messengers,….
All these spiritual
blessings are being given while Israel is set aside. How much more will
everyone be blessed when Israel does
believe and actually takes on her appointed responsibilities to become the
channel, the priest-nation, of
God's abundant gifts to the nations of that time.
Their being set aside,
following their rejection and murder of their own Messiah, was a
time-marker that introduced the Conciliation to the world. God does not now take into account the offenses
of anyone but, instead, extends peace to all. For this period of grace
He extends the hand of friendship and fellowship.
2Cor.5:18-20 Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us
to Himself through Christ,
and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation,
19 how that God was in
Christ, conciliating the world to Himself,
not reckoning their offenses to them,
and placing in us the word of the
conciliation.
20 For Christ, then, are we ambassadors,
as of God entreating through us.
We are beseeching for Christ's sake, "Be
conciliated to God!"
But this 'truce' will not
go on indefinitely. There will come the time when the number of those being
called now into the body of Christ is complete. At that point these ambassadors, whose realm is inherent
in the heavens, will be withdrawn from the scene to operate among the
celestials.
Phil.3:20,21 For our realm is inherent
in the heavens,…
21 in accord with the operation which
enables Him even to subject all to Himself.
1Cor.6:3 Are you not aware that we
shall be judging messengers,…
God will then resume His
operation with His chosen people, Israel, and initiate the pouring out of
His indignation on the sons of stubbornness in the Great Affliction.
Col.3:6,7 … the indignation of God is
coming on the sons of stubbornness--
7 among whom you also once walked,
when you lived in these things.
Dan.12:1 …Then comes to be an era of
distress such as has not occurred
since there came to be a nation on the earth,
till that era….
Mt.24:21,22 for then shall be great
affliction,
such as has not occurred from the
beginning of the world till now;
neither under any circumstances may be occurring.
22 And, except those days were discounted, no
flesh at all would be saved.
It is not in God’s plan for the members of the body of
Christ to be put through this prophesied experience. Ours is a different
destiny.
Rom.8:1 Nothing, consequently, is
now condemnation to those in Christ Jesus.
1Thes.5:9,10 for God did not
appoint us to indignation,
but to the procuring of salvation through our
Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for our sakes, that, whether we
may be watching or drowsing,
we should be living at the same time together with Him.
Phil.3:20,21 For our realm
is inherent in the heavens,
out of which we are awaiting a Saviour also, the
Lord, Jesus Christ,
21 Who will transfigure the body of our
humiliation,
to conform it to the body of His glory,
in accord with the operation which enables Him
even to subject all to Himself.
1Thes.4:13-17 Now we do not want you
to be ignorant, brethren,
concerning those who are reposing,
lest you may sorrow according as the rest, also,
who have no expectation.
14 For, if we are believing
that Jesus died and rose,
thus also, those who are put to repose, will
God, through Jesus,
lead forth together with Him.
15 For this we are saying to you by the
word of the Lord,
that we, the living, who are surviving to the
presence of the Lord,
should by no means outstrip those who are put to
repose,
16 for the Lord Himself
will be descending from heaven
with a shout of command, with the voice of the
Chief Messenger,
and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in
Christ shall be rising first,
17 Thereupon we, the living
who are surviving,
shall at the same time be snatched away
together with them in clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we
always be together with the Lord.
1Cor.15:50-53 Now this I am averring, brethren,
that flesh and blood is not able to enjoy an
allotment in the kingdom of God,
neither is corruption enjoying the allotment of
incorruption.
51 Lo! a secret to you am I telling!
We all, indeed, shall not be put to repose, yet
we all shall be changed,
52 in an instant, in the
twinkle of an eye, at the last trump.
For He will be trumpeting, and the dead will be
roused incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible
must put on incorruption,
and this mortal put on immortality.
It is after the
complement of the nations has entered, and the body of Christ snatched
away, but before God brings on the great Affliction, that God will
resume His work, hitherto suspended, with His chosen people and save those
of them who have been set for salvation.
Rom.11:25-27 For I am not willing for you to be
ignorant of this secret, brethren,
lest you may be passing for prudent among
yourselves,
that callousness, in part, on Israel has come,
until the
complement of the nations may be entering.
26 And thus all Israel shall be saved,
according as it is written,
Arriving out of Zion shall be the Rescuer.
He will be
turning away irreverence from Jacob.
27And this is My covenant with them
whenever I should be eliminating their sins.
Christ will return to establish
the long-awaited kingdom at the end of the traumas of the Affliction. Then,
when all is ready, the faithful of Israel who died during all the
centuries, will be 'roused from their graves' to take their places in the
kingdom and will reign with Him a thousand years.
Ezek.37:1-10 ...He takes me forth in the Spirit
of Yahweh,
and does place me in the midst of the
valley, and it is full of bones,
2 and He causes me to pass over by them,
all round about,
and lo, very many [are] on the face of the
valley, and lo, very dry....
5 Thus said the Lord Yahweh to these
bones:
Lo, I am bringing into you a spirit, and you
have lived,
6 and I have given on you sinews, and cause
flesh to come up upon you,
and covered you over with skin, and given in you
a spirit, and you have lived,
and you have known that I [am] Yahweh.' ...
10 …and the Spirit comes into them,
and they live, and stand on their feet--a very
very great force.
Ezek.37:11 ...`Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel;
lo, they are saying: Dried up have our bones,
And perished has our hope,
We have been cut off by ourselves.
Ezek.37:12-14 Therefore, prophesy, and you have
said unto them,...
thus said the Lord Yahweh: Lo, I am opening
your graves,
And have brought you up out of your
graves, O My people,
And brought you in unto the land of
Israel.
13 And you have known that
I [am] Yahweh, In My opening your graves,
And in My bringing you up out of your graves, O
My people.
14 And I have given My Spirit in you,
and you have lived,
And I have caused you to rest on your
land,
And you have known that I Yahweh, I have
spoken, and I have done [it],
An affirmation of Yahweh.'
This is when the whole house of Israel will be
‘born again’ - and all of them on that one and the same day.
(This ‘born again’ phrase has been pilfered and unscripturally applied to
modern-day ‘Christians’. Does God recognize their claim just because they
have made it a part of their theology?)
Isa.66:7-10 Ere she is travailing,
she bears.
Ere a cramp is coming to her, then she causes the escape of a
male.
8 Who has heard a thing as this? And who
has seen things as these?
Will the land travail in one day?
Should a nation be born at one time?
For she travails. Moreover, Zion is bearing her sons.
9 Am I causing to hope, and not
begetting?" saying is Yahweh.
"Should I be begetting, then restrain?" says your
Elohim.
10 Rejoice with Jerusalem, and exult
in her, all who love her.
Be elated with her with elation, all who mourn over her.
Rev.20:4-6 And I perceived thrones,
and they are seated on them, and judgment was
granted to them.
And the souls of those executed
because of the testimony of Jesus and because of
the word of God,
and those who do not worship the wild beast or
its image,
and did not get the emblem on their forehead and
on their hand—
they also live and reign with Christ a thousand
years.
5 (The rest of the dead do not live until
the thousand years should be finished.)
This is the former resurrection.
6 Happy and holy is he who is having part
in the former resurrection!
Over these the second death has no jurisdiction,
but they will be priests of God and of Christ,
and they will be reigning with Him the thousand
years.
Ezek.37:23 Nor are they defiled any more with
their idols,
And with their abominations, And with any of their
transgressions,
And I have saved them out of all their
dwellings, In which they have sinned,
And I have cleansed them,
And they have been to Me for a people, And I--I
am to them for Elohim.
Ezek.37:26-28 And I have made to them a covenant
of peace,
A covenant eonian it is with them,
And I have placed them, and multiplied
them,
And placed My sanctuary in their
midst--to the eon.
27 And My tabernacle has been over
them,
And I have been to them for Elohim, And
they have been to Me for a people.
28 And known have the nations that I
Yahweh am sanctifying Israel,
In My sanctuary being in their midst--to the eon!'
Dan.12:9-13 Then he is saying,
"Go, Daniel, for stopped up and sealed are
the words till the era of the end.
10 Many will purify and whiten themselves
and be refined;
yet the wicked will be wicked. None of all the
wicked shall understand;
yet the intelligent are understanding.
11 "From the era when the continuous
ritual is taken away,
and to the setting of the abomination of
desolation,
is a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 Happy is he who will tarry
and attain to the thousand three hundred
and thirty-five days!
13 Now you, go on to the end,
and you shall rest and stand up for your lot
at the end of the days."
16. Now if the firstfruit is holy, the
kneading is also;
and if the root is holy, the
boughs are also.
There is no change in the
material when some dough is taken from the rest of the batch. And the same
nourishment the root derives from the soil feeds the branches of a tree –
healthy roots support healthy branches. Cultivation keeps the tree in good
condition and fruitful. This comparison prepares us for the next verse.
17. Now if
some of the boughs are broken out,
yet you, being a wild olive, are
grafted among them,
and became a joint participant of the root
and
fatness of the olive,
It is a remarkable fact, generally unknown, that
a very old olive tree, no longer capable of bearing, may be rejuvenated by
a wild graft. This has been done only in those Mediterranean countries
where the olive has been cultivated for many centuries. Israel is the old
olive tree which becomes almost incapable of bearing the olives from which
the light-giving oil was obtained. Some of the branches were broken out and
the nations were grafted in, and, through living contact with its root,
become God's testimony in the earth. The light of God is now no longer with
Israel, but with the nations. But all the light is derived from the
Scriptures which came through Israel. Apart from the sacred scrolls, the
nations shed no light.
Concordant Commentary
When a cultivated olive tree
becomes unproductive, some of its branches are removed, and branches from a
wild olive are grafted in to stimulate and to encourage fresh growth and
productivity. These ‘new’ branches will ‘take’ if and when they derive
their nourishment from the root. It is the root that supplies the
nourishment from the soil to the branches – not the other way around.
This principle is now
applied to Israel and the nations. Israel is the ‘natural’ boughs of a
cultivated olive tree with roots that absorb and assimilate the necessary
spiritual nourishment through the revelation in the oracles of God.
Rom.3:1,2 What, then, is the prerogative of the Jew,
or what the benefit of circumcision?
2 Much in every manner.
For first, indeed, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
Rom.9:4,5 …Israelites, whose is
the sonship and the glory and the covenants
and the legislation and the divine
service and the promises;
5 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!
Where the true worship and the spread of the knowledge
of God are concerned, the nation of Israel has become unproductive. To
regenerate fruitfulness, some of the unproductive boughs had to be cut off
first. This selection was effected with the advent of Christ – for then all
who did not believe in Him were cut off from 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.9:6 Now it is not such as that the word
of God has lapsed,
for not all those out of Israel,
these are Israel
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.
Now, God takes some out of the nations to be believers
in Him – thus providing them with spiritual nourishment – something
that only Israel had been privy to hitherto.
Col.1:25-27 … in accord with the administration
of God,
which is granted to me for you, to complete
the word of God--
26 the secret which has been concealed
from the eons and from the generations,
yet now was made manifest to His saints,
27 to whom God wills to make known
what are the glorious riches of this
secret among the nations,
which is: Christ among you, the
expectation of glory--
18. be not
vaunting over the boughs.
Yet if you are vaunting, you are not
bearing the root, but the root you.
But, they should bear in mind that the spiritual
nourishment that God has been feeding Israel with is now, in His grace,
theirs to partake of also, so to speak. As such, they should not look with
contempt on an Israel that has now been, temporarily, put aside.
Jn.4:22 You are worshiping that of which you are
not aware;
we are
worshiping that of which we are aware, for
salvation is of the Jews.
2Tim.3:14-17 from a babe you are
acquainted with the sacred scriptures
which are able to make you wise for salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is inspired
by God,
and is beneficial
for teaching, for exposure, for correction, for
discipline in righteousness,
17 that the man of God may be equipped,
fitted out for every good act.
19. You will be declaring, then,
"Boughs are broken out that I may be
grafted in."
The apostle is dealing with Israel and the
nations—not individuals. No individual believer will be broken out of the olive
tree. The nations, however, as such, no longer believe, and are due to be
cut out of the olive tree. Jehovah is already gathering Israel back to
their land with a view of once more grafting them into their own olive
tree. Concordant Commentary
Pride has no place in this privileged situation for,
in fact, none can graft themselves in. It is God Who has predetermined this
‘grafting in’ out of His love and in grace.
Eph.2:8-10 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.
10 For His achievement are
we, being created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God makes ready beforehand, that we should be
walking in them.
1Cor.1:31 … He who is boasting, in the Lord
let him be boasting.
20. Ideally! By unbelief are
they broken out, yet you stand in
faith.
Be not haughty, but fear.
Fundamentally,
Israel is holy, dedicated, set aside for God's purpose, chosen in grace to
enjoy His blessings. But through unbelief some of her people have been
considered lopped-off. The nations, now ‘grafted in’, are enjoying some
blessings which even Israel did not have. But they are advised not to look
down on her in derision at her discomfiture.
It is a human tendency, in
accord with the wisdom of the world, for those who enjoy privileges to look
down on those who do not have a share in them. Even within the ecclesia, if
care is not exercised, this happens and fellowship is strained.
Rom.12:16 being mutually disposed to one
another,
not being disposed to that which is high, but
being led away to the humble.
Do not come to pass for prudent with
yourselves.
Phil.2:12 So that, my beloved,
according as you always obey,
not as in my presence only, but now much rather
in my absence,
with fear and trembling, be carrying your own
salvation into effect,
21. For if God spares not the natural boughs,
neither will He be sparing you!
Coming back to our context,
God will do as He has designated beforehand He will do. And, if God can put
aside Israel to whom the blessings belong by His covenant, he would
not hesitate to cut-off the nations who have been mere guests of
that covenant.
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.
22. Perceive,
then, the kindness and severity of God!
On those, indeed, who are falling, severity,
yet on you, God's kindness, if you should
be persisting in the kindness:
else you also will be hewn out.
Nothing shows the blindness of Christendom more
than their severe denunciation of faithless Israel, yet they are following
precisely the same course and have not the slightest idea that God will
deal with them as He did with Israel. Concordant Commentary
No one should take God lightly. He is kind – but He is
no pushover. He will employ whatever means that are necessary, even the most
severe and drastic, to operate all in accord with the counsel of His will.
For the present God is
severe with Israel; for the present He dispenses kindness to the nations.
But this kindness should not be abused, should not be neglected but
appreciated. When unbelief sets in, however, this undeserved kindness will
be withdrawn. And, knowing human tendencies, this will inexorably come
about. The 'times of the gentiles'
will come to an end.
The nation of Israel, instead of being able to enjoy
the blessings of the kingdom, has had to undergo terrible experiences as
chastisement for what she has done in unbelief.
It is quite apparent, however, that during this period
when the nations are being grafted in, not very many from among their
billions have come to believe in the evangel, either. Instead, as a whole,
the nations have not been able to appreciate God’s kindness, even going
about callous to it. This period of ‘truce’ will soon be over and God will
remove the nations, the ‘grafted in’ wild branches, and turn His attention,
once again, to His Chosen People.
In every case, none can
pull themselves up by their bootstraps. It is God Who makes
believers out of unbelievers, saints out of sinners, and gives them
life eonian. Unbelievers continue to be sons of stubbornness on whom His
indignation falls.
Rom.2:7-9 to those, indeed, who by endurance in good acts
are seeking glory and honor and incorruption,
life eonian;
8 yet to those of faction and stubborn,
indeed, as to the truth,
yet persuaded to injustice, indignation and
fury, 9 affliction and
distress,
on every human soul which is effecting
evil,
both of the Jew first and of the
Greek,
10 yet glory and honor and
peace to every worker of good,
both to the Jew first, and to the Greek.
Rom.3:9-12 we previously charge both
Jews and Greeks to be all under sin,
10 according as it is written, that "Not
one is just"--not even one.
11 Not one is understanding. Not
one is seeking out God.
12 "All avoid Him: at the same
time they were useless.
Not one is doing kindness: there is not even
one!"
Rom.3:22,23 … there is no distinction,
23 for all sinned and are wanting
of the glory of God.
Rom.5:19 through the disobedience of
the one man,
the many were constituted sinners,
Rom.9:22-24 Now if God,
wanting to display His indignation and to
make His powerful doings known,
carries, with much patience, the vessels of
indignation, adapted for destruction,
23 it is that He should also be making
known the riches of His glory
on the vessels of mercy, which He makes ready
before for glory--
24 us, whom He calls also, not only out of the Jews, but out of the nations also.
23. Now they
also,
if they should not be persisting in unbelief, will be grafted in,
for God is able to graft them in again.
In nature, the natural
branches which had been cut off the cultivated olive tree, will readily
‘take’ when grafted back in. So, in ‘God is able to graft them in again’, we
have the indication, where Israel is concerned, that it depends entirely on
God for the implementation of this phase of His program. There will be
a turning back for Israel - but, not yet.
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.)
24. For if you
were hewn out of an olive wild by nature,
and, beside nature, are grafted into a cultivated
olive tree,
how much rather shall these, who are in accord
with nature,
be grafted into their own olive tree!
If a wild graft can be introduced into a
cultivated tree with good results, how much better will it be to graft back
the good branches! Concordant
Commentary
If God has been granting blessings
to the nations - who have no covenant with Him, how much more
natural it would be for Him to bless Israel – with whom He has one, and to
which, even in spite of her unfaithfulness, He has always
remained faithful.
25. For I am
not willing for you to be ignorant of this
secret, brethren,
lest you may be passing for
prudent among yourselves,
that callousness, in part, on Israel has
come,
until the complement of the nations may be
entering.
The secret that Israel's present condition is
not permanent, but only until all who were chosen are called out of the
nations, has never been generally believed, hence the haughty attitude of
Christendom toward Israel. Concordant
Commentary
Orthodox Christianity has been rather condescending towards
Israel, looking down on her in her time of rejection. Some of them look on
her with disdain, and even with revulsion, for her being under a curse.
Little do these realize
that God has locked up the nation of Israel under stubbornness so that she
cannot believe for now. He it is Who has blinded her eyes
until an appointed time.
Jn.12:39,40 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,
and may be turning about, and I shall be healing
them.
Lk.21:24 And they shall be falling by
the edge of the sword
and shall be led into captivity into all
nations.
And Jerusalem shall be trodden by the nations,
until the eras of the nations may be
fulfilled.
But God reveals, to the
members of the body of Christ, that this sentence that Israel is under will
soon be lifted – but only when ‘the complement of the nations may be
entering’ - thus also confirming to us that the membership in the
body is limited to a certain number – no more, no less. Membership in the
body of Christ is limited to, and exclusively for, those of humanity whom
God has designated beforehand, even before the eons were created,
to go through the process He has determined for them until they are
glorified.
Rom.8:29,30 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.
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.
Meanwhile, the evangel of
the Uncircumcision is in operation - and will hold until the complement of those
who are being called and justified through it come in, and the completed
body of Christ is snatched away to meet the Lord in the air.
1Thes.4:15-17 For this we are saying
to you by the word of the Lord,
that we, the living, who are surviving to
the presence of the Lord,
should by no means outstrip those who are put to
repose,
16 for the Lord Himself will be descending
from heaven with a shout of command,
with the voice of the Chief Messenger, and with
the trumpet of God,
and the dead in Christ shall be rising
first,
17 Thereupon we, the living who are
surviving,
shall at the same time be snatched away
together with them in clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
shall we always be together with the Lord.
26. And thus
all Israel shall be saved, according as it is written,
Arriving out of Zion shall be the
Rescuer.
He will be turning away irreverence from
Jacob.
Only a few, comparatively, are being saved among
the nations, but when Israel again regains its proper place, all Israel
shall be saved. Then the whole nation, from the least to the greatest, will
know God. And they will become the light of the world, as they were always
intended to be. Concordant
Commentary
This passage is a summary of events surrounding the
coming of the Rescuer. Since this is not the main event under study, we
find certain details left out due to priority of context.
The ‘snatching away’ at the completion of the body of Christ,
for example, is not the precise juncture at which all Israel is
saved. A resumption of the preaching of the kingdom evangel to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel and, after some time, a separation of
believers from unbelievers among them, must intervene.
Mt.24:40-42 Then two shall be in the
field; one is taken along and one left:
41 two grinding at the
millstone; one is taken along and one left.
42 Be watching, then, for
you are not aware on what day your Lord is coming.
The parable of the ‘ten virgins’ (Mt.25:1-12) is
another illustration of this separation. Those who are taken along will
form ‘the woman’ and ‘the male son’ of Rev.12. Those who are left behind
will face severe persecution, even extermination, in the ‘Great Affliction’
that will follow.
Mt.10:5-7 These twelve Jesus commissions,
charging them, saying,
"Into a road of the nations you may
not pass forth,
and into a city of the Samaritans you may
not be entering.
6 Yet be going rather to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
7 Now going, herald,
saying that `Near is the kingdom of the heavens!'
Mk.13:9 …Yet you be looking to yourselves,
for they shall be giving you up to the sanhedrins,
and in synagogues shall you be
lashed,
and before governors and even kings shall
you stand on My account,
for a testimony to them.
Mt.24:9 "Then shall they be giving you
up to affliction,
and they shall be killing you,
and you shall be hated by all of the
nations because of My name.
Mt.24:21,22 for then shall be great
affliction,
such as has not occurred from the
beginning of the world till now;
neither under any circumstances may be
occurring.
22 And, except those days
were discounted, no flesh at all would be saved….
Mk.13:10 And to all the
nations first must be heralded the evangel.
Mt.24:14 And heralded shall be this
evangel of the kingdom
in the whole inhabited earth for a
testimony to all the nations,
and then the consummation shall be
arriving.
It is only at the height of this persecution, the
worst experience humanity is to have, and when the evangel of the kingdom
has reached all nations, that Jesus Christ, the Rescuer, will
descend onto the Mount of Olives to remove the threat of the ‘wild
beast’ and the ‘false prophet’ and their vast armies.
Act.1:9-12 … while they are looking,
He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him up
from their eyes.
10 And as they were looking
intently into heaven at His going,
lo! two men stand beside them in white
attire,
11 who say also,
"Men! Galileans! Why do you stand, looking into heaven?
This Jesus Who is being taken up from you
into heaven
shall come thus, in the manner in
which you gaze at Him going into heaven."
12 Then they return into
Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is near Jerusalem a sabbath's
journey.
Zech.14:3,4 Then Yahweh shall fare forth
and fight against those nations, as the
day He fought in the day of attack.
4 And His feet shall
stand in that day on the mount of Olives,
which is adjoining Jerusalem on the east.
From there He will go to
Zion, and then out of Zion, and from
Zion, He will embark on His operation to save all of Israel. Satan must
then be imprisoned before there is a resurrection of the faithful of
Israel, who have died through the ages until then, to take their places in
the kingdom.
Isa.59:20 And there comes to Zion
the Redeemer, and
"He shall turn back transgression
from Jacob," averring is Yahweh.
Ps.14:7 O that the salvation of Israel
would come from Zion,
When Yahweh will reverse the
captivity of His people!
Let Jacob exult! Let Israel rejoice!
27. And this is My covenant with them
Whenever I should be eliminating their
sins.
Only after these events will the kingdom be
established with a new covenant in which God ‘will be turning away
irreverence from Jacob’ and will save all Israel.
Mt.1:21 …and you shall be calling His name
Jesus,
for He shall be saving His people from
their sins."
Isa.43:25 I, I am He Who wipes out your
transgressions on My own account,
and your sins I will not remember
further.
Jer.50:20 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!
Heb.8:12 For I shall be propitious to
their injustices, and of their sins
and their lawlessnesses should I under no
circumstances still be reminded."
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.
Heb.8:6-11 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,
Isa.45:17 Israel is saved by
Yahweh, with a salvation eonian.
They shall not be ashamed nor confounded
for future eons.
Deut.30:6 Yahweh your Elohim will circumcise your
heart and the heart of your seed
so as to love Yahweh your Elohim
with all your heart and with all your soul,
that you may stay alive.
Isa.60:14,15 And go to you to prostrate shall
all the sons of your humiliators,
and worship at the soles of your feet shall all
your spurners.
And they call you the city of Yahweh, Zion
of the Holy One of Israel.
15 Insomuch as you became
forsaken and hated, and there was no help,
I constitute you a pomp eonian, an
elation of generation after generation.
Isa.54:6-10 For as a woman, forsaken and
grieved in spirit, Yahweh called you,
and as a wife of youth, that is being rejected," says Yahweh,
your Elohim.
7 "For a small moment I forsook you,
yet with great compassions will I convene
you.
8 In effervescent wrath I concealed
My face a moment from you, yet
with kindness eonian have I compassion on
you," says your Redeemer, Yahweh.
9 For this is the waters of Noah to Me.
As I swore off from passing the waters of Noah
again over the earth,
so I swore off from wrath over you further and
from rebuking you.
10 For the mountains shall
remove, and the hills shall slip, yet My kindness
from you shall not remove, and the
covenant of My welfare shall not slip,
says your Compassionate One, Yahweh.
Jer.32:37-41 Lo, I am gathering them out of all
the lands
whither I have driven them in Mine anger, and in
My fury, and in great wrath,
and I have brought them back unto this place,
and have caused them to dwell confidently;
38 and they have been to Me
for a people, and I am to them for Elohim;
39 and I have given to them one heart,
and one way, to fear Me all the days,
for good to them, and to their sons after
them:
40 and I have made for them
a covenant eonian,
in that I turn not back from after them
for My doing them good,
and My fear I put in their heart, so as
not to turn aside from me;
41 and I have rejoiced over them to do them
good, and
have planted them in this land in truth, with all
my heart, and with all My soul.
Jer.33:25,26 Thus said Yahweh: If My
covenant [is] not daily and nightly,
The statutes of heaven and earth I have
not appointed--
26 Also the seed of Jacob, and David
My servant, I reject,
Against taking from his seed rulers for the seed
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
For I turn back [to] their captivity, and have
pitied them.'
Ezek.39:28,29 And they have known that I [am]
Yahweh their Elohim,
In My removing them unto the nations, And
I have gathered them unto their land, And I
leave none of them any more there.
29 And I hide not any more
My face from them, In that
I have poured out My spirit on the house
of Israel,
An affirmation of the Lord Yahweh!'
Paul wants his readers to
be alert to the fact that Israel has been made dull and obstinate for just
a little while only, temporarily. It is to be until 'the complement of the nations', the
last of those of the nations (who have been designated beforehand to be
called now to believe the evangel of the Uncircumcision) have taken their
places in the body of Christ. Then it will be that God finishes His saving
work with Israel, wiping away their sins in the New Covenant.
28. As to the evangel,
indeed, they are enemies because
of you,
yet, as to choice, they are beloved because of the fathers.
Let us always remember that Israel is still
beloved, whatever its present attitude toward God. Concordant Commentary
We need to appreciate the fact that, for the evangel
of the Uncircumcision (which is of ‘grace apart from works of law’, and
which does not recognize fleshly distinctions) to operate effectively, the
preference for Israel has been put aside for a little while. And, because
God is not giving Israel, as a nation, the grace to believe at this time,
her people, working in accord with the wisdom of the world, have come to be
treated as enemies together with the world.
Act.13:46 Being bold, both Paul
and Barnabas, say,
"To you first was it necessary that the
word of God be spoken. Yet, since, in fact,
you are thrusting it away, and are judging
yourselves not worthy of eonian life,
lo! we are turning to the nations.
Act.18:6 Now at their resisting and
blaspheming,
shaking out his garments, he said to them,
"Your blood be on your head!
Clear am I! From now on I shall go to the
nations."
1Thes.2:14-16 …the Jews, 15 who kill the Lord Jesus as well as the
prophets,
and banish us, and are not pleasing to God,
and are contrary to all men,
16 forbidding us to speak to the nations
that they may be saved,
to fill up their sins always.
Yet the indignation outstrips to them to a
consummation.
But God has not abandoned
them altogether. He remains true to His promises to ‘the fathers’ and,
though He has put His people aside, He has them in mind and heart all the
time.
Deut.4:31 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.
Deut.4:37 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.7:6-8 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.
7 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.9:5 It is not because of your own righteousness
or
the uprightness of your own heart that you are entering to tenant their
country, for it is because of the wickedness of these nations
that Yahweh your Elohim is evicting them before
your face,
so that He may confirm the word that
Yahweh had sworn to your fathers,
to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.
Mic.7:20 You wilt render the
truth to Jacob, the kindness to Abraham,
which You swear to our forefathers from
days aforetime
29. For
unregretted are the graces and the calling of God.
God never regrets any favor He has shown. No
individual or nation whom He calls ever disappoints Him, for He knows full
well what they are and what they will do. This alone proves that Israel
will yet fulfill the part He has prepared for it. Concordant Commentary
As declared in the first chapter of Romans, God must
be appreciated as GOD – otherwise, and God has determined this, we cannot
grasp His revelation concerning what He is doing and why things cannot be
anything other than as they are. This being so, we will come up with
interpretations and conclusions that are in accord with the wisdom of the
world. Of course, the world will love us, even acclaim us, for then we will
be adopting their values and speaking their ‘language’. But
our understanding will not be in accord with truth.
Rom.1:21,22 because, knowing God, not
as God do they glorify or thank Him,
but vain were they made in their
reasonings,
and darkened is their unintelligent heart.
22 Alleging themselves to be wise, they
are made stupid,
1Cor.1:19,20 For it is written, I
shall be destroying the wisdom of the wise,
and the understanding of the intelligent shall I be repudiating.
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the discusser of this eon?
Does not God
make stupid the wisdom of this world?
1Cor.3:19,20 for the wisdom of this
world is stupidity with God.
For it is written, "He is clutching the
wise in their craftiness."
20 And again, The Lord knows the
reasonings of the wise, that they are vain.
Lk.6:26 Woe to you
whenever all men may be saying fine things of you,
for according to the same manner did their
fathers to the false prophets!
Jas.4:4,5 …Are you not aware
that the friendship of this world is enmity
with God?
Whosoever, then should intend to be a friend of
the world
is constituted an enemy of God.
God declares that He operates
all in accord with the counsel of His will. Each and
every objective of His will be attained and each and every
promise will be fulfilled. As such, there is no tentativeness in His
choice of Israel as His people.
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.41:8-10 Now you, Israel, My servant;
Jacob, whom I have chosen;
the seed of Abraham, My love, whom I
encourage;
9 from the ends of the land, and from
beside it I called you.
And I am saying to you,
`My servant are you. I choose you, and I
do not reject you.
10 You must not fear, for I am with you,
and you must not take heed for yourself, for
I am your Elohim.
I make you resolute; indeed, I help you.
Indeed, I uphold you with the right hand
of My righteousness.'
Heb.6:17-20 … God, intending more
superabundantly to exhibit
to the enjoyers of the allotment of the promise the
immutability of His counsel,
interposes with an oath, 18 that by two immutable matters,
in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong
consolation,
who are fleeing for refuge to lay hold of the
expectation lying before us,
19 which we have as an anchor of the soul, both
secure and confirmed,
and entering into the interior beyond the
curtain,
20 where the Forerunner,
Jesus, entered for our sakes,
becoming Chief Priest according to the order of
Melchizedek for the eon.
30. For even
as you once were stubborn toward God,
yet now were shown mercy at their stubbornness,
Mercy can be shown only to those who are in need
of it. So God plays Israel and the nations against one another that each in
turn may taste of His mercy.
Concordant
Commentary
As a consequence of Adam’s
disobedience death was passed through into all mankind and, because
of this dying condition, all sinned. All have been
constituted sinners, locked under sin, locked up in
stubbornness, estranged from and at enmity with God. However,
there is a transcendent reason for this; not one is to be left consigned to
this condemnation – but that is not the subject of this verse.
Rom.5:12 …through one man sin
entered into the world, and through sin death,
and thus death passed through into all
mankind, on which all sinned --
Rom.5:19 … through the disobedience of the
one man,
the many were constituted
sinners,…
Rom.11:32 For God locks
up all together in stubbornness,…
Gal.3:22 But the scripture locks up
all together under sin,…
But God, demonstrating His
mercy on totally undeserving stubborn sinners, chose the progeny of
Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob, to be His chosen people, drawing them
close in a special covenant at Sinai, entrusting them with ‘the oracles of
God’. Herein, they were given a detailed Temple worship system through
which they could approach God. No other nation has had such a privilege.
While God was showing His preference for Israel, the
rest of the nations were still locked under sin and stubbornness. When the
time came, in accord with His predetermined schedule, however, God at last
revealed the secret that He had kept concealed, unrevealed, from the eons.
Col.1:26,27 the secret which
has been concealed from the eons and from the generations,
yet now was made manifest to His
saints,
27 to whom God wills to make known
what are the glorious riches of this secret
among the nations,
which is: Christ among you, the expectation
of glory--
To put this into effect, however, it was necessary for
Israel to be put aside until this operation among the nations is complete.
Those of the nations who
are now receiving God’s mercy through this grace of faith have been
released from their confinement in stubbornness. But they must always keep
in mind that God put Israel aside so that they could be freed
to have this relationship with Him through Christ.
Eph.2:1-3 And you, being dead to your
offenses and sins,
2 in which 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),
Eph.2:12,13 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.
13 Yet now, in Christ Jesus,
you, who once are far off, are become near by
the blood of Christ.
Eph.2:19-21 Consequently, then, no longer are
you guests and sojourners,
but are fellow-citizens of the saints and
belong to God's family,
20 being built on the foundation of the
apostles and prophets,
the capstone of the corner being Christ Jesus
Himself,
21 in Whom the entire building, being
connected together,
is growing into a holy temple in the Lord:
31. thus these
also are now stubborn to this mercy
of yours,
that now they also may be shown mercy.
The people of Israel now
find themselves placed in a similar situation. For nearly two thousand years they have been set aside,
held in stubbornness, and not given to experience the mercy God is now granting
to those of the nations. The promised blessings of the kingdom have been
held back until the body of Christ is complete. But, just as those of the
body of Christ are now revelling in the mercy of God, Israel will also be
shown mercy.
32. For God
locks up all together in stubbornness,
that He should be merciful to all.
God's purpose includes all nations. No matter
what their present attitude toward Him, it is all a part of His plan and a
preparation for the display of His mercy. Here we have the real reason why
all, in turn, become stubborn. God Himself locks them up to it, not that He
may condemn them, but that He may have occasion to manifest His mercy. Concordant Commentary
God has arranged it so
that, as a result of Adam’s disobedience, the penalty, death, passed
through into all mankind. And, because of being dying creatures, all
mankind sinned. All are, therefore, constituted sinners; locked
up under sin, locked up under stubbornness.
Rom.5:12 …through one man sin entered into the
world, and through sin death,
and thus death passed through into all
mankind, on which all sinned--
Rom.5:19 …through the disobedience of the
one man,
the many were constituted
sinners,…
Gal.3:22 But the scripture locks up all
together under sin,…
Rom.3:9-11 …we previously charge both Jews and
Greeks to be all under sin,
10 according as it is
written, that "Not one is just"--not even one.
11 Not one is understanding. Not
one is seeking out God.
The obstacle in men’s path
is insurmountable - there is absolutely nothing men
can do to remedy the situation they find themselves in and to remove the
consequences of Adam’s disobedience – not by their own efforts, no matter
how sincere; not even by works of law prescribed for Israel’s observance
under the covenant of Sinai, no matter how strict and meticulous that
observance.
Rom.3:20 … by works of law, no flesh at
all shall be justified in His sight….
Gal.2:16 …seeing that by works of law
shall no flesh at all be justified.
Gal.3:21 For if a law were given that
is able to vivify,
really, righteousness were out of law.
Heb.7:19 for the law perfects
nothing,…
It all depends on the grace
of God to dispense mercy on whomever He will – none deserve it. But He is
love, and He is just. He planned the solution even before He initiated the
operation.
Rom.3:21-23 Yet now, apart from law, a
righteousness of God is manifest
(being attested by the law and the
prophets),
22 yet a righteousness of God through
Jesus Christ's faith,
for all, and on all who are
believing,
for there is no distinction, 23 for all sinned and are wanting
of the glory of God.
Gal.3:22 But the scripture locks up all
together under sin,
that the promise out of Jesus Christ's faith
may be given to those who are
believing.
Rom.8:3 …what was impossible to
the law,
in which it was infirm through the flesh,
did God,
sending His own Son in the likeness of sin's
flesh and concerning sin,
He condemns sin in the flesh,
Gal.2:16 …a man is not being justified
by works of law,
except alone through the faith of Christ
Jesus,
we also believe in Christ Jesus
that we may be justified by the faith of Christ
and not by works of law,
seeing that by works of law shall no
flesh at all be justified.
1Tim.2:4-6 …our Saviour, God,
4 Who wills that all mankind
be saved and come into a realization of the truth.
5 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),
As this section of Scripture under study is so
important for an understanding of God’ operations, it will benefit us to
look at it again in summary.
Because it was on schedule in
God's plan for those of the nations to be called, Israel had to be made an
enemy of the evangel. But, she is still the chosen, the offspring of
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. God even identifies Himself as the
God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.
God does not go back on His calling and on His
benevolence. Just as we of the nations were once stubborn and obstinate,
and have now been shown mercy while Israel has been made stubborn, they
have been made stubborn so that they, too, may be shown mercy!
Everything here is God's doing. HE locks up all
together in stubbornness, (no one is exempted) so that all may
be shown mercy (with no one exempted, either)! He knows exactly how
He has made His creatures - with all their inherent weaknesses and
tendencies and innate pride. He wisely locks up all so that we will
not get fixed on the erroneous idea that we have something to contribute
towards His achievement and live on with such a false notion. The
truth on which all else is based is that God IS GOD!
33. O, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the
knowledge of God!
How inscrutable are His
judgments, and untraceable His ways!
God's judgments and ways are too deep for human
perception, but we can grasp His purpose. We do not know how fruit is made,
but we can plant a tree and enjoy its product. We can grasp God's goal, but
the process by which He attains it is too complex for our feeble minds. Concordant Commentary
God's wisdom and knowledge are unfathomable, and Paul
is filled with wonder and awe just to think about these. He cannot help but break out into paeans
of praise in acknowledging the supremacy and the wisdom of God in this
operation for the salvation of all mankind.
Job.9:10 Who is doing great
wonders until there can be no fathoming,
And marvelous works until there can be no
numbering.
Job.11:7-9 Can you find out the
fathoming of Eloah?
Could you find out the perfection of Him Who-Suffices?
8 These are loftier than the heavens; what
can you contrive?
Deeper than the unseen; what can you
know?
9 Its measure is longer than the earth and wider
than the sea.
Job.26:14 Behold, these are but the fringes of His ways,
And what a little buzz of a word is heard of
Him!
Yet the thunder of His masterful deeds,
who shall understand it?
Until He
reveals His secrets none can even begin to suspect what God
is working towards, and why, and also how and when He
will carry out His purpose. We can never hope to anticipate His will
except and unless He reveals what is relevant to us. But there is so much
more that our finite minds simply CANNOT grasp!
Isa.55:9 For as the heavens are loftier than
the earth,
so are My ways loftier than your ways, and My
devices than your devices.
34. For, who knew the mind of the Lord? or, who became His adviser?
Who in
creation could have designed such a just and satisfying solution? And yet,
in our prayers to God, we have the audacious tendency to ‘suggest’
solutions to situations and to advise Him on what we ‘know’ as more
effective alternatives.
Jer.23:18 For who has stood in the counsel of Yahweh,
And sees and hears His word? Who
has regarded My word, and hearkens?
1Cor.2:16 For who knew the mind of the Lord?
Who will be deducing from Him?…
Mt.11:25,26 … Jesus said,
"I am acclaiming Thee, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth,
for Thou hidest these things from the
wise and intelligent
and Thou dost reveal them to minors.
26 Yea, Father, seeing that thus it
became a delight in front of Thee.
1Cor.1:19-21 For it is written, I
shall be destroying the wisdom of the wise,
and the understanding of the intelligent
shall I be repudiating.
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the discusser of this eon?
Does not God make stupid the wisdom of this
world?
21 For since, in fact, in the wisdom of
God,
the world through wisdom knew not God,
God delights, through the stupidity of the
heralding,
to save those who are believing,
Without
ascertaining God’s will on a matter, we decide on a course of action and we
ask and expect God to support our intention and make things work out
accordingly. We initiate some project - and God is supposed to do the
groundwork to ensure success as well as the mopping-up after the mess we
make and the people we hurt? And we dare to call this faith! Who is the
‘god’ in this – who moves whom?
Jas.4:13-16 Come now, you who are
saying,
"Today or tomorrow we will be going into
this or that city and
should be spending a year there, and we will be
trafficking and getting gain"--
14 who are not versed in that which is the
morrow's, for what is your life?
For a vapor are
you, which is appearing briefly and thereupon disappearing--
15 instead of your saying,
"If the Lord should ever be willing,
and we shall be living,
we also shall be doing this or that."
16 Yet now you are vaunting in your
ostentations. All such boasting is wicked.
Jas.4:3 You are requesting and not
obtaining,
because you are requesting evilly,
that you should be spending it on your
gratifications.
1Jn.5:14,15 And this is the boldness which we
have toward Him, that
if we should be requesting anything according
to His will, He is hearing us.
15 And if ever we are aware that He is
hearing us,
whatever we may be requesting,
we are aware that we have the requests which we have requested
from Him.
35. or, who gives to Him first, and it
will be repaid him?
God operates all
according to the counsel of His will. He initiates, sustains, and brings to
fruition all that occurs.
Isa.40:13,14 Who regulates the spirit of Yahweh,
and which man is informing Him of His counsel?
14 Whom does He consult?
And who is explaining things to Him, and
is teaching Him, in judgment's path?
And who is teaching Him knowledge,
and the way of understanding is informing Him?
Or, who has
given to Him first and will be repaid by Him?
Job.41:11 Who can confront Me and would fare
well?
Whatever is under the entire
heavens, it is Mine.
Eph.2:10 For His achievement
are we, being created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God makes
ready beforehand,
that we should be walking in them.
36. seeing that out of Him and through Him and for
Him is all:
to Him be the glory for the eons! Amen!
This is the most comprehensive statement which
can be uttered. God is the source of all, the channel of all, and the
object of all. The universe sprang out of Him, it has its course in Him and
He will be its ultimate. This settles all speculation as to the origin of
all things. Creation is out of God, not out of nothing. This explains
universal history. God is the One back of all the movements of mankind.
This reveals the goal of all things. God is so guiding all His creatures
that, eventually, He will become their All. To Him, indeed, be glory for
the eons! Concordant
Commentary
It is good to remind
ourselves that God is working out His plan according to the counsel of His
Own will, needing not even a hint
of advice from anyone. He owes no one anything! HE is the
Source of ALL - for All is out of God!
2Cor.5:18 Yet all is of God,…
1Cor.8:6 … there is one God, the Father, out
of Whom all is, and we for Him,…
Most will agree that God is
the source of good. But, almost no one will accept that He is also
the source of evil. Men, in line with the wisdom of the world, are
afraid to face this fact and even try to shield God from such a ‘heresy’.
But this is precisely what God claims and insists on throughout
Scripture and explicitly in this one:
Isa.45:7 Former of light and Creator of
darkness,
Maker of good and Creator of evil.
I, Yahweh
Elohim,
made all of these things.
KJV I form the light, and create
darkness: I make peace, and create evil
ASV I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create
evil.
Men are not averse to adjusting the word of God to
bolster their vaunted theology that God cannot be associated
with evil! So, though this is what the Hebrew has, and strict translations
agree with it, there are versions which prefer:
NIV
I form the light and
create darkness, I bring prosperity
and create disaster;
RSV
I form light and
create darkness, I make weal
and create woe,
CEV I create light and darkness, happiness
and sorrow.
NETBible I am the one who forms light and creates darkness;
the
one who brings about peace and creates calamity.
Scripture declares the
truth in other passages as well. Do we believe God – or are we to accept
renderings of passages that accord with the doctrines of men? Or are we, in
reality, worshipping some ‘god’ other than the One revealed in
Scripture?
Job.2:10 Yet he said to her,
As some decadent woman speaks are you
speaking.
Indeed should we receive good from the One,
Elohim,
and should
we not receive evil?
In all this, Job did not sin with his lips.
Lam.3:38 Do not both the evil
and the good come forth
from the mouth of the Supreme?
1Cor.8:6,7 …for us there is one
God, the Father, out of Whom all is,…
There is only ONE God. And
if we truly believe this fact, there can be no place for
Dualism where One Being, God, is the source of good and another
being, Satan the Adversary and Deceiver, the source of evil.
Mt.15:8,9 This people with their lips is honoring
Me,
Yet their heart is away at a distance
from Me.
9 Yet in vain are they revering Me,
teaching for teachings the directions of men.
Enmity is an evil. Popular
theology features the existence of good and evil in an eternal,
never-ending struggle, the 'two sides
of a coin' of occidental thought and the 'ying and yang' of oriental philosophy. This teaching is
‘popular’ as it accords with the wisdom of the world. It teaches that
though God, Who, from His very heart actually 'desires' to save all, Satan quite easily thwarts His kind
intention and draws away with him most of humanity into a hell of
punishment and torment for all
eternity. This estrangement from God, this enmity with God, is made
eternal. What kind of an impotent ‘god’ do such teachers believe in? How
almighty is this ‘god’ they serve – whose plans go awry and whose creation
runs amok? How loving this ‘god’ who can foresee the future, and the
devastating failure ahead, as well as the unending sufferings of those in
that failure, and yet goes ahead to bring it about?
This concept the
Scriptures vehemently deny! The very last enemy that will be is Death; no, not Satan
the Adversary, but death! This means that Satan will NOT be an enemy by that time!
Do we, who call ourselves
believers of God, do we really believe God's declaration, that this LAST
enemy, death, will be abolished (1Cor.15:22-28)! Sin and Death were
introduced into creation by God for a purpose, to play an important part in
His plan. When that plan is fulfilled, when its objectives are attained,
they become redundant and will be removed from the scene. This is GOOD NEWS! This is an essential part
of the evangel of our salvation!
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Index of Articles - Romans
Dec 2008
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