And now I continue with my naked comments on Romans 11:26-32. note again that I have yet to include the alterations I might make due to the reading and consideration of greater minds than my own. Romans 11:
26 And in this way all Israel will be saved,
The “way” in which “Israel” will be saved is no simple matter. In my humble opinion, when Paul eventually says, “in this way all Israel will be saved.” he is pointing back to the inclusion of the gentiles (which was a mystery to the Jews in the first century) and the jealousy that resulted from that inclusion as the means of salvation for Israel, so as a result of the inclusion of the gentiles, all Israel will be saved. After all, we must concede that He was a Jewish Messiah, contextually foretold in a Jewish religion and resting on promises made immediately to a Jewish people (though the promises were never intended exclusively for the exclusive benefit of the physically Jewish). The New Covenant is clear that all nations are actually included in the distribution of the covenant promise that, if the individual receives the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, then he is made near to those promises. We must all realize that we gentiles are being grafted into a Jewish tree that (at the time of Christ’s resurrection) had been 2000 years in the making, and now has been 4000 years in the making; by the circumcision of the heart we too are made the spiritual children of Abraham (Gal. 3:29), and it is to the spiritual children of Abraham that the “real” promises of land, rest, and priesthood (to which the temporal land, temporal rest and temporal priesthood point) are given. But it doesn’t seem to make sense for Paul to argue that, the Jews were pruned from the tree so the gentiles could be grafted in so as to make the Jews jealous and soon believe and be grafted back in, thus “in this way” all of the elect (Jews and gentiles) will be saved) because this age doesn’t have an exclusively gentile Church; both Jews and gentiles are included. So in that sense, not all of Paul’s brothers in the flesh had been pruned. There were other believing Jews besides Paul. So when he says, “that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh” he is speaking only of the unbelieving Jews in his day. Perhaps this is a more feasible argument; the exclusively physical Jews were pruned so the elect/physically gentile people could be grafted into a tree previously inhabited only by spiritual/physical Jews and they too will be made spiritually Jewish, so as to make the exclusively physical Jews jealous and eventually making them spiritually/physically Jewish thus, all Israel will be saved.
I believe, given this section of scripture alone, it is impossible to say for sure that the “all” refers to all the physical Jews that exist in a particular time in the future, who by the gracious electing power of God will be grafted back into the tree. I also believe, given this section of scripture alone, it is impossible to say for sure that the “all” refers to the entire group of physical/spiritual Jews throughout time (the remnant) though this is the view I am leaning toward as of now. The other possibility is that the “in this way” of verse 26a refers to the contents of verses 26b-27. The text here seems to separate the remnant from the future group of exclusively physical Jews that will eventually believe and be grafted back in; they are separated (as all unbelieving Jews who eventually believe) from the remnant for a time, until they believe by God’s grace.
…as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; 27 "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
In verses 26b-27, Paul appeals to an Old Testament prophesy that Christ will come from the Jewish nation and eventually rid the people of Jacob of all sin. Paul refers here to Isaiah 59:20-21a, and also to 27:6-9, but the citation is an echo of the original passage in his own words. It appears that “banishing ungodliness from Jacob” and “taking away their sins” are parallel. And this is the promise of the covenant spoken of here, that God will take away their sins. Here is the passage from Isaiah 59:
20 "And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression," declares the LORD. 21 "And as for me, this is my covenant with them," says the LORD: "My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring," says the LORD, "from this time forth and forevermore."
Isaiah 27:6 In days to come Jacob shall take root, Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit. 7 Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them? Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain? 8 Measure by measure, by exile you contended with them; he removed them with his fierce breath in the day of the east wind. 9 Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.
What is striking is that Paul cites the Isaiah passages to say that the Deliverer comes from Zion and will banish ungodliness from Jacob. In the context of Isaiah 59, the Redeemer comes to Zion and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression. The Lord declared to Isaiah, at that time He will place His word in their mouths and in the mouths of the children and their children’s children…and His word will never go out of their mouths, indicating that this will be the final salvation of the people; in fact it is their glorification, having been rid of sin. Paul cited this passage right after he warned the saved gentiles that they should not boost because, though God has hardened Israel for a time, He will again be their God and they will be His people, for He will banish ungodliness from Jacob and take away their sins. This is the first time in three chapters that Paul has referred to his brethren in the flesh as “Jacob”; the first time Jacob was mentioned he represented a believer and Esau represented an unbeliever. Both were the physical children of Abraham but clearly only Jacob was one of his spiritual offspring. Paul quotes the Isaiah passage which has Jacob as the representative patriarch of Israel, and in the passage we are told that the Redeemer comes “to those in Jacob who turn from their transgression”, indicating that some of those “in Jacob” will not. So if Paul understands Isaiah to mean that, the Deliverer comes from Zion and will banish sins from Jacob, then so must we. We can assume that his interpretation does not replace the historical/grammatical interpretation of Isaiah’s own prophecy, but that it builds upon it. The Zionic Deliverer/Redeemer comes to Zion; He will banish their transgressions and ungodliness, and they will necessarily “turn from transgression”. As in 27:6-9, a purging has occurred in Israel/Jacob across the boundaries of time, so too was it pictured in the Assyrian exile; a purging took place there where only a remnant was left alive after the judgment, so too after the judgment God has rendered by way of hardening, the remnant will remain and therefore ungodliness will have been banished from Jacob and “in that way all Israel will be saved.”
28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.
I think the first thing the reader should notice in this passage is that Paul makes what seems like an odd distinction between the gospel and election. This is not what we think of as a proper distinction between finely nuanced theological terms, but rather, it is one between the eternal institution of the recipients of the work of the atonement and its application to them in time. The Jews in mind had been elected to receive God’s redemptive grace, but had not yet received its temporal application. This passage brings back into mind the statements previously made that seemed to indicate a distinction between the remnant of Jews that believed when Paul was writing his letter (a group in which all the Jewish Apostles would have been included) who weren’t pruned so the gentiles could be grafted in, with those Jews (the exclusively physical variety) who were pruned in their unbelief. This passage appears to be applicable to anyone in general, who would in due course believe, and specifically the Jews who were pruned but who would eventually be grafted in. They, once being children of wrath, the enemies of God as regards the gospel, would eventually be counted as His friends because of election. So we develop the term “remnant” to mean all those believing Israelites in a particular generation, and the sum of that group over time. So in our minds, the unbelieving Israelites in our present day are not among the remnant that God is preserving in every generation (as regards the gospel), but some of them in our day must certainly be saved at a future time (according to election). So, from the perspective of eternity they are a part of the remnant eternally, based on His electing grace and incomprehensible knowledge and ordination of future events (including the future faith of men).
Just like Jacob, regarding the wickedness of his actions (as far as what was recorded for all in history) Israel in some sense is elect. As a whole, the nation was in Paul’s day was the enemy of God, and it yet still is, for the sake of the gentile nations being brought into the Kingdom. Though they are His enemies for the time being (and they will remain so until the times of the gentiles comes to an end) for the sake of their forefathers (likely meaning the promises God had made to them) they will not ultimately remain God’s enemies because God has promised that they wouldn’t. God has both Jew and gentile born in sin, under the curse of God until He has regenerated them and made them His friends, thus the pertinence of the illustration that we (believing gentiles) were once God’s enemies (even though God knew in the future that He would most certainly count us righteous on account of the blood of Christ) in that meantime He looked upon us with wrath because we had yet to have the blood of Christ applied; so too it is with Jacob.
I refuse to say that my next post will be the last on Romans 11, but we will have to wait and see.
No comments:
Post a Comment