Verses 25-32 of Chapter 11 prove to be incredibly
contentious. Sadly it appears that once
an interpreter establishes a consensus about these verses, there is a tendency
to read it back into the previous verses through to Chapter 9. The opposite must occur. All that has preceded must rest in harmony
with whatever interpretation is understood by these verses.
So far in the previous chapters there has
been no indication that the eternal promises given to Israel can be
claimed by any, except those who are the elect within the ethnic nation. “This means that it is not the children of
the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are
counted as offspring.” (Romans 9:8, ESV). This is the Israel according to promise. The prophets, according to Romans 9, saw clearly that not all Israel
would be saved. Only those faithful to
their God can claim the promises of God. ". . . Only a remnant of them
will be saved."[1]
In Chapter 10, Paul
clearly teaches that God uses a very tangible way to save men and women:
the Gospel message. But this message
must be accompanied by the influence of His graceful intention and power to
save. To Israel: "the
responsibility of your future is clearly your own." Believe and be saved.
There has been no hint of anything different thus far in
Chapter 11. There is only one people of
God, Jew and Gentile, saved by grace through faith. The ultimate realization of the promises to
the Patriarchs are based upon the faithful lives of God's elect. Now Paul continues describing this somewhat
intriguing relationship between Jew and Gentile.
“Lest
you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery,
brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is
written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from
Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”
As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election,
they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the
calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you were at one time disobedient to
God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have
now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now
receive mercy. For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have
mercy on all.” (Romans
11:25–32, ESV)
Paul introduces us to a "mystery". This is the first time this word is used in
these chapters. It is the Greek word μυστήριον [moos·tay·ree·on]. This is a favorite word of Paul and he uses
it in the sense of God's saving plan, once hidden within the types and shadows
of the Old Covenant, but now made known by revelation in the New Covenant. E.G., “Now to him who is able to strengthen you
according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages” (Romans 16:25, ESV).
It is my opinion that the understanding of the concept of
Paul (the mystery) is key to understanding the rest of his statements.
A key explanation of
this 'mystery' is in Ephesians 3.
Notice: “For this
reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— assuming
that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for
you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written
briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of
Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it
has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This
mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and
partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:1–6, ESV)
Notice this clear statement: “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow
heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus
through the gospel.” (Ephesians 3:6, ESV). That is key! The
'mysterious' plan of God involved, according to Ephesians 2:13–16, to take the Gentiles (those
who were far off and bring them together with those who are "near"
through the "blood of Christ" and make "one body" – The Church. Now this was such a 'mystery' that even
Christ's own Apostles had a difficult time figuring it out, initially. But at the so-called Jerusalem Council is was
affirmed:
“After
they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has
related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his
name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
“ ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has
fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of
mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says
the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’” (Acts 15:13–18, ESV)
When the
question came up as to whether Gentiles could be saved, James reaches back into
the Old Testament, particularly Amos 9:11–12, and affirms that God had a plan
to restore the house of David; and He would do that through the inclusion of
Gentile converts. Dr. Richard
N. Longenecker makes a great contribution to our understanding. He writes:
"James
is saying, God's people will consist of two concentric groups. At their core
will be restored Israel (i.e., David's rebuilt tent); gathered around them will
be a group of Gentiles (i.e., "the remnant of men") who will share in
the messianic blessings but will persist as Gentiles without necessarily
becoming Jewish proselytes."[2]
So again
Paul is saying, "I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery,
brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the
Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved . . .."[3]
Paul's "partial hardening" cannot mean anything different than
he has already taught. He has said that
not all Israel was hardened (Romans 9:6–7).
A remnant according to grace has been kept until the "fullness of
the Gentiles has come in". This is
the mystery. God making a people out of
elect Jews and saved Gentiles. This
people we call The Church. The One
Body. The One Man. "And in this way": (What way?)
uniting elect Jew and elect Gentile in Christ, "all Israel will be
saved."
The
"all Israel" cannot mean anything different than the unification of
Jew and Gentile into One Body through the redeeming, electing mercies of God. Even as Paul had earlier written to the
Galatians:
“Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is
written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—” . . . . “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons
of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put
on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you
are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
(Galatians 3:13, 26–29,
ESV)
This is the
"Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16).
"All Israel" refers to "the salvation of the church of
Jesus Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, throughout history." [4]
To confirm, we need to remember that Paul is answering two
questions: 1) "Has the word of God
failed?" (9:6); and "Has God rejected His people?" (11:1). Paul is answering questions in the present,
saying "no" to both. And in
this case that we are presently expounding Paul is saying that the answer is
found in God's "mystery" – the salvation of elect Jews and Gentiles
into One Body, the True Israel.
"'All Israel' refers to all the elect in every
generation from ethnic Israel. Paul sweeps together the remnant of elect Israelites
in every generation into 'all Israel' in verse 26. Together with the 'fulness
of the Gentiles', 'all Israel' makes up the elect people of God." – Dr.
Samuel Waldron.
_____________________________________________
Previous Blogs on this topic:
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1
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Romans 11:1-6
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2
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Romans 11:7-10
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3
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Romans 11:11
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4
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Romans 11:12
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5
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Romans 11:13-15
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6
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Romans 11:16-18
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7
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Romans 11:19-24
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8
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The Mystery and "All Israel"
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Romans 11:25-26
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9
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[1] The
Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 9:27). Wheaton: Standard
Bible Society.
[2] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis
CD-ROM:Acts/Exposition of Acts/Part II. The Christian Mission to the Gentile
World (12:25-28:31)/Panel 4-The First Missionary Journey and the Jerusalem
Council (12:25-16:5)/E. The Jerusalem Council (15:1-29)/3. The summing up by
James (15:13-21), Book Version: 4.0.2
[3] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2001). (Ro 11:25–26). Wheaton: Standard Bible
Society.
[4] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2177). Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Bibles.
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