Salvation for Gentiles Also
Notes
Transcript
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.
Last week, we looked at the remnant of Israel that God preserved. We find the story in 1 Kings 18, Elijah confronted Ahab and after 3 years of drought.
17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
All of Israel gathered at…Mt. Carmel.
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.
And it rained. The result?
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
It was a troubling time for the prophet Elijah, claiming there were none righteous left but Him. He had seen all the evil around him, prophets killed, altars destroyed, and his reply “Lord, I alone am left , and they seek my life”. But God spoke truth to Elijah, “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
So Paul poses this question, that the Greek literally translated “did they stumble so that they fell?” - did the Jews fall so far out of grace that they could not recover? Of course not! Israel did not fall, only stumbled. It served two purposes - to offer salvation to the Gentiles, and to make Israel jealous.
Gentiles
Gentiles
The callous on a man’s heart does not have to be final. Every man can repent and turn to Christ and be restored to God. This is the message of this passage. The callous on Israel’s heart is not final. There is to be a restoration of Israel. Many in Israel are going to return to God and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
1. Proof 1: God has counteracted Israel’s stumbling over Christ (vv. 11–12).
2. Proof 2: Paul tries to stir the Jews to be saved (vv. 13–15).
3. Proof 3: the forefathers, that is, the patriarchs, passed down a heritage of holiness (v. 16).
11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!
Proof 1 God would restore the nation of Israel - The Gentiles, the whole world, was given an opportunity for salvation. Twice, Paul had already turned from unbelieving Jews.
46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
BUT God has counteracted Israel’s stumbling over Christ.
⇒ Israel has stumbled over Christ (see Deeper Study # 9, 10—Mt. 21:44 for discussion).
44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
⇒ Has Israel stumbled that they should fall?
The contrast between stumble and fall is devastating. The idea is that of a permanent and final fall—spiritually. Is Israel’s problem with Christ permanent and final? Will Israel never accept God’s Son, Jesus Christ, as the true Messiah? Is the spiritual fall of Israel to be forever?
Paul’s response is forceful: God forbid! Perish the thought! Let it never be! Such a thing is impossible in God’s plan for the world. God has overruled Israel’s stumble over Christ in three glorious ways.
a. God has opened the door of salvation to the whole world. The Lord’s messengers went to Israel first, but Israel did not want to hear that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God Himself. Very few received the gospel. In fact, so many rejected the message that it can be said that Israel, the nation as a whole, has stumbled over Christ. Israel, the Jews …
• have shut their eyes, lest they should see Christ (v. 8)
• have closed their ears, lest they should hear Christ (v. 8)
• have set themselves to bitterly oppose Christ (1 Th. 2:15–16)
15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!
God had no other choice but to do the logical thing. The glorious message of His love and of His Son was at stake; therefore, God sent His messengers throughout the world (the Gentile world) in search of any person who would receive the message of His Son. God did what the Jews had always failed to do: God threw open the door of salvation to the whole world.
Thought 1. Note two provoking thoughts.
(1) Think how wonderful it would have been if the Jews had accepted Jesus Christ and had become God’s missionary force to carry the message of Christ to the world! Would the world have been reached by now? It has been two thousand years since Christ came to earth, and the world still has not been reached with the gospel. If the Jews had accepted Christ, would the task now be complete? How many more people would have been saved?
(2) Think how wonderful it would be if more of us (the Gentiles) would accept Christ! If we would dedicate our lives more sacrificially to carrying God’s message of salvation to the world, how many more people would be saved and delivered from death?
Thought 2. Note how God “worked all things out for good.” He took Israel’s rejection of His Son and enriched the world. Why? Because God has determined that His Son Jesus Christ shall have many brothers who will worship and serve Him throughout all eternity. Therefore, if a people rejects the message of His Son, God will work it out to send the message to another people. (See Ro. 8:28–29.)
b. God stirs the Jews to be restored. God has not forsaken the Jews. The door of salvation is open to them as well as to the Gentiles. The Jews can look at true Christian believers and see the holiness, love, joy, and peace of their lives; and the Jews can be stirred to receive Christ. In fact, this is the very point of the present passage. God sees to it that some Jews are “provoked,” that is, stirred to receive Christ and the glorious life of salvation which He offers.
c. God assures the glorious restoration of Israel and a rich period for the whole earth. Note the sharp contrast …
• between “fall” and “riches.”
• between “diminishing” and “riches.”
The word diminishing (hettema) means loss, defeat, injury. It means that Israel became impoverished spiritually. Israel was spiritually injured and defeated; the Jewish people lost the blessings of salvation. Now …
• if the spiritual fall of Israel led to the riches of salvation being carried to the world …
• if the spiritual diminishing of Israel led to the riches of salvation being carried to the Gentiles …
… how much more shall the fullness (the restoration of Israel) bring the blessings of God to earth?
Note the word fullness (pleroma), which means completion or that which is filled. The idea is that the day is coming when God’s plan and purpose for Israel will be completed and perfectly fulfilled. That day, the day of Israel’s restoration, will cause an even greater blessing to spread out across the world.
Thought 1. The spread of the gospel has had an enormous impact upon the world.
⇒ It has liberated millions from sin and shame.
⇒ It has saved millions from death and hell.
⇒ It has assured millions of life eternal with God.
⇒ It has liberated women and children from slavery.
⇒ It has proclaimed morality and purity worldwide.
⇒ It has stirred justice and the enactment of just laws among men.
However, when Israel is restored and large numbers of Jews begin to turn to Christ, then the world will experience unprecedented blessings from the hand of God. God promises such blessings to the world.
The point is clear: God has overruled and is going to continue overruling Israel’s stumble and fall over Christ.
⇒ More and more Gentiles are going to be saved. The uttermost part of the earth is going to hear the gospel.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
⇒ More and more Jews are going to be stirred to accept Christ and to be restored to God.
⇒ A glorious restoration of Israel is going to take place. Jews by the thousands are going to turn to Christ someday in the future. So many will turn to Christ that it can be said that the nation Israel has been restored. And when that day comes, the whole earth will be greatly blessed, blessed more fully than ever before.
Paul realizes the Jews “stumbling” was temporary, and that the Gentiles are the source of many coming to Christ. The “full inclusion”, though, suggests a large-scale conversion after the turning back of Israel at the Lord’s return.
13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
14 But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,
and together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites shall obey them.
15 And the Lord will utterly destroy
the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,
and will wave his hand over the River
with his scorching breath,
and strike it into seven channels,
and he will lead people across in sandals.
Paul then turns this attention solely to the Gentiles in Rome, reminding them of his position as an apostle to the Gentiles.
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
Here Saul has been blinded on the road to Damascus, and Ananias has been sent to lay his hands on so that he could regain his sight. Of course Ananias had reservations, Saul had been trying to kill the Christians, but God told of Paul’s special and specific job.
13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
Proof 2 - Paul changes who he is speaking to - directly to the Gentiles. Why? So that the Jews, the ones who rejected Christ would be jealous and could be saved. Paul was convinced that Israel’s stumbling is temporary, he asked, What will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (lit., “out from dead ones”) This question explains the clause, “How much greater riches will their fullness bring” (v. 12). Israel’s “acceptance” of Christ is related to “the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:4–6), the resurrection of life (John 5:29, KJV). The first resurrection includes dead saints at the Rapture (1 Thes. 4:13–18), martyred Great Tribulation saints raised at Christ’s return (Rev. 20:4, 5b), and believing Old Testament saints (Dan. 12:1–2). The second resurrection will include all the wicked dead to be judged at the great white throne judgment (Rev. 20:5a, 12–13). The teaching that there will be one general resurrection of all humanity at one time fails to take these distinctions into account.
Paul’s attempt to stir the Jews to be saved. Paul was God’s primary minister to the Gentiles in the first century. Paul magnified the ministry and gloried in God’s call. He stressed the fact every chance he could. Why? Paul had two purposes.
a. He wanted to arouse the Jews to envy; that is, he wanted to stir them to look at Christ, and to see what Christ had done for the Gentiles. He wanted to stir men to look at the lives of believers and to see the wonderful change Christ had wrought. Thereby, Paul hoped that some Jews would be saved.
b. Paul wanted to hasten the day for Israel’s restoration. He knew there was to be a restoration; therefore, he knew that every time he was able to reach a Jew for Christ, the callous on Israel’s heart would soften a little more. The more he could soften the callous, the sooner the restoration would take place. Note the question of Paul:
“If the casting away [that is, the rejection] of Israel led to the reconciliation of the world [to God], what shall the receiving [the restoration] of them be, but life from the dead?”
1) The reconciliation of the world has a twofold meaning. It means …
• that all men, both Jew and Gentile, can now be reconciled to God. All men can now have peace with God and possess the peace of God
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
• that all men, both Jew and Gentile, can now be reconciled to each other
2) Paul believed strongly in the restoration of Israel. The very fact that he asked the question indicates his belief. He firmly expected Israel to be restored, and he expected their restoration to bring such a great revival to earth that it would be like the world moving to “life from the dead.”
3) The phrase “life from the dead” is interpreted several ways.
⇒ Some say it refers to the resurrection of the dead, to the climax of human history when Jesus Christ shall return to deliver the whole creation from corruption and to rule and reign over the world (see Ro. 8:21). This, of course, would mean that believers are not resurrected until the restoration of the Jews to God.
⇒ Others say it is merely figurative language. When the Jews are restored, it will be like a resurrection, like gaining life from the dead.
Whatever the interpretation, the restoration of Israel will be a most glorious event, an event so glorious that it will be like a true resurrection. It will lead to a new world, a world of righteousness that will benefit all involved. The scene is that the most glorious blessings will be poured out upon the whole world and everyone in it.
16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
Proof 3 - Israel’s forefathers, that is, the patriarchs, passed down a heritage of holiness. This is an extremely important verse in dealing with the restoration of Israel. God gives two pictures to show that Israel can never be totally or finally rejected. Both pictures have to do with the firstfruits.
⇒ The Jew always dedicated the first fruit of his harvest to God. He gave the first part to God and by giving the first part, the man was saying to God that he was dedicating all of his food to God. It was not necessary to offer every mouthful to God. The offering of the first part sanctified the whole.
⇒ The second picture is that of a little tree being planted and the sapling being offered to God. Every branch thereafter was looked upon as being sacred to God. It was not necessary to dedicate each branch separately.
What Paul is saying is that the root, the first part, refers to the patriarchs, that is, the fathers of Israel. Israel, by merit of its patriarchs, its fathers, holds a very special place in God’s heart. The whole nation benefits from the dedicated lives of Abraham and the other godly fathers. The whole nation (masses of them) will be restored and saved, brought back to God because of the godliness of the forefathers and because of God’s promise to the forefathers (see v. 25).
Note this: to call Israel a holy nation does not mean that the Jewish people live holy lives in the sight of God. Scripture is not talking about practical, day-to-day holiness. There have been few Jews—just as there have always been few Gentiles—who have lived holy lives. But Israel was initially chosen by God to be His witness upon earth: chosen to be His federal nation or His representative nation to bear testimony for Him. The first fathers of the nation believed God and lived lives of faith, and a few Jews have continued to serve God down through the generations of every century. God very clearly says that because of the holiness of these few, He cares for the nation as a whole—for the whole lump. What this means is this: because of the holy lives of the few, God looks with favor upon the nation. It does not mean that He saves everyone in the nation, but rather, He blesses the nation (all those who live around the followers of God). Those who live holy lives bring godly blessings upon all who surround them and who succeed from them. Many of Israel will be blessed by God and restored because of the nation’s godly patriarchs.
Thought 1. Note the influence of godly parents, forefathers, and nations upon children and succeeding generations. It is important for every parent and generation to live godly lives.
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
15 They despised his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and the warnings that he gave them. They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.
Thought 2. Note the influence of godly men upon nations.
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.
However, we must always remember that the people of a nation can be restored to God only through repentance, only by turning from sin back to God.
40 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.