God's Overruling Purpose

Romans 11:11–15 NKJV

11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! 13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

Paul’s question here follows from the question in verse one, Has God cast away His people Israel?

His response that same response we have seen many time in this letter “me genoito” certianty not! not so! impossible!

God has not cast away His people because there is a remnant

And Israel has not stumbled that they should be without hope, or without redemption, because God has an overruling purpose for both Israel and the world.

Two things will be helpful in our unpacking of Romans 11.

1. Paul is generalising when he is speaking of Israel and the Gentiles.

We’ve already seen this in his argument in the first part of this chapter. God has not cast away His people because Paul is and Israelite and there is a remnant. Yet in Rom 10:1 Paul’s prayer for Israel is that they might be saved. So Paul is clearly speaking in generalisations because there is a remnant that are saved Yet on the whole the majority of Israel are not saved. Just as when he says in vs 11 that salvation has come to the Gentiles not all Gentiles are saved but only those who have been called. But there was at that time and still is today a much larger representation of Gentiles in the Church than Jews.

This is an important distinction to make in our interpretation particularly as we progress through Romans 11.

The second thing that will help us in our understanding of the passage is a recognition that God sovereignly brings about His perfect will even through the sin of mankind. This is a difficult thing for us to comprehend. That a righteous God can bring His purpose to fruition not just in spite of but through our failures.

Consider the first time in the Bible that God did this. Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden and brought sin into the world. It would be easy to assume that at this point God’s creation failed. But God’s plan and purpose for us was so much more than what Adam and Eve had in the Garden.

Romans 5:15 NKJV

15 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

How about the story of Joseph. His brothers hated him. They purposed in the heart to kill him. In the end they determined to sell him to slave traders.

Joseph survived and God brought him to a position of great power, second only to Pharaoh. He develops a system to be able to survive the famine and saved perhaps millions of lives. God had a purpose for Joseph because he also saved the lives of all Israel who were at the time, his immediate family.

Then in his old age his brother came to beg for forgiveness from him and Joseph said

Genesis 50:20 NKJV

20 But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Another, and perhaps the most obvious example is the death of Christ on the cross. It was evil for Judas to betray Christ. It was sin for them to arrest Him and try Him. It was sin when they spat on Him, it was evil when they struck Him, and beat Him. When they nailed Him to the cross and killed Him it was pure wickedness. Yet it was God’s perfect plan of redemption for all mankind.

In the prayer in

Acts 4:24–28 NKJV

24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, And the people plot vain things? 26 The kings of the earth took their stand, And the rulers were gathered together Against the Lord and against His Christ.’ 27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.

It is helpful for us to understand that God’s overruling sovereignty brings about His perfect plan not just in spite of but he purposes that in and through the sin of mankind. This understanding will help us to interpret these verses Because we see that...

Israel’s Fall is Riches to the Gentiles

Israel rejected their Messiah. This “fall”, or unbelief as we see it later, is what brought the riches of the gospel to the Gentiles.

Matthew 22:1–14 NKJV

1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Because Israel did not come to the wedding feast the invitation was extended to the Gentiles. It was always God’s plan to save the nations. However, He purposed that salvation would come to the Gentiles because of the unbelief of the Jews. Their sin of unbelief became our salvation.

However, God’s plan didn’t stop there because...

The Riches to Gentiles is Salvation for Israel

This is the heart of Paul’s argument in answering the question “have they stumbled that they should fall?” .

God still has plans for Israel. namely that through jealousy they would repent and receive their Messiah.

This ties back to 10:19 where Paul quotes from Deu. 32:21

Deuteronomy 32:21 NKJV

21 They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.

Not only did God purpose that through Israel’s unbelief salvation would come to the nations He also purposed that by salvation coming to the nations Israel might be persuaded back through jealousy to repentance.

God’s desires that Jews would see the Gentiles enjoying all the benifits that were promised to them so that they would envy the relationship and closeness that we have with their God and they would come back to Him.

In fact this is the driving force behind Paul’s ministry

Romans 11:13–14 NKJV

13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.

But God’s plan doesn’t stop there. Because.

Romans 11:12 NKJV

12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

Salvation for Israel Is Life From the Dead

Romans 11:15 NKJV

15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

What is Life from the dead mean?

Resurrection?

Salvation?

Colossians 2:13–15 NKJV

13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Restoration of Israel?

Ezekiel 37:1–14 NKJV

1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3 And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6 I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ” 7 So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9 Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ’ ” 10 So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11 Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the Lord.’ ”

Whatever it is that Paul meant, one thing is clear from our passage. God is absolutely sovereign over every detail of His creation. He has a purpose for the Gentiles and He has a purpose for Israel. God has a purpose for all the chaos that we see in the world today. God has a purpose for you.