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INDEX
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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries, Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament |
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Summary of
Romans
9-11 |
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Romans 9 |
Romans 10 |
Romans 11 |
Past
Election |
Present
Rejection |
Future
Reception |
God's Sovereignty
Israel's Election by God |
Man's responsibility
Israel's Rejection of God |
God's Ways Higher
God Not Rejecting Israel |
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11:12
Now
if their
transgression
is
riches for the
world and their
failure is
riches for the
Gentiles,
how
much
more will their
fulfillment be! |
Greek:
ei
de
to
paraptoma
auton
ploutos
kosmou
kai
to
ettema
auton
ploutos
ethnon,
poso
mallon
to
pleroma
auton.
Amplified: Now if their stumbling (their lapse, their
transgression) has so enriched the world [at large], and if [Israel's]
failure means such riches for the Gentiles, think what an enrichment
and greater advantage will follow their full reinstatement!
ESV: 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[1] mean!
ICB: The Jews' mistake brought rich blessings for the world.
And what the Jews lost brought rich blessings for the non-Jewish
people. So surely the world will get much richer blessings when enough
Jews become the kind of people God wants.
NIV: But if their transgression means riches for the world, and
their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will
their fullness bring!
NKJV: Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their
failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
NLT: Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the Jews turned
down God's offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the
world will share when the Jews finally accept it.
Phillips: For if their failure has so enriched the world, and
their defection proved such a benefit to the Gentiles, think what
tremendous advantage their fulfilling of God's plan could mean.
Wuest: But since their fall is the enrichment of the world, and
their defeat and loss the enrichment of the Gentiles, how much more
their fulness?
Young's Literal: and if the fall of them is the riches of a
world, and the diminution of them the riches of nations, how much more
the fulness of them? |
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NOW IF THEIR TRANSGRESSION BE RICHES FOR THE WORLD
AND THEIR FAILURE IS RICHES FOR THE GENTILES: ei de to paraptoma auton ploutos kosmou
kai to etthema auton
ploutos ethnon: (15,33;
9:23;
Ephesians 3:8;
Colossians 1:27)
(25;
Isaiah 11:11-16;
12:1-6;
60:1-22;
66:8-20;
Micah 4:1,2;
5:7;
Zechariah 2:11;
Zechariah 8:20-23;
Revelation 11:15-19)
Now if their stumbling (their lapse,
their transgression) has so enriched the world [at large], and if
[Israel's] failure means such riches for the Gentiles, think what an
enrichment and greater advantage will follow their full reinstatement!
(Amplified)
Transgressions (3900)
(paraptoma from parapipto = fall aside, apostatize) is a
"false step" and describes a deviation from living according to what has
been revealed as the right way to live.
Riches (4149)
(ploutos from pletho = fill) can describe wealth, money,
possessions, or abundance. Here Paul is obviously not speaking of
worldly riches but of spiritual riches.
Failure (2275)
(hettema from hettáomai = be overcome) describes a
deterioration and objectively as used in this verse pictures a failure
or a loss.
God has used even the great transgression of
Israel in rejecting her Messiah to accomplish His ultimate purpose of
bringing spiritual riches to the world, that is, the Gentiles, just as
He had declared to Abraham when He first called Israel to Himself: “In
you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Ge 12:3). Although
Israel failed to witness to the world in righteousness, God caused her
to witness to the world, as it were, in unrighteousness. Because the
Lord could not use Israel’s faithfulness to bring riches to the
Gentiles, He instead used her failure.
HOW MUCH MORE WILL THEIR FULFILLMENT BE
(pleroma in v25 also =
fullness): poso mallon to pleroma auton:
Fulfillment (4138)
(pleroma from
pleroo = make full, fill, fill up) describes fullness, a
full measure, an abundance or a completion. Pleroma is that which
has been filled and thus refers to that which is complete, the
completeness of Israel referring here to its return to God at the
second Advent of the Messiah when all Israel would be saved (cf Ro
11:26).
But if Israel's rejection of light described above brings "riches", how
much more will Israel’s restoration result in rich blessing for all the
world! When Israel turns to the Lord at the close of the Great
Tribulation, she will become the channel of blessing to the nations.
Think of it—the Lord Jesus, personally reigning on the throne of David
in Jerusalem, the nation Israel saved, Satan bound, and universal
righteousness, peace, and prosperity for one thousand years, “that the
residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles”
(Ac15:17).
"Much more" when used in a comparison regarding
quantity, denotes a greater abundance (as here). Otherwise
(Ro 5:9,10,15,17) it denotes a greater certainty. What is Israel's
"fulfillment" associated with? Messiah's return and the His
establishment of the
Millennial
kingdom. This is why it is "much more"! Not only that but many think that the
144,000 Jews in Revelation 7 will be evangelists and the great reaping of
souls from Gentiles is a result of their strong witness (although
Scripture never directly identifies the 144,000 as "witnesses" it seems
very plausible).
Earlier in the letter Paul had used another extreme contrast to portray
the greatness of God’s love and grace:
“God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much
more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been
reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom. 5:8–10).
If a dead
Savior could redeem us, how much more can a living Savior sustain us.
By the same logic, if a faithless Israel could bring salvation to the
Gentiles, how much greater blessing will her faithfulness bring. The
Lord promises that when Israel one day receives the Messiah she
rejected, He
“will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will
look on Me whom they have pierced” (Zech 12:10).
“In that day a
fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity” (Zech 13:1).
Following that,
“the
Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the
only one, and His name the only one. . . . And there will be no more
curse, . . . Then it will come about that any who are left of all the
nations . . . will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord
of hosts” (Zech 14:9, 11, 16).
Although the Jews had stumbled, it was not that they should irrevocably
fall (Ro 11:27, 29); for this was the way in which God had appointed
salvation to come to the Gentiles. Even in this, however, God had their
restoration in view; for the kindness shown to the Gentiles would be the
means of provoking their jealousy, and great as were the benefits which
accrued to the world from their fall, those of their restoration would
be still greater.
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11:13 But
I am
speaking to you who are
Gentiles.
Inasmuch
*
then as I
am an
apostle of
Gentiles, I
magnify my
ministry, |
Greek:
humin
de
lego (1SPAI)
tois
ethnesin.
eph'
hoson
men
oun
eimi (1SPAI)
ego
ethnon
apostolos,
thn
diakonian
mou doxazo (1SPAI)
Amplified: But now I am speaking to you who are Gentiles.
Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I lay great stress
on my ministry and magnify my office,
ESV: Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am
an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry
ICB: Now I am speaking to you who are not Jews. I am an apostle
to the non-Jews. So while I have that work, I will do the best I can.
NIV: I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the
apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry
NKJV: For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle
to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
NLT: I am saying all of this especially for you Gentiles. God
has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I lay great stress on
this,
Phillips: Now a word to you who are Gentiles. I should like you
to know that I make as much as I can of my ministry as "God's
messenger to the Gentiles"
Wuest: But to you I am speaking, the Gentiles. Inasmuch then,
as for myself, as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I do my ministry honor
Young's Literal: For to you I speak -- to the nations --
inasmuch as I am indeed an apostle of nations, my ministration I do
glorify; |
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BUT I AM SPEAKING TO YOU WHO ARE GENTILES: humin de lego (1SPAI) tois
ethnesin:
INASMUCH THEN AS I AM AN APOSTLE OF GENTILES
I MAGNIFY MY MINISTRY: eph hoson men oun eimi
(1SPAI) ego ethnon apostolos eph hoson men oun eimi (1SPAI) ego ethnon
apostolos, ten diakonian mou doxazo (1SPAI):
(15:16-19;
Acts 13:2;
Galatians 1:16;
2 Timothy 1:11,12)
"Apostle of Gentiles" - Jesus
explained to the somewhat fearful Ananias so that he would be encouraged
to go to Saul (Paul) and help him...
"Go, for he is a chosen
instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and
the sons of Israel for I will show him how much he must suffer for My
name's sake." (Acts 9:15-16)
Paul many times emphasized his
ministry to the Gentiles...
"(In his Defense before the Jews he
testified) and He (the risen Christ) said to me, 'Go! For I will send
you far away to the Gentiles.'" (Acts
22:21)
15 "And I said, 'Who art Thou,
Lord?' And the Lord said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 'But
arise, and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you,
to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you
have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17
delivering you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I
am sending you, 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from
darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that
they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who
have been sanctified by faith in Me.' (Acts
26:15-18)
(Paul before the Jewish Council
at Jerusalem testified that) "And it was because of a revelation that I
went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the
Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation,
for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain...I had been
entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had
been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in
his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the
Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James
and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and
Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we might go to the
Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. (Gal
2:2,7-9)
“the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the
Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).
And for this (the fact that there was
one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus) I
was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am
not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.(1 Timothy 2:7)
Paul understood the sovereignty of God in
salvation. He understood that whom God foreknew He predestined and called (Ro 8:28-30) and yet here we see he approaches this issue of salvation with a
sense of his responsibility of delivering the gospel to all men for he
does not know who the elect are.
We see a similar thought in his
last known letter, 2 Timothy, in which he explained that it was because
of the gospel that ...
I suffer hardship even to
imprisonment as a criminal; but the word of God is not imprisoned.
For this reason I endure all things (man's responsibility) for the sake
of those who are chosen (elect - God's sovereignty), that they
also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it
eternal glory. (see notes on
2 Timothy 2:9-10)
Note that when Paul first came to a
city, he invariably would go first to the synagogue or search out
individual Jews if they were too few to have a synagogue. Some of those
hearers would believe, but, for the most part, they resisted and
rejected the gospel that was “spoken against everywhere” (Acts 28:22).
At that point, Paul would turn his focus to the Gentiles.
In this way Paul would "magnify"
his "ministry" or as Phillips paraphrases it...
I should like you to know that I make
as much as I can of my ministry as "God's messenger to the Gentiles"
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11:14
if
somehow I might
move to
jealousy my
fellow
countrymen and
save
some of them. |
Greek:
ei
pos
parazeloso (1SFAI)
mou
ten
sarka
kai
soso (1SFAI)
tinas
ex
auton.
Amplified: In the hope of making my fellow Jews jealous [in
order to stir them up to imitate, copy, and appropriate], and thus
managing to save some of them.
ESV: in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and
thus save some of them.
ICB: I hope I can make my own people jealous. That way,
maybe I can help some of them to be saved.
NIV: in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to
envy and save some of them.
NKJV: if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are
my flesh and save some of them.
NLT: for I want to find a way to make the Jews want what you
Gentiles have, and in that way I might save some of them.
Phillips: so as to make my kinsfolk jealous and thus save some
of them.
Wuest: if by any means, possibly, I may provoke to jealousy
those who are my flesh, and save some of them.
Young's Literal: if by any means I shall arouse to jealousy
mine own flesh, and shall save some of them, |
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IF SOMEHOW I MIGHT MOVE TO JEALOUSY MY FELLOW COUNTRYMEN: ei pos
parazeloso (1SFAI) mou ten sarka:
(1 Corinthians
7:16; ;
2 Timothy 2:10)
(9:3;
Philemon 1:12)
In the hope of making my fellow Jews
jealous [in order to stir them up to imitate, copy, and appropriate],
and thus managing to save some of them. (Amplified)
If somehow. Elsewhere Paul
stated it this was...
And to the Jews I became as a
Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the
Law, though not being myself under the Law, that I might win those who
are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though
not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, that I
might win those who are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I
might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by
all means save some. (1
Cor 9:20-22)
Jealous (3863)
(parazeloo from pará = to the point of, unto, implying
movement toward a certain point + zelóo = to desire, be zealous)
means to stimulate alongside and thus to excite to rivalry or to provoke
to emulation and so to make jealous. The idea is that then the Jews would be jealous and want it for themselves.
Parazeloo is a Greek infinitive with a preposition (eis = unto,
toward) and carries the idea of purpose.
AND SAVE SOME OF THEM: kai soso (1SFAI) tinas ex auton:
(1 Corinthians
7:16;
1 Timothy 4:16;
James 5:20)
Save (4982)
(sozo)
(Click
in depth study on
sozo) |
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11:15 For
if their
rejection is the
reconciliation of the
world,
what will their
acceptance be but
life from the
dead ? |
Greek:
ei
gar
e
apobole
auton
katallage
kosmou,
tis
e
proslempsis
ei
me
zoe
ek
nekron?
Amplified: For if their rejection and exclusion from the
benefits of salvation were [overruled] for the reconciliation of a
world to God, what will their acceptance and admission mean? [It will
be nothing short of] life from the dead!
ESV: For if their rejection means the reconciliation of
the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?
ICB: God turned away from the Jews. When that happened, God
became friends with the other people in the world. So when God accepts
the Jews, then surely that will bring to them life after death.
NIV: For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world,
what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
NKJV: For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the
world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
NLT: For since the Jews' rejection meant that God offered
salvation to the rest of the world, how much more wonderful their
acceptance will be. It will be life for those who were dead!
Phillips: For if their exclusion from the pale of salvation has
meant the reconciliation of the rest of mankind to God, what would
their inclusion mean? It would be nothing less than life from the
dead!
Wuest: For, in view of the fact that their repudiation results
in the world’s reconciliation, what will the receiving of them result
in if not in life from among the dead?
Young's Literal: for if the casting away of them is a
reconciliation of the world, what the reception -- if not life out of
the dead? |
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FOR IF THEIR REJECTION BE THE RECONCILIATION OF THE WORLD: ei gar e apobole auton katallage kosmou:
(1,2,11,12)
(5:10;
Daniel 9:24;
2 Corinthians 5:18-20;
Ephesians 1:10;
Colossians 1:20,21)
For if their rejection and exclusion
from the benefits of salvation were [overruled] for the reconciliation
of a world to God, what will their acceptance and admission mean? [It
will be nothing short of] life from the dead! (Amplified)
The word “if”
which Paul uses throughout his argument here is not ean the “if” of a
hypothetical condition, but ei the “if” of a fulfilled condition. Paul
is not arguing upon the basis of an hypothesis, but upon the basis of
facts. The translation should read, “since,” or “in view of the fact.”
Rejection (580)
(apobole from apó = from + bállo = cast as
casting away a garment) describes literally a casting off and thus a
rejection.
Reconciliation (2643)
(katallage from katallasso = change mutually; reconcile in
turn from katá = an intensifying preposition + allásso =
to make otherwise, to change the form or nature of a thing) means a
change or reconciliation from a state of enmity between persons to one
of friendship. In the NT, this word describes restoration to divine
favor by bringing about a change in man, i.e., a conversion, the means
or occasion of reconciling the world to God. Reconciliation is the
removal of enmity that stands between people and God. Reconciliation is
the basis of restored fellowship between people and God
The Greek verb katallasso basically means “change” or “exchange.” In the context of
relationships between people, the term implies a change in attitude on
the part of both individuals, a change from enmity to friendship. When
used to describe the relationship existing between God and a person, the
term implies the change of attitude on the part of both a person and
God. The need to change the sinful ways of a human being is obvious. It
should be noted that
some argue that no change is needed on the part of God. On the other
hand, inherent in
the doctrine of justification is the changed attitude of God toward the
sinner. God declares a person who was formerly His enemy to be righteous
before Him.
WHAT WILL THEIR ACCEPTANCE BE BUT LIFE FROM THE DEAD: tis e proslempsis
ei me zoe ek nekron: (Ezekiel
37:1-14;
Revelation 11:11;
20:4-6)
Acceptance (4356)
(proslepsis from proslambáno = to receive unto oneself, to
take in addition, to receive besides) means a taking to oneself and thus
describes an acceptance.
The reconciling of Israel back to God is, indeed, associated with the
resurrection of Israel as a nation (Ezekiel
37:1-14), and also
with the bodily resurrection of all who have died in faith, Isaiah
prophesying to Israel that...
Your dead will live; their corpses
will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your
dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the
departed spirits. (Isa 26:19, compare Hosea 6:1-3
Rev 20:4-6)
The receiving of Israel refers to that wonderful moment when, as the
Messiah returns to the Mt. of Olives (Zech 14) all Israel shall be saved
(Rom. 11:26). This will be “life from among the dead” in that the nation
will be saved by the sovereign grace of God out from a spiritually dead
state and from among those who remain spiritually dead.
In speaking of life from the dead, Paul was not referring to bodily
resurrection. Regarding individual Jews, he was speaking of receiving
spiritual life as a gracious gift to displace spiritual death, the wage
of unbelief. Regarding Israel, he was speaking of its rebirth and the
rebirth of the whole world in the glorified millennial kingdom of God
(Isa11:1-9; Rev20). In that glorious day, even “the creation itself also
will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the
glory of the children of God” (Ro8:21). |
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