Rom 11:25-32 | KingComments | STEP | I concluded the previous section by asking if it is going wrong with you and me after all. Can we conclude this from , even though we believe in the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus gives the answer in John 10: “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand” ( ). One who is a child of God will remain so forever. Unfortunately, you may on occasions behave unlike a child of God. This has to do with your personal responsibility. If you sin as a child of God, you must confess it. In this current portion we see the responsibility of the Christian testimony that has taken Israel’s place. If this testimony as a whole becomes unfaithful, God cannot maintain it anymore than He could maintain Israel’s. With Israel some Israelites had a personal relationship with God, but in general Israel consisted of people who didn’t want God. The same is true for professing Christianity. Some who call themselves Christians have a relationship with God on the basis of a personal faith, but in general in professing Christianity, emphasis is increasingly being placed on what man wants rather than true faith. God’s thoughts are not sought after. The Bible is left unread. As a result God can no longer recognize Christianity as His testimony on earth, so He will have to judge it. So you have to distinguish between one’s proper, personal responsibility before God and what God expects from Christianity as a whole. I hope this has helped to make the distinction clearer. . Now on to . In this verse Paul says that Israel will again take the place of God’s testimony on earth. This is what he calls a “mystery” ( ). A mystery in the Bible is something that was unknown in the Old Testament, but is now made known. This mystery concerns the rejection and acceptance of Israel, including the current time when God has accepted another people for His name. In the Old Testament this wasn’t known. To avoid being wise in your own opinion, you must realize the hardening or blinding that has come over Israel has not come over all Israel, but only over part of it – the mass of unbelieving Israelites – which leaves room for a remnant. . This remnant eventually will be all of Israel because all the ungodly and unbelieving Israelites will perish by God’s judgment during the tribulation. What remains will be “all Israel”. God will go on with this new Israel after the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in” ( ). This last expression means that the Christian testimony on earth will have completed the time of its testimony and reached its end. God will cut it off because it didn’t abide in God’s kindness (see ). After this, Israel will again be the object of His love. The Redeemer or Deliverer will come out of Zion to deliver His people from the enemies who want to destroy them. Many Old Testament prophecies tell how this will happen. . They also will receive the assurance that God will fulfill the covenant He made with His people by taking away their sins from them. It is necessary to be free from the burden of sins to really enjoy God’s blessings. The huge burden weighing on the people will be their rejection of the Lord Jesus. They will confess Him as Lord, and God will forgive them. Zechariah 12-14 tells how all this will take place. . God will execute His plans with respect to His earthly people. He will do what He has promised; He will not revoke it. Israel now behaves with hostility toward the preaching of the gospel, but as to election God loves them because they are descendants of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were the ones to whom God gave His promises. As a result of the people’s unfaithfulness, the fulfillment of the promises had to be put off. But with God, delays are no problem. He doesn’t revoke His promises. He doesn’t change His mind regarding what He has promised to His people and to which He has called them. Now read Romans 11:23-29 again. Reflection: What is a mystery?

‏ Romans 11:25-32

All Israel Will Be Saved

I concluded the previous section by asking if it is going wrong with you and me after all. Can we conclude this from Rom 11:22, even though we believe in the Lord Jesus? The Lord Jesus gives the answer in John 10: “I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand” (Jn 10:28-29). One who is a child of God will remain so forever. Unfortunately, you may on occasions behave unlike a child of God. This has to do with your personal responsibility. If you sin as a child of God, you must confess it.

In this current portion we see the responsibility of the Christian testimony that has taken Israel’s place. If this testimony as a whole becomes unfaithful, God cannot maintain it anymore than He could maintain Israel’s. With Israel some Israelites had a personal relationship with God, but in general Israel consisted of people who didn’t want God.

The same is true for professing Christianity. Some who call themselves Christians have a relationship with God on the basis of a personal faith, but in general in professing Christianity, emphasis is increasingly being placed on what man wants rather than true faith. God’s thoughts are not sought after. The Bible is left unread. As a result God can no longer recognize Christianity as His testimony on earth, so He will have to judge it. So you have to distinguish between one’s proper, personal responsibility before God and what God expects from Christianity as a whole. I hope this has helped to make the distinction clearer.

Rom 11:23-25. Now on to Rom 11:23. In this verse Paul says that Israel will again take the place of God’s testimony on earth. This is what he calls a “mystery” (Rom 11:25). A mystery in the Bible is something that was unknown in the Old Testament, but is now made known. This mystery concerns the rejection and acceptance of Israel, including the current time when God has accepted another people for His name. In the Old Testament this wasn’t known.

To avoid being wise in your own opinion, you must realize the hardening or blinding that has come over Israel has not come over all Israel, but only over part of it – the mass of unbelieving Israelites – which leaves room for a remnant.

Rom 11:26. This remnant eventually will be all of Israel because all the ungodly and unbelieving Israelites will perish by God’s judgment during the tribulation. What remains will be “all Israel”. God will go on with this new Israel after the “fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom 11:25). This last expression means that the Christian testimony on earth will have completed the time of its testimony and reached its end. God will cut it off because it didn’t abide in God’s kindness (see Rom 11:22). After this, Israel will again be the object of His love.

The Redeemer or Deliverer will come out of Zion to deliver His people from the enemies who want to destroy them. Many Old Testament prophecies tell how this will happen.

Rom 11:27. They also will receive the assurance that God will fulfill the covenant He made with His people by taking away their sins from them. It is necessary to be free from the burden of sins to really enjoy God’s blessings. The huge burden weighing on the people will be their rejection of the Lord Jesus. They will confess Him as Lord, and God will forgive them. Zechariah 12-14 tells how all this will take place.

Rom 11:28-29. God will execute His plans with respect to His earthly people. He will do what He has promised; He will not revoke it. Israel now behaves with hostility toward the preaching of the gospel, but as to election God loves them because they are descendants of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were the ones to whom God gave His promises. As a result of the people’s unfaithfulness, the fulfillment of the promises had to be put off. But with God, delays are no problem. He doesn’t revoke His promises. He doesn’t change His mind regarding what He has promised to His people and to which He has called them.

Now read Romans 11:23-29 again.

Reflection: What is a mystery?

To Him Be the Glory Forever!

Rom 11:30. The final verses of Romans 11 summarize all that Paul expounded in the preceding chapters. It became clear that we, belonging to the Gentiles, didn’t believe in God. By believing the gospel, we received mercy.

Rom 11:31. But we also saw that the gospel could only have gone out to the Gentiles when the Jews failed to respond to the many times God called on them to repent. Then when they saw grace going out to the Gentiles, they couldn’t bear it and became enemies of the gospel. In Acts we read about this time and again. With this attitude they arrived at the same place before God that the Gentiles used to be. Just as we Gentiles didn’t believe in former days, the Jews don’t believe now.

Rom 11:32. God’s purpose with this is to show us that all, without exception, are unbelievers. As a result, mercy has gone out to everyone without exception. He wants to prove He is merciful. Is there a better way to do this than first showing that everyone needs this mercy?

Rom 11:33. This brings Paul to praise God in Rom 11:33-36. In these verses he admires God’s wisdom and knowledge. In the Lord Jesus we see God’s wisdom. In 1 Corinthians 1 He is called the “wisdom from God” (1Cor 1:30). Who would ever have thought of solving in this way the problems caused by the sin of man? God has perfect knowledge of all that has happened and He knows how to deal with it in a perfectly righteous way. This encloses a depth of wisdom which is unsearchable for us.

In His judging the situation that has arisen, or the perfect insight He has in the situation that has arisen, He is exalted far beyond us. For man, no prospect was left. He couldn’t offer a single solution. All he could do was make sin worse. Then God started working. Who can search the ways in which He has acted? No one can. Now, after the cross, we can admire Him since He has completed His work in Christ.

Rom 11:34-35. Could anyone except God ever have devised this way? Would God have needed a counselor for this plan? Who could have been His counselor anyway? Everything God has in wisdom and ability, He possesses in Himself. He doesn’t have to take it from others. There is no higher power in the whole universe than God. And there is no one who could give Him something of which He is in need and of which He should repay. God alone is independent.

Rom 11:36. “From Him” are all things. All things find their origins in Him. In Romans 4 God created the things that were not from within Himself. All sources of matter, wisdom and knowledge are within Himself.

And all things not only proceed from Him, but He Himself also accomplished and achieved all things. All things are also “through Him”. Finally we come to the “to Him”. Of all His plans and actions, He is the great Object in which it all ends. God glorifies Himself in everything He does. The astonishing and admirable thing that will eternally raise our adoration is that God has included us in His plan. In eternity you will be allowed to contribute to His glory. Isn’t it overwhelming, thinking of your former state, to see the place God has now given you?

You cannot but agree with Paul saying: “To Him [be] the glory forever.” There is nothing more to be added to this other than “Amen”. This reminds me of Revelation 5 when, after the praise (Rev 5:13-14), an “Amen” follows and all the elders fall down and worship. No words are heard anymore. Hearts lose themselves in a boundless and unspeakable admiration for God and the Lamb. Amen.

Now read Romans 11:30-36 again.

Reflection: Think once more about Rom 11:36.