Rom 11:25-36: The Salvation Plan of Our Awesome God

 Part 3

Ethnic Israel’s past was that she was a physical descendant of Abraham the believer. Ethnic Israel’s status in Paul’s day was that she remained partially blind and hard-hearted toward the gospel of Yeshu’a the Messiah. Ethnic Israel’s future after the set number of Gentiles enters the church—she will experience a mass conversion, surrendering to Jesus the Messiah. Spiritual Israel, the believing remnant, has continued to follow Jesus since the first disciples around 30 A.D., and is made-up of converted Jews and converted Gentiles.

I. [God is still saving a remnant of Jews from Ethnic Israel according to election. vs. 1-10]

II. [God is now saving a multitude of Gentiles to wake up Ethnic Israel. vs.11-24]

            III. God will save multitudes from Ethnic Israel in the future. vs. 25-32

A. The Jewish people will once again receive God’s blessings. vs. 25

1. The revealed secret is the temporary partial hardening of Ethnic Israel and their future restoration. This is revealed to prevent pride among the Gentiles.

2. The coming fullness of salvation for Ethnic Israel will include greater blessing for the world than their fall produced for the Gentiles.

3. The olive tree trunk (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is holy. Thus, the branches grafted back into the trunk (the Patriarchs) will also be holy before God.

4. The branches being grafted back into their own olive tree from which they were temporarily removed illustrate the restoration of Ethnic Israel to spiritual and physical blessings.

5. When God has saved His set number of Gentiles (the fullness of the Gentiles, Luke 21:24) He will add most of Ethnic Israel back into the faith-based covenant community, the church of Yeshu’a the Messiah (Spiritual Israel, Gal 6:16).

B. The Old Testament predicted Israel’s salvation through the Messiah. vs. 26-27

1. The future Jewish conversion will be so massive that it will be described as “all Israel is saved.”

2. This could be the work of God the Son at His second coming (the Gentile armies die in battle, not Jewish), or this could be the work of God the Holy Spirit.

3. The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those in Jacob who turn from transgression. This is the LORD’s declaration. As for Me, this is My covenant with them, says the LORD: My Spirit who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth, will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your children, or from the mouth of your children’s children, from now on and forever, says the LORD. (Isa 59:20-21 HCSB) Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—the LORD’s declaration. I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them — this is the LORD’s declaration. For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin. (Jer 31:33-34 HCSB)

4. The Deliverer in the OT quote is Jesus. But these quotes can refer to His first coming or His second coming, or both. [Isaiah ‘to Zion,’ Paul ‘from Zion’]

5. Redemption for Spiritual Israel was accomplished at Jesus’ first coming. Restoration of Ethnic Israel will not happen until His second coming unless this is the prior work of the Holy Spirit.

C. The conflicting status of those in Ethnic Israel in Paul’s day. vs.28-29

1. From the perspective of the Gospel of grace, most in Ethnic Israel are enemies of the truth and are persecuting those that are part of Spiritual Israel.

2. From the perspective of God’s choice, Ethnic Israel is loved for the Patriarchs’ sake.

3. God’s gifts and God’s calling to salvation cannot be refused by the Jewish people. When the time comes for all Israel to be saved, God will not rewrite this chapter because His offer of salvation was rejected. God’s grace is effectual and His plan is irrevocable. When He calls, you will come.

D. The mercy of God in relation to both the Jews and the Gentiles. vs. 30-32

1. The Gentiles were rebellious, but were shown mercy and saved.

2. The Jews also rebelled, but will also be shown mercy and saved.

3. God has allowed all humans to be bound by their sin nature so that He can show mercy to all races of humans. The Jews did not escape Adam’s original sin by their descent from Abraham. Everyone disobeys God’s law and needs mercy.

              IV. God has planned this salvation in His wisdom and power and deserves all the praise for His awesome plan. vs. 33-36

A. The immeasurable value and extensiveness of God’s wisdom and knowledge. vs. 33

B. The incomprehensibility of God’s decisions, plans, and methods. vs. 33

C. The mind of the Lord is unknowable by finite humans or any creature. vs. 34

D. No one is qualified to be the Almighty Sovereign God’s counselor. vs. 34

E. No one has ever given God a loan to get Him out of a fix. vs. 35

F. All created things are: vs. 36

1. From Him. God is the source. His power, wisdom, and goodness govern all.

2. Through Him. God is the creator. Jesus is the primary agent of creation.

3. To Him. God owns all created things. They belong to Him. They are for His enjoyment and glory; that is the purpose of all things.

4. God is the originator, sovereign director, and His glory is the goal of all things

G. God’s glorious plan of redemption should be recognized by men in every era. vs. 36

1. We should glorify God for all the things He has created.

2. We should glorify God for all the humans He has redeemed.

3. We should recognize that God alone should be glorified for saving humans.