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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.
