Romans 11:11-36
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?
16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?"
35 "Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?"
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
Israel’s rejection was not final for God has given individuals of a remnant of that nation who are His chosen children a chance to be moved to jealousy as the Gentiles come by faith into their number as the people of God (ammi) who once were not (lo-ammi) His children (Romans 9:23-24, 25-26) though called from the foundation of the universe (κόσμος - cosmos, Ephesians 1:4) to be adopted by faith. Their fall was not to be permanent so that only the nations could be saved in Jesus Christ, but neither was it universalism to imply that every Jew of Israel would somehow be saved after the Gentiles were added in (Romans 11:23). What God is saying is that all whom He predetermined to be adopted as His people would be brought into Christ through the gospel of repentance with receiving believing (John 1:12) in Him. The nation was cast aside temporarily to allow the nations promised Abraham to enter into salvation promised to and through the nation of is as the channel of redemption in the Seed of Adam by promise and of Abraham by faith but that nation is to find some of its citizens join into the citizenship of heaven together with all others called and chosen in Jesus Christ. We who are not of physical Israel are indeed Jews in the spiritual sense (Romans 2:28-29) because the sign of circumcision is of the inner person and not the outward appearance of the flesh. This cleansing of the soul is accomplished by the New Covenant of the blood of Christ shed as a sacrifice to make us righteous in His righteousness of spiritual surgery to cut away our sin’s penalty and not by means of physical cutting to associate with God as a nation alone. The root of faith is Israel who was called as His nation and people but only those of the testimony of faith who waited for a heavenly country were His eternal people (Hebrews 11:13, 16) as we are who now have seen and heard the Seed Messiah ourselves. This then is no matter of pride for non-Jews who are called into Christ, but a humbling and thankful acknowledgment of the people of God who have paved the way and brought the Christ into the world to bring us to the kingdom of heaven as grafted in branches of grace. The blindness of the nation of Israel is only temporary anyway and many of them will come to Christ as we see in our own time happening more and more. This is cause for great rejoicing! His covenant with Israel and us is to take away our sins. Certainly not everyone is saved out of every nation and it is the same for Israel; when God says, “Israel will be saved” this is what He means. It is all according to the election of God for individuals out of Israel and the nations as predetermined by God since man was first created and not an entire nation. That nation was disobedient to demonstrate God’s mercy on us all. How immensely deep are God’s wisdom, knowledge, and judgments! Truly as it is written here, “of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”
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