- God desires to arouse Israel to spiritual jealousy. God is reaching Gentiles because, partially, he wants to reach Jews.
- Paul says the promises of worldwide blessing that fill so many prophetic passages of the Old Testament hinge upon the restoration of Israel to God. Worldwide blessing can never come until
- Israel is back in right relationship with God.
- If the first Jews (the patriarchs, Abraham and Isaac and Jacob) could be made holy by God, then God is able to make Jews holy after thousands of years have passed. Therefore, there is hope for Israel.
- Paul uses the figure of an olive tree. The natural branches of the tree are broken off and unnatural branches are grafted on. When a Jew becomes a Christian, he doesn’t change his spiritual heritage at all; he fulfills it.
- Therefore, if God could do that to the unnatural branches, if he could take a twisted, deformed Gentile and make him into a son of the living God, how much more can he do this with the natural branches, the Jews?
I. Warnings V. 25a
A. Warning Against Biblical Ignorance
1. Mystery- hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding
2. Supernatural work that has to be viewed as a work of God.
3. The mystery– Among the Jews, there is resistance and blindness to the Gospel
B. Warning Against Ignorant Opinions
1. The Jews do not lack religious desire, or intelligence
2. Don’t think less of the Jews, and more of yourself, regarding faith
3. Faith comes to people only b/c God opens the opportunity to believe.
Acts 14:27b “…they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles”.
II. Israel’s Future Vs. 25b-27
- Paul has been giving logical reasons why God isn’t done with the Jews.
- Now he proceeds to quote prophetic passages that speak of God’s future work with the Jews.
A. Israel-Temporary Blindness
1. A Part Of Israel Is Blinded
a. Not All Jews Blinded or Hardened; A Remnant Is Not Blinded
b. There were saved Jews in Paul’s day, and there are saved Jews today.
2. Fullness Of The Gentiles
a. Blindness Not Permanent; it will exist until “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in”.
b. Fullness Of The Gentiles
i. Pleroma- fullness, completeness, abundance
c. It speaks of a number or an era or a fullness of spirituality regarding the Gentiles. It could be a numerical #, or the end of an age, or a Gentile church that provokes the Jews to jealousy.
Luke 21:24b And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
i. The “age of the church”, i.e., the Gentile church will end with the Rapture of the church. This includes the idea of a certain number of Gentiles being saved, or a certain time period coming to an end, or a Gentile church that overflows with spiritual abundance.
ii. Ezekiel 38, 39 speak of the invasion by Russia and an Arab alliance. God will miraculously defeat Israel’s enemies in that war.
iii. Ezekiel 39:7 “So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
3. Israel’s Spiritual Vision To Be Restored
4. Remember- God Is The Giver Of Understanding
a. Acts 26:18 ‘to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’
B. All Israel Saved
1. National Revival, But Individual Faith Still Required
C. The Coming Deliverer
1. Jesus To Return To Zion (Jerusalem)
Zechariah 12:8-11 “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. 9 “It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 “In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem…
2. Ungodliness Taken Away (For Those Jews Putting Their Faith In Jesus)
3. Jesus Is God’s Covenant To Take Away Sins
III. Israel’s Present Vs. 28-32
A. Regarding The Gospel
1. Currently, they are enemies of the Gospel “for our sakes”. (Focus is on the Gentiles)
2. Jesus and His disciples preached first to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”
3. Paul always preached first in the Jewish synagogues, but was always driven away.
B. Regarding Election
1. Beloved- For The Sake of the Fathers- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
2. God’s Call Irrevocable; God Is Faithful
a. Genesis 13:14, 15 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are–northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 “for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
b. Genesis 17:7, 8 “And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 “Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
c. God doesn’t call and choose, and then change His mind b/c of man’s failure.
d. God made a promise to Abraham and His descendants. That will never change.
C. A Comparison
1. Gentiles
a. Once Disobedient, But Now Obtained Mercy
b. Occurred B/C of Israel’s Disobedience
2. Israel
a. Presently Disobedient
b. Israel To Receive Mercy Through Mercy Given To Gentiles
i. To Provoke Them To Spiritual jealousy.
ii. Loving friendships because of God’s mercy upon us.
iii. Personal and mass evangelism
3. All People At Some Point Are Disobedient
4. All Can Receive Mercy
a. All need to recognize their disobedience, so that they can receive mercy.
b. Self-righteousness is what keeps people from receiving the mercy of God.
IV. God Versus Man Vs. 33-36
A. God’s Wisdom, Knowledge, Judgments & Ways: Unlimited & Unmatched
B. Who Is God’s Equal?
1. Who Fully And Completely Knows God’s Mind?
2. Who Can Give God Advice?
3. Who Gave God Something He Didn’t Have?
4. Who Has God Become A Debtor To?
C. God Is The Center Of All Things
1. Creation Came From Him
2. Creation Came Through Him
3. Creation Is For Him