Link to part 1: http://www.christianforums.com/t7723632/
Link to part 2: http://www.christianforums.com/t7723807/
Link to Part 3: http://www.christianforums.com/t7724285/
Part 4 of The Case For The "Israel Of God" continues on God's sovereign choosing of Jacob over Esau:
Paul now takes the time to make it clear that we have no right to question Gods choice of Jacob over Esau, because God is sovereign!
Romans 9:14-20:
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
15 For He says to Moses,I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.
18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
19 You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?
20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, Why did you make me like this, will it?
21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
Again the conclusion is...God is sovereign!
Paul now turns to make the case that it was Gods sovereign choice to include the Gentiles and this is why they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel! The point is being made there is a spiritual Israel.
Romans 9:22-24
22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles
This is Gods mercy pure and simple! He has called both Jews and Gentiles to salvation. This passage makes it known that we who are saved, (whether Jew or Gentile) have been saved by Gods grace and we too could be vessels of dishonor, but thank God he saved us!
Here the apostle quotes Hosea 2:22-26:
25 As He says also in Hosea, I will call those who were not My people, My people, And her who was not beloved, beloved.
26 And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, you are not My people, There they shall be called sons of the living God.
This is the inclusion of the Gentiles, and again the case for the Israel of God! This is spiritual Israel and the rejection of the nation Israel. As God goes forward from the cross, Israel becomes a spiritual entity inclusive of Jews and Gentiles because as stated we will be sons of the living God.
Can we not hear in Hosea 2:26, the passage the passage of John 1:11-13?:
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Paul now quotes Isaiah to make his case at Romans 9:27, 28
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;
28 for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.
This is a quote of Isaiah 10! For clarity, look to Isaiah 10:20-23 to see what the apostle enlightens us to in the passage:
20 Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped,will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant will return,the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
22 For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,Only a remnant within them will return;A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
23 For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord God of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.
This passage is the restoration of Israel to the land, but the apostle tells us it means more than that! He makes the case that the remant speaks to the believing Jews and NOT the whole nation (vs 20). It also speaks to the destruction that will later come upon Assyria who holds Israel captive. Read Isaiah 10 for the entirety to see that.
Part 5 to come.
Link to part 2: http://www.christianforums.com/t7723807/
Link to Part 3: http://www.christianforums.com/t7724285/
Part 4 of The Case For The "Israel Of God" continues on God's sovereign choosing of Jacob over Esau:
Paul now takes the time to make it clear that we have no right to question Gods choice of Jacob over Esau, because God is sovereign!
Romans 9:14-20:
14 What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be!
15 For He says to Moses,I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.
17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.
18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.
19 You will say to me then, Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?
20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, Why did you make me like this, will it?
21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?
Again the conclusion is...God is sovereign!
Paul now turns to make the case that it was Gods sovereign choice to include the Gentiles and this is why they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel! The point is being made there is a spiritual Israel.
Romans 9:22-24
22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,
24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles
This is Gods mercy pure and simple! He has called both Jews and Gentiles to salvation. This passage makes it known that we who are saved, (whether Jew or Gentile) have been saved by Gods grace and we too could be vessels of dishonor, but thank God he saved us!
Here the apostle quotes Hosea 2:22-26:
25 As He says also in Hosea, I will call those who were not My people, My people, And her who was not beloved, beloved.
26 And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, you are not My people, There they shall be called sons of the living God.
This is the inclusion of the Gentiles, and again the case for the Israel of God! This is spiritual Israel and the rejection of the nation Israel. As God goes forward from the cross, Israel becomes a spiritual entity inclusive of Jews and Gentiles because as stated we will be sons of the living God.
Can we not hear in Hosea 2:26, the passage the passage of John 1:11-13?:
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Paul now quotes Isaiah to make his case at Romans 9:27, 28
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;
28 for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.
This is a quote of Isaiah 10! For clarity, look to Isaiah 10:20-23 to see what the apostle enlightens us to in the passage:
20 Now in that day the remnant of Israel, and those of the house of Jacob who have escaped,will never again rely on the one who struck them, but will truly rely on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
21 A remnant will return,the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
22 For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea,Only a remnant within them will return;A destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
23 For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord God of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.
This passage is the restoration of Israel to the land, but the apostle tells us it means more than that! He makes the case that the remant speaks to the believing Jews and NOT the whole nation (vs 20). It also speaks to the destruction that will later come upon Assyria who holds Israel captive. Read Isaiah 10 for the entirety to see that.
Part 5 to come.
