Romans 14:1
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
We were just commanded to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in the last verse of chapter 13 and not to make any outlet for the lusts of the flesh to manifest itself. Right after that, we have this command, and the church, which is the Body of Christ, would do well to heed it. Should we encounter someone weak in the faith, that is, not sure or unlearned of what it means to be in the Body of Christ, then we should not eagerly receive them to the point of thoroughly judging their reasonings. In other words, don't just decide that someone who is weak in the faith is hopelessly lost in heresy. Also, don't decide that just because they are different on some things that don't ultimately matter, that the one who is strong in faith looks down on them and decides they are wrong. That wouldn't be fair to the one who is weak in faith and it would do God a disservice. One thing I would add to this is don't put a label on them. Once a label is placed, all one does is associate that person with the label and won't hear anything they have to say. It's one of the worst things anyone can do. Instead of generic labels, learn the person's name and who they are.
I've already encountered being labeled plenty of times, being called a dispensationalist or fundamentalist. Some were quite negative and even sneering when they said that. They thought that I threw out portions of the bible because they knew that a dispensationalist "divided" the word of truth. Even though I told them that every verse is the direct word from God and to be studied to understand the truth, they weren't listening. I was just part of "that group" and the walls wouldn't come down. Want to know the worst thing? This was dialogue between brothers in the same faith. They trusted in the finished work of Christ as the only thing to save them from sin and death, yet were sneering at me, who believes the same thing. There should be no schism within the Body of Christ, nor the putting down of a brother or sister. God commands us not to thoroughly judge one another in our reasonings. What we should do is be open to always change our theology so that it lines up with scripture. That is our one source of truth. We should always strive to edify one another toward the truth (Eph 4:15, 25,29-30).
It would do us well to look deeper at the Greek for the words receive, to, doubtful, and disputations to understand what God is saying. The word receive is the compound word proslambano, a combination of pros (toward, interactively with) and lambano (receive, lay hold of). The prefix intensifies this word to make the idea of aggressively receiving with strong personal interest [1]. The word "to" here is "eis" in the Greek, which has the idea of "to the point of." Let's look more at what we are commanded not to aggressively receive to the point of.
The Greek word for doubtful is diakrisis, a compound word of dia (through, on account of) and krisis (judgment). It has the idea of thorough judgment, or that a decision has been made and won't be changed. Finally, the word for disputations is dialogismos (English dialogue), a compound word of dia and logizomai (reckon or add up). This word has the idea of bringing differing reasonings together, thoroughly going through all of them. We will get a bigger picture of what this verse says throughout the rest of the chapter.
Romans 14:2
For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
First we come to the example of food. Remember, this letter is addressed to saints in the gospel of the grace of God. God just told those strong in the faith to not bombard those weak in the faith with lifestyle rules that don't have an impact on salvation. We are talking of dialogue between believers. Food and diet is something that can bring contention among believers today.
One believer has no qualms about eating anything edible. Another, and we're told this is the one weak in faith, doesn't think they can eat anything but herbs or vegetables. Is there anything wrong with that? No. Should the strong in faith bludgeon and condescend to the weak in faith about their diet? According to verse 1, in no way should they do that. Interestingly enough, I went through a season of this myself.
Due to health issues, my family and I chose to have a vegan diet, which I gave the pet name of the Genesis 1:29 diet because it was all herbs with seeds and fruit with seeds that we ate. I got a lot of backlash from believers who didn't understand my situation, and quite honestly, that hurt. Please, for the sake of the word of God, don't do this to your brothers or sisters. Besides, I felt more alive and strong during that time being vegan than I do today where my diet is only mostly vegan, but includes meat and cheese on occasion. There's something to be said of God's original diet plan, isn't there? To that end, God did allow meat to be eaten after the flood, though the blood was not to be eaten. He also put the fear of man into animals to make it a challenge because of man's sin (Gen 9:2-6). Then God gave the special diet plan to Israel in Leviticus 11. But now in the age of God's grace, anything goes (1 Tim 4:3-5). However, if there is the possibility of contention, then we should abstain from that food as we will see later on in the chapter.
Romans 14:3
Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
In the case of diet, we see the conclusion in this verse but more detail to come later. Whoever has a diet of anything is commanded not to despise, or more literally in the Greek, to cast out as nothing. Similarly, the one who is only eating vegetables should not think ill of the one who eats anything. Why? Because they are of the same faith! They are in the Body of Christ! Your conduct hangs on your understanding of who you are in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, then put on Christ and share His agape love with all that are around you, ESPECIALLY those of the faith, and those of your family (Gal 6:10, 1 Tim 5:8).
It makes me sad to see how believers in the Body of Christ treat one another at times. I would encourage everyone, including myself, to truly study and learn the extent of the cost Jesus Christ paid for you because He loved you so dearly. When we do that, then the love of Christ will compel us walk worthy of our calling, and to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:1-3). God reconciled the world to Himself in love. He wasn't selective, and neither should we be.
Romans 14:4
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
The next example we have is one who serves another. I have to jump into the Greek right away since there is more than one Greek word for servant. This one is oiketes, which implies a household servant. This would be a nanny, governess, landscaper, or something of the like. So in this example, we should ask ourselves why would I say that the one who serves another family is doing a poor job? Just because it doesn't fit my taste doesn't mean they should be let go. What does my opinion matter if that person serves someone else who may enjoy the work being done? It is the responsibility of that head of house to determine what is right and either continue employing their servant or fire them. If I bring judgment to cast down that servant and I am out of place, God is surely able to help that one out to keep that job.
Another thing to point out in the Greek is the definite article at the beginning. More importantly, though, is that word for "another." It is allos, which is the word for another of the same kind. Remember this epistle is written to saints, so this "another" is another saint. We are dealing with relations between believers in this chapter as shown clearly in verse 1. With that in mind, we could have this translation, "Who are the you judging another saint's servant?"
Romans 14:5
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
The next example of keeping relations between believers is of special days. One believer may enjoy a particular day, like birthdays or anniversaries, and make a big celebration of it. Another believer may not care to make such a celebration and treat those days like any other day. Regardless of which category a believer falls in, God commands us to carry out fully what we believe about special days in our own minds. This is another example of not coming down on each for something that ultimately doesn't matter. Why hate a brother or sister if they enjoy make a big celebration of a birthday when another doesn't want so much attention? They aren't wrong to make the celebration, and neither is the one for not making a big deal of it. We see why clearly in the next verse.
It may not be clear in the English, but there is a distinct command at the end. The "let" may imply that this is something we ought to do, but God is actually commanding it. It may be clearer to translate it this way, "Each one carry out to the full in the own mind." The definite article looks a bit funny, but that's what the Greek has. A more aesthetically pleasing translation could be, "Each one carry out to the full in each of your minds."
Romans 14:6
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
All the relationships we just addressed were dealing with believers. No matter what we do, it should be done to the Lord (Col 3:17). To those who like certain days over others, they give praise to the Lord for the special days. To those who do not, they praise the Lord for the days they have. To those who eat whatever is in front of them, they praise the Lord and thank Him. To those who eat a strict diet, they praise the Lord and thank Him. We do these things because we are of the same Body and Christ is the Head. All good things come from Him, and He is where our life is hid (Col 3:3). Therefore, we should strive not to contend with one another within the Body, but to edify one another (Eph 4:29).
The only thing in the Greek to point out is the definite article for the God both times.
Romans 14:7
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
These next three verses pertain to our identity in Christ. We were bought with a price (1 Cor 6:20, 7:23), and that price was the precious blood of Jesus Christ. When anyone trusts in that work on the cross as the only atoning sacrifice sufficient to cover our sins, then that person is baptized in the Holy Spirit to the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). Believers were redeemed and now belong to God. As believers, we don't live and die to the self, but rather to Him that gave us life from death. We should all have the mindset of the apostle Paul that in this life, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:20-21). God reiterates this here in the next two verses.
Romans 14:8
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
No matter what may happen, we will glorify the Lord as believers. If we live, it is for God's glory as we serve Him as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). If we die, it still glorifies God because we will be in Heaven with our Savior. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). Regardless of whether this body is alive or it dies, we are the Lord's and nothing will change that. We couldn't separate ourselves from Christ even if we somehow wanted to (Rom 8:38-39).
All of the times "whether" occurs here is the Greek "ean," which is the conditional if statement.
Romans 14:9
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Jesus Christ went through His passion in order to be Lord of all. He did that so that whether we live or die, we are His as we saw in the previous verse. No matter who we are or what we say and do after placing our faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross of Calvary, we are His. All His saints belong to Him, bought with the price of His blood, for all eternity.
The Greek reads a bit different, though the idea is the same. The phrase "and rose" doesn't occur. Both the verbs "died" and "revived" are in the Aorist tense, indicating Christ did these at some point in the past. Here is a literal translation:
To the point of (eis) this, indeed Christ died and lived in order that He might be Lord of both the dead and living.
Romans 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Circling back to the argument that began in verse 1, God comes to us with these questions. Since we're dealing with relations between believers, why do we judge each other like this? Why do we despise each other? Why do we look down upon one another? We are all Christ's and we will all be judged of God. He talked about that in chapter 8 and verses 33-34. God held back nothing but gave up His Son Jesus Christ that He may give us all things (Rom 8:32). Who does the "us" include there? Only some of the saints or just the saints at Rome? Of course not! What does Rom 8:32 say? Jesus was delivered up for us all. No one excluded.
The Greek has stronger language than the English here. The word "but" at the beginning is the Greek "de." The phrase "set at nought" is the same Greek word we encountered in verse 3 where it was translated "despise." It does have the idea to set at naught or to treat with utter contempt [1]. The phrase "stand before" really should be "stand alongside" or "stand beside" because the compound Greek paristemi (para = beside, histemi = to stand) is used. Now interestingly enough, the Greek says it is the judgment seat of God (Theos), not Christ (Christos). Jesus Christ is God, both fully man and fully God, and all judgment belongs to Him. God says that vengeance is His to repay (Deut 32:35, Rom 12:19). We shouldn't try to take God's place on that, should we? We will all stand before His judgment seat. It's not our judgment seat.
Romans 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
What better way to finalize a point than for God to quote Himself. This verse is found in Isaiah 45:23. All of us will stand before the judgement seat of God and confess to God. What will we confess? It's found in the next verse.
This verse is spot on with the Greek other than the missing article to denote the God.
Romans 14:12
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Each of us will give our account to God. Each of us will tell of what we did while in the flesh. What do you think God would like to hear? I would remind us of Colossians 3:17:
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
See those two things to do in the name or authority of Jesus Christ? Word and deed. It's easy to think about the things we do. However, what we say is a big deal to God, maybe even bigger since it's listed first, so choose words carefully. Whoever thought of that well-known rhyme "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" was living in denial. Words can hurt far more than sticks or stones and that hurt can last for a long time. Therefore we, the Body of Christ, would do well to put on Christ, and not let any corrupt thing come out of our mouth except that which is good to the use of edifying (Eph 4:29).
Romans 14:13
Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
Instead of wasting our time on frivolous issues, we should focus on much more important things; things that can inhibit or impair the spiritual growth of a brother or sister of faith. Our words and deeds have an impact on all lives around us, not just unbelievers. We tend to focus a lot on the unbelievers, desiring them to be saved, but we shouldn't lose focus on our brothers and sisters in the faith. In no way should we act to hurt our relationship, or worse, cause them to not want to partake in the things of the true church and live like the world. There are examples of those who chose to walk away from being zealous of the good works God puts before us, like Demas in 2 Tim 4:10. We don't know why he chose to walk away, but we know from his example it's possible to put the good works aside and blend in again with the ways of the world. Do your diligence in not acting or speaking in such a way to cause a brother or sister to consider following in Demas' footsteps.
Again it may not be as clear in the English the imperatives we find in this verse. The first phrase is subjunctive, that it may happen. The Greek says, "No longer therefore should we judge one another." It implies the choice we have. We shouldn't do it any more. The imperative comes next, but there is an untranslated magnifier there. It is the Greek "mallon" and should be translated, "But much rather, judge this: not to put the stumbling block or snare to your brother."
Ephesians 4:1-6 keeps coming to mind as I study these verses in Romans 14.
Romans 14:14
I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
What God has made is good. We can go all the way back to Gen 1:31 to see that. The sin of man has marred God's creation, but that doesn't make anything inherently evil. Grass and trees aren't out to get us and have a mind that is only evil continually (Gen 6:5). We are in a spiritual battle, not a physical one (Eph 6:12). Things are spiritually neutral, though they now fall apart and decay because of the sin of man. Nothing physical is unclean of itself, it's what a man decides it to be to himself. This is building off of what was just talked about, that one may esteem a day more than another or choose a certain diet over another. We can also reference 1 Tim 4:3-5 for a similar idea on diet.
Don't hear me wrong on this. Mankind can't decide what is sinful or not. That is up to God and He has made that perfectly clear throughout the bible. That would be a spiritual thing. Mankind can decide on what physical things or activities he likes or prefers compared to what he doesn't like or prefer. God didn't create robots. We are all unique with different tastes. What we read here is that the taste of one, as long as it is not sinful, should not be condescended to from another who does not share the same taste.
As we look at the Greek, this verse is quite accurate, but as always we get deeper meaning from the original language. The word for "know" here is eido, which is intuitive knowledge or something understood. The word for "persuaded" comes from the root "peitho", which is also translated as "faith" when it appears as a noun. The word "by" here is more accurate "in" as it comes from the Greek "en." Finally, the word for "esteemeth" is the Greek root "logizomai," which has been looked at at length, but again means to reason or reckon.
Romans 14:15
But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
This is quite the convicting statement, isn't it? If what you are eating is grieving another believer, yet you continue in it anyway, you are not conducting yourself in God's agape love. That's not a good place to be. If you're not there, then you aren't fulfillng the law (Rom 13:8), and are essentially quenching the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19). If you're quenching the Spirit, you're not walking in the good works God has preordained for you and are directly disobeying God. Now, your salvation is not harmed in any way, but is that how you want to behave before the God who did all that work and saved you from sin and death? As if that's not enough, God tacks on the reminder that Christ died for that one you're grieving. That one you're grieving is part of the Body of Christ, and like it or not, you will be spending eternity together in Heaven.
The Greek more literally starts off, "Since indeed on account of food your brother is being grieved, you are no longer walking according to love/charity (agape)." It's a factual statement, but doesn't have to be limited to food. We've had other examples given in this chapter of how to conduct ourselves among believers, and that no matter what the thing may be, if it doesn't pertain to salvation or God's word, don't grieve each other about it. Don't forget we are all part of the Body of Christ.
Romans 14:16
Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
Such a short verse but so much application for today. We are part of the Body of Christ, so let's not have that be slandered. Really, the Greek word here is blaspheme. How would the world view us if we act do disfunctionally? We are representing God here as His ambassadors, as though Christ did beseech the world through us to be reconciled to Him (2 Cor 5:20). How do you think the world will listen if we treat each other within the body scornfully? Probably not so good, right? So God commands us, it is His imperative, to live in such a way that the good of us is not blasphemed (definite article is present).
To blaspheme is to destroy character. This is a good definition of blaspheme: to use abusive or scurrilous language about [1]. Most of us probably aren't familiar with the word scurrilous, but it means making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation. Don't act in such a way to make the reputation of the Body of Christ poor and unappealing. It has eternal repercussions to it.
Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
As we strive to please God and live in such a way not to quench the Spirit, but to be zealous for good works, we need to remember that God's overarching kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. He is not nearly so concerned with the physical as with the spiritual (Psalm 147:10-11, Matt 6:19-21, 25-30, 1 Tim 4:8, Heb 10:6, 8-9). Yes, He cares about the physical too, but first and foremost He wants all mankind saved and come to the accurate knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). We should set our minds on things above not on the earth below (Col 3:1-4). This earth will be made new one day, so our primary concern should be on spiritual well-being. God has an amazing way of taking care of all the physical details along the way on this side of Heaven, so don't worry so much about that.
The only thing different in the Greek is the definite article for the God. It may also be necessary to note the the old English word meat really meant all food.
Romans 14:18
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Now for the positive affirmation. If we choose to serve Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy, then we are both accepted of God and approved of men. Take a moment and digest that, because it does each of us good to examine ourselves and our conduct. Are we genuinely serving Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy? Are we esteeming others more highly than ourselves (Phil 2:3-4), and bearing one another's burdens (Gal 6:2)? Living out God's agape love is both well-pleasing to God and the world will approve of our identity. They will understand that we are properly living out what a member of the Body of Christ should do.
There are a few things to point out in the Greek. First, there is a definite article missing for the Christ, the God, and the men. Next the word for "acceptable" is the Greek "euarestos," a compound word of eu (well, good) and aresko (to please), so we have the meaning of well-pleasing. The word "approved" is the Greek "dokimos" which has the idea of being received, welcomed, or passing scrutiny [1]. As I alluded to before, this is the idea of fitting the bill. Living in God's righteousness, peace, and joy is what we should look like to the world. Finally, "men" is from the Greek "anthropos" which is the generic mankind. I wouldn't want anyone to think that women would not approve where men would.
Romans 14:19
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Knowing that God is about righteousness, peace, and joy, then we should follow after those things. God never makes the important things difficult to understand. We were given what His kingdom is about in verse 17. We're told that the ones serving Him in those things would be well pleasing to Him and others would understand our identity as members of the Body of Christ. Logically, then, we ought to pursue those things that are well pleasing to God and fitting to our identity. Doing this would edify other believers and build up the Body of Christ as a whole.
The verb translated "let us follow after" is in the subjunctive case, indicating that this is a choice or something that ought to be done. It is not in the imperative, again, because God didn't make robots. Love is a choice, and here we see free will presented again. It is also the Greek dioko which means to pursue or persecute. There are several missing definite articles in this verse. I'll just give a more literal translation here to note them:
It follows that therefore we should pursue the things of the peace and the things of the building up (edify) of that toward (eis) each other.
Romans 14:20
For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
It may not be clear in the English, but the first part of this verse is another imperative. The KJV translators stuck to a literal interpretation and it makes sense once it is known that the command is "Do not destroy..." Actually, the word for "destroy" here is kataluo, a compound word of kata (against, according to) and luo (loosen). It means to thoroughly loosen or to break up. From a modern stand point, we may understand the first part of this verse this way:
Do not thoroughly loosen the work of God on account of food.
God has told us several times not to let these little things that have nothing to do with salvation get in the way of loving fellowship with believers. He also reminded us that it looks bad to unbelievers when there is strife and discord within the Body of Christ. In case we didn't get the first time in verse 14, all things are pure in themselves. We need to keep in mind what a man likes or dislikes of those pure things is unique to him. We are not to bring down a brother or sister just because we don't share the same likes and dislikes. For those that do bring contention, God calls that act evil. Just because we are in the Body of Christ doesn't mean that we can't make some poor choices. We need to take heed what we say and do (Col 3:17).
The verse is word for word with the Greek. I will point out that "with" is the Greek "dia." Also, the word "offence" is the noun for "stumbling block" which is "proskomma." This is the only time it is translated as "offense." The last pert of the verse may be better understood as, "But indeed it is evil for that man who eats on account of a stumbling block." It is evil for the man or woman who causes that obstacle on purpose.
Romans 14:21
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Ah, the catch-all verse. God took most of this chapter to explain in thorough detail how we are and are not to conduct ourselves within the Body of Christ. He used examples of food, drink, and special days. Here He says if there is anything your'e doing that would cause harm to another in Body of Christ, then don't do it around them. Don't cause your brother or sister to be disheartened when you know full well your action would do that. Remember, these are in situations that have no regard to salvation or sin.
This verse is quite accurate to the Greek. There is just the missing article at the beginning for the good and whereby is the Greek "en ho" which means "in which." To clarify, the verse starts this way in the Greek: The good is neither to eat...In the previous verse, God did say that doing these things on purpose is evil, so it makes sense that it can't be good, doesn't it?
Romans 14:22
Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
To follow up on the catch-all verse, God gives us more detail. Do you have faith? We should all respond with a yes since this chapter is dealing with believers in the Body of Christ. To whom does it count? In the eyes of God. We don't know the hearts of anyone besides ourselves. Only God can search the hearts of all mankind. It is being reiterated here not to make such a big deal out of frivolous things. Happy or blessed is the one who doesn't judge himself in what he approves. Do I like to make a bid deal about birthdays? I shouldn't be hard on myself for such a thing because I do it for the Lord. Do I make a big deal about eating a vegan diet? I shouldn't get be hard on myself for such a thing because I do it for the Lord. Because of the last verse, if there is anything we are thoroughly set on that falls in the category of "pure things," then let us not judge ourselves and do those things for the Lord.
The word for "comdemneth" is the Greek "krino", meaning to judge or to pick out by separating [2]. There is a definite article for the God. Other than that, the verse is word for word with the Greek.
Romans 14:23
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
The flip side to verse 22 is to judge oneself in these things. We just read that happy or blessed is the one not judging himself in these things because that person has faith in the eyes of God. He that has thoroughly judged himself in these things, meaning he knows full well his actions, and yet chooses to cause someone to fall, is doing so not in faith in the eyes of God. He is out of the will of God and is in sin. Anything done that is out of the will of God, or that is not of faith, is sin.
Saints can still choose to sin. It is wrong in every way, but it can be done. That's why we have verses like Galatians 6:1. Brothers and sisters in Christ may be overtaken in something and be found in sin. That doesn't mean they have lost their salvation (Eph 1:13-14, etc.), but it does mean they are quenching the Holy Spirit and slandering the name of God and the Body of Christ. When that happens, brothers and sisters need to come alongside each other and lovingly restore the one in sin. Those saints that are engaging in sinful activities need this love to restore them to their proper state. If those that are spiritual do not come alongside them or use harsh, condescending words, the ones in the fault may feel shunned by the local church or so shamed in what they are doing that they will seek fellowship elsewhere. These things are painful, but when one member of the body is hurting it affects the whole body (1 Cor 12:26).
The words for "doubteth" and "damned" both share the same root word, which is "krino". The difference comes in the prefix. For "doubteth" it is dia (through, on account of), giving it the idea of thoroughly judging. The verb also occurs in the middle voice, meaning it refers to the one doing the action. The first part of this verse could be rendered, "Now (de) he that thoroughly judges himself..."
The word for "damned" has the prefix kata (down against, according to) attached to krino. This gives the idea of judging down, exactly condemn, or to judge someone decisively as guilty. God is just laying out a fact here. If one looks inside and thoroughly contemplates an action, coming to the conclusion that a particular action is wrong, and then engages in that activity anyway, they bring condemnation on themselves. They have already judged themselves guilty because they know it is wrong. One last thing to point out is that the preposition "ek" is used both times to have the idea of "out of faith." Doing actions as described in this verse could not be out of faith because it is against God. Faith in God and who He is would only compel His children to love with His agape love. We just had the description of that in chapter 12:9-13, so that is what will come out of faith. We still struggle against the desires of the flesh (Romans 7:13-25), so let's come alongside each other and build each other up in the Body of Christ as we eagerly await our Lord and Savior to call us home to Heaven.
References
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon [2]
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
Friday, August 25, 2017
Romans - Verse by Verse Study - Chapter 13
Romans 13:1
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
We are still getting understanding from God what our behavior should look like on this earth in this chapter. The first thing we come across is our relationship to those in authority. Every living soul should be subject, or literally arranged under those being in higher positions. God gives us the reason immediately. Every authority is in place under God. God has arranged every single one of them. Therefore, we ought to remain under them because that would be obeying God.
We may not like everything those authorities say and do. That's not what God is asking us to do. We may not like them, but we should still remain under them. Now let's be clear on this, because there are sure to be questions that come up. If that authority is out of the will of God, or is doing things contrary to the ultimate authority of God and His word, then of course we shouldn't obey them in those things. This verse is talking about position. If we find ourselves under another, we are not to usurp that authority. We remain under, yet stand for the truth. One of the best ways to do that is to pray for those in authority, lifting holy hands constantly to the Lord (1 Tim 2:1-4,8).
Romans 13:2
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Since all those in authority are arranged by God Himself, anyone resisting that authority is really resisting God and His word. There are consequences for that. God doesn't want us to experience those unfortunate consequences, so He always tells us what is right and the repercussions of what is wrong. In this case, those resisting those in authority will bring judgment upon themselves. In other words, rebels will get what's coming to them according to the laws of those in authority.
As we look at the Greek, the word for "resisteth" the first time it occurs corresponds with the word "ordained" in verse 1. In verse 1, the word is of the root tasso, which means to arrange or place. In verse 2 we have antitasso, which is a combination of anti (opposite) and tasso. However, the second and third time "resisteth/resist" is used, it is the word anthistemi, a combination of anti and histemi (to stand). The word for ordinance is the compound word diatasso, which is from dia (through or on account of) and tasso. Finally, the word damnation comes from the Greek krima and means judgment. Passing judgment or what the cause-effect of the case is what our English word damnation used to mean. Now it seems to only be associated with the sin judgment of going to Hell for eternity. In any case, here is a more literal translation now that we know deeper meaning on the Greek:
Therefore, the one resisting the authority, has stood (perfect tense) against the thorough placement of the God. Now (de) those who have stood against will receive judgment to themselves.
Romans 13:3
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
We will see further reasoning in this verse and through verse 5 as to why things are so ordered. Here we are told that these authorities are there for our depraved world. They are to keep things in order by causing fear to those who choose to stand against authority. That fear is of the consequences of disobeying the laws of the land. It's why we have police and security forces. They are there of God to keep everyone in line. Therefore, if we do that which is good, these authorities will have nothing but praise for the obedient.
There is a different word used for rulers here than in verses 1 and 2. It is of the root archon, which can mean beginning or ruler. It is taken as one who is the the first in line. It's why our English has the "arch" prefix to denote the highest or first, as in archbishop or archenemy. The word "power" is the same is it has been in verses 1 and 2, which is exousia, a compound word of ek (out of) and eimi (to be). The word for "wilt" is thelo in the Greek, which means desire or wish. I also wanted to point out the emphasis of the word praise, as it is a compound word as well. The regular word for praise is ainos in the Greek, but the word here is epainos, adding the prefix epi (upon). It has the idea of fitting or apt praise, which certainly makes sense in this context. The Greek also has a definite article for the good works. With all of that, here is a more literal translation:
For rulers are not a terror to the good works, but to the evil. Do you desire now (de) not to be afraid of the authority? Do the good and you will have fitting praise out of the same (referring to the authority).
Romans 13:4
For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Continuing God's reasoning for remaining under the authorities in place is because they are for our good. That should be clear to see. It's the reason parents are in authority over their children so that they won't get hurt and it may go well with them (Eph 6:1-3). Why don't we let small children play with knives or fire? So they won't get hurt or hurt others. Why do the police not let people drive 120 mi/hr in the city? So they won't get hurt or hurt others. Authority is supposed to be there for the good of the community.
The flipside of that is when people choose to disobey. There's a reason that the positions of authority are there. For anyone who disobeys, they have the authority to administer judgment. They will serve God in punishing those that do evil.
One may think, what about pagan authorities, or those that claim atheism? They are still put there by God and God has His reasons. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't a believer, but he was used to punish Israel for their unbelief. Later he and his nation were punished of God. God knows what He is doing, and everyone is in their place for a reason. All the more reason to pray for them.
This verse is very accurate to the Greek. The only thing to note are the definite articles for the good and the evil each time.
Romans 13:5
Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Understanding verses 1-4, we should come to this conclusion, that for peace of mind we ought to remain under the authorities that are in place from God. Avoiding the wrath or those undesired consequences isn't the only reason, but it will bring a peace of mind. God has talked about this many times before in His word. Note Proverbs 16:12-15 for one reference.
The only thing to point out in the Greek here is the definite article for the wrath.
Romans 13:6
For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
There's an added bonus to remaining under the authority of others. It's to pay their wages because they are serving God. Sure gives a new meaning to taxes, doesn't it? I know many people complain about it, but it's because of taxes that we have things like a police force, fire department, and many others. Taxes are meant to be a good thing, and rest assured that God will know if those authorities are abusing their power. Remember the example of Nebuchadnezzar? He had his whole kingdom removed from him and lived as an ox for seven years because of his pride and disobeying God (Dan 4:24-33).
Romans 13:7
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Knowing that we pay taxes or the salaries of all those in authority, and all those in authority are placed by God, it should be no wonder that we are commanded to pay them what belongs to them. This concept is not new. Jesus says it in Matthew 22:15-22 and the parallel accounts. God talks about the concept of paying what is right in Proverbs 11:1 and 16:11. In the Law, Israel was to give to the Levites and priests for their services. God has all these things in place for fellowship in the community.
Romans 13:8
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Now I feel that the first part of this verse has been taken out of context in a similar way to Malachi 3:10. Yes it is a command to owe nothing to no one, but that isn't the full sentence or thought here. There is no period there. The next part is important to understand and the meaning may be lost in the English compared to the Greek. It literally says, "if not that to love one another." The whole thing is, "Owe nothing to no one if not that to love one another." The Greek uses more negatives that we're comfortable with, so I don't blame the KJV for it's translation. The "if" there is "ei," so it is a factual statement. The one thing we are commanded to owe is love to one another, and that is the agape love.
We're given the reason why succinctly here but God will expound on it through verse 10. By living out this agape love, we fulfill God's law. Jesus said that as well in the two greatest commandments. He was only asked for one but gave two anyway in Matt 22:32-40. It was written in Law back in Lev 19:18 and Deut 6:5. It's this love that God talks so much about, because it is His main attribute we need to know. If we learn to live in this love, we will have successfully put on Christ, as we are told to do down in verse 14.
The reason I said that this verse is taken out of context is that it is not condemning taking on any debt whatsoever. It is saying to pay back what you owe. Otherwise those of us that pay utility bills are in trouble because we owe a debt for the services rendered. Does that make it a sin to have an electric or water company? No, of course not. One provides a service, the other pays for that service whether in money or an agreed upon service. The concept should be clear when looking again in verse 7 in conjunction with verse 8.
God tells us that borrowing makes us a slave to the lender (Prov 22:7), but He doesn't outright say don't do it or be condemned. Our heart should always be in the right spot to pay what we owe. No matter who you are or your level of self-sufficiency, you will run into a situation you can't handle yourself and will need help from another. Is it wrong to ask for that help? Of course not. But of the help you receive, pay back what is owed for the service, and make sure it is in love.
Romans 13:9
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
How does loving another with agape love fulfill the law? We're told right here. Paul lists some of them from Exodus 20, but isn't it interesting that there is a catch-all phrase used? "If there be any other commandment..." God sure does know us, doesn't He? He knows we need a simple concept to remember, so He gives us one. If you want to fulfill the law, then you should "love your neighbor as yourself." He'll give a further reason why in the next verse.
This is quite accurate to the Greek, but there are a couple of things to point out. The word "if" is "ei" again. The word "other" is "heteros" which is the other of a different kind. Now the word for "briefly comprehended" is the Greek anakephalaioo. It's quite the mouthful, but is the compound word of ana (up) and kephalaioo (to bring to a head). This word is only used two times in the New Testament: here and Eph 1:10 where it is translated "he might gather together in one." It is the same concept, that all things come under this one heading, which God says is to love your neighbor as yourself.
One last thing to point out is the word for "this saying" is logos. The Greek more literally says, "if (Greek ei) any other commandment in this the word, it is summed up in this: You will love your neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:10
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
We just read about agape love in chapter 12 so it should be littler wonder what we see in this verse. Agape couldn't possibly bring hurt to anyone else. Quite the opposite, it will only bring good. Here is the description we were given:
Sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good (9), is devoted toward one another with the brotherly love, goes before one another with the honor (10), is not lagging in the diligence, is fervent in the spirit, serves the Lord (11), rejoices in the hope, endures in the tribulation, continues with intense effort in prayer (12), has fellowship with the needs of the saints, pursues hospitality (13)
That's the kind of love God is talking about. That's what fulfills the law.
The only thing to point out here is that there is a definite article for the love, and it's there both times.
Romans 13:11
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
We were given so many commands and instructions on how to conduct ourselves in this life in chapter 12 up until this point. Now, knowing all of that, and that agape love is the fulfilling of the law, we ought to live that way because each day that passes brings us closer to home. Jesus will call the church which is His body home to Him in the clouds (1 Thess 4:13-18, 2 Thess 2:1-7, Tit 2:13). It is imperative to understand the hope we have and know the time, or the season, in which we live. We are to be ambassadors for God sharing the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-21). Because of this time and that the call home is imminent, our primary concern in our daily lives should be to live in agape love and preach Christ and Him crucified, buried, and risen to save all from sin (1 Cor 2:1-2, Eph 5:16).
God just told us that we ought to be living sacrifices for Him because of what He has done for us to usher in this age of grace (12:1). Here, the original language is more emphatic to encourage that behavior. The verbs for awaken and believed are in the Aorist infinitive case. There is a missing pronoun in the KJV that was not translated. It more literally says this:
And this, knowing the time/season (Greek kairo), that already is your hour to awake out of sleep, for now (Greek nyn) our salvation is nearer than when we had believed.
These saints have heard the word of truth and trusted in it. It is their hour, their time to shake off the spiritual sleep and realize who they are in Christ. They should know the price they were bought with and enjoy the privilege of being a living sacrifice unto God, speaking the truth in love, and allowing the powerful word of God to break the snares and strongholds of Satan around the minds of unbelievers or misguided believers.
Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Our call home can happen at any moment. In fact, we are told that the message of reconciliation given to the apostle Paul filled up full the word of God (Col 1:25). The night, this nightmare of a sin cursed world, is nearing it's end. There are no more words God needs to tell us; all words we have will be fulfilled in the near future. The next thing on the timeline is what we call the rapture, where the church which is Christ's body will be snatched up together in the clouds at the call of Jesus Christ Himself. Knowing this, we should desire to put off any works of darkness, any dishonorable actions (Rom 1:28-32). Instead, we should wear the armor of light. We should allow the light of God to protect us from the darkness of this world.
He tells us in the epistle to the Ephesians that we were sometimes darkness, but now are light in the Lord, so we ought to walk as children of light. We should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. How do we do that? All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light (Eph 5:8-13).
Knowing the light exposes the darkness and reproves it, heed the command of God and put on His armor of light. Speak His truth in love and allow God's word to set others free with the power of His gospel.
The only thing to point out in the Greek here are the definite articles for the darkness and the light.
Romans 13:13
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Note how each of the last things mentioned are "let us" do this or that. These are things we ought to do, but are not things we have to do. It is our choice and God will never force anyone to do anything. But knowing who we are in Christ, I would question why anyone wouldn't have an insatiable desire to be what and who God wants them to be. Let us be honest. Who doesn't want that? Who hasn't suffered the hurt of lies? Walk honestly and put on that armor of light.
God tells us the other side as well. After saying what we should do, He tells us what we shouldn't do. Don't have riotous parties (Greek komos). Don't be drowning in drunkenness. Don't be immersed in sexual immorality or outrageous conduct and public indecency. Don't strive with one another or be jealous. These are the works of darkness that children of the light should put off.
Romans 13:14
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Instead of all that darkness, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Wearing Him will not allow the flesh to manifest the works of darkness. He is our armor of light, which will expose all darkness and reprove it. Yes, there will be resistance (2 Tim 4:1-5), but we don't know the hearts of men; only God knows. Therefore, we fight the good fight of faith each day and proclaim the gospel of His grace to any and all. Let God have vengeance where it is necessary, though we know His will too. He wants all mankind to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). If He wants everyone saved from sin and death, we shouldn't be selective in who we share this gospel with, should we?
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
We are still getting understanding from God what our behavior should look like on this earth in this chapter. The first thing we come across is our relationship to those in authority. Every living soul should be subject, or literally arranged under those being in higher positions. God gives us the reason immediately. Every authority is in place under God. God has arranged every single one of them. Therefore, we ought to remain under them because that would be obeying God.
We may not like everything those authorities say and do. That's not what God is asking us to do. We may not like them, but we should still remain under them. Now let's be clear on this, because there are sure to be questions that come up. If that authority is out of the will of God, or is doing things contrary to the ultimate authority of God and His word, then of course we shouldn't obey them in those things. This verse is talking about position. If we find ourselves under another, we are not to usurp that authority. We remain under, yet stand for the truth. One of the best ways to do that is to pray for those in authority, lifting holy hands constantly to the Lord (1 Tim 2:1-4,8).
Romans 13:2
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
Since all those in authority are arranged by God Himself, anyone resisting that authority is really resisting God and His word. There are consequences for that. God doesn't want us to experience those unfortunate consequences, so He always tells us what is right and the repercussions of what is wrong. In this case, those resisting those in authority will bring judgment upon themselves. In other words, rebels will get what's coming to them according to the laws of those in authority.
As we look at the Greek, the word for "resisteth" the first time it occurs corresponds with the word "ordained" in verse 1. In verse 1, the word is of the root tasso, which means to arrange or place. In verse 2 we have antitasso, which is a combination of anti (opposite) and tasso. However, the second and third time "resisteth/resist" is used, it is the word anthistemi, a combination of anti and histemi (to stand). The word for ordinance is the compound word diatasso, which is from dia (through or on account of) and tasso. Finally, the word damnation comes from the Greek krima and means judgment. Passing judgment or what the cause-effect of the case is what our English word damnation used to mean. Now it seems to only be associated with the sin judgment of going to Hell for eternity. In any case, here is a more literal translation now that we know deeper meaning on the Greek:
Therefore, the one resisting the authority, has stood (perfect tense) against the thorough placement of the God. Now (de) those who have stood against will receive judgment to themselves.
Romans 13:3
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
We will see further reasoning in this verse and through verse 5 as to why things are so ordered. Here we are told that these authorities are there for our depraved world. They are to keep things in order by causing fear to those who choose to stand against authority. That fear is of the consequences of disobeying the laws of the land. It's why we have police and security forces. They are there of God to keep everyone in line. Therefore, if we do that which is good, these authorities will have nothing but praise for the obedient.
There is a different word used for rulers here than in verses 1 and 2. It is of the root archon, which can mean beginning or ruler. It is taken as one who is the the first in line. It's why our English has the "arch" prefix to denote the highest or first, as in archbishop or archenemy. The word "power" is the same is it has been in verses 1 and 2, which is exousia, a compound word of ek (out of) and eimi (to be). The word for "wilt" is thelo in the Greek, which means desire or wish. I also wanted to point out the emphasis of the word praise, as it is a compound word as well. The regular word for praise is ainos in the Greek, but the word here is epainos, adding the prefix epi (upon). It has the idea of fitting or apt praise, which certainly makes sense in this context. The Greek also has a definite article for the good works. With all of that, here is a more literal translation:
For rulers are not a terror to the good works, but to the evil. Do you desire now (de) not to be afraid of the authority? Do the good and you will have fitting praise out of the same (referring to the authority).
Romans 13:4
For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Continuing God's reasoning for remaining under the authorities in place is because they are for our good. That should be clear to see. It's the reason parents are in authority over their children so that they won't get hurt and it may go well with them (Eph 6:1-3). Why don't we let small children play with knives or fire? So they won't get hurt or hurt others. Why do the police not let people drive 120 mi/hr in the city? So they won't get hurt or hurt others. Authority is supposed to be there for the good of the community.
The flipside of that is when people choose to disobey. There's a reason that the positions of authority are there. For anyone who disobeys, they have the authority to administer judgment. They will serve God in punishing those that do evil.
One may think, what about pagan authorities, or those that claim atheism? They are still put there by God and God has His reasons. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't a believer, but he was used to punish Israel for their unbelief. Later he and his nation were punished of God. God knows what He is doing, and everyone is in their place for a reason. All the more reason to pray for them.
This verse is very accurate to the Greek. The only thing to note are the definite articles for the good and the evil each time.
Romans 13:5
Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Understanding verses 1-4, we should come to this conclusion, that for peace of mind we ought to remain under the authorities that are in place from God. Avoiding the wrath or those undesired consequences isn't the only reason, but it will bring a peace of mind. God has talked about this many times before in His word. Note Proverbs 16:12-15 for one reference.
The only thing to point out in the Greek here is the definite article for the wrath.
Romans 13:6
For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
There's an added bonus to remaining under the authority of others. It's to pay their wages because they are serving God. Sure gives a new meaning to taxes, doesn't it? I know many people complain about it, but it's because of taxes that we have things like a police force, fire department, and many others. Taxes are meant to be a good thing, and rest assured that God will know if those authorities are abusing their power. Remember the example of Nebuchadnezzar? He had his whole kingdom removed from him and lived as an ox for seven years because of his pride and disobeying God (Dan 4:24-33).
Romans 13:7
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
Knowing that we pay taxes or the salaries of all those in authority, and all those in authority are placed by God, it should be no wonder that we are commanded to pay them what belongs to them. This concept is not new. Jesus says it in Matthew 22:15-22 and the parallel accounts. God talks about the concept of paying what is right in Proverbs 11:1 and 16:11. In the Law, Israel was to give to the Levites and priests for their services. God has all these things in place for fellowship in the community.
Romans 13:8
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Now I feel that the first part of this verse has been taken out of context in a similar way to Malachi 3:10. Yes it is a command to owe nothing to no one, but that isn't the full sentence or thought here. There is no period there. The next part is important to understand and the meaning may be lost in the English compared to the Greek. It literally says, "if not that to love one another." The whole thing is, "Owe nothing to no one if not that to love one another." The Greek uses more negatives that we're comfortable with, so I don't blame the KJV for it's translation. The "if" there is "ei," so it is a factual statement. The one thing we are commanded to owe is love to one another, and that is the agape love.
We're given the reason why succinctly here but God will expound on it through verse 10. By living out this agape love, we fulfill God's law. Jesus said that as well in the two greatest commandments. He was only asked for one but gave two anyway in Matt 22:32-40. It was written in Law back in Lev 19:18 and Deut 6:5. It's this love that God talks so much about, because it is His main attribute we need to know. If we learn to live in this love, we will have successfully put on Christ, as we are told to do down in verse 14.
The reason I said that this verse is taken out of context is that it is not condemning taking on any debt whatsoever. It is saying to pay back what you owe. Otherwise those of us that pay utility bills are in trouble because we owe a debt for the services rendered. Does that make it a sin to have an electric or water company? No, of course not. One provides a service, the other pays for that service whether in money or an agreed upon service. The concept should be clear when looking again in verse 7 in conjunction with verse 8.
God tells us that borrowing makes us a slave to the lender (Prov 22:7), but He doesn't outright say don't do it or be condemned. Our heart should always be in the right spot to pay what we owe. No matter who you are or your level of self-sufficiency, you will run into a situation you can't handle yourself and will need help from another. Is it wrong to ask for that help? Of course not. But of the help you receive, pay back what is owed for the service, and make sure it is in love.
Romans 13:9
For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
How does loving another with agape love fulfill the law? We're told right here. Paul lists some of them from Exodus 20, but isn't it interesting that there is a catch-all phrase used? "If there be any other commandment..." God sure does know us, doesn't He? He knows we need a simple concept to remember, so He gives us one. If you want to fulfill the law, then you should "love your neighbor as yourself." He'll give a further reason why in the next verse.
This is quite accurate to the Greek, but there are a couple of things to point out. The word "if" is "ei" again. The word "other" is "heteros" which is the other of a different kind. Now the word for "briefly comprehended" is the Greek anakephalaioo. It's quite the mouthful, but is the compound word of ana (up) and kephalaioo (to bring to a head). This word is only used two times in the New Testament: here and Eph 1:10 where it is translated "he might gather together in one." It is the same concept, that all things come under this one heading, which God says is to love your neighbor as yourself.
One last thing to point out is the word for "this saying" is logos. The Greek more literally says, "if (Greek ei) any other commandment in this the word, it is summed up in this: You will love your neighbor as yourself."
Romans 13:10
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
We just read about agape love in chapter 12 so it should be littler wonder what we see in this verse. Agape couldn't possibly bring hurt to anyone else. Quite the opposite, it will only bring good. Here is the description we were given:
Sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good (9), is devoted toward one another with the brotherly love, goes before one another with the honor (10), is not lagging in the diligence, is fervent in the spirit, serves the Lord (11), rejoices in the hope, endures in the tribulation, continues with intense effort in prayer (12), has fellowship with the needs of the saints, pursues hospitality (13)
That's the kind of love God is talking about. That's what fulfills the law.
The only thing to point out here is that there is a definite article for the love, and it's there both times.
Romans 13:11
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
We were given so many commands and instructions on how to conduct ourselves in this life in chapter 12 up until this point. Now, knowing all of that, and that agape love is the fulfilling of the law, we ought to live that way because each day that passes brings us closer to home. Jesus will call the church which is His body home to Him in the clouds (1 Thess 4:13-18, 2 Thess 2:1-7, Tit 2:13). It is imperative to understand the hope we have and know the time, or the season, in which we live. We are to be ambassadors for God sharing the message of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:17-21). Because of this time and that the call home is imminent, our primary concern in our daily lives should be to live in agape love and preach Christ and Him crucified, buried, and risen to save all from sin (1 Cor 2:1-2, Eph 5:16).
God just told us that we ought to be living sacrifices for Him because of what He has done for us to usher in this age of grace (12:1). Here, the original language is more emphatic to encourage that behavior. The verbs for awaken and believed are in the Aorist infinitive case. There is a missing pronoun in the KJV that was not translated. It more literally says this:
And this, knowing the time/season (Greek kairo), that already is your hour to awake out of sleep, for now (Greek nyn) our salvation is nearer than when we had believed.
These saints have heard the word of truth and trusted in it. It is their hour, their time to shake off the spiritual sleep and realize who they are in Christ. They should know the price they were bought with and enjoy the privilege of being a living sacrifice unto God, speaking the truth in love, and allowing the powerful word of God to break the snares and strongholds of Satan around the minds of unbelievers or misguided believers.
Romans 13:12
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
Our call home can happen at any moment. In fact, we are told that the message of reconciliation given to the apostle Paul filled up full the word of God (Col 1:25). The night, this nightmare of a sin cursed world, is nearing it's end. There are no more words God needs to tell us; all words we have will be fulfilled in the near future. The next thing on the timeline is what we call the rapture, where the church which is Christ's body will be snatched up together in the clouds at the call of Jesus Christ Himself. Knowing this, we should desire to put off any works of darkness, any dishonorable actions (Rom 1:28-32). Instead, we should wear the armor of light. We should allow the light of God to protect us from the darkness of this world.
He tells us in the epistle to the Ephesians that we were sometimes darkness, but now are light in the Lord, so we ought to walk as children of light. We should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. How do we do that? All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light (Eph 5:8-13).
Knowing the light exposes the darkness and reproves it, heed the command of God and put on His armor of light. Speak His truth in love and allow God's word to set others free with the power of His gospel.
The only thing to point out in the Greek here are the definite articles for the darkness and the light.
Romans 13:13
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
Note how each of the last things mentioned are "let us" do this or that. These are things we ought to do, but are not things we have to do. It is our choice and God will never force anyone to do anything. But knowing who we are in Christ, I would question why anyone wouldn't have an insatiable desire to be what and who God wants them to be. Let us be honest. Who doesn't want that? Who hasn't suffered the hurt of lies? Walk honestly and put on that armor of light.
God tells us the other side as well. After saying what we should do, He tells us what we shouldn't do. Don't have riotous parties (Greek komos). Don't be drowning in drunkenness. Don't be immersed in sexual immorality or outrageous conduct and public indecency. Don't strive with one another or be jealous. These are the works of darkness that children of the light should put off.
Romans 13:14
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Instead of all that darkness, put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Wearing Him will not allow the flesh to manifest the works of darkness. He is our armor of light, which will expose all darkness and reprove it. Yes, there will be resistance (2 Tim 4:1-5), but we don't know the hearts of men; only God knows. Therefore, we fight the good fight of faith each day and proclaim the gospel of His grace to any and all. Let God have vengeance where it is necessary, though we know His will too. He wants all mankind to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). If He wants everyone saved from sin and death, we shouldn't be selective in who we share this gospel with, should we?
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Romans - Verse by Verse Study - Chapter 12
Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Therefore, on account of these things we just learned, we Gentile believers saved by God's grace out to present ourselves as living sacrifices unto God. It is logical, knowing we just talked about how God is above all things, and out of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. By His mercy, He has given Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and that all who believe in Him will obtain salvation from sin and death and inherit eternal life. Therefore, we ought to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.
What exactly does that mean? Think about the sacrifices that were in place under the Law. They had to be without blemish. They had to be the best of the best, or the first of the harvest, and most certainly not leftovers. Our bodies ought to be used in this way. We should throw off all hindrances and allow God to work through us to bring salvation to those around us. And this so that all people everywhere may hear the gospel and make the decision to receive the gift of salvation or not. Additionally, it will provoke the unbelieving Jew to jealousy, and return them to the true faith.
The Greek word for "I beseech" is "parakaleo." It is a compound word of para (close beside) and kaleo (to call). It has the idea of making a personal call, but it is translated a number of different ways (appeal, beg, beseech, comfort, exhort, implore, plead, etc.)
The Greek for mercies here is different than in the previous verses in chapter 11. In chapter 11 it was the word eleeo, which means to have pity or mercy or to show mercy [1]. Here in 12:1 the word is oiktirmos, which has the meaning of "compassion (pity), i.e. deep feeling about someone's difficulty or misfortune" [1] God loves His creation so much He really stopped at nothing to win it back. He did all the work for us to fix our sin problem by veiling Himself in flesh as Jesus Christ and shedding His blood, being buried, and rising again the third day. Now He holds out the free gift to all who believe that He did that for them. He reconciled the world to Himself through Jesus Christ, now it's up to us to choose to accept or receive that gift. When the believer realizes the gift they have, they ought to desire to please their heavenly Father. It just makes sense, as this verse indicates.
Several verses to cross reference come to mind: 1 Cor 3:16, 6:18-20, Eph 5:25-30, etc.
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
God just told us we ought to show our bodies to be holy in the previous verse. That was the positive affirmation. Now we have a negative that tells us something similar. Don't be like the world. Why not? because the world is dead in trespasses and sins, destined for destruction. Don't fit into that and be a Christian under-cover. Instead, flourish in who you are, a son or daughter of the living God through Christ Jesus. Be changed in your mind so you can come to that accurate knowledge of the truth (1 tim 2:4). Here we are told we can prove or test the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God if we let Him transform us (cf 1 Cor 2:16).
The Greek here says not to be conformed to this age. The word there is aion, which is a reference to a time, compared to kosmos, which is the created world. God doesn't want us to conform to the temporary of this age, but to set our minds on things above for the age to come (Col 3:1-17).
Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
So knowing what God has gone through to get us to where we are today, we should understand that we were bought with a price and should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. We ought to stand out from the world, not being conformed to it, but clearly be different and allow others to see Christ in us, the hope of glory. For these reasons and understanding the grace of God and Paul's gospel, we shouldn't think ourselves more highly or the "holier than thou" mentality. Instead, be clear-minded as we all have been given the same measure of faith.
What does that mean? It means a couple of things which will be expounded on. First, we all belong to the Body of Christ. It means each believer that is in the Body of Christ has the same hope or expectation, which most call the rapture. It is that blessed hope that we eagerly await for our Savior to call us home to Heaven and give us a body like unto Jesus' body (Titus 2:11-13, Phil 3:20-21). In the moment that we put our faith in the gospel of God's grace as given to the apostle Paul, we align with the faith of Jesus Christ, who is faithful and will perform what He says He will do. In that moment of faith, we become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21). We are called His saints and His children (Eph 1:1-5). No matter who you are and where you come from, when your faith is placed in Jesus Christ and the work He did for you to save from sins, you have this blessed hope to look forward to.
Beyond that, though, we each are coming from different walks of life.
There are a few definite articles that make a difference here in the Greek. The KJV translates properly the Grace, but then the Greek has another article to emphasize it again. It literally reads "For I say through the grace of that having been given to me..." What grace did Paul receive? He writes about it all over His epistles. It's the glorious gospel of the blessed God where we are saved from sin and death through faith apart from works. The next definite article is to denote "to the all." The KJV has it translated "to every man". The next article occurs in the phrase "but to think soberly." In the Greek, it is "but to be minded toward (eis) that to be sober-minded." Paul is indicating the change that ought to take place after the moment that faith is put into his gospel. Saints shouldn't think of themselves above the rest of the world, but to transform our minds and keep a clear head, and conduct ourselves worthy of the calling that we have been called to (Eph 4:1). Finally, there is a definite article for the God.
Romans 12:4
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
And here we have another unfortunate instance of breaking a sentence up between verse numbers. We'll get the full thought through verse 5. We are introduced to the analogy of the body and understanding that all believers are part of the entity which is the body of Christ. Not everyone is the same, nor do we all do the same line of work. But that doesn't change the fact that we are all members of the body of believers, the body of Christ.
Interesting that the word chosen for the KJV is office at the end of this verse. The Greek word is praxis, which has the definition of an action, deeds, or function [1]. You can see the English word practice in there. I'm sure this is why we still say doctors practice at their clinics; it is the medical function that they are performing. I just wanted to clarify the definition of the word there if it was not already clear. The only other thing to point out in the Greek is the definite article for the members.
Romans 12:5
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
We each have many different parts of or own body, like head, shoulders, knees and toes (sing the song if you'd like), and we each are still considered one entity, one body, as shown inverse four. Just like that, all believers in Christ, though they are all different, are all in the body of Christ. We are all members of that body. Please see 1 Corinthians 12 for further detail on this concept.
The Greek reads differently here, though the concept is the same. For the sake of sticking for the original language, here is a more literal translation:
"In the same manner the many, we, are one body in Christ. According to that now, members one of another."
Romans 12:6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
God created people, not robots. He didn't make us all the exact same either. Each of us in the Body of Christ have different gifts. The Greek word there indicates these are different graces (charisma) of God. It was His joy to make us unique but able to mesh together into the Body of Christ.
Knowing this, we should each adhere to those things that were graced us to build up the Body. Just like a finger should do what a finger does and the teeth do what they do, we each should use the grace given to us from our benevolent God. We're given two examples in this verse but there are more coming in the next verses. If you were given a ministry of telling forth the word of God, or filling the pulpit, or some sort of missionary work, then do so according to as God has given you.
An interesting thing in this verse is the Greek word for proportion. It is analogia, which should be easy to see where the English analogy comes from. It does mean proportion or measure, but is a compound word of ana (up, denoting motion from a lower plane to higher [2]) and logos (declared speech, reasoning, or word). In a literal sense, then, analogia means an elevated reasoning or moving from a point of comparison up to another. So if prophecy is the grace given to you, as it really is to all of us in the Body (2 Cor 5:18-19), we should be aware of what we are telling forth and make sure that it follows our faith, that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day as a propitiation for our sin debt (1 Cor 15:3-4, Rom 3:21-26). It would do us well to note that there is a definite article here to denote the faith. This could only be faith in the gospel as given to the apostle Paul.
On other thing to point out in the Greek which continues in the next verses, is that all of these things that are noted are to be done "in" (Greek en) the thing that follows. Prophecy is in prophecy, ministry is in ministering, teaching is in teaching, etc.
Romans 12:7
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Here are two more gifts of grace from God to the members of the church which is His body. If you have the ability to minister or to teach, whole-heartedly pursue those as our great God gives the opportunities (Col 3:23).
The Greek word for ministry and ministering comes from the root diakonia, where we get our English word deacon from. The word has the meaning of service, ministering, especially of those who execute the commands of others [2].
The Greek word for teacheth and teaching here is from the root didasko. It has the meaning to teach (literally, "cause to learn"); instruct, impart knowledge (disseminate information) [1].
There are loads of these opportunities for us each day if we look for them. I don't want anyone to think that if they don't believer they have one of these gifts that they should never use them. What I've noticed is that I have more opportunities in one area than others on a given day, but I have opportunities in all of these. As a parent, I have a plethora of opportunities to teach and minister, and whenever possible to prophesy to the children. God has blessed me with opportunities to fill pulpits as well. What I'm saying is that we all will have different opportunities, different gifts given from God which are good works preordained that we should conduct ourselves in them (Eph 2:10).
Romans 12:8
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
For those that are especially good with comforting and building up others, or charitable giving, do so whole-heartedly as your work is in the Lord. For those that have been blessed with a position of authority, be sure to lead diligently, knowing your authority is in Heaven (Eph 6:9, Col 4:1). God is consistent with each one of these commands to us throughout scripture. Isn't it nice that He also is showing us the right attitude for doing these things? There is a time for everything, so when these opportunities arise, let us be ready and willing to execute these gifts according to the will of God and to be thankful for each and every one.
I did enjoy looking into the Greek for each of these gifts of God's grace. There are several in this verse, so bear with me. The Greek for exhorteth and exhortation is parakaleo, a compound word of para (alongside) and kaleo (to call). It is also translated as comfort in 2 Cor 1 or 1 Thess 4:18, but is found many times (109 according to biblehub.com) in the New Testament. Calling alongside oneself sure does paint a clear picture of bearing one another's burdens (Gal 6:2) and helping a brother or sister out.
The word for giveth is metadidomi, a compound word of meta (with or after) and didomi (to give or offer). It has the idea of sharing or offering indefinitely, or of changing the owner. These are gifts with no intention of ever being paid back. The word for simplicity here is haplotes, which means simplicity, sincerity, or purity. There should never be an ulterior motive for charitable donation in the eyes of God.
The word for ruleth is proistemi, which is a compound word of pro (before) and histemi (to stand). So it literally means to stand before another or to take the lead. The word for diligence is spoude, which has the idea of hastily zealous diligence. The verb form of that word (spoudazo) is found in Eph 4:3 (endeavor) and 2 Tim 2:15 (study). There's a familiar phrase going around with a lot of truth to it, "With great power comes great responsibility." No matter where you think that came from, God said it first.
We've already looked at the Greek word for mercy before (eleeo), but it may be of interest to see the Greek word for cheerfulness. It is hilarotes, from which we get our English word hilarious. It has the idea of cheerful readyness. Lastly, I want to revisit each of the descriptive words have the little Greek word "en" before them, which means in, within, or among. The KJV translated them as on or with here, which may be misleading. It more literally says this:
Or the one that exorteth, in the exhortation, the one giving, in sincerity, the one leading, in zealous diligence, the one showing mercy, in cheerful readyness.
Romans 12:9
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
I often wonder why people ask the question, "I wonder what God's will is for my life?" when God so clearly lays it out. Sure, the minute details are different for each of us here on this earth, but all that are in the Body of Christ should be generally following the same behavior regardless of what we do. No one should show false charity nor enjoy and condone evil. We should all strive to be good, or more accurately to be godly. God will tell us in the next chapter to put off the old things and put on Christ. We should imitate Christ in our daily life (1 Cor 4:16, 11:1).
The original language is succinct and powerful here. The first part of this verse has three words: he (the) agape (God's unconditional love) anypokritos (not hypocritical). Now the Greek language doesn't have punctuation in it but rather is determined by the parsing of the words. The word for abhor in the Greek is apostugeo, a compound word of apo (away from) and stugeo (hate). This word is in the present tense, not the imperative. The same is true for the verb cleave (kollao). A more proper rendering in my opinion is this and note each definite article:
"The sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good."
God just told us how we ought to behave with the differing gifts each member of the body of Christ has been given. It's summed up here in God's unconditional agape love. God gives us a clear definition of that love in 1 Cor 13. This same love covers a multitude of sins and sums up the Law (Gal 5:13-14, 1 Pet 4:8). Staying in this love forces evil and sin to be removed far from us. But God does warn us if we don't get along, problems ensue (Gal 5:15).
We encounter something quite interesting here. For the next few verses I believe this is a description of agape love, akin to 1 Cor 13. There is no imperative verb in the Greek until we get to verse 14, "Bless". There are no nominative nouns (subjects) until we get to verse 19 either. For these reasons I don't believe that the KJV is accurate. These verses are not commands, but rather descriptions of agape. After verse 13 I'll lay out all the Greek and may the Lord guide us in the truth of these verses.
Romans 12:10
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Another Greek word for love besides agape is found in this verse, which we named a city after in the United States: philadelphia. It means brotherly love. There is also another word, which is translated as "kindly affectioned," and that is philostorgos. That has the idea of tenderly loving or devotion, but it is an adjective here so the proper translation would be devoted or kindly affectioned as the KJV has it. While I'm on the Greek, the word for preferring is proegeomai, which is a compound word of pro (before) and hegeomai (lead), and has the idea of going before as a leader.
The Christian walk is consistently described as putting others ahead of the self, which is contrary to our sin nature. Our flesh desires the self to be in front, or has the "What's in it for me?" mentality. But agape love doesn't do this. It tenderly loves with a brotherly love and puts others before the self. We were warned not to have the "holier than thou" mentality in the last chapter when we were made aware that God concluded Israel in unbelief that He may usher in this age of the gospel of His grace. Really, we are seeing Rom 12:3 reiterated here. We can live out Rom 12:3 by practicing agape.
One other thing to note is the definite article for the honour.
Romans 12:11
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Agape is not slothful or hesitating in diligence. Love doesn't take a backseat when there is a need, that much should be clear. Quite the opposite, it burns to make things right. This kind of love always serves God because it comes from Him.
It is interesting to note the word for business here is the same as diligence in verse 8 (spoude). Also, the word for serving comes from the Greek douleuo, which has the idea of slaving or being subject to. There are definite articles for the business and the spirit.
Romans 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Agape love rejoices in hope, which is an expected end. What end is that? The beautiful reunion of God with His saints. For us in the Body of Christ, that is what is called the rapture event. But really, it includes all of God's saints throughout the ages. Israel has a hope that will come to fruition too. We just read about that in the previous chapter. God is no respecter of persons, so He doesn't love His saints in the Body of Christ more than those faithful in Israel during the dispensation of the gospel of the circumcision. Believers in that age knew God's love and rejoiced in their hope (Psalm 136).
Praise the Lord for His love that sees us through tribulation. It's that love and hope we have that allows us to face our trials and maintain a joyful outlook. It's that same love and hope that allowed Paul and Silas to sing when they were thrown in the Philippian jail (Acts 16:16-25).
The word for continuing here is proskartereo (pros + kartereo), which has the definition to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty [1]. God defines agape as bearing all things, enduring all things, and never failing (1 Cor 13:7-8).
Romans 12:13
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
I'm not sure if the word distribute has changed over the last 400 years since the printing of the KJV, but I want to clarify what is being said here. The verb is koinoneo, and means to come into communion or fellowship, to become a sharer, be made a partner [2]. I would think the word "Partaking" would fit better in this verse. The word "necessity" is in the Dative case and there is no preposition there, so we must supply one that fits the context. Typically "to" fits, and I think it does here based on word order. A literal rendering may be "To the needs of the saints, partaking." Another could be "To the needs of the saints, having fellowship." Again, we have to go all the way back to verse 9 to get what is partaking here, and it's still agape.
The KJV makes the latter half of this verse much more pleasant sounding. The Greek has more of the idea of persecuting hospitality. The verb there is dioko which is mostly translated as persecute or pursue. It was used of Jesus Christ when He asked, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4, 22:7, 26:14). The word hospitality is the Greek philoxenia, a compound word of philo (brotherly love) and xenia (stranger or foreigner). Hospitality is a good translation, but I do enjoy seeing the roots of words and where their meaning stems from.
So after all of this, I want to list the attributes of agape in Romans 12:9-13.
Sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good (9), is devoted toward one another with the brotherly love, goes before one another with the honor (10), is not lagging in the diligence, is fervent in the spirit, serves the Lord (11), rejoices in the hope, endures in the tribulation, continues with intense effort in prayer (12), has fellowship with the needs of the saints, pursues hospitality (13).
Can you see many similarities between this list and 1 Cor 13:4-7? I sure can. We get a fuller picture in these two excerpts what God sees as true, unconditional love.
Romans 12:14
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
This is a command from our God. There will be some that come after us simply because of our faith and the word of God. God sure knows us, too, that we would be tempted to exact retribution on those that would do so. However, to make far more impact, God tells us to bless them instead. Why? Because the impact will be far greater, the seeds of truth can blossom that much fuller, and we get the concept of change burning in the unbeliever down in verse 20.
The word for "persecute" here is the same as "given to" in verse 13. It may be of interest to note the word for "bless" here is the Greek eulogeo, where we get the English word eulogy from. It means to speak well of another, coming from eu (well, good) and logos (word, speech). This is in the imperative here, so we of the Body of Christ are commanded to follow this.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
On the outset, this looks like another command. However, when we look in the Greek it is not. Both of these verbs are in the infinitive. A literal translation is this:
To rejoice with those of rejoicing, to weep with those of weeping.
That's not really a sentence, is it? It would seem that verses 14, 15, and the first part of 16 should be combined into one sentence. Paul is about to tell us of the Body of Christ to be of the same mind in the next verse. To do that, to be of the same mind, we should all bless those that persecute us and not curse them, to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep, minding the same thing one toward another, not minding the haughty things, but being carried away with the humble. If we're all of the same mind in the Body of Christ, these things will follow.
Think about times of fellowship with other believers in the Body of Christ. Do you not rejoice with them in good news? Most of the time it's talking about healing from sickness, answers to hard questions, or about stories of others being saved, though there are plenty of other reasons to rejoice. Do you not weep with them when there's sad news? A brother or sister that is separated, meaning they have passed on into Heaven, brings grief due to the separation. Even though we know where they are, there is still place for grieving as death is not meant to be here. How about sharing accounts of people rejecting the gospel? Opportunities of salvation lost? There are plenty of times where fellow members of the Body of Christ weep together. But the fellowship we share, whether in rejoicing or in weeping, should come from us being of the same mind since we are all part of the one Body.
Romans 12:16
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
I've already teased on the first two thirds of this verse since it makes more sense to combine the last 3 verses to one sentence and culminate in the second sentence with the command not to be wise in ourselves. All of these commands in this chapter are telling us how to live out our character as a member in the Body of Christ. Again, it goes back to 12:3. God is laying out the details of what He means there.
Both times we see the word for mind here, and the word wise, the Greek root is the same. It is phren, which has the idea of the midriff or diaphragm; the parts around the heart [2]. The verb form is phroneo, which essentially equates to personal opinion fleshing itself out in action [1]. This is why God wants us to remain humble, in order to save us from the consequences of egoism. The command at the end of this verse more literally says, "Be not minded beside yourselves." In other words, don't inflate yourself or become egotistical. it shouldn't be a characteristic of someone in the Body of Christ. Remember, as a believer, you are holy and without blame before God (Eph 1:4), but that is no reason to flaunt it. The love that lives inside you should compel you to share the gospel of reconciliation with others sot they may partake with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies with you (2 Cor 5:13-21, Eph 1:3).
Romans 12:17
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Here again, we should have verse 17 combined with the end of verse 16 to complete the thought. There is no command given in the Greek in verse 17, but rather "recompense" and "provide" are both in the present tense. Combining this with the previous verse gives this:
Be not minded beside yourselves, recompensing to no one evil for evil, providing good in the eyes of all mankind.
All of these are things we ought to be doing, but I think it's important to stick with the same tense of the original language so we understand the truth of what God is trying to tell us. We are commanded not to be egotistical. The consequence of obeying that will be fleshed out by not repaying evil for the evil done to us and doing good before all eyes.
Other things to note is that the word "for" here is the Greek "anti" which means in place of, instead of, or opposite. The word for "recompense" is apodidomai, which is a compound word of apo (away from) and didomai (to give). We have the idea of giving away evil against evil to no one. Really it's the same concept as the KJV has, but the original language provides a deeper definition. Finally, note the phrase "all men" which is repeated in the next verse. The phrase in the Greek indicates all mankind and not just men and excluding women.
Romans 12:18
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Isn't it interesting that we have a hypothetical about living at peace here? Does not God know mankind? Since He does know us and that we are prone to fighting because of sin, He tells us here as far as ability goes to have peace with all mankind.
Take a look back in this chapter at the ways we ought to be living as members of the church, the Body of Christ. We ought to bless those who do evil to us, not recompensing the same evil back to them. isn't that our nature though? He did it to me so I want to do it to him. Or let's see how she likes it. God doesn't want us to behave that way.
A similar concept is in the Greek, but once more there is no imperative here. The verb to "live peaceably" is in the present tense and is something we ought to be doing on a continual basis. The word for "if" is "ei" which is the factual statement, not a conditional. A more literal translation is this:
Since it is possible, that out of you all being at peace with all mankind.
Again, we get a better picture by combining verses since it looks like we don't finish the thought here. I'll do that with verse 19 and allow the bible student to prayerfully consider what I say.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Now we know the reasoning as to why we don't repay evil against evil. God tells us He will do that Himself. Think of a time when you took your case to your father, or mother, or another authority, and their response was something like, "Don't worry about. I'm going to take care of it." That's what we have here. As we spread the gospel of the grace of God, we will meet with resistance (2 Tim 4:1-5). We will be persecuted simply because of our faith (Gal 5:11, 6:12, 2 Tim 3:12). But we should live peaceably with all mankind because of the grace and peace God is giving us. God will take care of those who treat you with evil in the perfectly just way.
Okay, we need to reconstruct the last couple of verses to get the tenses right again. First the "dearly beloved" appears in the vocative case, but isn't the beginning of this thought. It comes after the "avenge not yourselves," and really is an adjective of the root agapetos and should be rendered "beloved." The verb "avenge" is in the present tense, not the imperative. A more literal translation is this:
Not avenging yourselves, beloved, but rather give (imperative) place to the wrath.
What wrath is the wrath? God explains it is His right to repay to those who do evil to Him and His saints. God quotes Himself from Deuteronomy 32:35.
Putting together the previous verse with this one makes more sense. Here's the latter part of 18 and then the first part of this verse. I'll leave it to the student to decide if this is more accurate to what God is saying.
Since it is possible, that out of you all being at peace with all mankind, not avenging yourselves, beloved, but rather give place to the wrath.
Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
It seems to me that the KJV translators were taking a bit more liberty in this chapter. There is no "therefore" in the Greek here. Instead, it is a continuation of the previous point. Instead of avenging ourselves, we should give place to the wrath. We encounter the same language here. Instead of avenging ourselves, should an enemy hunger or thirst, we should give them what they need. God gives us the reason why: it puts burning coals on their head.
Now I hope no one thinks this is literally what happens in our kind acts of service. What came to my mind first are these three passages:
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Ephesians 6:12-18
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints
The spoken word of God has the ability to remove carnal thoughts. The word of God is the power to translate someone from unbelief to belief. Hearing the word of God and seeing His agape love played out will put the burning desire to know the truth on everyone.
The original language starts out with "alla" which means "but rather." Again, there is no "therefore" in the Greek. The "ifs" here are "ean" which is the conditional version of if. The rest of the verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 12:21
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
We close this chapter with two commands of God which sum up this chapter beautifully. We were introduced that our reasonable service to God is to offer our bodies for His use. We have all the reasons why from Romans chapters 1 through 11. After this, we are told how our mindset should be and how our daily conduct should look in the agape love of God. God detailed what He meant in verse 1 through the rest of this chapter.
Though we have differing gifts, we are to conduct ourselves similarly. Whether one has more opportunities or excels as prophesying, teaching, etc., we all should be united under the agape love of God, not thinking ourselves as above anyone else, but rather putting others before ourselves. By following all of these commands and knowing who we are in Christ, these two commands of verse 21 will follow. Evil will be overcome in the good.
There are three definite articles that aren't translated here. The preposition translated as "of" is hupo, which more properly means under or subordinate. The preposition translated as "with" is en, which means in or among. A more literal translation of this verse is:
Be not overcome under the evil, but overcome the evil in the good.
Remember how God told us we more than conquer through Christ in Romans 8:37? Doesn't that look similar to what is being said here? Knowing that we are in Christ and how we ought to conduct ourselves in good works as a result of being in Christ, we will overcome the evil (Eph 2:10). But therein lies a choice, doesn't it? We can choose to obey God and overcome the evil in the good, or we can choose to let it get the best of us (Eph 5:17-18). None of that affects our salvation from sin and death, but it sure affects our life here on this earth. We'll be getting plenty more commands from God in the chapters to come so that we know how we ought to conduct ourselves in the Body of Christ.
References
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon [2]
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Therefore, on account of these things we just learned, we Gentile believers saved by God's grace out to present ourselves as living sacrifices unto God. It is logical, knowing we just talked about how God is above all things, and out of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. By His mercy, He has given Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and that all who believe in Him will obtain salvation from sin and death and inherit eternal life. Therefore, we ought to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.
What exactly does that mean? Think about the sacrifices that were in place under the Law. They had to be without blemish. They had to be the best of the best, or the first of the harvest, and most certainly not leftovers. Our bodies ought to be used in this way. We should throw off all hindrances and allow God to work through us to bring salvation to those around us. And this so that all people everywhere may hear the gospel and make the decision to receive the gift of salvation or not. Additionally, it will provoke the unbelieving Jew to jealousy, and return them to the true faith.
The Greek word for "I beseech" is "parakaleo." It is a compound word of para (close beside) and kaleo (to call). It has the idea of making a personal call, but it is translated a number of different ways (appeal, beg, beseech, comfort, exhort, implore, plead, etc.)
The Greek for mercies here is different than in the previous verses in chapter 11. In chapter 11 it was the word eleeo, which means to have pity or mercy or to show mercy [1]. Here in 12:1 the word is oiktirmos, which has the meaning of "compassion (pity), i.e. deep feeling about someone's difficulty or misfortune" [1] God loves His creation so much He really stopped at nothing to win it back. He did all the work for us to fix our sin problem by veiling Himself in flesh as Jesus Christ and shedding His blood, being buried, and rising again the third day. Now He holds out the free gift to all who believe that He did that for them. He reconciled the world to Himself through Jesus Christ, now it's up to us to choose to accept or receive that gift. When the believer realizes the gift they have, they ought to desire to please their heavenly Father. It just makes sense, as this verse indicates.
Several verses to cross reference come to mind: 1 Cor 3:16, 6:18-20, Eph 5:25-30, etc.
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
God just told us we ought to show our bodies to be holy in the previous verse. That was the positive affirmation. Now we have a negative that tells us something similar. Don't be like the world. Why not? because the world is dead in trespasses and sins, destined for destruction. Don't fit into that and be a Christian under-cover. Instead, flourish in who you are, a son or daughter of the living God through Christ Jesus. Be changed in your mind so you can come to that accurate knowledge of the truth (1 tim 2:4). Here we are told we can prove or test the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God if we let Him transform us (cf 1 Cor 2:16).
The Greek here says not to be conformed to this age. The word there is aion, which is a reference to a time, compared to kosmos, which is the created world. God doesn't want us to conform to the temporary of this age, but to set our minds on things above for the age to come (Col 3:1-17).
Romans 12:3
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
So knowing what God has gone through to get us to where we are today, we should understand that we were bought with a price and should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. We ought to stand out from the world, not being conformed to it, but clearly be different and allow others to see Christ in us, the hope of glory. For these reasons and understanding the grace of God and Paul's gospel, we shouldn't think ourselves more highly or the "holier than thou" mentality. Instead, be clear-minded as we all have been given the same measure of faith.
What does that mean? It means a couple of things which will be expounded on. First, we all belong to the Body of Christ. It means each believer that is in the Body of Christ has the same hope or expectation, which most call the rapture. It is that blessed hope that we eagerly await for our Savior to call us home to Heaven and give us a body like unto Jesus' body (Titus 2:11-13, Phil 3:20-21). In the moment that we put our faith in the gospel of God's grace as given to the apostle Paul, we align with the faith of Jesus Christ, who is faithful and will perform what He says He will do. In that moment of faith, we become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21). We are called His saints and His children (Eph 1:1-5). No matter who you are and where you come from, when your faith is placed in Jesus Christ and the work He did for you to save from sins, you have this blessed hope to look forward to.
Beyond that, though, we each are coming from different walks of life.
There are a few definite articles that make a difference here in the Greek. The KJV translates properly the Grace, but then the Greek has another article to emphasize it again. It literally reads "For I say through the grace of that having been given to me..." What grace did Paul receive? He writes about it all over His epistles. It's the glorious gospel of the blessed God where we are saved from sin and death through faith apart from works. The next definite article is to denote "to the all." The KJV has it translated "to every man". The next article occurs in the phrase "but to think soberly." In the Greek, it is "but to be minded toward (eis) that to be sober-minded." Paul is indicating the change that ought to take place after the moment that faith is put into his gospel. Saints shouldn't think of themselves above the rest of the world, but to transform our minds and keep a clear head, and conduct ourselves worthy of the calling that we have been called to (Eph 4:1). Finally, there is a definite article for the God.
Romans 12:4
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
And here we have another unfortunate instance of breaking a sentence up between verse numbers. We'll get the full thought through verse 5. We are introduced to the analogy of the body and understanding that all believers are part of the entity which is the body of Christ. Not everyone is the same, nor do we all do the same line of work. But that doesn't change the fact that we are all members of the body of believers, the body of Christ.
Interesting that the word chosen for the KJV is office at the end of this verse. The Greek word is praxis, which has the definition of an action, deeds, or function [1]. You can see the English word practice in there. I'm sure this is why we still say doctors practice at their clinics; it is the medical function that they are performing. I just wanted to clarify the definition of the word there if it was not already clear. The only other thing to point out in the Greek is the definite article for the members.
Romans 12:5
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
We each have many different parts of or own body, like head, shoulders, knees and toes (sing the song if you'd like), and we each are still considered one entity, one body, as shown inverse four. Just like that, all believers in Christ, though they are all different, are all in the body of Christ. We are all members of that body. Please see 1 Corinthians 12 for further detail on this concept.
The Greek reads differently here, though the concept is the same. For the sake of sticking for the original language, here is a more literal translation:
"In the same manner the many, we, are one body in Christ. According to that now, members one of another."
Romans 12:6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
God created people, not robots. He didn't make us all the exact same either. Each of us in the Body of Christ have different gifts. The Greek word there indicates these are different graces (charisma) of God. It was His joy to make us unique but able to mesh together into the Body of Christ.
Knowing this, we should each adhere to those things that were graced us to build up the Body. Just like a finger should do what a finger does and the teeth do what they do, we each should use the grace given to us from our benevolent God. We're given two examples in this verse but there are more coming in the next verses. If you were given a ministry of telling forth the word of God, or filling the pulpit, or some sort of missionary work, then do so according to as God has given you.
An interesting thing in this verse is the Greek word for proportion. It is analogia, which should be easy to see where the English analogy comes from. It does mean proportion or measure, but is a compound word of ana (up, denoting motion from a lower plane to higher [2]) and logos (declared speech, reasoning, or word). In a literal sense, then, analogia means an elevated reasoning or moving from a point of comparison up to another. So if prophecy is the grace given to you, as it really is to all of us in the Body (2 Cor 5:18-19), we should be aware of what we are telling forth and make sure that it follows our faith, that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day as a propitiation for our sin debt (1 Cor 15:3-4, Rom 3:21-26). It would do us well to note that there is a definite article here to denote the faith. This could only be faith in the gospel as given to the apostle Paul.
On other thing to point out in the Greek which continues in the next verses, is that all of these things that are noted are to be done "in" (Greek en) the thing that follows. Prophecy is in prophecy, ministry is in ministering, teaching is in teaching, etc.
Romans 12:7
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Here are two more gifts of grace from God to the members of the church which is His body. If you have the ability to minister or to teach, whole-heartedly pursue those as our great God gives the opportunities (Col 3:23).
The Greek word for ministry and ministering comes from the root diakonia, where we get our English word deacon from. The word has the meaning of service, ministering, especially of those who execute the commands of others [2].
The Greek word for teacheth and teaching here is from the root didasko. It has the meaning to teach (literally, "cause to learn"); instruct, impart knowledge (disseminate information) [1].
There are loads of these opportunities for us each day if we look for them. I don't want anyone to think that if they don't believer they have one of these gifts that they should never use them. What I've noticed is that I have more opportunities in one area than others on a given day, but I have opportunities in all of these. As a parent, I have a plethora of opportunities to teach and minister, and whenever possible to prophesy to the children. God has blessed me with opportunities to fill pulpits as well. What I'm saying is that we all will have different opportunities, different gifts given from God which are good works preordained that we should conduct ourselves in them (Eph 2:10).
Romans 12:8
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
For those that are especially good with comforting and building up others, or charitable giving, do so whole-heartedly as your work is in the Lord. For those that have been blessed with a position of authority, be sure to lead diligently, knowing your authority is in Heaven (Eph 6:9, Col 4:1). God is consistent with each one of these commands to us throughout scripture. Isn't it nice that He also is showing us the right attitude for doing these things? There is a time for everything, so when these opportunities arise, let us be ready and willing to execute these gifts according to the will of God and to be thankful for each and every one.
I did enjoy looking into the Greek for each of these gifts of God's grace. There are several in this verse, so bear with me. The Greek for exhorteth and exhortation is parakaleo, a compound word of para (alongside) and kaleo (to call). It is also translated as comfort in 2 Cor 1 or 1 Thess 4:18, but is found many times (109 according to biblehub.com) in the New Testament. Calling alongside oneself sure does paint a clear picture of bearing one another's burdens (Gal 6:2) and helping a brother or sister out.
The word for giveth is metadidomi, a compound word of meta (with or after) and didomi (to give or offer). It has the idea of sharing or offering indefinitely, or of changing the owner. These are gifts with no intention of ever being paid back. The word for simplicity here is haplotes, which means simplicity, sincerity, or purity. There should never be an ulterior motive for charitable donation in the eyes of God.
The word for ruleth is proistemi, which is a compound word of pro (before) and histemi (to stand). So it literally means to stand before another or to take the lead. The word for diligence is spoude, which has the idea of hastily zealous diligence. The verb form of that word (spoudazo) is found in Eph 4:3 (endeavor) and 2 Tim 2:15 (study). There's a familiar phrase going around with a lot of truth to it, "With great power comes great responsibility." No matter where you think that came from, God said it first.
We've already looked at the Greek word for mercy before (eleeo), but it may be of interest to see the Greek word for cheerfulness. It is hilarotes, from which we get our English word hilarious. It has the idea of cheerful readyness. Lastly, I want to revisit each of the descriptive words have the little Greek word "en" before them, which means in, within, or among. The KJV translated them as on or with here, which may be misleading. It more literally says this:
Or the one that exorteth, in the exhortation, the one giving, in sincerity, the one leading, in zealous diligence, the one showing mercy, in cheerful readyness.
Romans 12:9
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
I often wonder why people ask the question, "I wonder what God's will is for my life?" when God so clearly lays it out. Sure, the minute details are different for each of us here on this earth, but all that are in the Body of Christ should be generally following the same behavior regardless of what we do. No one should show false charity nor enjoy and condone evil. We should all strive to be good, or more accurately to be godly. God will tell us in the next chapter to put off the old things and put on Christ. We should imitate Christ in our daily life (1 Cor 4:16, 11:1).
The original language is succinct and powerful here. The first part of this verse has three words: he (the) agape (God's unconditional love) anypokritos (not hypocritical). Now the Greek language doesn't have punctuation in it but rather is determined by the parsing of the words. The word for abhor in the Greek is apostugeo, a compound word of apo (away from) and stugeo (hate). This word is in the present tense, not the imperative. The same is true for the verb cleave (kollao). A more proper rendering in my opinion is this and note each definite article:
"The sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good."
God just told us how we ought to behave with the differing gifts each member of the body of Christ has been given. It's summed up here in God's unconditional agape love. God gives us a clear definition of that love in 1 Cor 13. This same love covers a multitude of sins and sums up the Law (Gal 5:13-14, 1 Pet 4:8). Staying in this love forces evil and sin to be removed far from us. But God does warn us if we don't get along, problems ensue (Gal 5:15).
We encounter something quite interesting here. For the next few verses I believe this is a description of agape love, akin to 1 Cor 13. There is no imperative verb in the Greek until we get to verse 14, "Bless". There are no nominative nouns (subjects) until we get to verse 19 either. For these reasons I don't believe that the KJV is accurate. These verses are not commands, but rather descriptions of agape. After verse 13 I'll lay out all the Greek and may the Lord guide us in the truth of these verses.
Romans 12:10
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Another Greek word for love besides agape is found in this verse, which we named a city after in the United States: philadelphia. It means brotherly love. There is also another word, which is translated as "kindly affectioned," and that is philostorgos. That has the idea of tenderly loving or devotion, but it is an adjective here so the proper translation would be devoted or kindly affectioned as the KJV has it. While I'm on the Greek, the word for preferring is proegeomai, which is a compound word of pro (before) and hegeomai (lead), and has the idea of going before as a leader.
The Christian walk is consistently described as putting others ahead of the self, which is contrary to our sin nature. Our flesh desires the self to be in front, or has the "What's in it for me?" mentality. But agape love doesn't do this. It tenderly loves with a brotherly love and puts others before the self. We were warned not to have the "holier than thou" mentality in the last chapter when we were made aware that God concluded Israel in unbelief that He may usher in this age of the gospel of His grace. Really, we are seeing Rom 12:3 reiterated here. We can live out Rom 12:3 by practicing agape.
One other thing to note is the definite article for the honour.
Romans 12:11
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Agape is not slothful or hesitating in diligence. Love doesn't take a backseat when there is a need, that much should be clear. Quite the opposite, it burns to make things right. This kind of love always serves God because it comes from Him.
It is interesting to note the word for business here is the same as diligence in verse 8 (spoude). Also, the word for serving comes from the Greek douleuo, which has the idea of slaving or being subject to. There are definite articles for the business and the spirit.
Romans 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Agape love rejoices in hope, which is an expected end. What end is that? The beautiful reunion of God with His saints. For us in the Body of Christ, that is what is called the rapture event. But really, it includes all of God's saints throughout the ages. Israel has a hope that will come to fruition too. We just read about that in the previous chapter. God is no respecter of persons, so He doesn't love His saints in the Body of Christ more than those faithful in Israel during the dispensation of the gospel of the circumcision. Believers in that age knew God's love and rejoiced in their hope (Psalm 136).
Praise the Lord for His love that sees us through tribulation. It's that love and hope we have that allows us to face our trials and maintain a joyful outlook. It's that same love and hope that allowed Paul and Silas to sing when they were thrown in the Philippian jail (Acts 16:16-25).
The word for continuing here is proskartereo (pros + kartereo), which has the definition to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty [1]. God defines agape as bearing all things, enduring all things, and never failing (1 Cor 13:7-8).
Romans 12:13
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
I'm not sure if the word distribute has changed over the last 400 years since the printing of the KJV, but I want to clarify what is being said here. The verb is koinoneo, and means to come into communion or fellowship, to become a sharer, be made a partner [2]. I would think the word "Partaking" would fit better in this verse. The word "necessity" is in the Dative case and there is no preposition there, so we must supply one that fits the context. Typically "to" fits, and I think it does here based on word order. A literal rendering may be "To the needs of the saints, partaking." Another could be "To the needs of the saints, having fellowship." Again, we have to go all the way back to verse 9 to get what is partaking here, and it's still agape.
The KJV makes the latter half of this verse much more pleasant sounding. The Greek has more of the idea of persecuting hospitality. The verb there is dioko which is mostly translated as persecute or pursue. It was used of Jesus Christ when He asked, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4, 22:7, 26:14). The word hospitality is the Greek philoxenia, a compound word of philo (brotherly love) and xenia (stranger or foreigner). Hospitality is a good translation, but I do enjoy seeing the roots of words and where their meaning stems from.
So after all of this, I want to list the attributes of agape in Romans 12:9-13.
Sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good (9), is devoted toward one another with the brotherly love, goes before one another with the honor (10), is not lagging in the diligence, is fervent in the spirit, serves the Lord (11), rejoices in the hope, endures in the tribulation, continues with intense effort in prayer (12), has fellowship with the needs of the saints, pursues hospitality (13).
Can you see many similarities between this list and 1 Cor 13:4-7? I sure can. We get a fuller picture in these two excerpts what God sees as true, unconditional love.
Romans 12:14
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
This is a command from our God. There will be some that come after us simply because of our faith and the word of God. God sure knows us, too, that we would be tempted to exact retribution on those that would do so. However, to make far more impact, God tells us to bless them instead. Why? Because the impact will be far greater, the seeds of truth can blossom that much fuller, and we get the concept of change burning in the unbeliever down in verse 20.
The word for "persecute" here is the same as "given to" in verse 13. It may be of interest to note the word for "bless" here is the Greek eulogeo, where we get the English word eulogy from. It means to speak well of another, coming from eu (well, good) and logos (word, speech). This is in the imperative here, so we of the Body of Christ are commanded to follow this.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
On the outset, this looks like another command. However, when we look in the Greek it is not. Both of these verbs are in the infinitive. A literal translation is this:
To rejoice with those of rejoicing, to weep with those of weeping.
That's not really a sentence, is it? It would seem that verses 14, 15, and the first part of 16 should be combined into one sentence. Paul is about to tell us of the Body of Christ to be of the same mind in the next verse. To do that, to be of the same mind, we should all bless those that persecute us and not curse them, to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep, minding the same thing one toward another, not minding the haughty things, but being carried away with the humble. If we're all of the same mind in the Body of Christ, these things will follow.
Think about times of fellowship with other believers in the Body of Christ. Do you not rejoice with them in good news? Most of the time it's talking about healing from sickness, answers to hard questions, or about stories of others being saved, though there are plenty of other reasons to rejoice. Do you not weep with them when there's sad news? A brother or sister that is separated, meaning they have passed on into Heaven, brings grief due to the separation. Even though we know where they are, there is still place for grieving as death is not meant to be here. How about sharing accounts of people rejecting the gospel? Opportunities of salvation lost? There are plenty of times where fellow members of the Body of Christ weep together. But the fellowship we share, whether in rejoicing or in weeping, should come from us being of the same mind since we are all part of the one Body.
Romans 12:16
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
I've already teased on the first two thirds of this verse since it makes more sense to combine the last 3 verses to one sentence and culminate in the second sentence with the command not to be wise in ourselves. All of these commands in this chapter are telling us how to live out our character as a member in the Body of Christ. Again, it goes back to 12:3. God is laying out the details of what He means there.
Both times we see the word for mind here, and the word wise, the Greek root is the same. It is phren, which has the idea of the midriff or diaphragm; the parts around the heart [2]. The verb form is phroneo, which essentially equates to personal opinion fleshing itself out in action [1]. This is why God wants us to remain humble, in order to save us from the consequences of egoism. The command at the end of this verse more literally says, "Be not minded beside yourselves." In other words, don't inflate yourself or become egotistical. it shouldn't be a characteristic of someone in the Body of Christ. Remember, as a believer, you are holy and without blame before God (Eph 1:4), but that is no reason to flaunt it. The love that lives inside you should compel you to share the gospel of reconciliation with others sot they may partake with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies with you (2 Cor 5:13-21, Eph 1:3).
Romans 12:17
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Here again, we should have verse 17 combined with the end of verse 16 to complete the thought. There is no command given in the Greek in verse 17, but rather "recompense" and "provide" are both in the present tense. Combining this with the previous verse gives this:
Be not minded beside yourselves, recompensing to no one evil for evil, providing good in the eyes of all mankind.
All of these are things we ought to be doing, but I think it's important to stick with the same tense of the original language so we understand the truth of what God is trying to tell us. We are commanded not to be egotistical. The consequence of obeying that will be fleshed out by not repaying evil for the evil done to us and doing good before all eyes.
Other things to note is that the word "for" here is the Greek "anti" which means in place of, instead of, or opposite. The word for "recompense" is apodidomai, which is a compound word of apo (away from) and didomai (to give). We have the idea of giving away evil against evil to no one. Really it's the same concept as the KJV has, but the original language provides a deeper definition. Finally, note the phrase "all men" which is repeated in the next verse. The phrase in the Greek indicates all mankind and not just men and excluding women.
Romans 12:18
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Isn't it interesting that we have a hypothetical about living at peace here? Does not God know mankind? Since He does know us and that we are prone to fighting because of sin, He tells us here as far as ability goes to have peace with all mankind.
Take a look back in this chapter at the ways we ought to be living as members of the church, the Body of Christ. We ought to bless those who do evil to us, not recompensing the same evil back to them. isn't that our nature though? He did it to me so I want to do it to him. Or let's see how she likes it. God doesn't want us to behave that way.
A similar concept is in the Greek, but once more there is no imperative here. The verb to "live peaceably" is in the present tense and is something we ought to be doing on a continual basis. The word for "if" is "ei" which is the factual statement, not a conditional. A more literal translation is this:
Since it is possible, that out of you all being at peace with all mankind.
Again, we get a better picture by combining verses since it looks like we don't finish the thought here. I'll do that with verse 19 and allow the bible student to prayerfully consider what I say.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Now we know the reasoning as to why we don't repay evil against evil. God tells us He will do that Himself. Think of a time when you took your case to your father, or mother, or another authority, and their response was something like, "Don't worry about. I'm going to take care of it." That's what we have here. As we spread the gospel of the grace of God, we will meet with resistance (2 Tim 4:1-5). We will be persecuted simply because of our faith (Gal 5:11, 6:12, 2 Tim 3:12). But we should live peaceably with all mankind because of the grace and peace God is giving us. God will take care of those who treat you with evil in the perfectly just way.
Okay, we need to reconstruct the last couple of verses to get the tenses right again. First the "dearly beloved" appears in the vocative case, but isn't the beginning of this thought. It comes after the "avenge not yourselves," and really is an adjective of the root agapetos and should be rendered "beloved." The verb "avenge" is in the present tense, not the imperative. A more literal translation is this:
Not avenging yourselves, beloved, but rather give (imperative) place to the wrath.
What wrath is the wrath? God explains it is His right to repay to those who do evil to Him and His saints. God quotes Himself from Deuteronomy 32:35.
Putting together the previous verse with this one makes more sense. Here's the latter part of 18 and then the first part of this verse. I'll leave it to the student to decide if this is more accurate to what God is saying.
Since it is possible, that out of you all being at peace with all mankind, not avenging yourselves, beloved, but rather give place to the wrath.
Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
It seems to me that the KJV translators were taking a bit more liberty in this chapter. There is no "therefore" in the Greek here. Instead, it is a continuation of the previous point. Instead of avenging ourselves, we should give place to the wrath. We encounter the same language here. Instead of avenging ourselves, should an enemy hunger or thirst, we should give them what they need. God gives us the reason why: it puts burning coals on their head.
Now I hope no one thinks this is literally what happens in our kind acts of service. What came to my mind first are these three passages:
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Ephesians 6:12-18
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints
The spoken word of God has the ability to remove carnal thoughts. The word of God is the power to translate someone from unbelief to belief. Hearing the word of God and seeing His agape love played out will put the burning desire to know the truth on everyone.
The original language starts out with "alla" which means "but rather." Again, there is no "therefore" in the Greek. The "ifs" here are "ean" which is the conditional version of if. The rest of the verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 12:21
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
We close this chapter with two commands of God which sum up this chapter beautifully. We were introduced that our reasonable service to God is to offer our bodies for His use. We have all the reasons why from Romans chapters 1 through 11. After this, we are told how our mindset should be and how our daily conduct should look in the agape love of God. God detailed what He meant in verse 1 through the rest of this chapter.
Though we have differing gifts, we are to conduct ourselves similarly. Whether one has more opportunities or excels as prophesying, teaching, etc., we all should be united under the agape love of God, not thinking ourselves as above anyone else, but rather putting others before ourselves. By following all of these commands and knowing who we are in Christ, these two commands of verse 21 will follow. Evil will be overcome in the good.
There are three definite articles that aren't translated here. The preposition translated as "of" is hupo, which more properly means under or subordinate. The preposition translated as "with" is en, which means in or among. A more literal translation of this verse is:
Be not overcome under the evil, but overcome the evil in the good.
Remember how God told us we more than conquer through Christ in Romans 8:37? Doesn't that look similar to what is being said here? Knowing that we are in Christ and how we ought to conduct ourselves in good works as a result of being in Christ, we will overcome the evil (Eph 2:10). But therein lies a choice, doesn't it? We can choose to obey God and overcome the evil in the good, or we can choose to let it get the best of us (Eph 5:17-18). None of that affects our salvation from sin and death, but it sure affects our life here on this earth. We'll be getting plenty more commands from God in the chapters to come so that we know how we ought to conduct ourselves in the Body of Christ.
References
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon [2]
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Romans - Verse by Verse Study - Chapter 11
Romans 11:1
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
We just finished reading God's indictment upon Israel as a nation at the close of chapter 10. The last verse is a quote from Isaiah 65:2 that He had His arms open, but Israel refused to obey. Paul asks the next logical question, has God cast away Israel? Did He give up on them since they refused to obey? That's not the God of the bible, now is it? May it never be! The apostle's familiar response in the epistle to the Romans. To prove it, he tells us of his own status, that he is from Israel, and we know that he is clearly saved.
I noticed that some translations have the word "ask" in this verse, which is wrong compared to the original language. The word is lego, which definitely means to speak. "I say" is the more proper translation. Other things to note from the Greek is that there is a definite article: Hath the God cast away His people? Finally, there is the word "ek" that doesn't quite appear in the KJV. After the "may it never be!" It should say, "For I also am in Israelite, out of (ek) the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." That last point is a bit picky, I know, but I am a stickler for the original inspired word of God.
Romans 11:2
God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
No, God hasn't thrown away Israel. We'll see the plan unfold in this chapter. We are reminded of the time Elijah prayed to God, though not completely in this verse. I really get confused when a verse is cut off mid-sentence, but this is one of those cases. It makes it easy to remember that the chapter and verse numbers were not inspired of God, right?
There are some fun facts to notice in the Greek here. Again, the definite article is present to denote the God not casting away His people. The word for foreknew comes from compound Greek word proginosko (pro + ginosko). It does mean to know beforehand, but that is where the English prognosis comes from. The Greek asks after this, "Or do you not understand what the scripture says in Elijah?" The phrase "wot ye not" isn't something we say anymore in English, but is has the same meaning of "do you not understand?" There are two definite articles in the last clause, and the word for intersession is the Greek entugchano. It has this meaning:
entygxánō (from 1722 /en, "in," which intensifies 5177 /tygxánō, "to obtain by hitting the mark") – properly, "light upon (meet with), obtain" (LS); "to go and meet a person to converse, consult," i.e. to intervene ("intersect with"). [1] Thayer also documents how this meaning is consistently the same in ancient Greek writers.
Using that definition, the verse ends like this: How he goes and meets with the God to converse against Israel." The word "saying" isn't in the original language; it just picks up in verse 3 with the word Lord.
Romans 11:3
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
From Elijah's perspective, Israel had killed the prophets God sent and totally forsook the faith. Elijah thought he was the only one left and they were after him to kill him off too. Can you imagine living in that time and feeling as alone as Elijah? Read his account in 1 Kings 19. This quote comes from verse 10, but it is pretty rough for Elijah. This verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 11:4
But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
There's that question again: But what does God say? Isn't that interesting that this is in the present tense? God spoke this to Elijah several hundred years ago, but it is still relevant for us today. God's word truly is living and active presently (Heb 4:12).
God tells Elijah that he isn't alone. In fact, there is a staggering 7,000 faithful still in Israel. Sometimes, it is easy for us to feel alone. There may be difficult times in each of our lives that make it seem as if all other believers are far away or that there is no way out. Just because we can't see it, though, doesn't make it true. God sees something different. God sees it all. He brought comfort to Elijah at that time and He is the God of all comfort for us today (2 Cor 1:3-4). That doesn't mean He will erase all of the uncomfortable times in the blink of an eye, but rather we can rejoice when we are weak, because He will prove Himself strong (2 Cor 12:9-10).
There is only one thing to point out in the Greek, and that is that there is a definite article to denote the Baal. Amazing to think that at that time there were only 7,000 faithful men in God who didn't chase after idolatry. To be fair, it does specify men, so there may be more women and children in that number. Even so, how abysmally sad when compared to the population of the world. Elijah lived in a very difficult day indeed.
Romans 11:5
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Just as there was a remnant of faithful men in Elijah's day, there is also a remnant of faithful by God's grace at this present season from Israel. That's the context of this passage. Even though the oracles of God were committed to Israel, and God stretched forth His hands to that nation, only a remnant believed. God's desire, which should be shared by all believers, is that all are saved by His grace and not just a remnant. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that not all will believe. Some will remain children of disobedience, following Satan, and ultimately join him in the lake of the fire (Eph 2:2-3, Rev 20:11-15).
We are about to see a dispensation difference in the next verse. The context clues point to this as well. What is the present time or season? It is the dispensation of the mystery as given to Paul (Eph 3:1-9, Rom 1:16, 16:25, etc).
Now we run into something interesting in the Greek. The verb ginomai is in the Perfect tense, meaning it has already taken place. Ginomai means to come into being. It's a bit deceptive in the KJV because of the word "is." The Greek says this:
Even so then, in the present time a remnant according to the election of grace has come into being.
So just like there was a remnant of faithful according to the gospel of circumcision in the time of Elijah, there is a remnant of faithful in God according to the gospel of the uncircumcision today. Let's look at the next verse for more explanation on this.
Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
If one does not see the dispensational differences in the bible, then this verse makes little sense to be in here. Grace does not mean work and work does not mean grace. Why would God want to tell us this? Because we have two major gospels and doctrines to consider. We have the gospel of the circumcision, as being given to Peter to dispense, and the gospel of the uncircumcision as given to Paul to dispense. Two dispensations (Gal 2:7). The gospel of the circumcision with Peter required works to be carried out in conjunction with faith in God in order for one to be a saint. The gospel of the uncircumcision with Paul requires faith only. That's why we have this verse. It's for our clarification. Don't forget the words Paul was inspired to record in 1 Cor 7:17-20
I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
We just finished reading God's indictment upon Israel as a nation at the close of chapter 10. The last verse is a quote from Isaiah 65:2 that He had His arms open, but Israel refused to obey. Paul asks the next logical question, has God cast away Israel? Did He give up on them since they refused to obey? That's not the God of the bible, now is it? May it never be! The apostle's familiar response in the epistle to the Romans. To prove it, he tells us of his own status, that he is from Israel, and we know that he is clearly saved.
I noticed that some translations have the word "ask" in this verse, which is wrong compared to the original language. The word is lego, which definitely means to speak. "I say" is the more proper translation. Other things to note from the Greek is that there is a definite article: Hath the God cast away His people? Finally, there is the word "ek" that doesn't quite appear in the KJV. After the "may it never be!" It should say, "For I also am in Israelite, out of (ek) the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." That last point is a bit picky, I know, but I am a stickler for the original inspired word of God.
Romans 11:2
God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
No, God hasn't thrown away Israel. We'll see the plan unfold in this chapter. We are reminded of the time Elijah prayed to God, though not completely in this verse. I really get confused when a verse is cut off mid-sentence, but this is one of those cases. It makes it easy to remember that the chapter and verse numbers were not inspired of God, right?
There are some fun facts to notice in the Greek here. Again, the definite article is present to denote the God not casting away His people. The word for foreknew comes from compound Greek word proginosko (pro + ginosko). It does mean to know beforehand, but that is where the English prognosis comes from. The Greek asks after this, "Or do you not understand what the scripture says in Elijah?" The phrase "wot ye not" isn't something we say anymore in English, but is has the same meaning of "do you not understand?" There are two definite articles in the last clause, and the word for intersession is the Greek entugchano. It has this meaning:
entygxánō (from 1722 /en, "in," which intensifies 5177 /tygxánō, "to obtain by hitting the mark") – properly, "light upon (meet with), obtain" (LS); "to go and meet a person to converse, consult," i.e. to intervene ("intersect with"). [1] Thayer also documents how this meaning is consistently the same in ancient Greek writers.
Using that definition, the verse ends like this: How he goes and meets with the God to converse against Israel." The word "saying" isn't in the original language; it just picks up in verse 3 with the word Lord.
Romans 11:3
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
From Elijah's perspective, Israel had killed the prophets God sent and totally forsook the faith. Elijah thought he was the only one left and they were after him to kill him off too. Can you imagine living in that time and feeling as alone as Elijah? Read his account in 1 Kings 19. This quote comes from verse 10, but it is pretty rough for Elijah. This verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 11:4
But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
There's that question again: But what does God say? Isn't that interesting that this is in the present tense? God spoke this to Elijah several hundred years ago, but it is still relevant for us today. God's word truly is living and active presently (Heb 4:12).
God tells Elijah that he isn't alone. In fact, there is a staggering 7,000 faithful still in Israel. Sometimes, it is easy for us to feel alone. There may be difficult times in each of our lives that make it seem as if all other believers are far away or that there is no way out. Just because we can't see it, though, doesn't make it true. God sees something different. God sees it all. He brought comfort to Elijah at that time and He is the God of all comfort for us today (2 Cor 1:3-4). That doesn't mean He will erase all of the uncomfortable times in the blink of an eye, but rather we can rejoice when we are weak, because He will prove Himself strong (2 Cor 12:9-10).
There is only one thing to point out in the Greek, and that is that there is a definite article to denote the Baal. Amazing to think that at that time there were only 7,000 faithful men in God who didn't chase after idolatry. To be fair, it does specify men, so there may be more women and children in that number. Even so, how abysmally sad when compared to the population of the world. Elijah lived in a very difficult day indeed.
Romans 11:5
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.
Just as there was a remnant of faithful men in Elijah's day, there is also a remnant of faithful by God's grace at this present season from Israel. That's the context of this passage. Even though the oracles of God were committed to Israel, and God stretched forth His hands to that nation, only a remnant believed. God's desire, which should be shared by all believers, is that all are saved by His grace and not just a remnant. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that not all will believe. Some will remain children of disobedience, following Satan, and ultimately join him in the lake of the fire (Eph 2:2-3, Rev 20:11-15).
We are about to see a dispensation difference in the next verse. The context clues point to this as well. What is the present time or season? It is the dispensation of the mystery as given to Paul (Eph 3:1-9, Rom 1:16, 16:25, etc).
Now we run into something interesting in the Greek. The verb ginomai is in the Perfect tense, meaning it has already taken place. Ginomai means to come into being. It's a bit deceptive in the KJV because of the word "is." The Greek says this:
Even so then, in the present time a remnant according to the election of grace has come into being.
So just like there was a remnant of faithful according to the gospel of circumcision in the time of Elijah, there is a remnant of faithful in God according to the gospel of the uncircumcision today. Let's look at the next verse for more explanation on this.
Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
If one does not see the dispensational differences in the bible, then this verse makes little sense to be in here. Grace does not mean work and work does not mean grace. Why would God want to tell us this? Because we have two major gospels and doctrines to consider. We have the gospel of the circumcision, as being given to Peter to dispense, and the gospel of the uncircumcision as given to Paul to dispense. Two dispensations (Gal 2:7). The gospel of the circumcision with Peter required works to be carried out in conjunction with faith in God in order for one to be a saint. The gospel of the uncircumcision with Paul requires faith only. That's why we have this verse. It's for our clarification. Don't forget the words Paul was inspired to record in 1 Cor 7:17-20
1 Corinthians 7:17-20
17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
What on earth does it mean if a man is circumcised to "not become uncircumcised"? That's not physically possible. In this short passage again we hav a view of the different dispensations. Same God. Same Jesus. Same deal that the "just shall live by faith" (Rom 1:17, Hab 2:4). Under the dispensation of Law, the circumcised had the covenant to do specific works. Those were the commandments of God. Let that man continue to do so for the glory of God. Under the dispensation of grace, we are commanded to "walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called" (Eph 4:1). We are to know how to "possess our vessel in sanctification" (1 Thess 4:1-4). We should exude the fruit of the Spirit in our lives (Gal 5:22-23) rather than the lusts/fruit of the flesh. We don't have to do any Law-covenant based works, but rather exemplify the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. For any dispensation, the faithful would do what God told them to do.
The Greek is more emphatic and clearer as usual. The word if here is ei, which is if-factually, or could usually be translated as since. The verse also starts with de, the emphatic particle. We could render the first part of the verse this way:
Since now by grace, no longer out of (ek) works
See the dispensational difference? Today is the dispensation of grace in the gospel of the UNcircumcision and the faithful remnant is no longer out of works. Otherwise the grace message is null and void if works are required. Paul covers that extensively in his epistles, but some references other than this verse are Galatians 3:15-25, 5:1-6, and Romans 4.
Before continuing we need to understand a little Greek word of large importance. That is the word epei. It is a compound word of epi and ei. Epi is a preposition, and in this case means upon. We already talked about ei which can typically be translated as since, but most definitely is introducing fact and not possibility in the conditional. Epei is the Greek word translated as "otherwise." Let's take another look at the first half of the verse, and note the definite article.
Since now by grace, no longer out of works, otherwise (upon since) the grace is no longer grace.
Remember the context. We're talking about the remnant according to the election of what? Grace. If the remnant according to the election is of grace, then the remnant is no longer a remnant out of works. IF it was out of works, then the remnant of grace isn't really grace, it's works. We have the converse of this right afterward to really hammer it home.
If now (ei de) out of (ek) works (fact), it is no longer grace, otherwise (epei) the work is no longer work.
Same concept. If the remnant is now out of works, then the remnant is no longer of grace. IF it was out of grace, then work isn't really work, it's grace. From verse 5, we know that the remnant in this present season is of grace and not of works (cf Eph 2:8-9). Those under the Law lived in the works of the Law. See the contrast in Gal 3:10-14 with the quotes coming from Deut 27:26, Hab 2:4, Lev 18:5, and Deut 21:23.
Note the definite articles used in this verse. We have the faith and the works. Clearly, God is laying out the dispensations. During Elijah's time, the remnant was out of the works in the gospel of the circumcision. Today, it is out of the faith alone in the gospel of the uncircumcision.
Romans 11:7
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
So what is the point of making mention of this? Remember that Paul is discussing Israel at this point of the epistle and his desire that they are all saved (chapter 10). Israel had the word of God, they heard the word of God, but they did not all obey it. They really didn't have any excuse as evident in Rom 10:21. Israel, as a nation, did not obtain righteousness because they sought it not by faith (Rom 9:32-33). Only the remnant, the true believers in that dispensation, obtained it, and the rest were blinded. That is why Paul is writing this here. His desire is that ALL Israel is saved, not just a remnant, as it is written from the word of God. More on that in verse 26. Really his desire is that all of mankind is saved, aligning with God's desire, as should all believers today (2 Tim 2:4). But he has a special place in his heart for his countrymen, for Israel.
The Greek uses the more emphatic "de" twice here. But (de) the election hath obtained it, and (de) the rest were blinded. that word for blinded really has the idea of being hardened or calloused. It is the Greek poroo.
Even though we are now in the dispensation of grace through the gospel of the uncircumcision, God will still play out all the words He had for Israel, as will be explained in this chapter (verse 29). After this dispensation comes to an end, all true Israel will be saved. In the next three verses, God will explain more on why.
Romans 11:8
(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
This quote comes from Isaiah 29:10. Only the election of Israel obtained the righteousness it sought for. Only that small remnant out of the mighty nation. The rest were hardened as we saw in the previous verse. Here, God is elaborating for us, that He gave those that were hardened a spirit of slumber, eyes and ears that don't work so they just won't get the truth. This is the case unto the day of Paul's writing of Romans, and really unto this present day as well. Was God the bad guy here? Absolutely not. He just gave them what they wanted.
The Greek is fascinating here, and I would venture to say that something big was missed in the KJV. First, here's the literal translation up until the last three English words:
Just as it has been written, the God has given to them a spirit of stupor/deep slumber, the eyes of it not to see, the ears of it not to hear.
That's all well translated, right? The spirit they were given is a blind and deaf one. Now here's the fascinating thing. The Greek has four words after this: heos tes semeron hemeras. Heos means "until" or "as far as" [1]. Tes is a definite article, but it appears in the Genitive case. This is important as I will show in a moment. Semeron means "this very day" and appears in the Nominative case. Hemeras is the Greek for "day", which can mean a 24 hour period or an indeterminate time period and must be defined in the context, just like the English "day." Hemeras also appears in the Genitive, so the article belongs with it. Let me rearrange that to make it clearer in the English for those that don't like parsing:
As far as this very day of the day.
Do you see what I see there? This hardening is happening to the present day of the day. What is the day? I see it as the dispensation of the Grace of God as given to Paul, and I'll show by scripture why I see that. Note what we see in 1 Thess 4:13-5:11. We have the blessed hope of those in the Body of Christ in 1 Thess 4:13-18. Then it is contrasted with the earthly hope of the nation of Israel in chapter 5. Note how the words of the day/light and the night/darkness are used in the verses in chapter 5. I will emphasize them and add some notes in brackets for clarity.
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep [dead], that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus [bodily death of the faithful] will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them [go before them] which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
5:1 But of the times and the seasons [prophecy of Old Testament], brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord [wrath-tribulation period] so cometh as a thief in the night.
5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
5:4 But ye, brethren, are NOT IN DARKNESS, that that day [of the Lord - wrath] should overtake you as a thief.
5:5 Ye are all the CHILDREN OF LIGHT, and the CHILDREN OF THE DAY: we are NOT OF THE NIGHT NOR OF DARKNESS.
5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
5:7 For they that sleep sleep IN THE NIGHT; and they that be drunken are drunken IN THE NIGHT.
5:8 But let us, who are OF THE DAY, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
5:9 For God hath NOT APPOINTED US TO WRATH, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him [see 1 Thess 4:13-18].
5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
The hardening is continuing into this present dispensation. There are many unbelieving Jews who refuse to see Jesus Christ as Emmanuel, God with us. I don't mean to target just the Jews, because there are many others who don't believe, but the Jews are the ones in context here. The seed of Abraham did come through them as God promised, and that was Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16). Jesus Christ can be seen throughout the Old Testament, but because of the hardening of the hearts, God gave them a blind and deaf spirit, preventing them from seeing and hearing the truth up until the present time. There will be a day that all Israel is saved, but that isn't in this the day, and we'll get to that later in this chapter.
Romans 11:9
And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
This a quote from Psalm 69:22. Now the words here are quite interesting. This verse is spot on with the Greek, but it helps us to learn a deeper definition of what is being said. The table here is a table for food or business. It was used for feasting or business. What God is saying through David then, is to have those that reject Him willfully to let their prosperity entrap them and be paid back to them in retribution. That's a common saying in the Old Testament prophets. Let the wicked who appear to be prospering be recompensed for their wickedness. God will certainly do that, in the time called the Day of the Lord.
Let's take a deeper look at these three traps as well. It almost looks like God is saying the same thing three times here, but there are differences that should be noted. The word snare is the Greek pagis, which means "properly, of snares in which birds are entangled and caught" [2]. This is a trap that catches the victim unaware. Suddenly the trap is sprung and they are caught. Remember how the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night? The word pagis is used only 5 times in the New Testament: Luke 21:35, Rom 11:9, 1 Tim 3:7, 6:9, and 2 Tim 2:26.
The word trap is the Greek thera, which means a hunting, or an entrapment, or a means of capturing [3]. Doesn't that fit well with prosperity? Isn't it easier to forget about God when all seems to be going well? Materialism is a dangerous path to be on. The prosperity of the wicked will be the means of capturing them for that day. This is the only time the word thera appears in the New Testament.
The word stumblingblock is the Greek skandalon. See the English word scandal in there? Skandalon has this definition: properly, the trigger of a trap (the mechanism closing a trap down on the unsuspecting victim); (figuratively) an offense, putting a negative cause-and-effect relationship into motion. [1] Putting all of these three things together, the prosperity of the wicked will will act as the trigger for punishment, as well as be the means of capturing, and it will come upon them unaware. God does say that He will judge them according to their works in Rev 20:11-15, and that judgement is not a pleasant one as it determines the degree of torment in the lake of the fire. That will be their recompense.
Romans 11:10
Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
God finishes the quote with Psalm 69:23. The eyes of the wicked will not be able to see the truth in this life, but they will bow down to God and acknowledge Him as God. That's something that may not be clear in the old English. Despite the wickedness of the wicked and being destined to punishment, they will, without a doubt, acknowledge who God is. They will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord (Phil 2:10-11).
There is a definite article missing here because the English would sound goofy. It says Let the eyes of the them be darkened not to see. God is pointing out that this blindness is for those who reject Him by choice. Even so, everyone will bow before God. The word alway here is the Greek dia pantos. It literally means through all things.
Romans 11:11
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
The next logical question in this is has Israel then stumbled as a nation that they might fall? That is, should they no longer be a part of God's plan? They have stumbled due to unbelief and received that spirit of blindness and deafness, so are they now out of the picture altogether? Paul's familiar answer in this epistle: May it never be! He answers immediately what God's purpose of this was. Through this fall, salvation is to the nations for the point of provoking Israel to jealousy.
The English again is a good translation, but there are important subtle differences in the Greek. The word fall is two different words. First, in the question "they should fall," the Greek word is pipto and it does mean to fall down. The second "fall" is the Greek paraptoma, a compound word of para (close beside) and pipto. That time it has the idea of a false step or trespass. It's a falling away from being close beside. They aren't completely scratched out of God's plan, but the spotlight has shifted. A dispensational change took place for a season. God will explain more of this in this chapter.
Note well the purpose of this dispensation. It is to provoke God's chosen people Israel to jealousy. What better way to get the attention of Israel, a nation that was given specific divine promises, than to give all the other nations divine promises while withholding Israel's specific promises? We have all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ (Eph 1:3) through faith in what Christ did for us (Eph 2:8-9, 1 Cor 15:3-4). That's what the gospel of grace given to the apostle Paul is. Anyone anywhere can put their faith in Christ and His finished work and be saved from sin and death. Before this dispensation, Gentiles had to go through Israel to have any hope in God at all. See how that will make them jealous? Rest assured, they will get their promises too, but only after this season of grace to the Gentiles is complete.
One last thing to note are the definite articles here. It is the salvation, and the them (provoke the them to jealousy). It is clear this is Israel, and that they will be jealous of the salvation coming to the Gentiles, especially since it is obtained through a different means. Salvation from sin and death comes through faith apart from works, whereas they had to have faith and work out the Law of Moses or be cut off.
Romans 11:12
Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
This statement should get all believers excited. Honestly, we have such an awesome gospel in that we are saved from sin and death by placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, who will raise us from the dead and give us a body like unto His glorious body. There is so much we have "In Christ" and I encourage all believers to seriously study Ephesians 1-3 to understand a bulk of it. It's all over Paul's epistles, but that is a good concise summary in my opinion. As great as this is, can you imagine what it will be like when all Israel is saved? God is bringing us to understand that this isn't even as good as it gets. Yes, we will go to Heaven to be with the Lord forever, whether we are alive or dead (1 Thess 4:13-18). But that's not the end. First Israel will go through their 70th week of tribulation (Dan 9:27, Jer 30:7), have their earthly kingdom (Rev 20:1-6), and then the fullness of Israel will come to be.
How amazing and breathtaking will bit be to witness the new Heaven and Earth (Rev 21:1-5)? Right now all the nations have this gospel, the power of God unto salvation, which is described as riches here. There will be unbelievers during the tribulation and Millennial kingdom. But after that, EVERYONE will be believers, there will be no more fighting, sin, nor death. How wonderful will that be?
This verse is spot on with the Greek. There are still some things to point out for clarity. The "if" here is "ei" again. The word for "fall" is paraptoma like in verse 11. The word for "diminishing" is hettema and has the idea of shortcoming, defeat, or failure. The word for "fulness" is pleroma, which has the idea of filling up full to completion.
Romans 11:13
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
If we ever have a business card call out for the apostle Paul, it's this verse right here. He is the apostle to the Gentiles. It began with Paul as the first apostle of the gospel of the uncircumcision in Acts 13. that's why he can call it his (Rom 2:16, 16:25, 1 Cor 9:18, 1 Tim 1:11, 2 Tim 2:8).
The Greek adds even more emphasis. Here we find the phrase eimi ego, which literally means I am, I. A similar phrase was used by Jesus Christ when He stated He was God in John 8:58. The only difference is the word order, because Jesus said I, I am (ego eimi). Paul here says, "I am I, the apostle of the Gentiles."
Want some more emphasis here? The Greek is full of it. The KJV doesn't include the words hosos (how much), men (indeed), and oun (therefore). Also, the word "for" at the beginning is our familiar "de" of the Greek. So if we're going for a literal interpretation of this verse, it is like this:
To you, now, I am speaking to the Gentiles, inasmuch as how much indeed therefore I am I, the apostle of the Gentiles, the ministry of me I magnify.
I do hope it is ridiculously clear that Paul had a special ministry, even by this verse alone. Paul is not part of the 12 apostles to Israel. He really is the apostle to the Gentiles with the gospel of the grace of God to build the Body of Christ, which consists of Jew and Gentile (1 Cor 12:12-13, Gal 3:28, Eph 2:11-18). That is a doctrine that is unique to him and clearly was one given by Jesus Christ Himself (Gal 1:11-12).
Romans 11:14
If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
The context here goes back to verse 11. Paul is really emphasizing his position as the apostle to the Gentiles, that he has a different doctrine, and the purpose of that is to rile up the flesh and have Israel be saved. In general, the Jews were stuck in their works. They kept the Law, but they didn't seek salvation by faith (Rom 9:32). That was their problem and why they didn't obtain what they were looking for. They went after the righteousness which is out of the Law and not the righteousness which is of God.
Paul made it quite clear that his heart's desire to have Israel, which is of the flesh, be saved. Through this doctrine committed unto him, he will by any means provoke them to jealousy that some may be saved.
There are a few things to note in the Greek. If is the Greek ei. The word to provoke to jealousy is the same here as in verse 11. There is the Greek preposition ek, which is translated of here, but could more accurately be "out of." Some will be saved out of Israel. The English here is helpful, but there are extra words. It literally says, "If at all I will provoke to jealousy the flesh of me and will save some out of them." This verse is an accurate translation, which is back up by verse 1 of this chapter. Paul isn't saying to save some out of his own flesh, which is just the one person - him. That wouldn't make much sense.
Romans 11:15
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
So what awaits Israel? They were cast away or rejected by God due to their unbelief. That brought about this dispensation of God's grace to build the Body of Christ through the apostle Paul. Now we have the mystery revealed that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19). He made the world save-able and holds the gift of salvation out to all who will believe in Him and the finished work He did through Christ on the cross of Calvary. That's what the rejecting of Israel brought in, so what about when all Israel is saved? Clearly it means life from the dead.
The word if here is the Greek ei and could be better rendered as "since." For since the casing away of them... The Greek also asks a bit of a different question, though it is the same concept. The literal translation is "what will the receiving of them be if not life out of the dead?" The Greek ei appears in the "if not" part there, saying that this is a fact that is coming. Again, when all Israel is saved, God is making the new Heaven and Earth where there will be no more death, because the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor 15:22-26).
Romans 11:16
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
I love it when God gives us a picture to help us understand Him and what He is doing. We are introduced to this picture in this verse, so it is just the concept we are to understand for now and it's pretty straight forward. If the firstfruit is holy then the whole mixture is holy. In case that one wasn't clear, God gives another picture. If the root is holy, then any branch of that root is holy. In other words, if the source is holy, everything else from that source is holy.
The only thing in the Greek to point out is that both "ifs" here are "ei."
Romans 11:17
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Another case of an unfortunate verse break. I don't understand why they stop in the middle of a thought. We get the beginning of it here using the picture given in verse 16. We are given that the root is holy. Some branches are broken off. Who could those be? We are told that "thou" is a wild tree graffed in to take part of that holy root and the fatness of it. We also see it's an olive tree. All of this should make it clear that Christ is the root and Israel were the broken off branches. The "thou" here can be understood by how this epistle is addressing. It is an individual the Gentiles in Rome that Paul is writing to. Each one that believed in Paul's gospel now partakes of that root, which is Christ. Note that only some of the branches were broken. Not all Israel was unbelieving. There was always a remnant of the faithful. We'll get more to the point of the picture in the next verses up to verse 21.
The verse starts off with ei de in the Greek, or "Since now." The next "and" is also "de" to add emphasis that after those branches (Unbelieving Israel) were broken off, now you. The wild olive tree is what the Greek word means, but to be clear this is talking of an uncultivated tree. That should be the picture that "wild" brings to mind, but think of it in the spiritual sense. There was no cultivation before this point. There was no life from the root, so there was no good fruit. But now there is life after being grafted in to the root and taking part in the fatness of the tree.
Something that may be missed from the original language is how this verse ends. It literally says, "and a fellow partaker of the root of the fatness of the olive tree have become." I feel this is the Romans version of Ephesians 2:11-18.
Romans 11:18
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Now knowing the spiritual application of this picture, the command should make complete sense. Don't boast against Israel. Don't talk down to them because they were set aside in unbelief. Keep in mind that you are a branch and not the root. You depend on that root, which is Christ. God chose the nation Israel, and He will keep every word spoken concerning them.
The verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 11:19
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Doesn't God know us well? Isn't is the natural response of this command saying something like, "Hey, God did that so I can be part of His Body! It was all their fault! He did it for me." Being the father of some young children, I am often reminded of the childish responses to commands that shouldn't be hard to follow. It is so natural to think to the self and not to others. That's why we're told to think on others and not ourselves to be set apart from the world (Phil 2:1-4).
This verse is spot on with the Greek. The old English "that" could be rendered "in order that" for clarity, but the meaning is there.
Romans 11:20
Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Right away we may miss the meaning of the first word in the old English. This word well means what was previously said was right or good. It's the adverb form of kalos in the Greek, which does mean good. There are several instances of this in the New Testament, like Matthew 15:7 or Luke 20:29. In the context here, Paul is acknowledging that yes, the branches were broken off that the wild branch may be grafted in. But he quickly follows up with the reason why. You, the Gentile, stand by faith. They, Israel, were broken off because they didn't have their faith in the right spot. So don't be puffed up about that, but be respectful of God and of them. And whoever made the verse breaks will keep us in suspense until the next verse as to why to show this fear.
The Greek is more emphatic than the English here. It says, "Rightly so. They were broken off by the unbelief. Now (de) you stand by the faith." Note the importance of faith. Faith has always been required to be saved from sin and death since the fall of man in Genesis. Then after this are the two imperatives. Be not high-minded, but rather be afraid. That is the Greek phobeo there, where we get our word phobia from.
Romans 11:21
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
So why are we to be afraid? Because Israel was intended to be God's chosen nation. They were the ones that were given all the oracles of God (Rom 3:2). Despite that, their unbelief caused God to not spare them, but cast them aside. If He did that to Israel, we Gentiles ought to respect that and not boast of against Israel, because God could choose to cast aside us...again. We went over this in Romans 1 and what the world looked like at that time. Just re-read verses 28-32. The Gentiles knew of God, but rejected Him anyway and chose to engage in sinful activity. Not only they, but they had pleasure in others doing sinful acts as well. Kind of sounds like the world today, doesn't it?
God won't usher in a new dispensation. This doctrine given to Paul is it as it fills up full the word of God (Col 1:25). What this verse should do is give us pause and think where our faith is at. If it's in Christ, we ought to behave like Christ and seek to save the lost by sharing the message of reconciliation with them.
The "if" here is ei once more. It is definite fact that God did not spare the natural branches (Israel). They have been set aside in unbelief for a season as we'll see in verses 25 and 32. The last half of this verse is quite emphatic in the Greek as well. It literally translates to, "not how not now will He spare you?" It may be better understood as, "How will He not spare even you?" The Greek does have the double negative there, which is goofy in the English, but clearly is showing how important it is to heed this warning of God.
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
So then we can see how kind and loving God is, but also at the same time that He is just. Israel constantly rejected God to the point where He cast them aside in unbelief. Note Romans 10:21. They had many chances, but by choice wanted to be apart from God. Because of their fall, God brought salvation to the Gentiles through the gospel He gave to the apostle Paul (Rom 11:11). Now, this grace can be enjoyed by all who come to the faith in the gospel, that Jesus paid the sin debt in full through His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor 15:3-4) and that no works are required (Eph 2:8-9). But if one hears of the gospel and doesn't "continue" in the gospel, or put their faith in God and the finished work of Christ, they will be cut off. There is a day coming where God will say that enough is enough. The rapture of the church, the Body of Christ will take place and those that are left behind and heard the gospel will endure the tribulation with strong delusion to believe the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:1-12). Their fate is the lake of the fire. Please don't let that be you.
It is important to note that the "if' here in the Greek is eav, which is the conditional and not factual if. That word for "continue" is epimeno, a compound word of epi (upon) and meno (persist). Continue works as an English translation, but let it be known that once one hears of the gospel of God's grace and chooses not to persist upon putting faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, they will not be saved from sin and death. Don't hear me wrong here. I'm not saying that once someone believes and chooses to walk away from the faith, they will lose salvation. God is clear that once someone genuinely believes in God's grace through Jesus Christ, they are saved, guaranteed, sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). What I mean is that everyone is presented the same choice. Either believe and be saved or don't and be damned.
For those that don't believe, the Greek here is quite emphatically clear. The word for "otherwise" is the Greek epei, which we already looked at in detail in verse 6. For those that don't believe, it is a fact that they will be cut off. Cut off from what? A life with God. They will have a life in the lake of the fire, which is an eternity separated from God and without hope of ever getting better. Again, don't let that be you. Just let God save you by placing your faith in Him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved (Acts 16:31).
Romans 11:23
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
This is a great reminder. Even though Israel didn't believe and was cast aside for a season doesn't mean God outright doomed them to Hell. If (conditionally) they choose to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that He paid their sin debt, they too will be saved. All come to salvation under the same terms in this age, through faith in Jesus Christ. God is more than capable of saving anyone who believes in Him.
The only thing to point out in the Greek here is the definite articles for the unbelief and the God.
Romans 11:24
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
In case we didn't understand that God has the power and ability to do such a thing, we are reminded of the picture introduced in this chapter. Gentiles were afar off from the promises of God and without hope (Eph 2:11-12). But now by putting faith in who God is and what He has done through Jesus Christ and His shed blood, Gentiles are brought near to God into the Body of Christ (Eph 2:18). There is no difference for the Jew to obtain salvation from sin and death, because Christ died for all and there is now no difference (Gal 3:28).
This verse is pretty much word for word with the Greek.
Romans 11:25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Here is a pivotal statement in scripture. There is more emphasis in the Greek that proves this as a dispensational statement as well. Up until this point, we've seen a couple of chapters of the case against Israel and how much God loves them and still cares for them. As a nation, they have rejected God, so here we see that God has caused them blindness until a certain point in time. That time is given the description of the "fulness of the Gentiles."
We were just shown that this is temporary with the picture of the olive tree. We, the Gentiles, were grafted in to the root, to Jesus Christ, though the Gentiles were not part of that in the dispensation of the gospel of the Circumcision. Only Israel was "near" while the Gentiles were "afar off." Consider Ephesians 2:1-3 and 11-12
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world
That was the position of Gentiles in the gospel of the Circumcision. But God has changed all of that. Note in Ephesians 2 that the verses right after these both start off in contrast. Verse four starts off with "but God" and verse 13 starts with "but now in Christ Jesus." A change has taken place. In the gospel of the Uncircumcsion, it doesn't matter who you are, you come to salvation from sin and death the same way: placing your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as your atonement (1 Cor 15:1-4, Gal 3:28). Note what we already looked at back in Romans chapter 3:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God
Also in 2 Cor 5:19 - To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
God made the world save-able through Jesus Christ shedding His blood on the cross. His grace is sufficient to save from sins upon all who believe (Rom 3:22).
With all of that said, we get to this conclusion and the reasoning why in chapters 9-11:24, that Israel has been blinded for a season. Also prayerfully study Acts 13 to see the transition take place on the chronological scale. Acts 13 is when the Body of Christ and the doctrine of the gospel of the Uncircumcision was unleashed through Saul who became Paul. Acts 13:38-39 is the FIRST time in scripture where the Law of Moses is used in a negative. The name of Peter, who led the gospel of the Circumcision, is used some 56 times in Acts 1-12. It is used once after (chapter 15), whereas Paul is clearly in the spotlight. God makes it very clear that there is change of house rules, or dispensations.
Now note the Greek here to add to the emphasis. There are key definite articles that are missing from the KJV. The verse starts off like this:
For I do not desire you to be ignorant, brethren, of this the mystery.
What is the mystery? It's the unique doctrine given to the apostle Paul. The proof that it is unique to Paul is overwhelming. Consider these verses, though there are more: Rom 16:25, 1 Cor 2:1-3,7 (testimony = mystery), Eph 1:7-12, 3:1-9, 6:19-20, Col 1:24-27, etc. The reason the Holy Spirit inspires Paul to be so emphatic to make known the mystery is given right afterward:
For I do not desire you to be ignorant, brethren, of this the mystery, in order that you might not be wise in yourselves.
Remember what God just told us in verses 18-20 not to boast against those of Israel that were cut off? It is reiterated here that we don't become wise in ourselves, or wise in our own conceits as the KJV puts it. Israel has been blinded or hardened until the fullness of the Gentiles. This is the same word for "blinded/hardened" in Rom 11:7. Note carefully what it says there in verse 7 because it is said again here. The election, the true Israel obtained righteousness through faith plus works, but the rest were hardened. Similarly, God tells us in Rom 11:25 that a hardening from a part of the Israel has happened until the fullness of the Gentiles may come in.
The word translated "in" is "apo" in the Greek, which really has the meaning away from. The hardening is away from of part of the Israel. The phrase "cut off" comes to my mind when reading into this. Those that were cut off from Israel are who are being talked about here. They are hardened in their choice of unbelief until the fullness of the Gentiles, or the rapture event, occurs. Then Israel will be in the spotlight once more for the Tribulation period, after which is the millennial kingdom that was promised in Exodus 19:5-6, and all Israel shall be saved (Jer 31:31-34) as we shall see in the next verse.
Romans 11:26
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
All Israel will be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. It was alluded to in verse 25 but now God quotes Himself in Isaiah 59:20 to establish His truth. Note well the timeline: Israel was the spotlight, then hardness in part (portion) has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles (rapture). Israel will go through the Tribulation to fill up the transgression (Dan 9:24-27), then have their promised kingdom (Exodus 19:5-6, Rev 20:1-6) and all Israel will be saved.
This verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 11:27
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
This verse combines the quote from Isaiah 59:21 and 7:9. Again, God is telling us that there will be a day when all iniquity is purged. He says that this will take place after the rapture and tribulation period events.
Romans 11:28
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
This is something very important to note and consider. Who is the "they" here? It is Israel. Why are they enemies concerning the gospel? Seriously consider that question. There are some that say that there is one big gospel that is progressively revealed in scripture. If that is true, why is Israel now an enemy when they were God's chosen nation? And then how can they be beloved at the same time? Consider these questions especially in conjunction with the next verse. They are enemies concerning the gospel because it is contrary to the gospel given to them. That's right, there is more than one gospel presented in the bible. Prayerfully consider Galatians 2:7 if you are not convinced by this point.
The question should be which gospel are they enemies? Who is the "your" here? Remember, this epistle was written to the saints in Rome (Romans 1:7). They are the saints according to the gospel given to Paul, the gospel of the uncircumcision in Galatians 2:7. Israel is considered enemies according to the gospel given to Paul to the saints of that gospel because we do not keep the Law of Moses. We today are saved from faith apart from works and justified by the work of Christ, which is His shed blood on the cross of Calvary (Rom 3-4). Yet Israel is beloved because of the father's sakes. Who are the fathers? The same ones reiterated several times in the Old Testament. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Israel is beloved for their sake because of the promises given them. As we will see in the next verse, Israel still has some promises coming.
The same Greek word is translated different ways in this verse, and that word is the preposition kata. Kata has the meaning of according to or down from. The verse could be rendered this way:
Indeed (men) according to (kata) the gospel, [they are] enemies to your account. Now (de) according to (kata) the election, [they are] beloved to the father's account.
If you want a completely literal version without those pesky perentheses, here it is:
Indeed according to the gospel, enemies to your account. Now according to the election, beloved to the father's account.
To understand these verses properly, we must rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15).
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
God's word will not return to Him void (Isa 55:11). He promised Israel many things that haven't happened yet, but they will take place. They will take place after this dispensation of God's grace is done, after the snatching away of the church which is His Body (1 Thess 4:13-5:11).
The word for gifts here is from the Greek charisma, meaning they are the graces of God. The only other thing to point out in the Greek is the definite article to denote the God.
Romans 11:30
For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
We're introduced to part one of a two part point that will be completed in the next verse. This is another instance of an unfortunate verse break. Note the phrase "in times past" and "yet have now...through their unbelief." What time periods are being talked about? Again, we can look at Ephesians chapter 2 for backup. Verses 1 through 3 shows the unbelieving Gentile's position within the dispensation of of the gospel of the uncircumcision. Verses 11 and 12 however, tell us of the unbelieving Gentile's position within the dispensation of the circumcision. It is that time that are in reference here in the "times past." How can I say that? Because it was through their (Israel's) unbelief that Gentiles have now obtained mercy, or had mercy shown them. God told us that in Romans 11:25. Blindness has happened until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
The first word of this verse in the Greek bears pointing out. It is the compound word hosper. Hos means "just as" and per means "indeed." So hosper has the idea of being exactly like. This gives further credence to my statement earlier, how Gentiles were blinded in unbelief during the dispensation of the gospel of the circumcision. Only those that were proselytized to Israel were saved. So, just like that was and now the Gentiles have obtained mercy through the setting aside of Israel, we'll see the reciprocal of that in the verse.
The other little words to point out are "nyn" and "de" occurring right after the word God. Literally, it would be "now, now." It could be rendered, "Now in the present..." See the emphasis God is putting there? There is a major difference in this age compared to the dispensation of the gospel of the circumcision. Things changed chronologically in Acts 13 to usher in the age of the gopel of the uncircumcision. We see God's ultimate conclusion of this in verse 32.
One more thing to say, there is a definite article present for the God.
Romans 11:31
Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Combining this verse with what we just read, we see the broad picture God is telling us. Just like how the unbelieving Gentiles were given mercy when Israel was hardened for a season, unbelieving Israel may obtain mercy in the same way. In this age, God broke down the wall that was between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:14-18). The conclusion of them in unbelief has opened up another door of salvation to them, for there is no difference, all come to salvation in the Body of Christ the same way, through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Eph 2:16, Gal 3:28, 1 Cor 12:12-14, 15:1-4).
The Greek word for "now" here is "nyn" which has the idea of in the present time. The Greek word for "not believed" is in the Aorist tense, meaning that it happened in the past at some point and is continuing to the present. Israel chose not to believe in God and His Messiah and were hardened in part (verse 25). They are presently unbelieving so that they can see salvation to the Gentiles, be provoked to jealousy, and come back to the true faith (verses 11, 25, and 31).
Romans 11:32
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Why did God usher in the dispensation of the mystery? In order to extend His love, mercy, and compassion to everyone that believes in Him. The free gift of salvation is available to all. It is up to each individual what to do with it. Either receive it, or reject it.
This verse has three important definite articles. It more literally reads like this:
For the God has concluded the all to (eis) unbelief in order that the all might be shown mercy.
This verse aligns perfectly with 1 Tim 2:4, that it is and always has been God's will that everyone be saved and come to the accurate knowledge of the truth.
Romans 11:33
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Isn't this gospel we have awesome? After all the struggle of the spiritual battle throughout history, God has solidified a way of salvation to all who believe. He thwarted Satan at every turn by the power of His word, and now has made manifest salvation from sin and death which man brought into the world. Through His amazing wisdom and grace, He set all of this up by coordinating everything throughout the universe. Is that not mind blowing? But none of these things are too hard for the Lord our God (Jer 32:17).
The Greek reads differently than the KJV puts it. The word "both" should really be "and" since it is the Greek kai. The phrase "past finding out" fits, but the word is anexichniastos and has the idea of being untraceable or untrackable. the verse literally is this:
O the depths of [the] riches and of [the]wisdom and of [the] knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways untraceable!
What is really amazing to think about is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), and upon placing our faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). We can be filled with His knowledge and understand the truth after salvation if we're willing to let Him teach us!
Romans 11:34
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller?
Could anyone have honestly thought this way of salvation up? Could anyone design life in the way it is? Of course not. These questions are rhetorical to show that our Lord's ways are past finding out. No one instructed Him how to do what He has done.
This verse is word for word with the Greek.
Romans 11:35
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Another rhetorical question for us to know the attributes of our God better. These last two verses should give us inspiration to sing praise unto our God. What a wonderful God we serve! What an amazing Savior we have in Jesus Christ! Remember, He is for us, so who could be against us (Rom 8:31-34)? Praise the Lord!
Romans 11:36
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Paul brings his praise to God in this closing verse of chapter 11. Everything is from God and circles back to God. It's all His. Nothing originated from man or woman. For this reason, His name will be glorified to the ages.
The Greek is only slightly different here. There is a definite article to denote the all things. The word "of" is from the Greek "ek" and could be rendered "out of ." Both times we see the word "to" here it is the Greek "eis" which means to the point of. Finally, the phrase "for ever" is more literally "to the ages." With all that in mind, here is a more literal translation:
For the all things are out of Him and through Him and to Him. To Him be the glory to the ages! Amen.
References:
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon [2]
Strong's Concordance [3]
The Greek is more emphatic and clearer as usual. The word if here is ei, which is if-factually, or could usually be translated as since. The verse also starts with de, the emphatic particle. We could render the first part of the verse this way:
Since now by grace, no longer out of (ek) works
See the dispensational difference? Today is the dispensation of grace in the gospel of the UNcircumcision and the faithful remnant is no longer out of works. Otherwise the grace message is null and void if works are required. Paul covers that extensively in his epistles, but some references other than this verse are Galatians 3:15-25, 5:1-6, and Romans 4.
Before continuing we need to understand a little Greek word of large importance. That is the word epei. It is a compound word of epi and ei. Epi is a preposition, and in this case means upon. We already talked about ei which can typically be translated as since, but most definitely is introducing fact and not possibility in the conditional. Epei is the Greek word translated as "otherwise." Let's take another look at the first half of the verse, and note the definite article.
Since now by grace, no longer out of works, otherwise (upon since) the grace is no longer grace.
Remember the context. We're talking about the remnant according to the election of what? Grace. If the remnant according to the election is of grace, then the remnant is no longer a remnant out of works. IF it was out of works, then the remnant of grace isn't really grace, it's works. We have the converse of this right afterward to really hammer it home.
If now (ei de) out of (ek) works (fact), it is no longer grace, otherwise (epei) the work is no longer work.
Same concept. If the remnant is now out of works, then the remnant is no longer of grace. IF it was out of grace, then work isn't really work, it's grace. From verse 5, we know that the remnant in this present season is of grace and not of works (cf Eph 2:8-9). Those under the Law lived in the works of the Law. See the contrast in Gal 3:10-14 with the quotes coming from Deut 27:26, Hab 2:4, Lev 18:5, and Deut 21:23.
Note the definite articles used in this verse. We have the faith and the works. Clearly, God is laying out the dispensations. During Elijah's time, the remnant was out of the works in the gospel of the circumcision. Today, it is out of the faith alone in the gospel of the uncircumcision.
Romans 11:7
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
So what is the point of making mention of this? Remember that Paul is discussing Israel at this point of the epistle and his desire that they are all saved (chapter 10). Israel had the word of God, they heard the word of God, but they did not all obey it. They really didn't have any excuse as evident in Rom 10:21. Israel, as a nation, did not obtain righteousness because they sought it not by faith (Rom 9:32-33). Only the remnant, the true believers in that dispensation, obtained it, and the rest were blinded. That is why Paul is writing this here. His desire is that ALL Israel is saved, not just a remnant, as it is written from the word of God. More on that in verse 26. Really his desire is that all of mankind is saved, aligning with God's desire, as should all believers today (2 Tim 2:4). But he has a special place in his heart for his countrymen, for Israel.
The Greek uses the more emphatic "de" twice here. But (de) the election hath obtained it, and (de) the rest were blinded. that word for blinded really has the idea of being hardened or calloused. It is the Greek poroo.
Even though we are now in the dispensation of grace through the gospel of the uncircumcision, God will still play out all the words He had for Israel, as will be explained in this chapter (verse 29). After this dispensation comes to an end, all true Israel will be saved. In the next three verses, God will explain more on why.
Romans 11:8
(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
This quote comes from Isaiah 29:10. Only the election of Israel obtained the righteousness it sought for. Only that small remnant out of the mighty nation. The rest were hardened as we saw in the previous verse. Here, God is elaborating for us, that He gave those that were hardened a spirit of slumber, eyes and ears that don't work so they just won't get the truth. This is the case unto the day of Paul's writing of Romans, and really unto this present day as well. Was God the bad guy here? Absolutely not. He just gave them what they wanted.
The Greek is fascinating here, and I would venture to say that something big was missed in the KJV. First, here's the literal translation up until the last three English words:
Just as it has been written, the God has given to them a spirit of stupor/deep slumber, the eyes of it not to see, the ears of it not to hear.
That's all well translated, right? The spirit they were given is a blind and deaf one. Now here's the fascinating thing. The Greek has four words after this: heos tes semeron hemeras. Heos means "until" or "as far as" [1]. Tes is a definite article, but it appears in the Genitive case. This is important as I will show in a moment. Semeron means "this very day" and appears in the Nominative case. Hemeras is the Greek for "day", which can mean a 24 hour period or an indeterminate time period and must be defined in the context, just like the English "day." Hemeras also appears in the Genitive, so the article belongs with it. Let me rearrange that to make it clearer in the English for those that don't like parsing:
As far as this very day of the day.
Do you see what I see there? This hardening is happening to the present day of the day. What is the day? I see it as the dispensation of the Grace of God as given to Paul, and I'll show by scripture why I see that. Note what we see in 1 Thess 4:13-5:11. We have the blessed hope of those in the Body of Christ in 1 Thess 4:13-18. Then it is contrasted with the earthly hope of the nation of Israel in chapter 5. Note how the words of the day/light and the night/darkness are used in the verses in chapter 5. I will emphasize them and add some notes in brackets for clarity.
13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep [dead], that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus [bodily death of the faithful] will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them [go before them] which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
5:1 But of the times and the seasons [prophecy of Old Testament], brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord [wrath-tribulation period] so cometh as a thief in the night.
5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
5:4 But ye, brethren, are NOT IN DARKNESS, that that day [of the Lord - wrath] should overtake you as a thief.
5:5 Ye are all the CHILDREN OF LIGHT, and the CHILDREN OF THE DAY: we are NOT OF THE NIGHT NOR OF DARKNESS.
5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
5:7 For they that sleep sleep IN THE NIGHT; and they that be drunken are drunken IN THE NIGHT.
5:8 But let us, who are OF THE DAY, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
5:9 For God hath NOT APPOINTED US TO WRATH, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him [see 1 Thess 4:13-18].
5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
The hardening is continuing into this present dispensation. There are many unbelieving Jews who refuse to see Jesus Christ as Emmanuel, God with us. I don't mean to target just the Jews, because there are many others who don't believe, but the Jews are the ones in context here. The seed of Abraham did come through them as God promised, and that was Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16). Jesus Christ can be seen throughout the Old Testament, but because of the hardening of the hearts, God gave them a blind and deaf spirit, preventing them from seeing and hearing the truth up until the present time. There will be a day that all Israel is saved, but that isn't in this the day, and we'll get to that later in this chapter.
Romans 11:9
And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
This a quote from Psalm 69:22. Now the words here are quite interesting. This verse is spot on with the Greek, but it helps us to learn a deeper definition of what is being said. The table here is a table for food or business. It was used for feasting or business. What God is saying through David then, is to have those that reject Him willfully to let their prosperity entrap them and be paid back to them in retribution. That's a common saying in the Old Testament prophets. Let the wicked who appear to be prospering be recompensed for their wickedness. God will certainly do that, in the time called the Day of the Lord.
Let's take a deeper look at these three traps as well. It almost looks like God is saying the same thing three times here, but there are differences that should be noted. The word snare is the Greek pagis, which means "properly, of snares in which birds are entangled and caught" [2]. This is a trap that catches the victim unaware. Suddenly the trap is sprung and they are caught. Remember how the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night? The word pagis is used only 5 times in the New Testament: Luke 21:35, Rom 11:9, 1 Tim 3:7, 6:9, and 2 Tim 2:26.
The word trap is the Greek thera, which means a hunting, or an entrapment, or a means of capturing [3]. Doesn't that fit well with prosperity? Isn't it easier to forget about God when all seems to be going well? Materialism is a dangerous path to be on. The prosperity of the wicked will be the means of capturing them for that day. This is the only time the word thera appears in the New Testament.
The word stumblingblock is the Greek skandalon. See the English word scandal in there? Skandalon has this definition: properly, the trigger of a trap (the mechanism closing a trap down on the unsuspecting victim); (figuratively) an offense, putting a negative cause-and-effect relationship into motion. [1] Putting all of these three things together, the prosperity of the wicked will will act as the trigger for punishment, as well as be the means of capturing, and it will come upon them unaware. God does say that He will judge them according to their works in Rev 20:11-15, and that judgement is not a pleasant one as it determines the degree of torment in the lake of the fire. That will be their recompense.
Romans 11:10
Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
God finishes the quote with Psalm 69:23. The eyes of the wicked will not be able to see the truth in this life, but they will bow down to God and acknowledge Him as God. That's something that may not be clear in the old English. Despite the wickedness of the wicked and being destined to punishment, they will, without a doubt, acknowledge who God is. They will acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord (Phil 2:10-11).
There is a definite article missing here because the English would sound goofy. It says Let the eyes of the them be darkened not to see. God is pointing out that this blindness is for those who reject Him by choice. Even so, everyone will bow before God. The word alway here is the Greek dia pantos. It literally means through all things.
Romans 11:11
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
The next logical question in this is has Israel then stumbled as a nation that they might fall? That is, should they no longer be a part of God's plan? They have stumbled due to unbelief and received that spirit of blindness and deafness, so are they now out of the picture altogether? Paul's familiar answer in this epistle: May it never be! He answers immediately what God's purpose of this was. Through this fall, salvation is to the nations for the point of provoking Israel to jealousy.
The English again is a good translation, but there are important subtle differences in the Greek. The word fall is two different words. First, in the question "they should fall," the Greek word is pipto and it does mean to fall down. The second "fall" is the Greek paraptoma, a compound word of para (close beside) and pipto. That time it has the idea of a false step or trespass. It's a falling away from being close beside. They aren't completely scratched out of God's plan, but the spotlight has shifted. A dispensational change took place for a season. God will explain more of this in this chapter.
Note well the purpose of this dispensation. It is to provoke God's chosen people Israel to jealousy. What better way to get the attention of Israel, a nation that was given specific divine promises, than to give all the other nations divine promises while withholding Israel's specific promises? We have all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ (Eph 1:3) through faith in what Christ did for us (Eph 2:8-9, 1 Cor 15:3-4). That's what the gospel of grace given to the apostle Paul is. Anyone anywhere can put their faith in Christ and His finished work and be saved from sin and death. Before this dispensation, Gentiles had to go through Israel to have any hope in God at all. See how that will make them jealous? Rest assured, they will get their promises too, but only after this season of grace to the Gentiles is complete.
One last thing to note are the definite articles here. It is the salvation, and the them (provoke the them to jealousy). It is clear this is Israel, and that they will be jealous of the salvation coming to the Gentiles, especially since it is obtained through a different means. Salvation from sin and death comes through faith apart from works, whereas they had to have faith and work out the Law of Moses or be cut off.
Romans 11:12
Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
This statement should get all believers excited. Honestly, we have such an awesome gospel in that we are saved from sin and death by placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, who will raise us from the dead and give us a body like unto His glorious body. There is so much we have "In Christ" and I encourage all believers to seriously study Ephesians 1-3 to understand a bulk of it. It's all over Paul's epistles, but that is a good concise summary in my opinion. As great as this is, can you imagine what it will be like when all Israel is saved? God is bringing us to understand that this isn't even as good as it gets. Yes, we will go to Heaven to be with the Lord forever, whether we are alive or dead (1 Thess 4:13-18). But that's not the end. First Israel will go through their 70th week of tribulation (Dan 9:27, Jer 30:7), have their earthly kingdom (Rev 20:1-6), and then the fullness of Israel will come to be.
How amazing and breathtaking will bit be to witness the new Heaven and Earth (Rev 21:1-5)? Right now all the nations have this gospel, the power of God unto salvation, which is described as riches here. There will be unbelievers during the tribulation and Millennial kingdom. But after that, EVERYONE will be believers, there will be no more fighting, sin, nor death. How wonderful will that be?
This verse is spot on with the Greek. There are still some things to point out for clarity. The "if" here is "ei" again. The word for "fall" is paraptoma like in verse 11. The word for "diminishing" is hettema and has the idea of shortcoming, defeat, or failure. The word for "fulness" is pleroma, which has the idea of filling up full to completion.
Romans 11:13
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
If we ever have a business card call out for the apostle Paul, it's this verse right here. He is the apostle to the Gentiles. It began with Paul as the first apostle of the gospel of the uncircumcision in Acts 13. that's why he can call it his (Rom 2:16, 16:25, 1 Cor 9:18, 1 Tim 1:11, 2 Tim 2:8).
The Greek adds even more emphasis. Here we find the phrase eimi ego, which literally means I am, I. A similar phrase was used by Jesus Christ when He stated He was God in John 8:58. The only difference is the word order, because Jesus said I, I am (ego eimi). Paul here says, "I am I, the apostle of the Gentiles."
Want some more emphasis here? The Greek is full of it. The KJV doesn't include the words hosos (how much), men (indeed), and oun (therefore). Also, the word "for" at the beginning is our familiar "de" of the Greek. So if we're going for a literal interpretation of this verse, it is like this:
To you, now, I am speaking to the Gentiles, inasmuch as how much indeed therefore I am I, the apostle of the Gentiles, the ministry of me I magnify.
I do hope it is ridiculously clear that Paul had a special ministry, even by this verse alone. Paul is not part of the 12 apostles to Israel. He really is the apostle to the Gentiles with the gospel of the grace of God to build the Body of Christ, which consists of Jew and Gentile (1 Cor 12:12-13, Gal 3:28, Eph 2:11-18). That is a doctrine that is unique to him and clearly was one given by Jesus Christ Himself (Gal 1:11-12).
Romans 11:14
If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
The context here goes back to verse 11. Paul is really emphasizing his position as the apostle to the Gentiles, that he has a different doctrine, and the purpose of that is to rile up the flesh and have Israel be saved. In general, the Jews were stuck in their works. They kept the Law, but they didn't seek salvation by faith (Rom 9:32). That was their problem and why they didn't obtain what they were looking for. They went after the righteousness which is out of the Law and not the righteousness which is of God.
Paul made it quite clear that his heart's desire to have Israel, which is of the flesh, be saved. Through this doctrine committed unto him, he will by any means provoke them to jealousy that some may be saved.
There are a few things to note in the Greek. If is the Greek ei. The word to provoke to jealousy is the same here as in verse 11. There is the Greek preposition ek, which is translated of here, but could more accurately be "out of." Some will be saved out of Israel. The English here is helpful, but there are extra words. It literally says, "If at all I will provoke to jealousy the flesh of me and will save some out of them." This verse is an accurate translation, which is back up by verse 1 of this chapter. Paul isn't saying to save some out of his own flesh, which is just the one person - him. That wouldn't make much sense.
Romans 11:15
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?
So what awaits Israel? They were cast away or rejected by God due to their unbelief. That brought about this dispensation of God's grace to build the Body of Christ through the apostle Paul. Now we have the mystery revealed that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19). He made the world save-able and holds the gift of salvation out to all who will believe in Him and the finished work He did through Christ on the cross of Calvary. That's what the rejecting of Israel brought in, so what about when all Israel is saved? Clearly it means life from the dead.
The word if here is the Greek ei and could be better rendered as "since." For since the casing away of them... The Greek also asks a bit of a different question, though it is the same concept. The literal translation is "what will the receiving of them be if not life out of the dead?" The Greek ei appears in the "if not" part there, saying that this is a fact that is coming. Again, when all Israel is saved, God is making the new Heaven and Earth where there will be no more death, because the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor 15:22-26).
Romans 11:16
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.
I love it when God gives us a picture to help us understand Him and what He is doing. We are introduced to this picture in this verse, so it is just the concept we are to understand for now and it's pretty straight forward. If the firstfruit is holy then the whole mixture is holy. In case that one wasn't clear, God gives another picture. If the root is holy, then any branch of that root is holy. In other words, if the source is holy, everything else from that source is holy.
The only thing in the Greek to point out is that both "ifs" here are "ei."
Romans 11:17
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
Another case of an unfortunate verse break. I don't understand why they stop in the middle of a thought. We get the beginning of it here using the picture given in verse 16. We are given that the root is holy. Some branches are broken off. Who could those be? We are told that "thou" is a wild tree graffed in to take part of that holy root and the fatness of it. We also see it's an olive tree. All of this should make it clear that Christ is the root and Israel were the broken off branches. The "thou" here can be understood by how this epistle is addressing. It is an individual the Gentiles in Rome that Paul is writing to. Each one that believed in Paul's gospel now partakes of that root, which is Christ. Note that only some of the branches were broken. Not all Israel was unbelieving. There was always a remnant of the faithful. We'll get more to the point of the picture in the next verses up to verse 21.
The verse starts off with ei de in the Greek, or "Since now." The next "and" is also "de" to add emphasis that after those branches (Unbelieving Israel) were broken off, now you. The wild olive tree is what the Greek word means, but to be clear this is talking of an uncultivated tree. That should be the picture that "wild" brings to mind, but think of it in the spiritual sense. There was no cultivation before this point. There was no life from the root, so there was no good fruit. But now there is life after being grafted in to the root and taking part in the fatness of the tree.
Something that may be missed from the original language is how this verse ends. It literally says, "and a fellow partaker of the root of the fatness of the olive tree have become." I feel this is the Romans version of Ephesians 2:11-18.
Romans 11:18
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
Now knowing the spiritual application of this picture, the command should make complete sense. Don't boast against Israel. Don't talk down to them because they were set aside in unbelief. Keep in mind that you are a branch and not the root. You depend on that root, which is Christ. God chose the nation Israel, and He will keep every word spoken concerning them.
The verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 11:19
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
Doesn't God know us well? Isn't is the natural response of this command saying something like, "Hey, God did that so I can be part of His Body! It was all their fault! He did it for me." Being the father of some young children, I am often reminded of the childish responses to commands that shouldn't be hard to follow. It is so natural to think to the self and not to others. That's why we're told to think on others and not ourselves to be set apart from the world (Phil 2:1-4).
This verse is spot on with the Greek. The old English "that" could be rendered "in order that" for clarity, but the meaning is there.
Romans 11:20
Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
Right away we may miss the meaning of the first word in the old English. This word well means what was previously said was right or good. It's the adverb form of kalos in the Greek, which does mean good. There are several instances of this in the New Testament, like Matthew 15:7 or Luke 20:29. In the context here, Paul is acknowledging that yes, the branches were broken off that the wild branch may be grafted in. But he quickly follows up with the reason why. You, the Gentile, stand by faith. They, Israel, were broken off because they didn't have their faith in the right spot. So don't be puffed up about that, but be respectful of God and of them. And whoever made the verse breaks will keep us in suspense until the next verse as to why to show this fear.
The Greek is more emphatic than the English here. It says, "Rightly so. They were broken off by the unbelief. Now (de) you stand by the faith." Note the importance of faith. Faith has always been required to be saved from sin and death since the fall of man in Genesis. Then after this are the two imperatives. Be not high-minded, but rather be afraid. That is the Greek phobeo there, where we get our word phobia from.
Romans 11:21
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.
So why are we to be afraid? Because Israel was intended to be God's chosen nation. They were the ones that were given all the oracles of God (Rom 3:2). Despite that, their unbelief caused God to not spare them, but cast them aside. If He did that to Israel, we Gentiles ought to respect that and not boast of against Israel, because God could choose to cast aside us...again. We went over this in Romans 1 and what the world looked like at that time. Just re-read verses 28-32. The Gentiles knew of God, but rejected Him anyway and chose to engage in sinful activity. Not only they, but they had pleasure in others doing sinful acts as well. Kind of sounds like the world today, doesn't it?
God won't usher in a new dispensation. This doctrine given to Paul is it as it fills up full the word of God (Col 1:25). What this verse should do is give us pause and think where our faith is at. If it's in Christ, we ought to behave like Christ and seek to save the lost by sharing the message of reconciliation with them.
The "if" here is ei once more. It is definite fact that God did not spare the natural branches (Israel). They have been set aside in unbelief for a season as we'll see in verses 25 and 32. The last half of this verse is quite emphatic in the Greek as well. It literally translates to, "not how not now will He spare you?" It may be better understood as, "How will He not spare even you?" The Greek does have the double negative there, which is goofy in the English, but clearly is showing how important it is to heed this warning of God.
Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
So then we can see how kind and loving God is, but also at the same time that He is just. Israel constantly rejected God to the point where He cast them aside in unbelief. Note Romans 10:21. They had many chances, but by choice wanted to be apart from God. Because of their fall, God brought salvation to the Gentiles through the gospel He gave to the apostle Paul (Rom 11:11). Now, this grace can be enjoyed by all who come to the faith in the gospel, that Jesus paid the sin debt in full through His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor 15:3-4) and that no works are required (Eph 2:8-9). But if one hears of the gospel and doesn't "continue" in the gospel, or put their faith in God and the finished work of Christ, they will be cut off. There is a day coming where God will say that enough is enough. The rapture of the church, the Body of Christ will take place and those that are left behind and heard the gospel will endure the tribulation with strong delusion to believe the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:1-12). Their fate is the lake of the fire. Please don't let that be you.
It is important to note that the "if' here in the Greek is eav, which is the conditional and not factual if. That word for "continue" is epimeno, a compound word of epi (upon) and meno (persist). Continue works as an English translation, but let it be known that once one hears of the gospel of God's grace and chooses not to persist upon putting faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, they will not be saved from sin and death. Don't hear me wrong here. I'm not saying that once someone believes and chooses to walk away from the faith, they will lose salvation. God is clear that once someone genuinely believes in God's grace through Jesus Christ, they are saved, guaranteed, sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13-14). What I mean is that everyone is presented the same choice. Either believe and be saved or don't and be damned.
For those that don't believe, the Greek here is quite emphatically clear. The word for "otherwise" is the Greek epei, which we already looked at in detail in verse 6. For those that don't believe, it is a fact that they will be cut off. Cut off from what? A life with God. They will have a life in the lake of the fire, which is an eternity separated from God and without hope of ever getting better. Again, don't let that be you. Just let God save you by placing your faith in Him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved (Acts 16:31).
Romans 11:23
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
This is a great reminder. Even though Israel didn't believe and was cast aside for a season doesn't mean God outright doomed them to Hell. If (conditionally) they choose to believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that He paid their sin debt, they too will be saved. All come to salvation under the same terms in this age, through faith in Jesus Christ. God is more than capable of saving anyone who believes in Him.
The only thing to point out in the Greek here is the definite articles for the unbelief and the God.
Romans 11:24
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?
In case we didn't understand that God has the power and ability to do such a thing, we are reminded of the picture introduced in this chapter. Gentiles were afar off from the promises of God and without hope (Eph 2:11-12). But now by putting faith in who God is and what He has done through Jesus Christ and His shed blood, Gentiles are brought near to God into the Body of Christ (Eph 2:18). There is no difference for the Jew to obtain salvation from sin and death, because Christ died for all and there is now no difference (Gal 3:28).
This verse is pretty much word for word with the Greek.
Romans 11:25
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Here is a pivotal statement in scripture. There is more emphasis in the Greek that proves this as a dispensational statement as well. Up until this point, we've seen a couple of chapters of the case against Israel and how much God loves them and still cares for them. As a nation, they have rejected God, so here we see that God has caused them blindness until a certain point in time. That time is given the description of the "fulness of the Gentiles."
We were just shown that this is temporary with the picture of the olive tree. We, the Gentiles, were grafted in to the root, to Jesus Christ, though the Gentiles were not part of that in the dispensation of the gospel of the Circumcision. Only Israel was "near" while the Gentiles were "afar off." Consider Ephesians 2:1-3 and 11-12
1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world
That was the position of Gentiles in the gospel of the Circumcision. But God has changed all of that. Note in Ephesians 2 that the verses right after these both start off in contrast. Verse four starts off with "but God" and verse 13 starts with "but now in Christ Jesus." A change has taken place. In the gospel of the Uncircumcsion, it doesn't matter who you are, you come to salvation from sin and death the same way: placing your faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as your atonement (1 Cor 15:1-4, Gal 3:28). Note what we already looked at back in Romans chapter 3:
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God
Also in 2 Cor 5:19 - To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
God made the world save-able through Jesus Christ shedding His blood on the cross. His grace is sufficient to save from sins upon all who believe (Rom 3:22).
With all of that said, we get to this conclusion and the reasoning why in chapters 9-11:24, that Israel has been blinded for a season. Also prayerfully study Acts 13 to see the transition take place on the chronological scale. Acts 13 is when the Body of Christ and the doctrine of the gospel of the Uncircumcision was unleashed through Saul who became Paul. Acts 13:38-39 is the FIRST time in scripture where the Law of Moses is used in a negative. The name of Peter, who led the gospel of the Circumcision, is used some 56 times in Acts 1-12. It is used once after (chapter 15), whereas Paul is clearly in the spotlight. God makes it very clear that there is change of house rules, or dispensations.
Now note the Greek here to add to the emphasis. There are key definite articles that are missing from the KJV. The verse starts off like this:
For I do not desire you to be ignorant, brethren, of this the mystery.
What is the mystery? It's the unique doctrine given to the apostle Paul. The proof that it is unique to Paul is overwhelming. Consider these verses, though there are more: Rom 16:25, 1 Cor 2:1-3,7 (testimony = mystery), Eph 1:7-12, 3:1-9, 6:19-20, Col 1:24-27, etc. The reason the Holy Spirit inspires Paul to be so emphatic to make known the mystery is given right afterward:
For I do not desire you to be ignorant, brethren, of this the mystery, in order that you might not be wise in yourselves.
Remember what God just told us in verses 18-20 not to boast against those of Israel that were cut off? It is reiterated here that we don't become wise in ourselves, or wise in our own conceits as the KJV puts it. Israel has been blinded or hardened until the fullness of the Gentiles. This is the same word for "blinded/hardened" in Rom 11:7. Note carefully what it says there in verse 7 because it is said again here. The election, the true Israel obtained righteousness through faith plus works, but the rest were hardened. Similarly, God tells us in Rom 11:25 that a hardening from a part of the Israel has happened until the fullness of the Gentiles may come in.
The word translated "in" is "apo" in the Greek, which really has the meaning away from. The hardening is away from of part of the Israel. The phrase "cut off" comes to my mind when reading into this. Those that were cut off from Israel are who are being talked about here. They are hardened in their choice of unbelief until the fullness of the Gentiles, or the rapture event, occurs. Then Israel will be in the spotlight once more for the Tribulation period, after which is the millennial kingdom that was promised in Exodus 19:5-6, and all Israel shall be saved (Jer 31:31-34) as we shall see in the next verse.
Romans 11:26
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
All Israel will be saved after the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. It was alluded to in verse 25 but now God quotes Himself in Isaiah 59:20 to establish His truth. Note well the timeline: Israel was the spotlight, then hardness in part (portion) has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles (rapture). Israel will go through the Tribulation to fill up the transgression (Dan 9:24-27), then have their promised kingdom (Exodus 19:5-6, Rev 20:1-6) and all Israel will be saved.
This verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 11:27
For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
This verse combines the quote from Isaiah 59:21 and 7:9. Again, God is telling us that there will be a day when all iniquity is purged. He says that this will take place after the rapture and tribulation period events.
Romans 11:28
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.
This is something very important to note and consider. Who is the "they" here? It is Israel. Why are they enemies concerning the gospel? Seriously consider that question. There are some that say that there is one big gospel that is progressively revealed in scripture. If that is true, why is Israel now an enemy when they were God's chosen nation? And then how can they be beloved at the same time? Consider these questions especially in conjunction with the next verse. They are enemies concerning the gospel because it is contrary to the gospel given to them. That's right, there is more than one gospel presented in the bible. Prayerfully consider Galatians 2:7 if you are not convinced by this point.
The question should be which gospel are they enemies? Who is the "your" here? Remember, this epistle was written to the saints in Rome (Romans 1:7). They are the saints according to the gospel given to Paul, the gospel of the uncircumcision in Galatians 2:7. Israel is considered enemies according to the gospel given to Paul to the saints of that gospel because we do not keep the Law of Moses. We today are saved from faith apart from works and justified by the work of Christ, which is His shed blood on the cross of Calvary (Rom 3-4). Yet Israel is beloved because of the father's sakes. Who are the fathers? The same ones reiterated several times in the Old Testament. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Israel is beloved for their sake because of the promises given them. As we will see in the next verse, Israel still has some promises coming.
The same Greek word is translated different ways in this verse, and that word is the preposition kata. Kata has the meaning of according to or down from. The verse could be rendered this way:
Indeed (men) according to (kata) the gospel, [they are] enemies to your account. Now (de) according to (kata) the election, [they are] beloved to the father's account.
If you want a completely literal version without those pesky perentheses, here it is:
Indeed according to the gospel, enemies to your account. Now according to the election, beloved to the father's account.
To understand these verses properly, we must rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15).
Romans 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
God's word will not return to Him void (Isa 55:11). He promised Israel many things that haven't happened yet, but they will take place. They will take place after this dispensation of God's grace is done, after the snatching away of the church which is His Body (1 Thess 4:13-5:11).
The word for gifts here is from the Greek charisma, meaning they are the graces of God. The only other thing to point out in the Greek is the definite article to denote the God.
Romans 11:30
For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
We're introduced to part one of a two part point that will be completed in the next verse. This is another instance of an unfortunate verse break. Note the phrase "in times past" and "yet have now...through their unbelief." What time periods are being talked about? Again, we can look at Ephesians chapter 2 for backup. Verses 1 through 3 shows the unbelieving Gentile's position within the dispensation of of the gospel of the uncircumcision. Verses 11 and 12 however, tell us of the unbelieving Gentile's position within the dispensation of the circumcision. It is that time that are in reference here in the "times past." How can I say that? Because it was through their (Israel's) unbelief that Gentiles have now obtained mercy, or had mercy shown them. God told us that in Romans 11:25. Blindness has happened until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
The first word of this verse in the Greek bears pointing out. It is the compound word hosper. Hos means "just as" and per means "indeed." So hosper has the idea of being exactly like. This gives further credence to my statement earlier, how Gentiles were blinded in unbelief during the dispensation of the gospel of the circumcision. Only those that were proselytized to Israel were saved. So, just like that was and now the Gentiles have obtained mercy through the setting aside of Israel, we'll see the reciprocal of that in the verse.
The other little words to point out are "nyn" and "de" occurring right after the word God. Literally, it would be "now, now." It could be rendered, "Now in the present..." See the emphasis God is putting there? There is a major difference in this age compared to the dispensation of the gospel of the circumcision. Things changed chronologically in Acts 13 to usher in the age of the gopel of the uncircumcision. We see God's ultimate conclusion of this in verse 32.
One more thing to say, there is a definite article present for the God.
Romans 11:31
Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Combining this verse with what we just read, we see the broad picture God is telling us. Just like how the unbelieving Gentiles were given mercy when Israel was hardened for a season, unbelieving Israel may obtain mercy in the same way. In this age, God broke down the wall that was between Jew and Gentile (Eph 2:14-18). The conclusion of them in unbelief has opened up another door of salvation to them, for there is no difference, all come to salvation in the Body of Christ the same way, through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Eph 2:16, Gal 3:28, 1 Cor 12:12-14, 15:1-4).
The Greek word for "now" here is "nyn" which has the idea of in the present time. The Greek word for "not believed" is in the Aorist tense, meaning that it happened in the past at some point and is continuing to the present. Israel chose not to believe in God and His Messiah and were hardened in part (verse 25). They are presently unbelieving so that they can see salvation to the Gentiles, be provoked to jealousy, and come back to the true faith (verses 11, 25, and 31).
Romans 11:32
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
Why did God usher in the dispensation of the mystery? In order to extend His love, mercy, and compassion to everyone that believes in Him. The free gift of salvation is available to all. It is up to each individual what to do with it. Either receive it, or reject it.
This verse has three important definite articles. It more literally reads like this:
For the God has concluded the all to (eis) unbelief in order that the all might be shown mercy.
This verse aligns perfectly with 1 Tim 2:4, that it is and always has been God's will that everyone be saved and come to the accurate knowledge of the truth.
Romans 11:33
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
Isn't this gospel we have awesome? After all the struggle of the spiritual battle throughout history, God has solidified a way of salvation to all who believe. He thwarted Satan at every turn by the power of His word, and now has made manifest salvation from sin and death which man brought into the world. Through His amazing wisdom and grace, He set all of this up by coordinating everything throughout the universe. Is that not mind blowing? But none of these things are too hard for the Lord our God (Jer 32:17).
The Greek reads differently than the KJV puts it. The word "both" should really be "and" since it is the Greek kai. The phrase "past finding out" fits, but the word is anexichniastos and has the idea of being untraceable or untrackable. the verse literally is this:
O the depths of [the] riches and of [the]wisdom and of [the] knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways untraceable!
What is really amazing to think about is that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), and upon placing our faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). We can be filled with His knowledge and understand the truth after salvation if we're willing to let Him teach us!
Romans 11:34
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counseller?
Could anyone have honestly thought this way of salvation up? Could anyone design life in the way it is? Of course not. These questions are rhetorical to show that our Lord's ways are past finding out. No one instructed Him how to do what He has done.
This verse is word for word with the Greek.
Romans 11:35
Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
Another rhetorical question for us to know the attributes of our God better. These last two verses should give us inspiration to sing praise unto our God. What a wonderful God we serve! What an amazing Savior we have in Jesus Christ! Remember, He is for us, so who could be against us (Rom 8:31-34)? Praise the Lord!
Romans 11:36
For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Paul brings his praise to God in this closing verse of chapter 11. Everything is from God and circles back to God. It's all His. Nothing originated from man or woman. For this reason, His name will be glorified to the ages.
The Greek is only slightly different here. There is a definite article to denote the all things. The word "of" is from the Greek "ek" and could be rendered "out of ." Both times we see the word "to" here it is the Greek "eis" which means to the point of. Finally, the phrase "for ever" is more literally "to the ages." With all that in mind, here is a more literal translation:
For the all things are out of Him and through Him and to Him. To Him be the glory to the ages! Amen.
References:
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon [2]
Strong's Concordance [3]
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