All Scripture text will be presented in normal cased lettering, and all notes within the text will be in TRUE TYPE FONT, as shown. This (I hope) will allow you to avoid confusion between God's Word and my notes. As I update this web site, I will continue to embellish the text so that anyone using NETSCAPE 3.0 or MICROSOFT 3.0 will be able to read the document easier. Greek tenses are abbreviated as follows:
Through Christ, Who taught us the way to Love: David Buffaloe, Didaskalos Ministries
Romans 11:1-5 "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. 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, Lord, they have killed
thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they
seek my life. 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. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant
according to the election of grace."
The words cast away is the Greek APOTHEO, which means "to thrust away, to drive away, repudiate". Paul ask the question, "Did not God drive away his people Israel?", and then answers, "God forbid!" As we saw in chapter ten, God is a compassionate and long-suffering Being who derives no pleasure from cursing the wicked. To cast away the nation Israel would be in opposition to the loving nature of God, much in the same way that allowing sin in Israel without judgment would be in opposition to his character of righteousness. To regard the nature of God in either extreme is to perpetrate an injustice on His person. To highlight the fallacy of such a doctrinal position Paul refers to his own self (I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin). If God had cast away His people then Paul himself could not have inherited the promises of salvation. The word Israelite has significance in that it denotes a member of the Theocracy, the Kingdom of God, whereas the other words Jew, Hebrew, and Hellenistic denote the unsaved Jew. Israel the nation has not been rejected by God for salvation, but if any Jew does not accept Christ as Messiah, he will be turned away at the judgment. The casting away does not rest on God, but on the individual who rejects the Gospel message.
The second reason that Paul rejects the idea that God has turned away from Israel is based on the foreknowledge of God: God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.
Acts 2:23-24 "Him (Jesus) , being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it."
Romans 8:29-30 "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified."
1 Peter 1:2, 18-20 "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,"
As we studied earlier, any idea of the foreknowledge of God demands and equal idea of a controlled plan. God could not have "looked down through the ages" and used this gained knowledge to predestinate because God is complete, and does not grow in knowledge or nature. Paul links the idea of the foreknowledge of God (PROGINOSKO) to the question at hand, the rejection of Israel, thus effectively negating this false idea. Israel has a place in the plan of God and therefore could not be utterly rejected by God. Though the individual Jew may spend eternity in hell because of unbelief, a remnant of Israel shall be saved.
The salvation of the remnant shall come after that dark period of history known as the Great Tribulation:
Isaiah 4:2-6 "In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning. And the LORD will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain."
The remnant of Israel shall be saved, and shall live in peace during the Millennial reign of Christ on the earth:
Jeremiah 23:3-6 "And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
We see that in prophetic history (according to God's plan of salvation) Israel the nation has the assurance that a remnant of every tribe shall be saved. Jesus Himself, along with Paul, reaffirmed this to be truth:
Matthew 19:27-28 "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
Acts 26:6-7 (Paul to Agrippa) "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers: Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews."
Revelation 7:3-8 "Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand."
The Scripture teaches that at least a remnant of 12,000 shall be saved from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Paul makes it plain that there will be a Divinely guaranteed remnant out of Israel that will be saved. God has not cast away nor neglected His firstborn from the plan of Salvation.
Time is the Greek KAIROS. There are only two words used in the Scripture to illustrate time, KAIROS and CHRONOS. CHRONOS is used in Scripture of common time whereas KAIROS (as shown in this text) is used of a special, holy, or Godly time frame in human history, a dispensation. A dispensation is distinguished from period of time in that a period of time (or an Age) is but a small part of that dispensation. The dispensation following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ is known as the "Times of the Gentiles". When Paul use the term at this present time he was referring to this particular dispensation of God. The first part of this current dispensation is the Church Age, which will end at the event we called the Rapture, the snatching away of the Christian believer by Jesus Christ. Paul notes that in this present dispensation (at this present time) ,the Times of the Gentiles, though the majority of those who will be saved are Gentiles, the remnant is even yet being redeemed. This present time frame of God does not preclude the salvation of each Jew, God has allowed for their redemption.
Luke 21:20-24 "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled."
The Times of the Gentiles will end seven years after the Church Age, at the end of the tribulation period, and prior to the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Paul, by stating that Israel will have a remnant in this present KAIROS, recognizes that God will draw a remnant from the Israel up to the end of the tribulation. We will discuss this further later in the study.
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."
I wish that every legalist would read this text in the original Greek. Many "holiness" preachers have read the last part of this chapter, particularly verse 21, seeking to prove their groundless theories of "saved - lost - saved". Yet no legalist can read this verse and prove that this chapter, or any text of Scripture, teaches that the Christian can lose his salvation.
Let us read this text in the more literal translation of the Greek.
Replaced the word grace (CHARIS)
with the literal rendering of free gift. The is
in the is it no more phrase
is the Greek GINOMAI, which means "to become".
And if [salvation
comes] by THE FREE GIFT, then [salvation]
HAS BECOME it no more of works: otherwise THE FREE GIFT is no more grace.
But if it be of works, then is it no more THE FREE GIFT: otherwise work
is no more work.
Paul conclusively notes that if they're using any work to achieve salvation,
then salvation cannot be a free gift from God. There is no
true grace in a works salvation. This verse separates into black
and white the dichotomy between works salvation and the salvation of God.
There cannot be any mixing off the two. We are fully saved by a "no
works" Grace.
Romans 11:7-10 "What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (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. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway."
Election refers to the remnant
of Israel that will be saved. The remnant of Israel have in the past,
present, and future, received and will continue to receive salvation.
But the nation Israel (those who are born of the flesh only) has been blinded
to the message of salvation, and will not come to
faith in Christ. Blinded
is the Greek POROO, which means "to cover with a thick skin, to harden
by covering with a callous". Slumber
is the Greek KATANUXIS, which means "insensibility, torpor of the mind".
God has cast judgment on the unbelieving nation Israel, shutting the majority
off from salvation for a time in judgment by rendering them insensible
to the Gospel message. Even today only about 1% of those who are born Jewish
recognize Jesus as the Messiah. The vast majority of Jews are atheistic
or agnostic, refusing to even recognize God, much less Jesus. Wuess
states:
"How are we to understand this? Moses records the fact that God hardened Pharoah's heart by forcing him to an issue that he did not want to meet. The more God demanded that he let Israel go, the more Pharoah rebelled. The more he rebelled, the harder his heart became. So with Israel. Israel rejected God and his Word, and the more it did so the harder it's heart became. Light rejected, blinds."
So the nation Israel because she has rejected the Messiah, has been further blinded by God because of that rejection. Yet the remnant out of Israel is even now being saved.
Romans 11:11-12 "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. 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?"
In verse 11 Paul emphasizes the perfect beauty and Providence of the plan of God. Because the first stewards of God fell away from their calling, He turned and gave the stewardship of Grace to the Gentiles. Though not the sole purpose, one of the purposes of this offering was to provoke Israel to jealousy, so as to lead more of Israel into re-examining the salvation that they had rejected. Diminishing is the Greek HETTEMA, which means "a diminuation, decrease, defeat, loss". Paul notes that if Israel's downfall has greatly enriched the Gentiles, then Israel's fulness will much greater bless us who are the Gentiles.
Romans 11:13-15 "For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. 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?"
Emulation is PARAZELOO, which means "to provoke to jealousy". In the previous text Paul noted that God used the fall of Israel as an occasion to offer salvation to the Gentiles, provoking Israel to jealousy, hopefully to bring them back to Christ. Paul recognizes that, as an apostle to the Gentiles, he is used by God as a tool to provoke that jealousy so that some might be saved. The Paul magnify mine office, increased and blessed his office by his preaching to the Gentiles, for by that preaching he helped cause the remnant to come to salvation. Though the temporary casting away of Israel caused riches to come upon the Gentiles, the salvation of the remnant shall much more bless the Gentiles by the increase that shall come to the Body of Christ.
Romans 11:16-18 "For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 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; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee."
Some of the branches be broken off, that is, Israel was cast away from God and into dispersion in 70 A.D. Paul states that the branches were broken off and that the Church, the wild olive tree, or the Gentiles, was grafted into the tree along with the remnant. He declares that we, the Gentiles, should not boast that we are better than Israel because we have now received the stewardship. Rather we should recognize that we have salvation because of the Jews. Israel was the root from which the Church sprout. Without Israel we would not have the Gospel nor even the Christ, as His promised lineage was out of Israel. In horticulture the wild stock is the inferior stock whereas the good stock is the domesticated. Paul reckons that the Gentiles have no reason of boasting because they were the inferior stock, grafted into the promises which were originally made to the root or Israel. We have no reason to boast because we were and are dependent on Israel and God's promises to her. Because of these promises we inherited salvation.
Romans 11:19-21 "Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. "
At first glance this verse may seem to teach that the Christian could lose his salvation. However in the light of the context, we know that this is untrue.
John 10:28-30 "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. "
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. "
We have studied both of these verses in the past, and both clearly illustrate that the Christian cannot lose his salvation. There are two major reasons for this. First, the Christian cannot lose his salvation because of Christ's promise. Christ said they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. As Christ is not a liar we have this assurance by His promise. Legalists try to get around this verse by saying any man applies only to others, not to the person who is saved. Again, this is taken out of literal context. TIS, the Greek for any man applies to ANYONE, regardless of person. Jesus was quite literal in His promise. Second, the mechanics of salvation decree that we will never lose our salvation. If Grace is purely a free gift, and there is nothing that we could do to earn salvation, then there is nothing that we can do to lose that same salvation.
Paul was not talking about the loss of individual salvation then what was he talking about? He was speaking of the dispensation of Grace to a group of people. In other words, Israel was cut off for their failure to hear the Gospel, and God used this opportunity to offer salvation to the Gentiles. If Israel was temporarily broken off from the stewardship of salvation because they refused to hear, then the Gentiles could also fall into this same predicament if they hardened their hearts in pride. At this present time all Jews are not cut off from salvation as the remnant is even yet being saved. For the most part those who are being saved, where God's major work of salvation is being evidenced, is among the Gentile nations. There is always the theoretical possibility that God could cut off his work of salvation to the Gentiles, and return to working among the Jew who were the firstfruits of salvation.
Romans 11:22-24 "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. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 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? "
If God turned from offering the stewardship of salvation to the nation of Israel and turned to offering the stewardship of salvation to the Gentile nations, who were wild by nature, then He much easier can turn back to Israel if He so desires. The natural or first root would be much more adapted to the message than the wild (Gentiles) or second fruit. Israel has had a much longer relationship with God, and they possess a greater knowledge of the Scriptures.
Goodness is the Greek CHRESTOTES, which means "the nature of that which is cut off, the cutting off of judgment". God in His judgment and in His plan at one point pruned the tree of salvation, cutting off those who would not hear the message. This was an act of Divine judgment. He then turned to the Gentile nations and in mercy and long-suffering grafted them into that tree. God has the right to prune the tree of salvation as He wills, and change what He has offered once more. If Israel abides not in their unbelief, then they shall be grafted in again, offered salvation through the calling of the Holy Spirit once more.
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. "
The fulness of the Gentiles refers to that period within the dispensation called "the times of the Gentiles", where the Spiritual Body of Christ will be completed. This refers to the Body of Christ composed of both the Jew as well as the Gentile. We see the fulness of the Gentiles referred to in other Scriptural texts:
Acts 15:14-17 "Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. "
Ephesians 4:11-13 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: "
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 "For as the
body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body,
being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond
or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. "
Mystery is the Greek MUSTERION,
which refers to the hidden purpose or council God, which when revealed,
is understood by the believer. At the present time the blinding
of Israel the nation is a mystery to the Church. Yet the scripture
teaches:
1 Corinthians 13:12 "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."
The blinding of the nation Israel is a mystery to us, but after we are glorified, after we are perfected in God, then we shall see the mystery revealed as our eyes shall be uncovered. We know that a judgmental blindness has come on that nation, holding all but the remnant from discovering the hope of salvation in Christ. This blindness shall remain on the nation Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has reached it's completion. Until this prophetic era has past, Israel as a nation shall remain deaf to the words of the Gospel message.
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 does not refer to the salvation of all who are in Israel at this present time. This statement refers to the remnant out of each tribe that shall be saved. God will save a remnant out of each tribe and, as the nation is made up of twelve tribes, ultimately the nation itself shall be saved.
Zechariah 13:1-2 "In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. "
God will one day eradicate all sin out from among His Holy Nation, and Israel will stand forward as the firstborn of God once more. Lord Jesus, please send that day!
Romans 11:27 "For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. "
Covenant is DIATHEKE, which means "a contract, disposition, or will". Normally a covenant or agreement was made between two parties, each party agreeing to fulfill one part of a set bargain to obtain the full benefits of the contract. God has said that He made a covenant with Israel. Yet this covenant is not conditional. Note the wording of the text:
God established a one-sided contract in this case, as He was the only one who made a promise in this agreement. If God alone was responsible for fulfilling this contract, and as the contract is legally binding, then Israel has assurance that one day she as a nation shall stand in sinlessness before God.
Romans 11:28-29 "As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. "
The nation Israel was made deaf to the Gospel of Christ which benefited the Gentiles. But God has remembered the remnant of the nation, not because Israel was obedient, for they were disobedient, but because of the promises which God made unto the forefathers of Israel. Gifts is the Greek CHARISMA, which means "a favor which one receives apart from any merit of his own". The CHARISMA can refer to either the Gifts of the Spirit, or to the privileges of Grace that we studied in chapter 9. Calling refers not to calling as in called to preach, but refers to the technical KLESIS, calling unto salvation by the Holy Spirit of God. Paul is speaking of the fact that God will not cease calling the remnant out of Israel until the time when all are redeemed. God can not change His mind about this because of the promises that He made to the patriarchs, because of the plan of salvation that He established, and also because He is changeless. This calling is without repentance, AMETAMELETOS, without a change of mind, because God is unchangeable and complete. The remnant shall be called, the nation shall ultimately be saved.
Romans 11:30-32 "For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief: Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all."
Concluded is the Greek SUGKLEIO, which means "to shut up together, to corral together". As there was a time when the Gentiles were not offered salvation, there is now a time when Israel is not offered the Gospel of peace. God shut up both Jews and Gentiles at one time in judgmental separation from the Gospel. We see this principle expressed in:
Matthew 15:22-26 "And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. "
Before the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Gentiles were cut off from the offering of salvation. Following Israel's rejection of Christ, and following our Lord's creation of the Body of Christ, the stewardship of salvation turned from the children (Israel) and to the dogs is the Gentiles.
Denney notes:
"The Jew and Gentile alike have been made to feel the need of Grace by being shut up under disobedience. It is within Paul's thought to say that the sin of Jews and Gentiles to whom he has preached the Gospel, did not lie outside the control, or outside the redeeming purpose of God; but it does not seen to me to be within his thought to say that God ordains sin in general for the sake of, or with the view toward, redemption. This is a fancy question that the Apostle would hardly discuss. God subordinates sin to His purpose, but it is not a subordinant element in His purpose."
Romans 11:33-36 "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! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. "
Numbers 23:19 "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? "
Job 23:13 "But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. "
Ecclesiastes 3:14 "I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him."
Past finding out is the Greek ANEXICHNIASTOS, which means "that which can not be traced out". God's ways, His plan, at this time is misunderstood by men, because we are finite and he is infinite. Plans of our Creator are only understood through one of two different ways: either through the knowledge of equals (shared knowledge), or if the Greater Being shares His knowledge with the lesser (transmitted knowledge). Shared knowledge is impossible for us for we are not God's equal. We must wait for God to transmit knowledge to us. One day we shall fully understand His plan when we sit at His feet in Heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. "
Until God shares His knowledge with us we must sit in darkness. We must trust the Scripture to teach us all we are able to understand. We must say, I believe, O Lord, though we may not understand.
In verses 34 and 35 Paul asks questions that have the expectation of a negative answer, bringing home stark reminders to all, whether Jew or Gentile. In verse 34 Paul reckons that as no one can know the mind of God, and as none have the right to question His judgment, then we should not attempt to do either when we study His incomprehensible plan. In verse 35 Paul reckons that God owes us nothing. We often feel that God owes us this, or owes us that, but He really owes us nothing as all that we have is a result of His Grace.
In verse 36 the ultimate creativity of God is recognized in doxological form. We can not recognize God's awesome power without adopting an attitude of worship and thanksgiving.
In this clause God as Creator is revealed. God created us from the dust or clay of the ground, created us in His image. He made our life possible on earth by the creation of earth itself, and created the Heavens to support earth:
Isaiah 45:12,18 "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. "
God is omnipresent, that He is everywhere, and there is nowhere where God is not. The Scripture teaches:
1 Kings 8:27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? "
Jeremiah 23:24 "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. "
We as Christians live through God, in the sense that we live through His power. Yet every person in humanity, every beast of the field, everything on the earth, lives in the being of God. God encompasses all. He is everywhere.
As the Creator of all, God is ultimately the owner of all things. This may cause some who feel that they are "self made" indignant, yet in truth they belong to God. This is expressed in Romans 9:20-21, where we discussed the Potter and the clay. We see all three concepts of the creativity of God summed up in Paul's discourse to the Athenians:
Acts 17:24-28 "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. "
Our God is truly awesome! We will take a short break and resume our
study in chapter twelve. God Bless you all!
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