Lesson 144
Romans Chapter Eleven
The Faithfulness of God
Review:
- Think about it! What you are now as a believer in Christ, a
Gentile having come by faith to Christ and having all spiritual blessings in
Him, is the fruit of
If
"what
will (their) acceptance be but life from the dead?"
[lit. out from the
dead ones]
Their rejection brought about
reconciliation but their acceptance
"life
from the dead."
- What is primary is spiritual resurrection from being
dead ones, separated from God [Eph. 2:1-5]
The
result is not only life from the dead for the individual but primary in Paul's thinking is the
corporate resurrection of
The
first has to do with the first fruit and the lump of dough, the second with the
root and the branches of an olive tree.
With
these illustrations Paul is reinforcing that fact that the stumbling, the
rejection of
The
principle of first-fruits:
The
first small portion of grain harvested was offered to God, by that offering
they were acknowledging that He had provided it and that He would provide the
full harvest which was still to come.
The
argument Paul makes here is that if the piece of dough, the meal cake offered
is set apart to the Lord,
"holy" [agioj], then so also is all the dough
that might be made from the grain to come.
As
for the application, the first fruit is Abraham. He was holy in the sense that
he was set apart by God for a purpose.
The
second metaphor is the root and the branches.
11:16b
"and if the root be holy, the branches are too."
As
we begin to examine the metaphor of the olive tree we need to establish what are the identities of the players, so that we can
understand what Paul is communicating to us here by it.
1. The olive tree
is used to refer to
Jer 11:16-17 being judged; Hos. 14:4-6 speaking of future
blessing
2. The root is
Abraham and the fathers, Isaac, Jacob, David; (the Patriarchs) those to whom
God reiterated His covenant promises to!
- Abraham is the root in the sense that he was the first
to be set apart by God to form a new people distinct from the nations.
3. The branches =
2 kinds:
#1. the
natural branches = the progeny of Abraham Isaac and Jacob; the descendants of
promise; His chosen people.
#2. the
branches of the wild olive tree who are grafted in refer to Gentile believers
of C/A. [contrary
to nature, not normal horticultural practice, other way around,
4. Broken off
natural branches unbelieving
5. Important
principle to be maintained here; true from context of 11:16-24.
- God is not
speaking here of individuals but of Israel/the Jew nationally and the Gentiles
collectively.
- If you forget this you will create great problems for
yourself in your understanding and interpretation of the context.
- Look at the last statement of vs:16
"if the root be holy, the branches are too."
6. Not mentioned
is the connection between the branches and the root, the trunk of the tree.
- see this as the privilege and blessing to the branches;
(the line that flows from Abraham) experiencing the goodness and kindness
of God mentioned in
- The important connection being emphasized in the
metaphor is between the branches and the root; each type of branch is said to be
connected to the root.
This
maintains the separation between God's purpose and blessing for
7. There also
needs to be noted, or kept in mind the threads of the timeframe implied for what is referred to in
the metaphor; so that we maintain the proper perspective.
- the breaking off of the branches
= rending of the veil of the
- the cutting off of the Gentile
and regrafting in of the natural branches, 11:22b-24,
goes to the time of the Rapture and the Tribulation that follows.
The
branches that were broken off picture the unbelieving portion of the twelve
tribes of
In
this illustration it is important to see that the main trunk of the olive tree
is not
It
is also important to remember that the wild olive branch is not the church but
the Gentiles viewed collectively.
The
nation of
Here
the fatness signifies the privileges/blessings that flowed from union with the
root of the olive tree.
The
root of the tree is the source of life and nourishment for the branches; Rem: Abraham is the father of all who
believe; set the patter of salvation by faith; Rom 4:11-12; Gal 3:29