Romans 11:1-36

God's Purpose With Regard Both To The Jews and The Gentiles (11:1-36).

Paul now carries forward the doctrine of the Israel within Israel, and evidences it again from Scripture, making clear that those who were saved in Israel, in other words were the true Israel, were always a remnant. He then brings out that in accordance with Scripture God has removed from Israel the unbelieving and unfruitful branches, (those who did not believe in the Messiah), and has replaced them with believing branches from among the Gentiles. This is an advance on the idea in John 15:1 where Jesus had represented Himself as the True Vine, the true Israel, for their Gentiles were not specifically in mind, but the idea is the same. Believers received their life from the vine. Unbelievers were broken off. Both the vine (in the person of Jesus as ‘the true vine') and the olive tree in some way represent Israel.

Indeed Jeremiah brings out that the olive tree is the representative of Israel par excellence, for in Jeremiah 11:16, speaking of Israel/Judah, we read, ‘The LORD called your name “a green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit”.' We should note the phrase ‘the LORD called your name'. ‘The LORD called your name --' is patterned on Genesis 5:2, where God ‘called their name Adam'. Thus in being especially named in this way as ‘a green olive tree' Israel were following in the footsteps of Adam. They were being revealed as being chosen as an entity (although not as a whole as Jeremiah's prophecy makes clear). So in so ‘naming Israel' God was, therefore, revealing that through them His purposes of restoration would be fulfilled. They would accomplish what Adam had failed to accomplish, a people true to God. But even in Jeremiah's day branches were being broken (Jeremiah 11:16). It was not the whole of Israel who would be fruitful and would remain as the olive tree.

This passage can be divided up as follows:

· God's purpose for Israel is being fulfilled through a remnant (Romans 11:1 compare Romans 9:7)).

· God has removed from the olive tree of Israel the unbelieving branches (the unbelieving Jews), and has replaced them with wild olive branches (the Gentiles), who stand by faith (Romans 11:13; compare Romans 9:6; Romans 9:24).

· In the end the whole of God's Israel will be saved (Romans 11:25).

· The expression of incomprehensible (to man) wonder at what God has done. Who would have thought that He would establish an Israel from within Israel, supplemented by Gentile believers? (Romans 11:33).

We should note in this respect that Paul speaks of four ‘Israels':

1) There is the whole of Israel, of which there is a remnant, the elect. It is noteworthy that when using ‘Israel' in this sense as ‘the whole of Israel' the ‘elect' or ‘remnant' are in one way or another mentioned in every use (Romans 9:6; Romans 9:27; Romans 11:2), thus it includes believing and unbelieving Israel, but with the elect or remnant seen as in some way separate.

2) There is unbelieving Israel (Romans 9:31 to Romans 10:2; Romans 10:19; Romans 10:21), which excludes the true Israel. In Romans 9:31 to Romans 10:2 their way of attaining righteousness is contrasted with the way in which believing Gentiles attain righteousness, and Paul is concerned that they might be saved. In Romans 10:19; Romans 10:21 they are contrasted with all believers, both Jew and Greek (Romans 10:14).

3) There is the true Israel, the Israel within Israel which is the elect, that is, believing Israel (specifically called Israel in Romans 9:6, and implied in Romans 9:27; Romans 11:4).

4) There is the olive tree, the remaining branches of which, once it has been pruned, represent the Israel within Israel, which is then extended by the Gentiles who have been grafted in. All unbelieving branches having been broken off. This is the purified Israel. Here Israel includes both believing Jews and believing Gentiles (Romans 11:25).

It Isaiah 3). which is Paul's specific theological definition of Israel as found in Romans 9:6, which is then in chapter 11 increased by the addition of believing Gentiles. The references to Israel in 1). and 2). arise from the fact that he has no alternative but to use the title in order to make his point understood. How else was he to distinguish them from the Gentiles? Especially as he clearly hesitates about using the term ‘Jew' (only in Romans 9:24; Romans 10:12, where believing Jews are very much in mind). But they are not his theological view of Israel. That view is that theologically speaking the true Israel are the elect within physical Israel (Romans 9:6), as later supplemented by the Gentiles. Thus the true continuation of Israel in God's eyes consists of believing Jews and believing Gentiles, with those who have rejected the Messiah being excluded. Israel in 1). refers to an entity to which God still shows favour. 2). is man's definition of Israel

There is also a mention of Jews as a whole, which includes Messianic Jews (Romans 9:24; Romans 10:12). In these cases the point is that from the Jews as a whole certain Jews become Christian Jews. Note with regard to the unbelieving Israel that, in Romans 10:14, it is not contrasted with the Gentiles, but with all believers (both Jew and Greek - Romans 11:12). It is therefore contrasted with the combination of believing Israel plus believing Gentiles. Open to question is the meaning of the ‘all Israel' in Romans 11:26 who ‘will be saved'. As there it is used theologically there are good grounds for suggesting that it signifies ‘the elect within physical Israel', which is the theological definition in Romans 9:6, supplemented by the Gentiles who have been grafted in (Romans 11:17). This can be seen as supported by the fact that ‘it is (only) the remnant who will be saved' (Romans 9:27). But the question then is, can we really see it as including believing Gentiles?

We must ask this question because in Romans 11:17 it is indicated that believing Gentiles become a part of the olive tree, that is, of Israel. This is then in favour of seeing ‘all Israel' as signifying both believing Jews and believing Gentiles. And this would remove the contradiction which would otherwise occur between Romans 11:25 and Galatians 3:28. In Galatians 3:28 Paul says that in the church there is ‘neither Jew nor Greek' indicating that the distinction has been removed. Can we really then see Paul distinguishing between ‘the fullness of the Gentiles' and ‘all Israel' when considering the final days of the age? He would be restoring the distinction that he claimed had been removed. On the other hand if ‘all Israel' includes believing Gentiles then the problem is removed.

This is especially so as elsewhere Paul calls the whole church, ‘the Israel of God' (Galatians 6:16), and the same idea is present in 1 Corinthians 10:1. In Ephesians 2:19 Gentiles are ‘no longer sojourners and strangers, but -- fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God'. The distinction between ‘the circumcision' and ‘the uncircumcision' is removed in terminology which indicates that both are included in Israel. To Peter the church is ‘the elect race' and ‘the holy nation' (1 Peter 2:9; compare Exodus 19:6 where Israel is the ‘holy nation'). It is ‘the dispersion' (1 Peter 1:2; a term used for worldwide Jewry). To James it is the twelve tribes of Israel (James 1:1). According to Paul to belong to Messiah is to be Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). For as Jesus said to the Jews, ‘the Kingly Rule of God will be taken away from you, and will be given to a nation bringing forth its fruits' (Matthew 21:43), that is the new nation built on the Apostolic preaching. See also John 15:1.

This is not to say that the church replaces Israel. The contention is that it IS Israel. It is the genuine continuation of the true elect Israel, with unbelieving Israel being cast off. Israel had been severely pruned, and was being renewed. We can compare the severe pruning of Israel here with what happened as a result of the different captivities (first the Galilean - 2 Kings 15:29, then the Samarian - 2 Kings 17:6; 2 Kings 18:11, then Judah, as their cities were taken one by one - 2 Kings 19:8; then Jerusalem - 2 Kings 24:14; 2 Kings 25:11), when large parts of Israel were absorbed into the Gentile world. The renewed Israel is founded on the Messiah as a new congregation (Matthew 16:18) and on the twelve Jewish Apostles (Ephesians 2:20), with large numbers of followers of Jesus in Galilee as a result of Jesus' ministry (e.g. the five thousand and the four thousand who had partaken in the covenant feasts) and initially made up almost exclusively of Jews (Acts 1-9), with ‘proselytes' eventually being accepted from among the Gentiles, but without the need for circumcision because they have received the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11). See also Ephesians 2:11.. Note our excursus on ‘Is the Church Israel' at the end of this chapter which examines the question more fully.