IV. THE UNIVERSALITY OF THIS SALVATION, AND THE HISTORICAL ORDER OF ITS APPLICATION. The gospel is God's power unto salvation, to the _Jew first_, and also to the _Gentile_ (chap. Romans 1:16): The unbelief of the Jews seemed to invalidate the Apostle's statement respecting the universality of this... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:1. I SAY THE TRUTH IN CHRIST. The asseveration of the Apostle is threefold: and is introduced abruptly, without a conjunction, in accordance with the feeling which prompts it ‘In Christ' is not an adjuration (the form of an oath in Greek would be entirely different), but means, in fellowshi... [ Continue Reading ]
1. _Deep Sorrow of the Apostle for the Unbelief of the Jews, his Brethren_, _and God's Covenant People, from whom the Messiah came_. The pathos of the partially apologetic opening of this division of the Epistle is so great, that it has survived the interminable discussions which have been called fo... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:2. GREAT GRIEF AND CONTINUAL SORROW. The cause of this grief obviously is the unbelief of his countrymen, their practical exclusion from the Messianic salvation. This feeling was respecting those who had for years persecuted him with relentless hatred, and who, shortly after this time occas... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:3. FOR I COULD WISH THAT I MYSELF, etc. The order of the better established reading makes ‘accursed' (lit., ‘anathema') more emphatic, and forbids our taking ‘I myself' as the subject of ‘could wish,' which was grammatically possible with the order of the common reading. The Greek verb rend... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:4. WHO ARE. The form of the original is almost equivalent to: ‘seeing they are.' ISRAELITES, belonging to God's chosen people. In Romans 9:3 it is stated that they are Paul's people, but he loved them all the more because they were God's people, descendants of one whom God himself had cho... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:5. WHOSE ARE THE FATHERS. Persons are now introduced: the whole line of patriarchs and prophets were types of Christ, who is next named, as the crowning glory and privilege of Paul's nation. OF WHOM IS CHRIST ACCORDING TO THE FLESH. The original is peculiar, suggesting a limitation, or, a... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:6. BUT IT IS NOT SO, THAT. The Apostle returns to the fact that the Jews rejected the gospel, and proceeds to account for it by stating that the promise holds good only for the true Israelites; a result indicated in the Scriptures. The opening clause, which is quite peculiar, means: ‘What I... [ Continue Reading ]
II. _God's Promise is not Void._ The rejection of the gospel by the Jews, which has caused the deep emotion of the Apostle in view of their great privileges (Romans 9:1-5), does not render God's promise void. This position the Apostle proves: (a.) By showing that this promise was made of free grace,... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:7. NEITHER; ‘and also not,' extending the same thought to physical relationship with Abraham, the father of the faithful. BECAUSE THEY; either, ‘all those of Abraham,' or, referring to the subject in Romans 9:6: ‘they who are of Israel.' The former suits the immediate context (Isaac and I... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:8. THAT IS; the Old Testament saying amounts to this. NOT THEY WHO ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE FLESH, ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. Not those who must be regarded merely as the fruit of physical generation, as was the case with Ishmael (comp. Galatians 4:23). BUT THE CHILDREN OF THE PROMISE ARE RECKO... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:9. FOR OF PROMISE IS THIS WORD. We restore the emphatic order of the original. That ‘the children of the promise are reckoned as seed' is proven, for the word, in accordance with which the birth of Isaac took place, this passage now cited, is a word of promise. (Not ‘was,' for the reference... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:10. AND NOT ONLY THIS. These words introduce a second proof from history, namely, the case of Rebecca and her two sons, one of whom was chosen. ‘This,' is preferable to ‘so,' because this case is not strictly of the same kind as that of Sarah, but furnishes a stronger proof. BUT REBECCA A... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:11. The parentheses are unnecessary, since we place a dash at the end of Romans 9:10 FOR WITHOUT THEIR HAVING AS YET BEEN BORN, OR DONE ANYTHING GOOD OR ILL. This rendering, though varying from the form of the Greek, expresses the exact sense in its relation to what follows. ‘Their' is pr... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:12. IT WAS SAID UNTO HER. Genesis 25:23; here cited, quite closely, from the Septuagint THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER; lit., ‘the greater shall serve the less.' As spoken to Rebecca, this language referred not only to the twin children, but to the nations springing from them respective... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:13. AS IT IS WRITTEN (Malachi 1:2-3), JACOB I l OVED, BUT ESAU I HATED. In the original prophecy the statement that Esau was hated, is proved by the added words: ‘and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.' The reference to the nation of Edomites is the... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:14. WHAT SHALL WE SAY THEN? This question introduces an objection, as in chaps. Romans 3:5; Romans 6:1; Romans 7:7, which is then stated in the form of another question. The usual indignant denial follows, and then the detailed answer (Romans 9:15-18). In Romans 9:19, etc.,, a further objec... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:15. FOR HE SAITH TO MOSES. An exact quotation from the LXX. (Exodus 33:19), giving part _of_ Jehovah's answer to Moses, when on Mount Sinai, he said; ‘I beseech thee, show me thy glory.' ‘In condescending to grant this request, the Lord would have him understand that nothing in him, notwith... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:16. SO THEN. With this favorite expression, Paul introduces an inference from the passage cited: ‘In consequence of all this, it is proven that.' The word to Moses is accepted as a divine axiom, and the inference is to be regarded as of universal validity, since neither the preceding contex... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:17. FOR THE SCRIPTURE SAITH UNTO PHARAOH. What the Scripture says is here regarded as equivalent to what God says: comp. Galatians 3:8; Galatians 3:22. The choice of an illustration outside the Jewish nation confirms the view that Paul is here concerned with principles of universal applicat... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:18. SO THEN (as in Romans 9:16; the E. V. varies unnecessarily), summing up the whole matter, after considering both sides. ON WHOM HE WILL HE HATH MERCY. We thus restore the correspondence in form between the two clauses. Here the emphasis rests on ‘will;' not, as in Romans 9:15, on ‘who... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:19. THOU WILT SAY THEN UNTO ME. This verse states a further objection, growing out (‘then') of what has already been said. It is not necessary even here, where the answer is so sharply personal, to regard the objection as uttered by a Jew. For it will arise, wherever there is any such notio... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:20. NAY BUT. An unusual word, meaning, ‘Yes indeed;' here used, either with a slight tone of irony, or, more probably, of indignant rebuke. ‘I do not examine the intrinsic verity of what you allege; but, be that as it may, this much is certain, that you are not in a position to dispute with... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:21. OR HATH NOT THE POTTER. ‘Or' suggests the dilemma arising out of the figure: Either the thing formed cannot speak thus, or the potter has not authority, etc. The interrogative form here implies an affirmative answer:' The potter has authority,' etc. The figure of a potter is found in th... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:22. BUT WHAT IF GOD. The construction is elliptical: the original is simply: ‘but if.' We may supply, as follows: ‘But _what will be said,_ if,' _i.e._, How can the objection raised be urged, if, as is the case, God, etc. ‘But' thus introduces an additional thought, which forms the main ans... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:23. AND THAT, or, ‘also that,' in order that the omission of ‘and' by some authorities was probably due to an effort to relieve the difficult construction. The simplest view is to translate ‘also that,' and connect the verse with ‘endured.' Besides His great long-suffering toward the vessel... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:24. EVEN AS, etc. Or, ‘as such He also called us.' ‘Also,' (translated ‘even' in the E. V.) belongs to the word ‘called,' besides preparing, He also called. ‘As such' brings out the sense fully, but is a paraphrase rather than a translation. The calling is that of individuals through the go... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:25. AS HE SAITH ALSO IN HOSEA (Romans 2:23). The Hebrew text is here followed more closely than the Septuagint. What has just been said of the Gentiles accords with (‘as') this prophecy; ‘also,' probably, suggests that this is a secondary (or typical) application of the passage, while ‘Hose... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:26. AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, etc. This is the latter half of Hosea 1:10, which is closely connected in thought with the other passage. The only variation from the LXX. is the strengthening of ‘also' into ‘there,' a word supplied in Italics in the E. V. of the prophecy. IN THE PLACE, etc.... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:27. AND ISAIAH CRIETH CONCERNING ISRAEL. To the prediction of Hosea which is applied to the calling of the Gentiles, the Apostle adds another which presents the other side, namely, that few of Israel will be saved. The quotation, extending to the close of Romans 9:28, is from Isaiah 10:22-2... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:28. This verse presents unusual difficulties, both as to the Greek text, the English translation, and the principle of citation which led the Apostle to use it The weight of authority supports the briefer reading, although that reading can be explained as due to an oversight on the part of... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:29. AND, AS ISAIAH HATH SAID BEFORE, or, ‘beforehand.' The punctuation we adopt, involves this explanation of the passage: ‘And, even as Isaiah has predicted (so I repeat his words), Except' etc. Another view explains: ‘And (it is) as Isaiah has predicted.' The former is preferable, since P... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:30. WHAT SHALL WE SAY THEN? Precisely as in Romans 9:14, where, however, it introduces an objection. But when followed by an assertion, it further unfolds an argument from what precedes. Here it introduces a summing up of ‘the historical result from the foregoing prophecies'(Meyer), yet wit... [ Continue Reading ]
1. _The Jews excluded through their Unbelief._ The Gentiles were saved, the Jews failed of salvation (Romans 9:30-31), but the latter fact was due to their seeking righteousness, not by faith, but as by works (Romans 9:32); they took offence at Christ, who is a stone of... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:31. BUT ISRAEL, FOLLOWING THE LAW OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Lit _.,_ ‘a law of righteousness,' but referring to the Mosaic law. Here, however, it is described as a law which affords righteousness. Israel pursued this law in order that justification might ensue, but without any true sense of its con... [ Continue Reading ]
Romans 9:33. AS IT IS WRITTEN, etc. Two passages from Isaiah are here combined. STONE OF STUMBLING, etc. In Isaiah 8:14, God Himself is represented as being ‘for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence' to His enemies. This was properly applied to the Messiah by the Jews, and to our Lord by... [ Continue Reading ]