MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
Romans Chapter Eleven
A verse-by-verse commentary by Max Klein
1 Kings 21:5-13, “But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, "How is it that your spirit is so sullen that you are not eating food?" (6) So, he said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you a vineyard in its place.' But he said, 'I will not give you my vineyard.' " (7) Jezebel his wife said to him, "Do you now reign over Israel? Arise, eat bread, and let your heart be joyful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." (8) So, she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and sent letters to the elders and to the nobles who were living with Naboth in his city. (9) Now she wrote in the letters, saying, "Proclaim a fast and seat Naboth at the head of the people; (10) and seat two worthless men before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ' You cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death." (11) So, the men of his city, the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them, just as it was written in the letters which she had sent them [absolutely no integrity]. (12) They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth at the head of the people. (13) Then the two worthless men came in and sat before him; and the worthless men testified against him [a complete breakdown of proper judicial procedure], even against Naboth, before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So, they [the citizens of the city had no integrity and no sense of Justice.] took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.” The United States is just like the Northern Kingdom of Elijah’s day.
2 Kings 8:12, “General Hazael said, "Why does my lord, Elisha weep?" Then he answered, "Because I know the evil that you will do to the citizens of Israel [the Northern Kingdom]: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men [the soldiers] you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their pregnant [an adjective in the feminine plural meaning pregnant] women, you will rip open."
2 Corinthians 12:7-10, “Because of the extraordinary quality of revelation [Paul knew more about the spiritual life than anyone who ever lived or would live in the Church Age], and for this reason that I should not become arrogant there was given to me a thorn in the flesh [Providential Preventive Suffering], a demon from Satan in order that he may torment me in order that I should not exalt myself [become arrogant]. (8) Concerning this [thorn in the flesh], three times I implored the Lord [reference to God the Father] that it [the thorn demon causing the suffering] may depart from me. (9) But He [God the Father] answered me, ‘My grace [in the provision of the Ten Problem Solving Devices] has been and still is sufficient for you for my power [the two powers of the spiritual life] is put into effect [brought to completion] in a status of weakness [in a helpless state]. Therefore, most gladly [denoting the intensity of superiority] I would rather boast in my weakness [helpless state] that the power of Christ [His spiritual life, the prototype spiritual life which was given to Paul] may dwell [rest upon, set up camp] upon me. (10) Therefore, [on behalf of Christ as an ambassador: 2 Corinthians 5:20], I am content in [my] weaknesses [helpless state]: with insults [mistreatment, slanders, vilifications: people testing] with pressures [mental and physical: thought testing], with persecutions [harassments: system testing] and crushing difficulties [to be crushed with difficulties in training for disaster testing] for when I am weak [helpless to solve his problems with human ability], I am strong [through the application of the Problem-Solving Devices].”
Five Mistakes in Prayer:
1. The Christian assumes that God has emotion which He doesn’t and so prays with emotional appeal. This Christian does not understand anthropopathisms and so thinks that God actually has regrets, anger, loathing, compassion etc.
2. The Christian thinks that prayer is a problem-solving device when it isn’t. This type of Christian usually prays for miracles. Paul’s prayer was not only asking for a miracle, but it was also a violation of the integrity of God. God’s integrity demanded that Paul receive undeserved suffering.
3. The Christian prays for things that are resolved in other ways for example the Christian who prays for protection or food when he is already being provided with these via God’s Logistical Grace Pipeline.
4. The Christian whose prayers are in conflict with the integrity of God for example a Christian may pray to make America great again when the righteousness of God is demanding severe punishment for the U.S.A. A Christian may pray for rain in a drought-stricken area when the Lord has already instructed the Weather Angels to bring about that drought.
5. Generally, don’t ask for personal blessings since God wants to give you much more than you could ever pray for. Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him [to God the Father] who is able to do infinitely more than all we could ask [in prayer] or think on the basis of the power [the Filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine] that keeps working in us for our benefit.” Now obviously, if a Christian either doesn’t understand or rejects this verse, he will pray for all of his personal needs.
Applications:
1. If you desire your prayers to be private, then don’t pray them during a public prayer time.
2. If you pray a prayer that is contrary to the teaching from this pulpit, then I will have to challenge it because in effect you are challenging this ministry and furthermore you are possibly having some influence on this congregation.
3. If you claim that God is answering your prayers, then you should be more specific in your prayers. For example, if you desire to pray for rain then state the amount, the time and the location (10 inches within the next 3 weeks, covering all of Texas). If the Lord should direct the weather angels as such, and so exactly 10 inches falls within the 3 weeks specified over all of Texas, then I will assume that you are another Elijah.
4. If a Texan should pray for rain, and rain should cover Texas entirely within a week or so of that prayer, is the Lord answering this person’s prayer or is the Lord providing rain for the ten million Christians within this area under the concept of Logistical Grace Provision?
5. When Paul was being transported to Rome to face trial under Nero, he didn’t pray for good weather, but rather advised not to sail since it was the time when terrible storms usually occurred. If Paul had prayed for good weather during that time of the year when terrible storms occurred on the Mediterranean, it would have been asking for a miracle.
6. After leaving Egypt on year 40, the Jews were suffering from a lack of water. At that time, Moses neither prayed for rain nor did he instruct the citizens of Israel to pray for rain. Rather, the Lord provided water since that was required to sustain the Jews under the concept of logistical provision.
Romans Chapter 11
1-10. Israel has not been cast-off.
11-24. Rejection of Israel is not final.
25-36. Prophecy of the Jewish remnant in the Church Age.
Romans 11:1
I say then, God has not repudiated His people, has He? No, of course not! For I also am an Israelite out from [the ablative of separation] seed [sperm] of Abraham, the tribe of Benjamin.
Λέγω οὖν, µὴ ἀπώσατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ; µὴ γένοιτο· καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ Ἰσραηλίτης εἰµί, ἐκ σπέρµατος Ἀβραάµ, φυλῆς Βενιαµείν.
A few points regarding Jewish believers, God’s people in the Age of the Patriarchs and in the Age of Israel:
1. The Jews are the people of God in the sense of election to privilege.
2. They were brought into existence as the newest of races, a race to become the first as well as the last client nation to God.
3. While they do not function as Client Nation during the Times of the Gentiles (70 A.D. to the 2nd Advent of Christ), the Jews have not been repudiated as the people of God.
4. However, racial Jews who have the genes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through physical birth are not qualified until they become regenerate Jews through faith in Christ.
5. We have noted that all Israel is not Israel as per Romans 9:6. Only those racial Jews who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are true Israel. Furthermore, the Jewish race is the only race founded on regeneration.
6. So, Paul, an Israelite, the greatest Jewish believer of the Church Age, writes how God has not cast off or repudiated His people.
7. Even though there are times of great apostasy, and divine discipline, God preserves a remnant of Jews who are believers, just as He did in the time of Elijah when 7000 Jews had not bowed the knee to Baal.
8. The failure of some Jews to believe in Christ does not cancel the grace of God just as the failure of some believers to accept doctrine does not hinder the plan of God.
9. The plan of God moves on with or without the Jews, with or without
us as believers.
10. While rejection of Christ puts the Jew outside the plan of God, such individual rejection does not cancel God’s plan for the elect of Israel.
11. Paul as a Jew illustrates the pattern. When Paul believed in Christ God’s righteousness was imputed to him. Those Jews who do not possess the righteousness of God will be cast off into eternal judgment as individuals. But Israel will go on into eternity as a nation composed of its regenerates.
12. Those Jews who believe in Christ have followed the pattern of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Therefore, regenerate Jews of the dispensation of Israel, including the Tribulation, will be the recipients and the beneficiaries of the unconditional covenants to Israel at the Second Advent. Regenerate Jews of the Church Age will be blessed under a separate category since they belong to the royal family of God forever.
Paul became a Benjamite “out from the seed of Abraham,” separated out from his mother’s womb.
Biological life is mortal. God created the first biological life from the dust (chemicals) of the soil. Biological life such as your muscles, bones, organs, nerves, etc. will upon death break down into the chemicals of the earth or air. Biological life came from chemicals and returns to chemicals. (Ecclesiastes. 3:20)
Biological life precedes human life. In the garden God created first the biological life of Adam and then breathed into his nostrils a soul. This union of biological and soul-life resulted in Adam’s human life (Genesis 2:7). After the fall, God delegated to mankind the responsibility to perpetuate the material, biological life which is formed in the womb. At birth God then creates the soul ex-nihilo and imputes it to biological life. As soon as the immortal soul-life unites with material biological life, human life begins.
Romans 11:2
The God has not rejected His people whom He has foreknown. Or do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he pleaded with God against Israel [No one was interested in doctrine except himself. This of course was not true]?
οὐκ ἀπώσατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ ὃν προέγνω. ἢ οὐκ οἴδατε ἐν Ἠλίᾳ τί λέγει ἡ γραφή; ὡς ἐντυγχάνει τῷ θεῷ κατὰ τοῦ Ἰσραήλ,
Foreknowledge of God
Romans 8:29-30: “[We know] that whom He foreknew [acknowledges what is certain in the Divine Decree; foreknowledge deals only with the actual, not the probable], He also predestined us conformed ones to the image of His Son [via positional, experiential and ultimate sanctification], that He [the humanity of Christ] might be the first-born [as the head of the Church] among many brethren [Church age believers]. And whom He predestined, these same ones He also elected, and whom He elected, these same ones He also justified, and whom He justified, these same ones He also glorified.”
Foreknowledge, predestination, election, justification, and glorification are words which only apply to the believer, never to the unbeliever. These verbs in verses 29 and 30 are all in the aorist tense, which means they occurred simultaneously in the mind of God in eternity past. To use the analogy of a computer we could say that these were all simultaneous printouts from the computer of the Divine Decree.
Foreknowledge: In order to understand foreknowledge, we must first understand the omniscience of God, and how it relates to the Divine Decree. The omniscience of God knows all the knowable simultaneously about his creatures. God knows every thought, motivation, decision and action of every person in history. He knows not only the actual outcomes that occur in history, but also all the probable or possible outcomes.
God does not think sequentially since his knowledge is eternal and simultaneous. His knowledge is not limited by time, a concept which was created specifically for the human race. (Genesis 1:14) Thus, the omniscience of God has always known every person who would believe in Jesus Christ and every person who would not. So, trillions of years ago, it was as if God typed your name onto a computer file and next to your name he typed “Believed in Jesus Christ.”
Since the normal human mind thinks rationally, it may be helpful to see the rational order regarding these matters. Rationally, omniscience occurred first, then the divine decree declaring all those who believed in Christ, and finally the printout of all “whom he foreknew” to believe in Christ. In other words, foreknowledge deals with the believer’s actual motives, thoughts, decisions and actions which were acknowledge by God the Father and then sovereignly decreed. So, omniscience deals with both the actual and the probable whereas foreknowledge only deals with the actual.
A few points for clarification:
1. Since foreknowledge is a printout of the divine decree for believers, it is obvious that regenerate Jews are in view, not Israel as a whole.
2. Nothing can be foreknown until it is first decreed which means that foreknowledge and omniscience are not synonyms. Logically omniscience precedes the decree and logically foreknowledge is a printout of the decree.
3. There is always a remnant of believing Jews in every generation of the dispensation of Israel. To this remnant of Jewish believers, the unconditional covenants will be fulfilled at the second advent.
4. There was such a remnant in the time of Elijah when in self-pity, Elijah sulked in the cave. He had an attack of arrogance under pressure which produced self-pity, and later when he came out of the cave, he concluded that he was the only spiritually advanced believer in the Northern Kingdom remaining as he states in the next verse.
5. The arrogance of Elijah ignored the existence of the remnant of 7000 believers because he was too preoccupied with what was wrong with Israel.
6. The prevalence of apostasy and degeneration does not warrant ignoring the remnant of believers or the pivot. The only hope of a nation is always the divine solution namely believers advancing to maturity, obtaining maturity and passing Evidence Testing. We call those who reach spiritual maturity members of the Pivot. We call those who not only reach maturity, but go on to pass Evidence Testing, Pleroma-believers in the Church Age (the Greek word pleroma means fullness) those receiving the fullness of blessings from God.
A few general points:
1. The failure of many Jews to believe in Christ does not hinder the plan of God for Israel. There is nothing the unbeliever can do to frustrate the plan of God, and furthermore there is nothing the believer can do to frustrate the plan of God.
2. In eternity past God knew that many Jews, though possessing the genes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, would not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Nevertheless, all regenerate Jews of the previous dispensation will receive the unconditional covenants, and the failure of the unbelieving Jews will not hinder the blessing of Israel in the future.
3. God never permits human failure to cancel his promises or abrogate His plan. What is true of the Jew in the dispensation of Israel is true of the believer in the Church Age, Jew or Gentile. The failure of any believer does not hinder or frustrate the plan of God.
Romans 11:3
Lord, they have killed Your prophets [the ones teaching doctrine], they have torn down Your altars [attacked the priesthood, the ones teaching through ritual], in fact, I am the only one left [the arrogance of self-absorption manifesting self-pity and the distortion of the situation], and they seek my life. [Because Elijah became preoccupied with disaster, he became arrogant which manifested itself in fear and emotional distortion of the situation; a quote from I Kings 19:10-14].
Κύριε, τοὺς προφήτας σου ἀπέκτειναν, τὰ θυσιαστήριά σου κατέσκαψαν, κἀγὼ ὑπελείφθην µόνος, καὶ ζητοῦσιν τὴν ψυχήν µου.
The Three Arrogance Skills:
1. Self-Justification: Elijah justified his complaining
2. Self-Deception: he lied to himself: I have a right to my self-pity
3. Self-Absorption: became immersed in mental sins and so distorted the reality of the situation.
A few points of clarification:
1. Self-centeredness is always a form of arrogance.
2. Such arrogance placed under pressure produces self-pity.
3. The historical disaster in Israel included apostasy, economic depression, lawlessness resulting in criminality.
4. Elijah has become so preoccupied with the pressure of historical disaster that he has become distracted from such basic and fundamental doctrines such as Jesus Christ controls history, and the principle of logistical grace.
5. Therefore, Elijah has forgotten that God has a plan for his life as long as he is on this earth, and that God personally takes the responsibility for sustaining his life as long as that plan continues.
6. Elijah by becoming preoccupied with self, has lost the perspective of grace and succumbed to the pressure of historical disaster.
1st Kings 18:1-40, “Now it happened after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year [of the drought], saying, "Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the face of the earth." (2) So, Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria [the capital]. (3) Ahab called Obadiah who was over the household [the governor of the palace of King Ahab]. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly [was a believer]; (4) for when Jezebel destroyed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water [possibly to compensate for his guilt complex].) (5) Then Ahab said to Obadiah, "Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys; perhaps we will find grass and keep the horses and mules alive, and not have to kill some of the cattle [Though King Ahab was concerned for these animals, he displayed no concerned for his starving people]."(6) So they divided the land between them to survey it; Ahab went one way by himself and Obadiah went another way by himself. (7) Now, as Obadiah was on the way, behold, Elijah met him, and he [Obadiah] recognized him and fell on his face and said, "Is this you, Elijah, my master [hypocrisy]?" (8) He said to him, "It is I [Elijah]. Go, say to your master [I am not your master; your master is King Ahab.], 'Behold, Elijah is here." (9) He said, "What sin have I committed, that you are giving your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death [Obadiah has no spiritual life]? (10) As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent to search for you; and when they said, 'He is not here,' he made the kingdom or nation swear that they could not find you [All the nations about feared King Ahab since he was a great military man]. (11) And now you are saying, 'Go, say to your master, "Behold, Elijah is here.' (12) It will come about when I leave you that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you where I do not know; so, when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will kill me, although I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth [became a believer at a very young age]. (13) Has it not been told to my master [Elijah] what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, that I hid a hundred prophets of the Lord by fifties in a cave, and provided them with bread and water [bragging about what he did as it were for the Lord]? (14) And now you are saying, 'Go, say to your master, "Behold, Elijah is here;’ he will then kill me [no understanding of Logistical Grace provision]. (15) Elijah said, " As the Lord of the Armies lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him [Ahab] today [Elijah had no fear of King Ahab though he was seeking Elijah’s life]. (16) So, Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. (17) When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "Is this you, you, troubler of Israel?" (18) He said, "I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house [King Omri] have, because you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals. (19) "Now then send and gather to me all Israel at Mount Carmel, together with 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of the Asherah, who eat at Jezebel's table [These prophets were supported by the tax payers of the Northern Kingdom]. (20) So, Ahab sent a message among all the sons [citizens] of Israel [the Northern Kingdom] and brought the prophets together at Mount Carmel. (21) Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions [These Jewish believers of the Northern Kingdom were not serious about executing the spiritual life.]? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word. (22) Then, Elijah said to the people, "I alone am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. (23) Now, let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. (24) Then, you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God." And all the people said, "That is a good idea." (25) So, Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it. (26) Then, they took the ox which was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, "O Baal, answer us." But there was no voice and no one answered. And they leaped about the altar which they made. (27) It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, "Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened." (28) So, they cried with a loud voice and cut themselves according to their custom [self-mutilation] with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. (29) When midday was past, they raved until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no one paid attention. (30) Then, Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me." So, all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down [Up to this point, there was no interest in learning God’s Word.]. (31) Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, " Israel shall be your name." (32) So, with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. (33) Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood. (34) And he said, "Fill four pitchers with water and pour (it) on the burnt offering and on the wood." And he said, "Do it a second time," and they did it a second time. And he said, "Do it a third time," and they did it a third time. (35) The water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water. (36) At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, " O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. (37) Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again. (38) Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. (39) When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, " The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God." (40) Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape." So, they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.”
Elijah’s handling of the Mount Carmel showdown was masterful, but when he ordered the murder of the prophets of Baal, he went out of bounds. Since he had already defeated the prophets of Baal, it made no sense to murder them. Furthermore, he had no authority from God to function as judge and executioner. Elijah was a spiritual leader and teacher not a civil leader and therefore had no judicial authority. Because he murdered these prophets, Jezebel was easily able to intimidate him with a threat of murdering him. She realized that a threat could defeat him whereas murdering him would make him a martyr.
1 Kings 19:1-18. Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. (2) Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, " So, may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." (3) And he was afraid [fear caused him to enter into arrogance] and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah [in southern Judah], and left his servant there [he abandoned his servant]. (4) But he himself went a day's journey into the desert, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers [of the Exodus generation]." (5) He lay down and slept under a broom tree; and behold, there was an angel [the Lord] touching him, and he said to him, "Arise, eat." (6) Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So, he ate and drank and lay down again. (7) The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, "Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you." (8) So, he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the Mountain of God [Mount Sinai: representing the Laws of Divine Establishment, salvation and the spiritual life]. (9) Then, he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (10) He said, " I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of the Armies; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant [true], torn down Your altars [true] and killed Your prophets with the sword [true]. And I alone am left [false]; and they seek my life [they don’t have to], to take it away [They do not have the power to remove God’s logistical grace]." (11) So, He said, " Go forth and stand on the mountain [representing the stability of the Laws of Divine Establishment] before the Lord." And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind [representing power politics in the form of conspiracies, revolution, terrorism etc.] was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind [The Lord never supports power politics]. And after the wind an earthquake [the abuse of human power], but the Lord was not in the earthquake. (12) After the earthquake a fire [representing the attack against property like high taxes, printing one’s fiat currency out of existence, burning property etc.], but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing [representing God’s plan: pivot policy]. (13) When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle [an expression of either not understanding it or just plain rejection] and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave [as it were, he walked-out of the Bible class]. And behold, a voice came to him and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah [The Lord wanted Elijah to realize his sin when he killed the 450 prophets of Baal, when he had abandoned pivot-politics for power politics. He needed to quit justifying his sin of murder and name his sin to recover fellowship with God.]?" (14) Then he said, " I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of the Armies [remained immersed in arrogance]; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (15) The Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; (16) and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, you shall anoint as prophet in your place. (17) "It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. (18) Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him."
Rulers of the Northern Kingdom during this period.
Ahab from 874 to 853 B.C. Killed by a bowman who drew his bow at random and struck King Ahab in battle fighting against Ben Hadad, the King of Aram at Ramath giliad. (1 Kings 22:34) In Samaria, the dogs licked-up his blood. (1 Kings 22:38)
Ahaziah, a son of Ahab from 853-852. Elijah prophesied that he would die from an injury which he sustained from falling through a lattice in his upper chamber. For this reason, Ahaziah tried to kill Elijah, but failed. (2 Kings 1:9-12) Soon afterwards, Elijah is taken to heaven in a chariot of fire as per 2 Kings 2:1-11.
Jehoram (Joram), a son of Ahab from 852-841. He did evil in the site of the Lord, but not like his father and mother as per 2 Kings 3:2. Wounded in battle fighting against King Hazael of Aram. Though he was recovering, he was killed by Jehu who was anointed by Elisha as king (2 Kings 9:22-24).
Jehu from 841 to 814 B.C. Anointed as the King of Israel through the order of Elisha as per 2 Kings 9:1-3. Though he wiped out the priests and prophets of Baal, he failed to remove the golden calves worshipped in Bethel and Dan and continued in the sins of Jeroboam (2 Kings 10:28-31).
Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu from 814-797. He did evil in the site of the Lord and followed in the sins of Jeroboam (2 Kings 13:2). King Hazael who was constantly attacking Israel died during the reign of Jehoahaz circa 801 B.C.
Romans 11:4
But what is the divine answer to him" [a quote I Kings 19:18] "I have kept for Myself seven thousand honorable men [pivot of mature believers] who have not bowed a knee to Baal" [This pivot, this group of honorable believers was the basis for the preservation of the Northern Kingdom under apostasy].
ἀλλὰ τί λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ χρηµατισµός; Κατέλιπον ἐµαυτῷ ἑπτακισχιλίους ἄνδρας, οἵτινες οὐκ ἔκαµψαν γόνυ τῇ Βάαλ.
While Elijah pleaded against Israel, the Lord argued for the preservation of the Northern Kingdom as a Client Nation. Elijah argued that since Jezebel and Ahab killed the Lord’s prophets and tore down His altars, and only he was left of the former pivot, there was no reason for Israel’s existence. However, the Lord in his reply corrected Elijah’s distortion of the facts regarding the pivot of mature believers. Therefore, the Northern Kingdom will remain as a client nation to the Lord until 721 B.C.
The Lord will also make it quite clear that Elijah was out of line when he murdered the 450 prophets of Baal. In doing so, he switched from pivot-politics to power-politics. Even though he was a great spiritual leader, he had no authority or right to take on the function of judge and executioner. He was a spiritual leader, not a civil leader. The Lord is not in power-politics namely the hurricane representing conspiracies, terrorism etc. the earthquake representing human power and fire representing the attack against private property.
Elijah switch from his spiritual role as the greatest spiritual leader in the Northern Kingdom to executioner because he failed to appreciate his Lord God who, as the one who controls history, uses ignorant, stupid, arrogant, psychopathic, and even extremely evil rulers to accomplish his will namely to punish the evil people of a client nation in order to turn the nation around. We must learn from Elijah’s mistake!
Because of Elijah’s failure, he will be demoted from the highest spiritual authority in the land of the Northern Kingdom to a lesser role. He will anoint Elisha as his replacement and General Hazael as King of Aram. 1st Kings 19:15, “The Lord said to him, "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael, king over Aram; (16) and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel [This he never did.]; and Elisha, the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah, you shall anoint as prophet in your place.”
In 871 B.C. on Mount Carmel, Elijah brought about a spiritual revival which staved-off the 5th Cycle of Discipline namely the complete destruction and removal of the Northern Kingdom as a client nation. However, the nation remained under the 4th Cycle of Discipline until it was eventually removed by the 5th Cycle in 721 B.C.
Even though the Northern Kingdom in 871 B.C. staved-off the 5th Cycle of Discipline, they did not go unpunished for King Hazael of Aram (Syria) will be used by the Lord to punish the Northern Kingdom. 2 Kings 8:12, “General Hazael said, "Why does my lord weep [Elisha]?" Then he [Elisha] answered, "Because I know the evil that you [as King of Aram] will do to the citizens of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men [the soldiers] you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their pregnant [In the Hebrew it is an adjective in the feminine plural meaning pregnant] women, you will rip open."
What is the application to us? We in the United States may have enough great believers to stave-off the 5th Cycle of Discipline as per Leviticus 26:27-33 (These cycles by interpretation apply to Israel, but have application to gentile client nations as well.), but not enough to bring about blessing to this nation. Furthermore, as an evil nation, the righteousness of the Lord must bring about great punishment to this client nation for its evil. Even though a nation under the 4th Cycle of Discipline may be spared the 5th, it will not escape the wrath of God in the form of great punishment.
Romans 11:5
Therefore, in the same manner also at this present period of time [the Church Age in the time of the Roman Empire], a remnant [a pivot] has come into existence according to an election by means of grace.
οὕτως οὖν καὶ ἐν τῷ νῦν καιρῷ λεῖµµα κατí ἐκλογὴν χάριτος γέγονεν·
Just as a pivot existed in the time of Elijah preserving Northern Israel, so a pivot existed in the time of Paul preserving the Roman Empire as a client nation to God. The overriding factor is that Jesus Christ controls history. The restraint of disaster, the restraint of historical catastrophe in times of apostasy, is directly related to this important fact.
A few points for clarification:
1. Both Israel and the Church perpetuate their function in the plan of God through the existence of those who have reached spiritual maturity and especially those who have taken Evidence Testing, the last undeserved test for the believer.
2. In the previous dispensation of Israel, the pivot of mature believers guaranteed the perpetuation of the client nation to God.
3. In the Church Age, the pivot is essential for whatever Gentile nation functions as a client nation to God in any given generation.
4. Any period of stability in human history must be related to mature believers, a remnant which preserves and if there is enough in this group great prosperity.
5. Therefore, the greatest thing a believer can do for his country is to persist in his perception of doctrine to form a part of the pivot which preserves that nation and forms the basis for national prosperity.
Romans 11:6
Now, if by means of grace and it is, then logically not by means of works [legitimate human works], otherwise logically grace is no longer grace in itself.
εἰ δὲ χάριτι, οὐκέτι ἐξ ἔργων, ἐπεὶ ἡ χάρις οὐκέτι γίνεται χάρις.
A few points of explanation:
1. The believer starts with grace and therefore, must continue in grace. All spiritual advance is based on God’s grace policy.
2. To deviate from grace is to become involved with arrogance. Arrogance is not only a mental attitude sin but it is a whole system of sinning.
3. All blessing after salvation, whether logistical or special, originates from the integrity of God and is imputed to its target or home, the imputed righteousness of God resident in every believer.
4. The plan of God continues in every type of historical circumstance. Advance in the plan of God is a grace operation, therefore never hindered by historical disaster and never helped by historical prosperity.
5. Logistical grace makes provision to sustain the believer in every circumstance of history.
6. Therefore, catastrophe or disaster should not hinder the believer from spiritual growth.
7. The only hindrance to growing in grace is when the believer switches to works, and self-righteousness.
8. Both self-righteousness and works-righteousness compete with and exclude God’s grace provisions. They become a distraction from doctrine and from spiritual growth.
9. Because of grace in every era of history there has always been a remnant, a pivot of mature believers. Spiritual momentum and motivation are based on grace. Apostasy (reversionism) is based on self-righteousness and the expression of self-righteousness which is the production of human works outside of the plan of God.
Romans 11:7
Therefore, to what conclusion are we forced [How stands the case!]? What Israel [the majority of the Jewish unbelievers] is constantly seeking, this [salvation] it did not obtain, but the elect [the minority of Jewish believers] have obtained it [salvation], and the others [Jewish unbelievers who did not obtain salvation] were hardened [via blackout and scar tissue of the soul].
τί οὖν; ὃ ἐπιζητεῖ Ἰσραήλ, τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπέτυχεν, ἡ δὲ ἐκλογὴ ἐπέτυχεν· οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἐπωρώθησαν,
In the history of Israel, most failed. When it says that Israel has not obtained that which it sought, it means that with the greatest spiritual heritage the world has ever known, most sought salvation by works; only a few sought and obtained salvation via the grace of God and His plan.
Since God has not cast out Israel and although many Jews have failed, even as many Christians are failing today, does it mean that God has cancelled His plan for these groups? No of course not. God never changes His plans to accommodate failure!
Romans 11:8
Just as it stands written [compilation of Isaiah 29:10; Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 6:9,10], "The God [the Lord Jesus Christ] has given to them [unbelieving Jews] a state of mind of dullness and insensibility [incapable of feelings because of their blackout and scar tissue of the soul], eyes for the purpose of not seeing [no ability or interest to concentrate because of blackout of the soul], and ears for the purpose of not hearing [no reception since there is no interest in learning the truth of God’s word] until this very day [of the Roman Empire].
καθὼς γέγραπται, Ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς πνεῦµα κατανύξεως, ὀφθαλµοὺς τοῦ µὴ βλέπειν καὶ ὦτα τοῦ µὴ ἀκούειν, ἕως τῆς σήµερον ἡµέρας.
The Old Testament canon is going to be used to document that the majority of Jews in the Old Testament failed, and yet Israel was perpetuated from generation to generation. They failed under the principle of the big blot-out: negative volition at the point of God-consciousness and at gospel hearing.
We have a quotation here which is a collation of three verses found in the Old Testament: Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 29:10; 6:9,10.
Isaiah 29:10, “For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep. He has shut your eyes, the prophets; He has covered your heads, the seers.” (The people, the prophets and the seers (the traveling communicators) were all part of the big blot-out.
Deuteronomy 29:4, “Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a heart [a stream of consciousness] to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear.” These are three descriptions of the big blot-out which results in a holocaust.
Isaiah 6:9,10, “And he said, Go, and tell this people, you will be ever hearing, but never understanding; you will be ever seeing, but never perceiving. This people’s heart has become calloused [through blackout and scar tissue], they hardly hear with their ears, and have closed their eyes lest they [so that they do not] see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their right lobes, and consequently turn and be healed.”
The principle is very simple. The alertness of a nation is found in its thinking either it is alert through thought or it is non-alert through lack of thought. The greatest of nations cannot exceed the greatness of its thinking. To the extent the people of a nation can think in terms of truth, to that extent will be its greatness.
A few points for clarification:
1. The greater the presentation of the gospel (evangelism) the greater the resistance of the unbelieving Jew “until this very day.” The greater the presentation of doctrine to the believing Jew, the greater is the resistance from the negative volition of the Jewish believer.
2. Arrogance often manifests itself in prosperity through self-righteousness, and at the same time manifests itself in adversity through self-pity. Both self-righteousness and self-pity reject doctrine. Arrogance interlocks.
3. Therefore, arrogance, whatever its manifestation, produces strong negative volition.
4. Furthermore, the greater the revelation, the clear doctrinal presentation, the greater the resistance to that doctrine.
5. In the status quo, then, that develops [scar tissue of the soul] the eyes do not see and the ears do not hear. Once the perceptive system of faith is shut down by negative volition, then not only has arrogance resisted but it produces an empiricism or a false rationalism. That is the difference between a philosopher who is anti-doctrine [rationalism] and an empiricist who is anti-doctrine [for example a scientist who believes in evolution]. When the believer rejects doctrine and the means of perception of doctrine, his arrogance must select a system of perception which is compatible with the arrogance resident in the soul.
Blackout and Scar Tissue of the Soul
In demon influence, the soul of the unbeliever or reversionistic believer is infiltrated by false doctrine, called the "doctrine of demons" in 1 Tim 4:1 which comes through the vacuum of the mind.
1 Timothy 4:1, "But the Spirit [the Holy Spirit is the teacher of Bible doctrine] explicitly teaches that in latter periods of time [between the 1st and 2nd Advents] some [believers] will withdraw from doctrine, concentrating on deceitful personalities [demon evangelism through false teachers] and doctrines from demons."
Ephesians 4:17, "Therefore, I communicate this, and because of the Lord, I insist that you no longer walk as the Gentiles [unbelievers] walk in the vacuum of their mind [faculty of thinking]." [The Greek word mataiotes as found in Ephesians means nothingness, worthlessness, futility, emptiness, and therefore refers to a vacuum.]
Blackout of the soul is the inevitable result of emotional revolt and locked in negative volition to Bible doctrine. The blackout of the soul begins with the creation of a vacuum in the mind, the faculty of thinking. This vacuum creates a suction that attracts Satanic lies into the seven compartments of the soul. The blackout of the soul immobilizes previously metabolized Bible doctrine. Blackout of the soul is the status of the believer with negative volition to doctrine, which results in his involvement with Satan’s Cosmic System. By so doing, he cuts himself off from truth and eventually forgets any truth he has learned in the past.
In the blackout of the soul, the stream of consciousness is described in four ways.
1. "Darkened in their way of thinking," Ephesians 4:18.
2. "Walking in darkness," 1 John 2:11.
3. "The darkness has blinded his eyes," 1 John 2:11.
4. "He who walks in darkness does not know where he is going," John 12:35.
When you reject truth, a vacuum pump opens in your mind and sucks in what is false. The pressure of cosmic information on the outside is greater than the little truth which remains in the soul, and so a vacuum on the inside forms and sucks up every false idea, every false doctrine, everything that is anti-truth. Once you reject Bible doctrine, you lose your common sense, and whatever integrity you possessed as a believer.
Blackout of the soul is related to scar tissue of the soul. Blackout or false ideas and doctrines enter into the staging area of the soul and then into the stream of consciousness where they damage that part of the soul with scar tissue. They combine namely blackout and scar tissue to form reverse process reversionism. This combination means that you have destroyed your scale of values and have created a scale of values which intensifies your unhappiness, so that you go from being an evangelist of unhappiness to being an apostle of unhappiness.
Scar tissue of the soul, also known as hardness of the heart (the stream of consciousness) is the result of prolonged residence and function inside the Cosmic System. There is generally a logical retrogression in which blackout of the soul precedes scar tissue of the soul, or is coterminous with it. Blackout of the soul is the believer saying no to doctrine, which opens a vacuum in the soul that draws in false concepts into the stream of consciousness. Scar tissue of the soul is this false information being processed erroneously in the believer’s frame of reference, his norms and standards, vocabulary and doctrinal centers, memory center, and is the basis for his false application to life.
Blackout of the soul spreads like a disease into the stream of consciousness resulting in scar tissue and loss of perceptive ability in the frame of reference. In his vocabulary storage all technical language related to perception and application is gradually destroyed. In his categorical storage, scar tissue of the soul destroys categorical doctrinal understanding, such as the rationales used in the second stage of the faith-rest drill. Scar tissue of the soul destroys the norms and standards related to truth, thus wiping out the conscience. Loss of norms and standards motivates the believer to function under the plan of Satan. In the launching pad, scar tissue of the soul destroys all application of doctrine. Scar tissue of the soul is a guarantee of the destruction of true love for true love cannot survive without integrity. Scar tissue of the soul is that spiritual malady of involvement in the cosmic system resulting in total loss of momentum, and eventuating in the most awful discipline from God.
Ephesians 4:18, "They are darkened in their way of thinking; they have been alienated from the life of God because of ignorance which is in them, because of the scar tissue of their right lobes."
The believer is alienated from the spiritual life that is ‘from the life of God’ for two reasons namely ignorance of God’s plan and hardness of the mentality of the soul. Ignorance begins the process; scar tissue or hardness of the mentality finishes the job. Blackout of the soul merely explains the mechanics of how the believer accumulates false ideas, concepts and doctrine when there is ignorance of God’s plan.
Romans 11:9
Also David says, [Psalm 69:22 in part] "Let their table [their spiritual heritage] be for a snare [because of their rejection of the gospel] and for a trap [The Mosaic Law in particular Codex 2, a shadow presentation of Christology and Soteriology became a trap when the reality of the person of Christ was rejected.], and for a stumbling block [to the first Advent of Christ; they tripped over the chief cornerstone] and so for a retribution to them [the big blot out leading to holocausts].
καὶ ∆αυὶδ λέγει, Γενηθήτω ἡ τράπεζα αὐτῶν εἰς παγίδα καὶ εἰς θήραν καὶ εἰς σκάνδαλον καὶ εἰς ἀνταπόδοµα αὐτοῖς,
During the Times of the Gentiles, namely from 70 A.D. to the Rapture, the Jewish people are generally very negative toward the gospel and consequently toward truth in general. As a result of this, many holocausts have occurred in history such as the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Medieval Europe holocausts in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms in Russia during the 1800s up to 1905, and the holocaust under the Nazis from 1933-1945 just to mention a few. There is probably a Jewish holocaust every century.
Romans 11:10
Let their eyes be darkened [via blackout of the soul] for the purpose of not seeing [Psalm 69:23a in the English Bible quoted from the Hebrew text which is found in Psalm 24a], and always cause their backs to bend. [Psalm 69:23b quoted from the Septuagint; a reference to temporal and eternal judgment for the unbelieving Jew]
σκοτισθήτωσαν οἱ ὀφθαλµοὶ αὐτῶν τοῦ µὴ βλέπειν, καὶ τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν διὰ παντὸς σύγκαµψον.
“Let their eyes be darkened”. The imperative mood is the imperative of entreaty which does not convey the finality of a command but the force of a request in an imprecatory prayer. This is quoted from the Hebrew and translated into Koine Greek. It is a reference to scar-tissue of the soul which comes from reversionism. The unbeliever’s reversionism is the rejection of Codex 2 which deals with salvation and the establishment principles of Codex 1 & 3.
“For the purpose of not seeing” is a negative purpose clause. The verb as a historical present views the past function of Jewish negative volition or the big blot-out with the vividness of a present occurrence. The Jews produce the action of the verb as a part of their reversionism historically, which becomes an illustration of reversionism in any client nation during the Church Age.
The problem here is twofold. In a client nation there is the believer and the unbeliever. Under Reversionism, the believer rejects the spiritual life, and the unbeliever rejects both the gospel and eventually establishment. With these rejections, there comes the destruction of freedom and the gaining or in some cases the seizing of authority by incompetent, irresponsible people and in some cases extremely evil individuals so that the balance between freedom and authority is destroyed. Freedom without authority is anarchy, but authority without freedom is tyranny.
The next line does not follow the Hebrew text, rather it follows the Greek of the Septuagint. The Hebrew says, “Make their loins tremble.” But Paul does not quote that. So, by not following the Hebrew text but the Septuagint we have, “and make their backs crooked always.” A crooked back is a terrible handicap in life with perpetuating pain whereas trembling loins is a temporary fear. The big blot-out is the permanent condition of Israel namely suffering from a bent or crooked back until the Second Advent of Christ, with wonderful exceptions in every generation in which there are Jews who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and advance spiritually.
Romans 11:11
I say then [an inference drawn from the previous 10 verses], they [the Jews] did not stumble so as to fall into ruin [the Jews failed but were not destroyed as a people], did they [a rhetorical question with the Greek negative me expects a negative answer]? No, of course not! But by their apostasy [Jewish rejection of Jesus Christ and loss of Client Nation status] the salvation [message] belongs to the Gentiles, in order that they [the Jews] might be stimulated to emulation [the gentiles in their faith in Christ].
Λέγω οὖν, µὴ ἔπταισαν ἵνα πέσωσιν; µὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ τῷ αὐτῶν παραπτώµατι ἡ σωτηρία τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, εἰς τὸ παραζηλῶσαι αὐτούς.
An inference is drawn from the previous paragraph, an inference from the rise and fall of nations, as illustrated by the rise and fall of client nation Israel in its various categories. They did not stumble so as to fall into ruin, did they?” The constative aorist contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety which is the big blot-out in Israel. The indicative mood indicates the reality of this in every generation, not only among Jews who are used for the illustration but for Gentiles as well during the Church Age.
A few points for clarification:
1. The failure of some Jews to believe in Christ does not destroy the plan of God for Israel. Furthermore, by application the failure of some Jewish believers to accept doctrine does not destroy the plan of God for believers who are positive toward doctrine.
2. The failure of many racial Jews to believe in Christ does not cancel the integrity of God. God’s integrity is never cancelled on the basis of our personal failures, neither is God’s integrity cancelled on the basis of the collective failure of a national entity. The integrity of God is never diminished or cancelled in any way by any human failure, collective or individual.
3. The failure of certain Jews to respond to the gospel and believe in Christ does not abrogate the integrity of God, and the failure of certain Jewish believers to respond to doctrinal teaching does not cancel logistical grace support.
4. God’s grace policy is never cancelled by those who reject it at any point. The unbeliever rejects the gospel; that doesn’t cancel God’s grace policy. If the born-again believer rejects Bible doctrine and becomes a loser spiritually, his failure does not cancel the grace of God. In other words, grace is never neutralized by what others do or fail to do.
5. Jewish rejection of Christ declares God to be false. But such blasphemy does not change God. Principle: Failure may change you, but failure never changes God. God’s integrity remains reliable in judging the big blot-out while blessing those who believe in Christ—logistical grace blessing and beyond.
6. The Jewish rejection of their spiritual heritage resulted in rejection of Christ as savior. This apostasy, which we might classify as unbeliever reversionism, resulted in the eventual administration of the fifth cycle of discipline, a final administration in A.D. 70.
7. The fifth cycle of discipline administrated by the Romans in A.D. 70 destroyed the client nation status of Israel and ushered in the Times of the Gentiles mentioned in Luke 21:24, “and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations [August of 70 A.D.]; and Jerusalem will be trampled under-foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled [from 70 A.D. until the Rapture of the Church].”
8. The fifth cycle of discipline administered to Israel in A.D. 70 was not designed to destroy Israel but to transfer their spiritual responsibility to the Gentiles temporarily until the ‘Times of the Gentiles is complete.’
9. Throughout the Church Age which runs coterminous with ‘The Times of the Gentiles’ in which only Gentile nations can be client nations.
10. As stated at the end of this verse, an additional purpose of forming Gentile peoples into Client Nation status is to stimulate the Jews to emulate the Gentiles in their faith in Christ “they [the Jews] might be stimulated to emulation.”.
11. We live in the dispensation where Gentiles evangelize Jews, rather than Jews evangelizing Gentiles, as per the dispensation of Israel and as per the dispensation of the Millennium, as well as the Tribulation.
12. The last Gentile Client Nation will terminate at the Rapture of the Church since there will be no Church Age believers, and so there will no longer be Church Age believers to form a Gentile client nation.
13. The next Client Nation will be Israel at the 2nd Advent of Christ. So, there will be no Client Nation during the Tribulation. The Tribulation will be a transitional period between Gentile nations functioning as Client Nations and Israel functioning as the last Client Nation in the Millennium.
A few more points for clarification:
1. Israel is not ruined by the fifth cycle of discipline, but rather it is scattered throughout the world to face the issue of the gospel.
2. Being scattered throughout the world, the Jews are evangelized by the Gentiles generally. Furthermore, the Jewish race is preserved during their dispersion by Gentile nations who act as client nations to God and provide a safe haven for the Jews.
3. While at various times during the Church Age, there has been a Jewish nation in Palestine, that Jewish nation is barred from functioning as a client nation. This is the times of the Gentiles during which no Jewish national entity can serve as a client nation to God.
4. In other words, there will be no Jewish Client Nation until the Second Advent of Christ which will terminate the diaspora, and under the aegis of Christ they will be regathered to form the final Client Nation during the Millennium.
5. It is our privilege as a client nation to provide a safe haven for Israel during these troublesome times. The divine discipline of the Jew, then, is not to blot out Israel as a whole or to destroy the race, but to preserve it.
Romans 11:12
Now, if their apostasy [the big blot-out] becomes the riches of the world, and if their failure [loss of Client Nation status] became the riches of the Gentiles [as Gentile Client Nations], and it did, how much more [a fortiori: with greater reason] will be their fullness [Israel as Client Nation in the Millennium].
εἰ δὲ τὸ παράπτωµα αὐτῶν πλοῦτος κόσµου καὶ τὸ ἥττηµα αὐτῶν πλοῦτος ἐθνῶν, πόσῳ µᾶλλον τὸ πλήρωµα αὐτῶν.
Not only has Israel not been set aside, but the Lord has turned cursing into greater blessing. Paul uses a fortiori to make his case namely if Israel’s failure brought blessing to the Gentiles how much more will their success and greatness in the Millennium bring blessings to the Gentiles. If Jewish apostasy [the big blot-out] and discipline to Israel has become a blessing to the Gentiles, it follows a fortiori (with greater reason) that their restoration at the Second Advent and resumed client nation function during the Millennium will be even a greater blessing than ever before to the Gentiles. Paul is using this system of logic under the ministry of the Spirit to demonstrate that not only have the Jews not been set aside permanently but their future is greater than their past. That is grace.
The spiritual heritage of Israel is transferred to the Church which is the royal family of God, and the larger the royal family in a nation the greater the potential for prosperity of that nation historically. The rise and fall of nations since A.D. 70 can be directly attributed to the number of true believers who reach maturity in any given Gentile Client Nation.
Without Jewish apostasy there would be no royal family of God in the Church Age. Without Jewish apostasy the glorious spiritual heritage of Israel would not have been transferred to the Church as the body of Christ. Jesus Christ as the one who controls history, can use the failure of one person or group to bless another.
If the integrity of God provides greater blessing to the Gentiles through Jewish discipline in the times of the Gentiles, it follows a fortiori (with greater reason) that He will not withhold the less namely greater blessing to the Gentiles in the Millennial restoration of Israel as the client nation to God. While the Gentiles have great blessing in the Church Age in the times of the Gentiles, they will have even greater blessing in the Millennium in the time of Israel’s fullness. Perfect environment cannot exist in this world until Christ supersedes Satan as the ruler of the world, and until Israel is restored to client nation status again.
The a fortiori of verse 12:
1. If the integrity of God provides the great blessing to the Gentiles, the most difficult logically through Jewish apostasy and punishment it follows, a fortiori, that God will not withhold the less – even greater blessings to the Gentiles in the Millennial restoration of Israel as a client nation.
2. In other words, it is easier for God in the sense of logic to bless the Gentiles when the Jews enjoy client nation status than during times of the Gentiles when only Gentile nations can function as a client nation.
3. The greatest blessings will come to the Gentiles during the Millennial reign of Christ when the Jews have been restored to their client nation status.
4. The Millennium, then, is the time of Israel’s fullness which produces much more blessing for the Gentiles under the principle of blessing by association.
5. The times of the Gentiles, therefore, is in contrast to the time of Israel’s fullness.
6. The Gentiles have maximum blessing in the Church Age through Israel’s fall, but the Gentiles will have greater than maximum blessing in the Millennium when Israel is restored as a client nation to God.
7. There cannot be perfect environment on the earth without the overthrow of Satan and the function of Israel as a client nation.
Verses 13 & 14 is a parenthesis in which we have Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles.
Romans 11:13
I [Paul] am speaking to you, the Gentiles. Therefore, inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I am magnifying my ministry [Paul finally established correct priorities].
Ὑµῖν δὲ λέγω τοῖς ἔθνεσιν. ἐφí ὅσον µὲν οὖν εἰµι ἐγὼ ἐθνῶν ἀπόστολος, τὴν διακονίαν µου δοξάζω,
Although Paul had a burden to go to the Jews in Judea, it was God’s will that he be the apostle to the Gentiles. Because of this burden (usually related to emotion and not facts) in 58 A.D. Paul went to Jerusalem, his 5th trip. This was a violation of the will of God and diminished his ministry and nearly cost him his life. After four years in incarceration, Paul had time to reflect upon his mistake and to realign his priorities with the will of God. So, by realizing this and adjusting to it, he magnified his ministry. Paul is now totally oriented to his ministry to the Gentiles. He finally realized that even though he had a burden for the Jews, his ministry was to the Gentiles in the Roman Empire, not to the Jews in Judea. It took him four years in prison to fully appreciate the Lord’s plan for his life.
A few points of clarification:
1. The dispensation of Israel is replaced by the dispensation of the Church which functions coterminous with the Times of the Gentiles in which only Gentile nations can function as Client Nations to God.
2. This means that the Gentiles are blessed by Israel’s failure and discipline. This also means that the Gentiles of the Church and the client nation to God have received the transfer of Israel’s spiritual heritage and therefore custodian responsibility.
3. The Gentiles are blessed by Jewish cursing in this dispensation, but Paul anticipates that Gentiles will receive even greater blessing when Israel is restored as the client nation to God in the Millennium.
4. As the apostle to the Gentiles, Paul inserts a parenthesis to explain the magnification of his ministry to the Gentiles. This is because as the Gentiles are blessed from the perception of doctrine, so that blessing will overflow back to the Jews. The Jews receive their blessing, not directly from their spiritual heritage but from Gentile Client Nations.
5. Therefore, Paul has a ministry which not only blesses the gentiles but in turn provides blessing for true Jews. As the individual Jew responds to the message of salvation presented by the Gentile believer, his curse is turned into blessing, and he, the Jew, becomes a member of the royal family of God forever.
6. Paul is anxious for the salvation of the Gentiles and for the formation of Gentile Client Nations to God, not only for their blessing and eternal happiness, but also through these client nations, the Jewish people will be evangelized in coming generations.
7. Therefore, for the Jew who believes in Christ his cursing is turned to blessing which is perpetuated under the freedom of the Gentile Client Nation.
8. Not only does the believing Jew of this dispensation receive eternal life but also enters into the royal family of God by means of the baptism of the Spirit regardless of his tribe and has the same opportunity as royalty to use doctrine to advance to maturity whereas in the previous dispensation of Israel only those Jews in the line of David were royal family.
9. Therefore, Paul’s ministry is glorified or magnified because a direct ministry to the Gentiles becomes instantly an indirect ministry to the Jews.
10. The preservation of a remnant of believing Jews in every generation in the Times of the Gentiles and the double blessing with imputed righteousness and royal family status is a magnificent display of God’s wisdom and grace.
11. The administration of the 5th Cycle of Discipline to Israel in A.D. 70 indicated their terrible apostasy and total failure at that time. Their evil and degeneracy prior to their fall is well documented. But no matter how great their failure, the plan of God marches on, and Jewish failure in the past does not hinder Jewish restoration in the future at the Second Advent.
Other points of application:
1. We have a magnificent consolation and encouragement to know that in times of maximum evil and degeneracy, God preserves the believer, whether Jew or Gentile. No matter how bad things become for each believer, God’s plan moves right on. Some of the greatest advances to maturity are accelerated by disaster.
2. Not only is the believer in the plan of God whether Jew or Gentile under logistical grace, but he is under the same principle of the greater grace blessing as a potential both in good times as well as in difficult times. Illustration: Daniel.
3. Therefore, times of defection and declension have never hindered the momentum of the plan of God for the positive believer. It is only the negative believer who peels off and goes through the cycles of reversionism.
4. No historical disaster can hinder the plan of God for the Jew or the Gentile; no historical disaster can hinder the momentum of those believers who are positive toward Bible doctrine.
5. No historical disaster can cancel either present blessing to the Jewish remnant or future blessing to restore Israel at the 2nd Advent and their role in the Millennium.
6. God is faithful and always keeps His word. The faithfulness of God is based on His integrity which is composed of two divine characteristics: righteousness and justice.
7. Divine judgment of degeneracy and apostasy never hinders divine blessing to the pivot of mature believers nor does historical disaster hinder the momentum of the believer’s advance to maturity.
8. Many times in history, Jewish declension and apostasy have been so great that alarming segments of the world’s Jewish population have been destroyed by divine discipline. Whenever this has occurred those Jews who died, died as a result of saying ‘no’ more times than the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Such disastrous destruction does not cancel or abrogate God’s plan for the true Israel. Jewish past failure cannot hinder Jewish future success.
Romans 11:14
If somehow, I shall stimulate [the Jewish unbelievers] to emulate my flesh [the racial Jew to emulate Paul’s conversion] and might save some of them.
εἴ πως παραζηλώσω µου τὴν σάρκα καὶ σώσω τινὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν.
Paul’s desire is for Jewish salvation in the Church Age. Throughout the Church Age, Jews will be evangelized by Gentile client nations via missionaries or personal witnessing. Many of them will emulate the Gentiles by believing in Christ and become members of the royal family of God. This is why he is so enthusiastic about his responsibility and his ministry. Furthermore, his conversion will stimulate some Jews to believe in Christ; his writing which occurs in this chapter will stimulate others as well. By using the word, flesh, Paul is referring to the racial Jew who has the genes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but as an unbeliever does not possess the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
A few more points for clarification:
1. God has not cast away His people Israel, for in times of Jewish apostasy God has always preserved a remnant of believers, beginning with the Exodus generation right down to the last administration of the 5th cycle of discipline in A.D. 70 and continuing all the way to the 2nd Advent.
2. In times of greatest Jewish apostasy and declension, there is always a remnant of believing Jews.
3. Paul therefore, as the apostle to the Gentiles has a ministry which results in thousands of Gentiles believing in Christ, and among those, some will become missionaries to other countries where they will witness to both Jew and Gentile.
4. The natural seed of Abraham can only become the spiritual seed of Abraham through faith in Christ which means that Gentile believers are responsible for witnessing to Jews as individuals and responsible for missionary activity in any geographical area where Jews live.
5. Gentile salvation through faith in Jesus Christ also stimulates Jews to look at the grace function of the plan of God.
This ends the parenthesis of verses 13-14, and now Paul resumes the a fortiori which began in verse 12.
Romans 11:15
For if their rejection [their 5th cycle of Discipline and the loss of Client Nation status in A.D. 70] has become the reconciliation of the world and it has [mainly through the function of Gentile Client Nations], what will be their acceptance [at the 2nd Advent] but life from the dead [the resurrection of the Old Testament believers and the restoration of Israel as the final Client Nation].
εἰ γὰρ ἡ ἀποβολὴ αὐτῶν καταλλαγὴ κόσµου, τίς ἡ πρόσληµψις εἰ µὴ ζωὴ ἐκ νεκρῶν;
Even though Satan is constantly working to destroy the Jews, he will never succeed in doing so. The Jews today are under a curse, but when they believe in Christ that cursing is turned to blessing in their becoming members of the royal family of God. The future restoration of Israel in the Millennium means fantastic blessing for the entire world in the environment of the Millennial government.
Romans 11:16
Moreover, if the first fruit [or portion of the cake analogous to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the foundation for Israel] are holy [set apart experientially through spiritual advance], and they are, the lump [a batch of dough analogous to the Jewish believers of the Old Testament] is also holy [If the starter is holy the batch of dough is holy.]; and if the root [the Lord Jesus Christ at the 1st Advent] is holy [set apart for a special mission], and He is, the branches [Jewish believers in the Church Age] are also holy [set apart as members of the Royal Family of God].
εἰ δὲ ἡ ἀπαρχὴ ἁγία, καὶ τὸ φύραµα· καὶ εἰ ἡ ῥίζα ἁγία, καὶ οἱ κλάδοι.
Paul is making reference to the following offering:
Numbers 15:18-21, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land where I bring you, (19) then it shall be, that when you eat of the food of the land, you shall lift up an offering to the Lord. (20) ' Of the first of your dough you shall lift up a cake as an offering; as the offering of the threshing floor, so you shall lift it up. (21) 'From the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord an offering throughout your generations.” [a recognition and appreciation of God’s grace provision]
So, Paul uses the first fruits of this offering to form an analogy regarding true Israel in the dispensation of Israel. The first fruits are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All were believers and all eventually advanced to maturity. They were holy in the sense that they were born again and followed the plan of God to its logical conclusion, maturity adjustment to the integrity of God through maximum doctrine resident in the soul. The first fruits were a representation of the entire crop. So, the first fruits denote the representation of the entire mass of true Israel. This entire mass of Israel must follow the pattern of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and be born again followed by advance to spiritual maturity.
A few points for clarification:
1. The batch or lump of dough is true Israel of the Old Testament dispensation of Israel.
2. To be the physical seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is not enough. The Jew must be the spiritual seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and this can only occur through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. No Jew is a true Jew unless he possesses the righteousness of God, and no Jew can possess the righteousness of God unless he believes in Christ.
4. To substitute self-righteousness through keeping the Law for the imputation of divine righteousness becomes the quintessence of blasphemy and blind arrogance.
The second half of this verse deals with the true Israel in the Church Age. While the offering is used as a simile for true Israel in the dispensation of Israel, a change of simile is needed to represent true Israel in the Church Age. The root and branch simile now comes into focus because it conforms perfectly to the concept of positional truth. The root in this case is the Lord Jesus Christ. Out of the root comes the tree and out of the tree comes many Jewish branches. It is a picture of the branch, the Jewish believer in the Church Age, being in union with the root. So, it brings the concept into focus, the baptism of the Spirit and the various doctrines of positional truth namely current and retroactive.
A few points for clarification:
1. The two similes portray true Israel in every dispensation prior to the Millennial reign of Christ.
2. Remember that the Tribulation is a part of the Jewish Age namely the end of the Jewish Age.
3. In summary, the first conditional clause portrays true Israel in the dispensation of Israel; the second conditional clause portrays true Israel in the Church Age. Again, this is an argument to demonstrate that God has not changed His plan because of Jewish failure in the past and it also indicates that God has not departed from Israel, or cast off or reject Israel.
4. Putting together these similes indicates that true Israel is always the believing Jew, not the racial Jew. Therefore, all racial Jews are not true Israel. To be racial Israel [to have the genes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob] is not enough. Racial Israel must become true Israel through regeneration, following the pattern of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
5. Christ was portrayed in the Old Testament through the animal sacrifices of the Levitical offerings, the temple structure and the articles of sacred furniture in the tabernacle, the modus operandi of the holy days, the function of the Levitical priesthood, and the direct statements of the prophets.
Romans 11:17
Moreover, if some of the branches [Jewish unbelievers in the Church Age] were broken off [rejected], and they were, and you, being a wild olive tree [Gentile Church Age believers] have been grafted in among them [Jewish Church Age believers], and have become partners of both the root [in union with the Lord Jesus Christ] and the prosperity of the olive tree [Logistical grace blessing and the greater blessings of Escrow Blessings].
Εἰ δέ τινες τῶν κλάδων ἐξεκλάσθησαν, σὺ δὲ ἀγριέλαιος ὢν ἐνεκεντρίσθης ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ συγκοινωνὸς τῆς ῥίζης τῆς πιότητος τῆς ἐλαίας ἐγένου,
Branches broken off is a reference to Jewish unbelievers in every generation of the dispensation of Israel and in the Church Age as well. Gentile believers are grafted in by the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. So, this brings the Gentiles into the body of Christ as well. Originally it was composed of Jews on the day of Pentecost and later the Gentiles were brought in.
The wild olive tree is a reference to Gentile believers of the Church Age as per Romans 9:30-33, “Therefore, to what conclusion are we forced? That the gentiles, who did not strive for righteousness [self-righteousness] have attained divine imputed righteousness, that is the righteousness from the source of faith [faith alone in Christ alone]. (31) But Israel, who pursued the Law by means self-righteousness, has not accomplished the purpose of the Law [which was to show one that he was a sinner and needed the savior Jesus Christ]. (32) Why? Because they did not pursue it [salvation] by means of faith, but as by means of works. They have stumbled over the rock [Christ] of stumbling [they rejected Jesus Christ as Savior]. (33) Just as it stands written [a quote from Isaiah 28:16], Behold I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling, even a rock which arouses opposition, nevertheless he who believes on Him will not be disappointed [he will not be at the last judgment].”
The Bible must be interpreted, however, in the time in which it was written, and at the time of the writing the olive tree was a source of prosperity in the ancient world. It was the symbol of prosperity because of its oil and berries. The olive tree was used in connection with Israel, for its prosperity, its security, and its responsibility as a client nation to God. This is illustrated by Zechariah chapter four. The olive tree refers also to the Church and God’s plan for the Church related to the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. The olive oil represents the ministry of the Holy Spirit whereas the olive itself represents special blessing imputed to Jew or Gentile believer when they crack the maturity barrier. Since oil represents the ministry of the Holy Spirit, His ministry is unique in the Church Age.
The Gentile believers were grafted in with Jewish believers into the royal family of God in the Church Age. We are actually, then, one in Christ. The true Israel of Jewish believers is depicted as the olive tree in which some of the natural branches have been broken off—Jewish unbelievers. The Jewish unbelievers are rejected, and that is the meaning of the breaking off of the branches. In their place Gentile believers have been grafted in. God in the Church Age has broken down the wall of partition, the wall that separates Jew and Gentile, so that Jew and Gentile become one body in Christ, Ephesians 3:6, “to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the good news.” Jew and gentile believer are in the same royal family in this dispensation, having the same privileges and the same opportunities.
A few points for clarification:
1. This verse recognizes the historical trend of Jewish rejection of Christ as savior in this dispensation. Therefore, there is plenty of room in the body of Christ for Gentile believers.
2. The branches broken off are those Jews who in every generation of this dispensation reject the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior.
3. These unbelieving Jews follow the pattern of the big blot-out. They understand and reject the gospel, which results in maximum scar tissue of the soul.
4. The human mind, no matter how brilliant, is helpless to cope with life apart from truth. The human mind cannot operate on that which is false. Therefore, no matter how great the IQ, the thinking is distorted and ruined by operating on falsehoods.
5. The mentality of the soul only functions properly on the fuel of Bible doctrine. Therefore, the human mind of the Jew, though brilliant, is useless without divine help. That divine help is Bible doctrine which they have rejected.
6. Israel’s failure is Gentile opportunity and blessing when the Gentile believes in Jesus Christ, the God of Israel.
7. The Gentile believer is depicted in this verse as a wild olive tree. A wild olive tree cannot bear any desirable fruit. Before it can, it must be grafted into a good olive tree.
8. The mechanics of grafting in—the baptism of the Holy Spirit whereby every believer is entered into union with Christ—Jew and Gentile alike.
Romans 11:18
Stop assuming [2nd person singular present middle imperative] arrogant superiority over the branches [Jews in the Church Age], and since you [in the singular] are arrogant, remember you do not support the root [Lord Jesus Christ], but the root [Lord Jesus Christ] supports you [via Logistical Grace and Escrow Blessings upon reaching maturity].
µὴ κατακαυχῶ τῶν κλάδων· εἰ δὲ κατακαυχᾶσαι, οὐ σὺ τὴν ῥίζαν βαστάζεις ἀλλὰ ἡ ῥίζα σέ.
SPQR [Senatus Populusque Romanus] was fast becoming the first Gentile Client Nation to God, and so it was imperative that these believers understand one of their great responsibilities was to provide a safe haven for the Jew and to never become anti-Semitic. However, the Roman Gentiles, to compensate for their inferiority, became arrogant and began to boast of their alleged superiority. In their alleged superiority, they were becoming antagonistic toward the Jew. Paul warns them of their arrogant distortion of grace and their move toward anti-Semitism.
A few points for clarification:
1. The believer does not advance the plan of God but the plan of God advances the believer.
2. The plan of God does not depend on the believer but the believer depends on the plan of God.
3. The plan of God supports the believer; the believer does not support the plan of God.
4. Arrogance overestimates the individual believer and underestimates the grace provision of God. Arrogance emphasizes the subject of faith while grace emphasizes the object of faith namely the root, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Church at Rome was having a problem with blind arrogance.
1. In blind arrogance, a self-righteous person generally dominates a group of people.
2. An offshoot of blind arrogance is personality arrogance in which the arrogant person uses his personality to dominate a group within a system. He then uses his new found power to move the members of the congregation toward becoming antagonistic toward the policy, authority, and the leadership of that organization.
3. This is a case of distraction from doctrine through personality domination rather than doctrinal control, resulting in the blind leading the blind.
4. Dominating personalities in local churches, or for that matter any organization, must beware of setting up their personal and often erroneous opinions against the authority or the policy of the organization.
5. Personality arrogance, then, is a self-centeredness of personal opinion rather than truth. Personality arrogance seeks to establish personal opinion over doctrinal standards, or the policy or the authority of any given organization. At this point personality arrogance becomes not only blind arrogance but institutional arrogance as well. The believer must avoid allowing personal opinion to come into opposition with doctrine.
Romans 11:19
You [the arrogant Gentile Christian] will say then, "The branches [Jewish unbelievers scattered throughout the world] were broken off in order that I [the arrogant Gentile believer] might be grafted in."
ἐρεῖς οὖν, Ἐξεκλάσθησαν κλάδοι ἵνα ἐγὼ ἐγκεντρισθῶ.
A few points for clarification:
1. Arrogance in the believer produces anti-Semitism.
2. Gentile believers distort grace blessing into racial superiority.
3. Because the Jew is under divine punishment from the fifth cycle of discipline, it does not infer that he is inferior to the Gentile. If ever there was a super race, it is the Jewish race.
4. Contempt for those under historical discipline is an arrogance which divorces the believer from reality namely he assumes greatness by comparison. This assumption is incorrect.
5. Arrogance and its interlocking system, a system that interlocks with mental, verbal and overt sins is the worst of degeneracies. It is a series of sins, a complex, and therefore becomes almost synonymous with the old sin nature.
6. You will note that arrogance exploits and abuses those who are under divine discipline.
7. Arrogance, then, not only divorces the believer from reality but causes him to participate in a form of mass cowardice known as kicking someone when they are down.
8. Kicking the Jew while he is down is one of the most disastrous and suicidal functions in history. To interfere with the function of divine discipline is to invite disaster upon oneself. Therefore, no believer can afford to be anti-Semitic for even a second.
Romans 11:20
Quite right, [sarcasm] because of unbelief, they [the Jewish unbeliever] were broken off, but you yourself [Gentile believer] stand [the intensive perfect emphasizes the existing results: salvation] because of faith [in Christ]. Stop thinking proud thoughts, but fear [a non-sinful fear or great respect for the justice of God and a great concern that you will suffer tremendous discipline for anti-Semitism].
καλῶς· τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν, σὺ δὲ τῇ πίστει ἕστηκας. µὴ ὑψηλὰ φρόνει, ἀλλὰ φοβοῦ·
These Gentile believers were saved by faith in Christ, and consequently received the free gift of salvation. Furthermore, the spiritual life which God the Father had designed for the humanity of Christ, they now have courtesy of the Lord Jesus Christ who gave them that spiritual life. There is no basis for their arrogance and no basis for their assumed superiority.
Romans 11:21
For if God spared not the natural branches [the Jewish unbelievers], neither will He spare you [The Gentile believer involved in anti-Semitism will be punished.].
εἰ γὰρ ὁ θεὸς τῶν κατὰ φύσιν κλάδων οὐκ ἐφείσατο, οὐδὲ σοῦ φείσεται.
This is a reference to the Jews whose spiritual heritage included the original client nation to God, the great heritage of the Mosaic Law, teaching of the prophets, the Old Testament Canon; everything that goes to make up their spiritual heritage, including the unconditional covenants. With all of this spiritual heritage, God did not spare the Jews who rejected Christ as savior. If God judges the unbeliever and He does, then how much more will He discipline His own children.
Romans 11:22
Therefore, behold, the integrity and the severity of God [in administering divine discipline]: on the one hand severity to those who fell [Jewish unbelievers]; but on the other hand, the integrity of God [blessing from the justice of God] to you [Gentile believers], if you persist in the sphere of the integrity of God [advance in God’s plan]: otherwise, you also shall be cut off [by the Cycles of Discipline].”
ἴδε οὖν χρηστότητα καὶ ἀποτοµίαν θεοῦ· ἐπὶ µὲν τοὺς πεσόντας ἀποτοµία, ἐπὶ δὲ σὲ χρηστότης θεοῦ, ἐὰν ἐπιµένῃς τῇ χρηστότητι, ἐπεὶ καὶ σὺ ἐκκοπήσῃ.
“Otherwise, you also shall be cut off” refers to the cycles of discipline. The cycles of discipline are based on the doctrine that Jesus Christ controls history. He controls it directly through the function of His deity and indirectly through the Laws of Divine Establishment. He also controls it permissively through the policy of permitting the angelic conflict to be perpetuated and concluded in human history. Satan’s evil and good must run its course! The Five Cycles of Divine Discipline are punitive measures against apostasy, reversionism and evil, and they relate not only to the spiritual life of the client nation to God but at the same time to the economic life, the military life, and the social life, in fact every aspect of life.
The only hope for the Jewish unbeliever as a broken branch is given in verses 23 & 24.
Romans 11:23
And those [Jewish unbelievers] also if they might not persist in their unbelief [change their mind regarding rejection of Christ in the Church Age], they shall be grafted in [by the Baptism of the Spirit], for God is able [the ability of God] to graft them in again [just like He grafted-in Paul].
κἀκεῖνοι δέ, ἐὰν µὴ ἐπιµένωσιν τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ, ἐγκεντρισθήσονται· δυνατὸς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς πάλιν ἐγκεντρίσαι αὐτούς.
As long as Jewish unbelievers are alive, there is hope that they will personally believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Where there is life in time, there is hope, hence the explanatory addendum to this verse. So being a Jew in the Church Age has one of the greatest advantages namely becoming a member of the Royal Family of God, a far greater advantage than any Jew of any tribe or family in the past, except the family of Jesse, the family of David.
The Ability of God:
1. God’s ability to control history is related to His omnipotence, infinite power and His omniscience knowing every detail of history from eternity past.
2. This principle of doctrine has been demonstrated many times in history for example, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in answering Nebuchadnezzar as per Daniel 3:15-17, "Now [Nebuchadnezzar is speaking] if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well, But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" (16) Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. (17) "If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 " But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
3. The ability of God is a warning against violating the royal family honor code such as judging others. Romans 14:4, “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”
4. The ability of God is noted in relationship to His grace policy, 2 Corinthians 9:8, “God is able to make all grace abound to you [the grace-oriented believer] that always having a sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”
5. The ability of God is beyond human imagination. Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him [Father] who is able to do infinitely more than all we could ask [in prayer] or think on the basis of the power [the Two Power Options] that keeps working in us for our benefit.”
6. The ability of God to not only provide a resurrection body, but to subdue all things to Himself according to Philippians 3:21, “Who [the Lord Jesus Christ] shall transform our body of humiliation in conformity with the body of his glory, according to the operational power through which he is able to subdue all things to himself.”
Romans 11:24
For since you [a Gentile believer] were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree; and since contrary to nature, you were grafted into a good olive tree [body of Christ], how much more [with greater reason] shall these [Jewish unbelievers] who are natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree [upon believing in Christ]?
εἰ γὰρ σὺ ἐκ τῆς κατὰ φύσιν ἐξεκόπης ἀγριελαίου καὶ παρὰ φύσιν ἐνεκεντρίσθης εἰς καλλιέλαιον, πόσῳ µᾶλλον οὗτοι οἱ κατὰ φύσιν ἐγκεντρισθήσονται τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἐλαίᾳ.
In the Church Age, both Gentile and Jewish unbelievers are grafted into the Good Olive Tree. The Gentiles are pictured as branches of a wild olive tree which are broken off and then are grafted into a good olive tree. The broken branches are Jewish unbelievers who have denied their spiritual heritage under the principle of the big blot-out, but will still be grafted in upon faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In summary, the good olive tree of the Old Testament was Israel with its spiritual heritage, the Law and the prophets, but the good olive tree in the Church Age is the body of Christ composed of both Jewish and Gentile believers in Christ.
A few points for clarification:
1. While Israel is no longer a client nation to God, nevertheless their spiritual heritage has been passed-on to a special group, the believers in this dispensation namely the Church, the body of Christ. The spiritual heritage of Israel is perpetuated in every generation of history.
2. Therefore, the Jewish heritage in mystery form is still available to any Jew who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why Jesus told a Jewish Pharisee, “Ye must be born again.”
3. At the moment of salvation through faith in Christ, the Jew is grafted into the olive tree through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and resultant positional sanctification.
4. During the time in which Israel is defunct as a client nation to God, they can only participate in the benefits of their spiritual heritage by believing in Christ and becoming members of the royal family of God.
5. If God enters the saved Gentiles into the royal family of God at the point of faith in Christ, it follows a fortiori [with greater reason] that He will not withhold royal family status from the Jew who believes in Christ.
Verses 25-36: the perpetuation of the Jewish remnant in the Church Age
Romans 11:25
For I do not wish you [members of the Royal Family of God] to be ignorant of this mystery, that you stop being wise in your own estimation, [ignorance produces arrogance] that hardening in part has happened to Israel until which time the Fullness of the Gentiles has come in [the Rapture terminates this Fullness].
Οὐ γὰρ θέλω ὑµᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ µυστήριον τοῦτο, ἵνα µὴ ἦτε [ἐν] ἑαυτοῖς φρόνιµοι, ὅτι πώρωσις ἀπὸ µέρους τῷ Ἰσραὴλ γέγονεν ἄχρις οὗ τὸ πλήρωµα τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰσέλθῃ,
The Uniqueness of the Church Age and its mystery doctrines:
The Church Age is the only dispensation in which believers are classified as royal family of God which royalty is formed through the Baptism of the Spirit. This royal family is absolutely unique: it never occurred before the Day of Pentecost, and will never occur again after the Rapture. Galatians 3:26-28, “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life as equal members of the Royal Family of God.]”
The Church Age is the only dispensation in which every believer is indwelt by all three persons of the Trinity. The indwelling of God the Father is related to the glorification of His plan, and it guarantees His ministry to every Church Age believer, which began in eternity past when the omnipotence of the Father formed your portfolio of invisible assets. Therefore, God the Father indwells you to establish a link between His provision of your portfolio of invisible assets in eternity past and the present availability of your portfolio to you as the Church. As the author of our portfolio of invisible assets, as the Grantor of our Escrow Blessings, as the mastermind of the Protocol Plan of God for the Church Age, as the designer of the divine power system and the Problem-Solving Devices, God the Father indwells us in order that these might become a reality. His presence guarantees their availability.
The Indwelling of Jesus Christ is a badge or sign that you are royal family of God and is to motivate the Christian in his advance. As both our depositary and escrow officer, Christ’s indwelling guarantees that when you reach spiritual maturity you will receive the conveyance of your Escrow Blessings for time. This also guarantees future and greater Escrow Blessings at the Judgment Seat [Evaluation Throne] of Christ after the resurrection, as perpetual motivation for momentum when facing the various categories of suffering and pressure in this life, especially the three categories of suffering for blessing related to our advance to spiritual maturity, as the basis for assigning number one priority to relationship with God over relationship with people. So, Jesus Christ indwells us to motivate the Christian as a member of His royal family to assign top priority to the utilization of divine power rather than human power in the cosmic system.
The purpose for the Indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is to provide a temple in our bodies, in order that Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory may indwell us and to provide a base of operations for the execution of the protocol plan of God, the utilization of divine omnipotence via the Filling of the Spirit. In summary, the base is in the believer’s body; the Filling of the Spirit is in the soul.
The Church Age is the only dispensation in which every believer is both a royal priest and a royal ambassador. As a priest, the believer represents himself before God. As an ambassador, he represents God to man. He is God’s representative on earth.
The Church Age is unique. This Age is the only dispensation where every believer has a detailed portfolio of invisible assets. No such portfolio ever existed before. As a part of that portfolio of invisible assets, you have a spiritual gift, unique to the Church Age. The Church Age is the first dispensation in which there is a completed Canon of Scripture: we have our instructions in writing. The Church Age is the only dispensation in which there is no prophecy though there is a prophecy at its beginning and one at its end, the Day of Pentecost and the Rapture. But in between, no prophecy exists, rather the Church Age operates under historical trends which explain what occurs during the Church Age. Therefore, the believer must learn to observe these historical trends if he is going to properly understand current history. All these things mentioned make the Church Age unique.
Some Mystery-doctrines of the Church Age:
1. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit
2. The New Spiritual Species of the Royal Family of God
3. The Unique Protocol Plan of God enabled by the Filling of the Spirit and metabolized doctrine in the soul.
4. Our Portfolio of Invisible Assets namely the primary assets (Escrow Blessings and Election and Predestination, the secondary assets (volitional, invisible, production and undeserved suffering assets), personnel assets (our spiritual gift) and the unique assets (the indwelling of the three members of the Trinity).
5. The Unique Royal Commissions of the Royal Priesthood and the Royal Ambassadorship
6. The indwelling of each member of the Trinity in the body of every Church Age believer
7. The 100% availability of divine power (the omnipotence of the Father, Son, and Spirit),
8. The dispensation of invisible heroes having personal, national, international, and angelic impact in the rebuttal phase of this conflict
9. Marriage in the Church Age has been raised to a supernatural level meaning that the mandates regarding marriage as per Ephesians 5:22, 25 can only be executed through occupation with Christ whereas in the Old Testament marriage fell under the Laws of Divine Establishment.
A few points regarding arrogance and scar tissue:
1. To be wise in your own estimation is to be arrogant from ignorance. Ignorance of truth inevitably produces arrogance.
2. Rejecting doctrine produces both scar tissue of the soul and arrogance simultaneously.
3. Cognizance of Biblical truth and conceit are mutually exclusive.
Ignorance of doctrine pertaining to Israel in the Church Age has often caused believers to become arrogant—wise in their own estimation.
4. Ignorance of doctrine is tantamount to rejection of doctrine. The reason so many Christians are ignorant of the spiritual life is because they do not care to learn doctrine.
5. Scar tissue of the soul is built up through rejection of truth, either deliberately or inadvertently. Accompanying the build-up of scar tissue in the soul is arrogance for pride increases in proportion to the amount of scar tissue resident in the soul.
6. Therefore, blackout of the soul along with scar tissue of the soul increases and intensifies arrogance.
7. An advancing believer will still have great areas of ignorance which may lead to blind arrogance, but as he advances, this ignorance will be replaced with truth and as this occurs, he will be more and more protected from blind arrogance whereas a believer who refuses to learn about his spiritual life will be hopelessly enmeshed in arrogance.
8. The Jewish unbeliever comes to believe the lie namely that Christ is not the Messiah; that Christ is not the God of Israel; that Christ is not the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
9. The ‘hardness in part’ means that not all Jews follow this pattern of rejection of Christ for some do believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and advance spiritually.
10. The Fullness of the Gentiles must be distinguished from the Times of the Gentiles. The Times of the Gentiles means that only Gentile Client Nation can exist between 70 AD and the Rapture of the Church, whereas the Fullness of the Gentiles means that most of the great believers who receive the fullness of blessing from God at reaching spiritual maturity and subsequently receiving and passing Evidence Testing will be Gentiles during this time.
Romans 11:26
And so all Israel [refers to Jewish believers in the Tribulation which is the greatest period of anti-Semitism] will be delivered, [at the 2nd Advent] just as it stands written, [Isaiah 59:20; 27:9] "He [Jesus Christ] who delivers will come from Zion; He will remove the Godless ones [Jewish unbelievers via the Baptism of Fire] from Jacob.
καὶ οὕτως πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται· καθὼς γέγραπται, Ἥξει ἐκ Σιὼν ὁ ῥυόµενος, ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβ·
Isaiah 59:20, “And the Redeemer will come to Zion [Second Advent], and unto those who turn from transgression in Jacob, declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 27:9a, “Therefore through this, Jacob’s iniquity [Jewish rejection of Christ resulting in their loss of Client Nation status] will be forgiven [and restored as the last Client Nation]; and this will be the full price of the pardoning of his sin.”
Paul is going to quote from these two verses and put together something to indicate that even though the Jews are now out as the client nation under the fifth cycle of discipline, and scattered throughout the world until the Second Advent, God still has a purpose for them.
Romans 11:27
Also this is the covenant [the New Covenant to Israel which will be fulfilled in the Millennium as per Jeremiah 31:31-34] to them from Me [the Lord Jesus Christ], when I have removed their punishment for sin [a reference to the 5th Cycle of Discipline].
καὶ αὕτη αὐτοῖς ἡ παρí ἐµοῦ διαθήκη, ὅταν ἀφέλωµαι τὰς ἁµαρτίας αὐτῶν.
On the surface, this verse appears to be somehow dealing with the problem of sin, but rather it is God’s removal of their 5th Cycle of Discipline in order to install the New Covenant or contract with Israel as per Jeremiah 31:31-34, "Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, (32) not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant [the Mosaic Covenant] which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the Lord. (33) But this is the covenant [contract] which I will make with the house of Israel after those days [after the elapse of the Church Age and the termination of the Tribulation], declares the Lord. I will put my law within them [in their souls], and on their stream of consciousness, I will write it, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34) And they shall not teach again each man his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord; furthermore, I will forgive them their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more [The removal of the stigma on the Jew which is related to the 5th Cycle of Discipline].”
The old covenant namely the Mosaic Law was given to the nation, Israel and was not given to the Gentiles and not given to the Church. When the Church Age came along, the Mosaic Law was rescinded and superseded by the New Covenant to the Church. A new covenant had to be established because of the limitations of the old covenant. The New Covenant to the Church authorizes the royal family of God during the Church Age, sets up the modus operandi of the royal family, and sets up a universal priesthood among believers. The old covenant to Israel, the Mosaic Law, has been rescinded and replaced with a better covenant—the New Covenant to the Church, Hebrews 7:18-19, “For on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former covenant because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand there is the bringing in of a better hope through which we draw near to God.”
The new covenant to Israel is eschatological and is not operational until the Second Advent of Christ. The new covenant to Israel recognizes the fulfillment of the unconditional covenants to Israel namely the Abrahamic, Palestinian, and Davidic Covenant, and sets up a modus operandi for Israel in the Millennium. The New Covenant to Israel is a legacy for restored Israel during the millennial reign of Christ and is taken from the New Covenant to the Church, not from the old covenant to Israel. The New Covenant to Israel emphasizes the rulership of Jesus Christ on the one hand, but it also restores of the Levitical priesthood.
Romans 11:28
On the one hand, with reference to the gospel, they [Jewish unbelievers] are regarded as enemies because of you [Church Age believers], but on the other hand as far as their election is concerned, they [Jewish Believers in the dispensation of Israel] were beloved because of their fathers [emphasizing the origin of the Jewish race].
κατὰ µὲν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ἐχθροὶ δι’ ὑµᾶς, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκλογὴν ἀγαπητοὶ διὰ τοὺς πατέρας·
Jewish unbelievers in the Church Age are called the enemies of God whereas Jewish believers of the Old Testament were beloved of God. Since Jewish unbelievers are excluded from the family of God, they are regarded by God in terms of the anthropopathism, enemies. God regards and treats as enemies, Jewish unbelievers of the Church Age in contrast to Gentile believers who possess the righteousness of God through faith in Christ.
Now let’s relate all this to election. An election to privilege must have special relationship stated in terms of divine revelation. Ours is stated in terms of the Baptism of the Spirit and Positional Truth. The first election, Israel, had a special relationship revealed through the covenants to Israel. The second election, the Church, has a special relationship revealed through the Baptism of the Spirit and resulting union with Christ. Each election had one thing in common, it demands personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
A few points for clarification:
1. The contrast in this verse is between the Jewish unbeliever in the Church Age with the Jewish believer of the dispensation of Israel.
2. The similarity is between the Jewish believer of the dispensation of Israel who is elected to privilege under the old covenants and the Jewish believer of the Church Age who is elected to privilege under the new contract and the baptism of the Spirit.
3. In each dispensation there is a special issue called election to privilege which is based upon personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. Under the doctrine of election there are two elections to privilege, Israel and the Church. Mankind enters either one of these elections through faith in Christ. The difference between the two elections is a difference of time, a difference of dispensation.
5. The word ‘fathers’ emphasizes the Jewish believers of the dispensation of Israel with a special emphasis on the origin of the Jewish race. Since there is no client nation Israel during the Church Age, the Jew can only fit into God’s plan by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and becoming a member of the royal family of God forever. Hence, there is a true Israel in every generation of the Church Age; it is composed of any Jew who personally believes in Jesus Christ as His savior.
Romans 11:29
For the grace benefits and election from God are irrevocable.
ἀµεταµέλητα γὰρ τὰ χαρίσµατα καὶ ἡ κλῆσις τοῦ θεοῦ.
Explaining God’s election and grace benefits: Because God is perfect, His plan has no failures or regrets. God’s plan provides perfect security, perfect stability and perfect consistency. Grace benefits mean that the integrity of God imputes to the believer His righteousness establishing the grace pipeline. These grace benefits are twofold namely Logistical Grace and the Greater Blessings for the adult believer. These grace benefits fulfill the concept of election to privilege.
A few points for clarification:
1. Election is singular but grace benefits are plural. This means simply that election to privilege is always the same. It is based on faith in Christ regardless of the dispensation. However, the grace benefits of election differ in each dispensation and therefore grace-benefits are in the plural.
2. In the dispensation of Israel, election to privilege meant relationship with the covenants of Israel, but in the Church Age, election to privilege means relationship with God as Royal Family through the Baptism of the Spirit.
3. While the Jews no longer have client nation’s privileges in the Church Age as such, they still have royal family privileges as members of the body of Christ through faith in Christ.
4. Therefore, the issue to the Jew is to believe in Christ whether Israel is a client nation or not. Can the Jew get along in a dispensation where Israel is not a client nation? Of course, he can. Paul is the perfect illustration.
Romans 11:30
For just as at one time [in the Age of Israel] you [Gentiles in the Age of Israel] had not believed in God [the Lord Jesus Christ], but now [in the Church Age] you have received mercy [Gentile nations as Client Nations] because of their unbelief [leading to Israel’s 5th Cycle of Discipline].
ὥσπερ γὰρ ὑµεῖς ποτε ἠπειθήσατε τῷ θεῷ, νῦν δὲ ἠλεήθητε τῇ τούτων ἀπειθείᾳ,
Paul presents how the Gentiles fared when Israel was the client nation (the Age of Israel), and then, how Jews fare when living in a Gentile Client Nation. Why start out that way? When you start out with the Jews at the peak of their glory as a client nation, and the Gentiles functioning in a subordinate role, then it gives both the Jew and the Gentile a different perspective. How did the Jews treat the Gentiles? Sometimes well; sometimes poorly. If the Jewish pivot was large, the Gentiles were treated well; if the pivot was small the Gentiles fared poorly. Does that tell us anything? Now that the Gentiles have client nation status, the same will be true namely if the pivot is large the Jews will be treated quite well. However, if the pivot in a Gentile Client Nation is small and diminishing, then anti-Semitism will rear its ugly head.
Romans 11:31
So now also these [Jews] have not believed [in Christ] in your time of mercy, [the Time of the Gentiles from A.D. 70 to the Rapture] in order that now [in the Church Age] they [the Jewish remnant] also might receive mercy [be evangelized by the Gentiles and treated with impersonal love].
οὕτως καὶ οὗτοι νῦν ἠπείθησαν τῷ ὑµετέρῳ ἐλέει ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ νῦν ἐλεηθῶσιν·
A few points for clarification:
1. Jewish unbelief can be summarized as rejection of doctrine or truth, forming scar tissue of the soul. As scar tissue accumulates, arrogance intensifies.
2. The intensification of arrogance under prosperity produces self-righteousness which was applied to the Mosaic Law as per Romans 9:31, “But Israel, who pursued the Law by means of self-righteousness, has not accomplished the purpose of the Law [which was to show one that he was a sinner and needed the savior, Jesus Christ].”
3. The Jewish unbelievers of the Church Age reject Christ which rejection is indicative of the substitution of human self-righteousness for imputed divine righteousness.
4. The zeal manufactured from arrogant self-righteousness is always in direct conflict with the grace policy of God.
5. The imputation of divine righteousness through faith in Christ results in humility and grace orientation, while the development of arrogant self-righteousness results in inflexible legalism and total blindness to Bible doctrine.
6. In arrogance the Jews had established an imaginary orthodoxy which does not exist in the plan of God but in their evil and vain imaginations.
The Great Inversion:
1. The great inversion is defined as a reversal of position between Jew and Gentile regarding client nation status. The contrast is between the Old Testament dispensation of Israel and the New Testament dispensation, the Church Age.
2. The inversion of the Jewish Age found Israel as the client nation to God and the Gentiles were to be evangelized by Jews.
3. The inversion of the Church Age finds Gentile nations as client nations to God and the Jews evangelized by the Gentiles.
4. The inversion of the Church Age finds Jesus Christ as the God of Israel blessing Gentile believers and punishing Jewish unbelievers.
Romans 11:32
For God has locked up the entire human race [at birth] with reference to disobedience [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin] in order that He might have mercy on the entire human race [condemnation must precede salvation].
συνέκλεισεν γὰρ ὁ θεὸς τοὺς πάντας εἰς ἀπείθειαν ἵνα τοὺς πάντας ἐλεήσῃ.
The Greek word for ‘locked-up’ initially was a military word, but was taken from the military and used for shutting up or locking up people in a prison; also used for fish caught in a net. It finally came to mean, as we have it here, being locked-up. If God locks us up in disobedience since we have an old sin nature with the imputation of Adam’s sin, then obviously any solution would require going from our association with Adam’s disobedience to our obedience. That is why we often have in the Bible “obedience to the gospel” which is believing in Christ. (Also, since children are born disobedient, they are given parents. So, the first thing parents must teach their children is obedience.)
Greater explanation regarding having mercy on the human race:
What caused the human race to be locked-up at birth? The old sin nature was acquired by Adam at his fall and is subsequently transmitted genetically by the male through procreation. With the exception of the perfect humanity of Jesus Christ, the sin nature is an integral part of every human being since it resides in the cell structure of the body, Romans 6:6, “Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the old sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use the Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.” Romans 7:5, “For while we were in the flesh [as unbelievers married to the sin nature], the sinful passions [lusts] which through the Law were operative [the Law revealed the lusts and trends of the sin nature] in our members [of our body], resulted in the production associated with our spiritual death.” At the moment of physical birth when God imputes soul life, He also imputes Adam’s original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature (Rom. 5:12). Therefore, every person is born physically alive but spiritually dead.
The sin nature has power namely the power related to sin and human good. The sin nature promises happiness through its temptation to sin and the temptation to produce human good (a good produced by the Christian when he is out of fellowship with God). The cross broke this power since sin was judged on the cross, and human good was rejected. (On the cross, the humanity of Christ was filled with the Spirit during the entire period of judgment. So, the work of the cross was accomplished in the sphere of divine power namely the two power options, not human power. (Thus, even if the Christian were to produce sin, good and evil (good and evil being the policy of Satan) while functioning out of fellowship, he could quickly remove this control of the sin nature by confessing his sins to the Father. (This grace recovery procedure was given to the believer as a result of the judgment which took place on the cross.) At which time, namely at the time of confession of sins, God the Father forgives the believer of his sins and cleanses him from all wrong doing (this would include human good and evil produced while he was out of fellowship). This confession or citing of one’s sins places the Christian back under the authority of God the Spirit and allows him to use the two powers of the spiritual life. In this sphere of divine power whatever good the Christian produces would be classified as divine good since it would be produced by the power of God the Holy Spirit and the power of God’s word, metabolized in the soul.
Romans 11:33
Oh the depth [inexhaustibility] of the riches both of the wisdom [application of God’s knowledge for example the Divine Decree, the depositing of Escrow Blessings for each Christian in eternity past, the Ten Unique features of the Church Age etc.] and the knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His judgments [the function of the integrity of God for example when the Lord would not permit Moses to enter into the Land] and how unfathomable are His ways! [The finite cannot understand the infinite.]
Ὢ βάθος πλούτου καὶ σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως θεοῦ· ὡς ἀνεξεραύνητα τὰ κρίµατα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀνεξιχνίαστοι αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ.
Paul's praise in worship: Riches are described in terms of thought: the wisdom and knowledge of God. Regarding the Knowledge of God there is His self-knowledge, omniscience and foreknowledge.
God’s self-knowledge: Each member of the Trinity has perfect knowledge of self and perfect knowledge about the other members of the Trinity. All members of the Godhead have self-knowledge-which is not the same as omniscience which is knowledge of his creatures and creation.
Omniscience and Foreknowledge:
1. Since God is eternal, His knowledge is eternal. Therefore, His knowledge is infinitely superior to any creature knowledge.
2. Every minute detail of both angelic and human history is completely in the mind of God at all times and so there never was a time when it wasn’t in the mind of God.
3. Therefore, omniscience perceives the free as free, the necessary as necessary, together with all their causes, conditions and relations, as one indivisible system of things, every link of which is essential to the whole. The free as free has to do with the volition of the soul; but more than that, it is the relation of the soul to systems of authority. The necessary as necessary means that certain functions of establishment are designed to protect freedom: freedom to be evangelized, freedom to accept or reject Christ, freedom to choose a life-time partner, freedom to select a business or a job, etc.
4. Time has nothing to do with God’s knowledge, therefore the future is as perspicuous to Him as the past.
5. The omniscience of God knows the actual as well as all the alternatives of your personal life as well as every detail of history, but only the actual was put into the Divine Decree.
6. The computer of divine decree then prints out the facts about the believer under the categories namely foreknowledge, predestination, election, justification and glorification.
7. This means that there is a difference between the omniscience of God which programs the computer of the Divine Decree and the foreknowledge of God which is the print-out of the computer. In other words, nothing can be foreknown until it was first decreed. You cannot get out of the computer what was never put into the computer.
8. Only the Divine Decree establishes reality. Therefore, God’s self-knowledge and omniscience precede the decree while God’s foreknowledge follows the decree.
Inscrutable becomes scrutable. Apart from Bible doctrine we cannot understand either the person, plan or the policies of God. God is inscrutable apart from the key—perception of Bible doctrine. Bible doctrine, therefore, is the most valuable thing in life for it is the wealth of God revealed to the royal family of God. Doctrine resident in the soul of the believer is not only the means of spiritual growth and momentum but it is resident wealth which cannot be taken from us unless we so decide from our free will. Thinking divine viewpoint through reverse concentration is one of the great pay-offs. Through daily perception and application, the inscrutable becomes scrutable.
How inscrutable are His Judgments: Let’s view one of God’s judgments as found in Numbers 20:1-13, “Then the sons of Israel, the whole congregation, came to the Desert of Zin in the first month; and the people stayed at Kadesh. Now Miriam died there and was buried there. (2) There was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron. (3) The people [the adults were mostly from the second generation] thus contended with Moses and spoke, saying, " If only we had perished when our brothers [relatives] perished before the Lord [from the Sin unto Death]! (4) "Why then have you brought the Lord’s assembly into this desert, for us and our beasts to die here? (5) "Why have you [Moses and Aaron] made us [a lie] come up from Egypt, to bring us in to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates [of course not since they are not yet in their promised land], nor is there water to drink [a test to challenge them to use the Faith-rest Drill]." (6) Then Moses and Aaron came in from the presence of the assembly to the doorway of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them [Moses and Aaron]; (7) and the Lord spoke to Moses [only, Moses is the true spiritual leader], saying, (8) "Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water [as part of My logistical provision]. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation [a few survivors of the 1st generation, but primarily the 2nd generation and their children] and their beasts drink."(9) So Moses took the rod from before the Lord, just as He [the Lord] had commanded him; (10) and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them [Moses was only to speak to the rock, not to the people], " Listen now, you rebels shall we [Moses and Aaron] cause to bring forth water for you out of this rock [Moses is taking the credit for bringing forth the water]?" (11) Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod [Striking of the Rock speaks of salvation: Moses became angry and bitter and struck the Rock] and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank [Logistical Grace provision: this gracious provision prevented the spread of bitterness to the people]. (12) But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, " Because you [Moses and Aaron] have not believed Me [the malfunction of the Faith-rest Drill as it related to the integrity of God], to treat Me as holy [the integrity of God and to have respect for God’s logistical grace policy] in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you [Moses and Aaron] shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." (13) Those were the waters of Meribah Kadesh [strife, contention; to be in opposition to the Lord] because the sons of Israel contended [in opposition] with the Lord, and He proved Himself holy among them [The Lord provided water as part of His logistical provision in spite of the failure of Moses and Aaron].” [The Exodus Generation were in opposition to the Lord for 40 years. At Meribah Kadesh, Moses reproduced their sin one time.]
Deuteronomy 3:23-26, “I [Moses after his recovery of fellowship in retrospective exposition recalled his blaming Israel.] also pleaded with the Lord [prayed] at that time, saying, (24) 'O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours? (25) 'Let me, I pray, [a prayer to override the decision from the integrity of God] cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.' (26) "But the Lord was angry with me on your account [not true], and would not listen to me [would not grant my prayer request to enter the Land]; and the Lord said to me, 'Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. [In prayer, Moses wanted to rescind the perfect punishment handed down from the integrity of the Lord. The punishment was perfect and correct. So, it was not removed.]”
God’s ways are unfathomable. God has thoughts beyond the ability of human thinking; His wealth is infinite because His thinking is infinite. Man’s wealth is limited because his thinking is limited. With the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of doctrine the believer has the opportunity to penetrate into the infinite divine wealth that is God’s thoughts. Because this is true, he is able to grow in grace, make correct applications regarding his personal life, to have happiness in all circumstances, know where he is going, and to become a hero in the Angelic Appeal Trial.
Verses 34, 35 are rhetorical questions - quotes from Isaiah 40:13, 14; Interestingly, these quotes are from the Septuagint written in the 3rd century B.C. and not from the Masoretic texts written between the 5th and 10th century A.D.
Romans 11:34
Who then has known the thinking of the Lord [no one], or who has become His advisor? [no one]
Τίς γὰρ ἔγνω νοῦν κυρίου; ἢ τίς σύµβουλος αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο;
The rhetorical question is designed to praise the omniscience of God who fed actual data into the computer with regard to the believer and the unbeliever. This rhetorical question states dogmatically that only the members of the Trinity, using the attributes which they possess, know the thoughts, the motives, the decisions, the actions of every creature before any creature existed. While God knew our thoughts, we did not know His thoughts. Therefore, we the creatures are nothing added to nothing, equaling more than nothing.
1 Corinthians 2:16, “for who has known the thinking of the Lord [a title for deity] that he should instruct him [taken from Isaiah 40:13 in the Septuagint], but we have the thinking of Christ [Bible doctrine].
The Lord’s thinking is infinite which the finite could never comprehend not even in a trillion years. The only information that the believer is able to comprehend regarding the Lord’s thinking is that which is found in the Bible. So, we do not counsel God; we don’t advise Him; He advises us through His Word.
No creature has known the mind of God in eternity past. The mature believer knows from maximum doctrine resident in the soul the mind of Christ in part, but this is not the intent of the rhetorical question. The rhetorical question is designed to praise the omniscience of God who fed into the computer all data with regard to the believer and the unbeliever.
Romans 11:35
Or who has given to Him and has not been compensated?
ἢ τίς προέδωκεν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀνταποδοθήσεται αὐτῷ;
A few points for clarification:
1. The believer must be occupied with the source of grace so as not to be distracted by the blessings of grace. This is why the most basic concept of grace is occupation with the person of Christ. Upon reaching maturity this is the first factor.
2. The believer for example can be so occupied with his money that he forgets the source of that money.
3. The believer can be so occupied with success that he forgets the source of success.
4. The believer can be so occupied with friends and loved ones that he forgets the source of friends and loved ones.
5. The believer can be so occupied with life that he forgets the source of life.
6. The believer can become so preoccupied with disaster that he forgets the source of his security.
7. Therefore, Bible doctrine resident in the soul (true wealth) is designed to perpetuate occupation with Christ who is the source of both logistical and the Greater Blessings of spiritual maturity.
Romans 11:36
Because those all things [God’s plan for the human race: the Plan of God Rational namely X+Y+Z] are from the source of Him and through the agency of Him [mechanics of blessing] and for Him [for His glory]; furthermore, the glory belongs to Him forever. So be it.
ὅτι ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ δι’αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰς αὐτὸν τὰ πάντα· αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας· ἀµήν.
Jesus Christ as God is the source of salvation and the source of all temporal and eternal blessing for there is no blessing apart from Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the Cross.