Romans 9:1 "I say the truth in
Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy
Ghost," Romans 9:2 "That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow
in my heart."
We will see in the beginning of this chapter a sorrowful Paul. As
we have said before in these lessons, Paul was a Pharisee and he never
would quite give up on his Jewish brothers. He went to great lengths
to try to reach them over and over. His greatest opposition came from
his own people. In many cases, Paul practiced the old Jewish law to
try to win them to Christ, but even this failed and Paul went away
sorrowful.
Romans 9:3 "For I could wish that myself were accursed from
Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:"
We see, here, in this verse that Paul would have gone to almost
any length to have his Israelite brothers come to Christ. He says that
he would even give up his own salvation, if this would have saved
them. Paul makes it clear, here, that these Israelites are his
brothers in the flesh, not the spirit. His spiritual brothers are
Christians.
Romans 9:4 "Who are Israelites; to whom [pertaineth] the
adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law,
and the service [of God], and the promises;"
This just means that God had chosen the Hebrews (Israelites) to
give the law to, and he had chosen them to be a peculiar people set
aside to worship Him. God's first choice for the salvation message to
go to was these Israelites.
Romans 9:5 "Whose [are] the fathers, and of whom as concerning
the flesh Christ [came], who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."
We find, here, the same thing that we find in Revelation about
the physical house of Israel belonging to Father God. The spiritual
house of Israel (Christians) belongs to Jesus. You remember from the
Revelation teaching, that the 144,000 Jews: 12,000 from each of the 12
tribes are marked with the Father's seal and the vast number in white
robes around the throne had been washed in the blood of the Lamb. The
white robed large number were followers of Jesus and bore His name
(Christians).
Romans 9:6 "Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect.
For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel:"
This means those who follow God are His children. The followers
of God are Israelites, not those who were born into the house, but
those who chose to follow God.
Romans 9:7 "Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are
they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called."
Isaac was the son of promise. He represented the Spirit. Abraham
had a son of the flesh (Ishmael). The promises God had made to Abraham
came through the Spirit, not through the flesh. You see from this that
the Spirit of God and the promises thereof are for the Spirit, and not
for the flesh. Galatians 3:29 "And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Notice above, it
speaks of seed as one, not many seed. Flesh does not inherit the
things of God. I Corinthians 15:50 "Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption." God is Spirit and His blessings are
for His children in the Spirit.
