NEW TESTAMENT 2: THE PAULINE EPISTLES

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An Exposition of the Pauline Epistles

Prepared for

Undergraduate Degree Programs

Evangelical Theological College (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

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Prerequisite: Hermeneutics (3 credit hours)

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by

Nathan S. Kidder

[email protected]

© 2018, 2020
 CHAPTER 26: PAULINE ESCHATOLOGY; CHURCH & ISRAEL

The result of our study of Pauline Soteriology is found in Romans 8:1-17. But before we

get to that glorious and all-important passage, we can summarize the steps we have taken

together over the last several weeks. Our first step was to learn that all are condemned because

of Adam’s sin – they are found to be “in Adam” by virtue of their physical birth – and because of

actual sin committed in rebellion against the Creator God. They have exchanged his glory for

images – which is the sin of idolatry so prevalent among Gentile communities – and for a sense

of personal righteousness by which human beings usurp the judicial authority of God in passing

judgment upon other people – which is the particular sin attributed to the Jewish people in

Romans 2. Because all had sinned and had fallen short of the glory of God, the wrath of God

was revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of mankind. God’s wrath

remained on all men, for all had sinned.

But our second step revealed the righteousness of God had not only been revealed in

wrath, in order to demonstrate his holiness, but had also been revealed apart from the Law in the

life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This righteousness for salvation was pregnant with
soteriological significance, and comprised our next several steps in walking the path of Pauline

Soteriology: it meant that sinners could be saved through the faithfulness of Christ and by

placing their faith in the work of Christ. It meant that sinners could be found “not guilty” in the

final judgment because they had been clothed with the righteousness of Christ. God the Father

issued a forensic declaration that condemned rebels would be innocent “in Christ” as the

impartation of divine righteousness – or the righteousness of Christ was credited to the account

of these rebels – became reality.

Furthermore, we found that liberation from spiritual bondage marked the experience of
all who were found “in Christ.” They had been rescued from slavery to sin and had been made

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slaves to righteousness, to God, and to Christ. In other words, they had been freed from slavery

and freed for slavery. In the redemption offered by Christ, the ransomed of the Lord returned to

God in the newness of a restored relationship with their Creator. Where once they had rejected

him, now by the transformation of the “new birth,” they had embraced him once more. They

would walk in the newness of life, according to the Spirit, for they had been redeemed. They

were no longer slaves to sin. Instead, they were slaves of righteousness, according to Romans

6:18. Therefore, believers were to offer their bodies to the Lord for the work done in our

sanctification.

The Apostle Paul follows in Romans 7 with an example from his own post-conversion

life.1 In Pharisaic Judaism, he had been married to the Law. He was under obligation to follow

the Law, for he was united with it the way men and women are united in marriage. But he had

died with Christ (6:8). Thus, he had been released from his obligation to the Law (7:6). He now

had an obligation to the Spirit of God. But this obligation was not without its internal

challenges. Sin had become even more powerful when the Law had awakened its desires to

rebel against God. He had become holy by participating in the death and resurrection of Christ

(through baptism). But he also struggled in the flesh. A war was waging in the members of the

Apostle Paul’s psychological, emotional, and physical being. It was not a war that overcame the

reality of his spiritual conversion and association with Christ. But it was a war that was evident
in the passions of the body. Nothing good lived in his flesh (7:18). Yet his spirit, having been

transformed by the Spirit of God, delighted in the Law of God (7:22). His desire was for

deliverance; and, “thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord” because the Lord had set

Paul free from slavery to sin making him, in his mind, a slave to the Law of God. Yet, for the

1
We recognize here that some scholars interpret Romans 7 as being Paul’s pre-conversion experience in
the Law. But we could hardly argue that Paul desired “to do good” while, in his pre-converted state, nothing good
lived in his flesh. Only after the renewing work of the Spirit can one truly desire to do good; only after conversion
can one experience a war between the newly reborn soul and the sin-entangled flesh. Before conversion, as Paul has
made abundantly clear, there is only enslavement to sin; thus, no struggle, no war, and no possibility of internal
conflict.

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time being – and until the glorious revealing of the sons of God at the onset of the eternal age –

there was still slavery in the flesh to the Law of sin. However, this battle would be one of

ultimate victory, for the Apostle Paul had trusted in Christ for initial salvation, ongoing

sanctification, and final glorification. The spirit had been born again. The Law of the Spirit was

gaining potency in the lifestyle of the converted Apostle. And in the last day, the body too would

be transformed, born again according to the pattern of Christ’s resurrection body.

Eschatological Life by the Spirit of Christ

Then, as we transition to Romans 8, we become keenly aware that the result of Paul’s

conversion and subsequent union with Christ is no condemnation. He, alongside all believers,

had moved out from under the wrath of God into a new life of freedom. This section confirms

our above conclusion that Paul’s post-conversion life was one of struggle between the spirit and

flesh. He reiterates, so as to clarify the previous passage, that the “mindset of the flesh” is death

(8:6) because it is hostile to God (8:7), it cannot submit to God’s Law (8:7), and it cannot please

God (8:8). In all these failures, Paul is clear in confirming that man does not submit to or please

God and, indeed, he cannot do so. Thus, Paul clarifies the preceding material from chapter

seven; the struggle between “spirit” and “flesh” is only one experienced by the believer.

Unbelievers are incapable of such a struggle, for the “flesh” is in complete control of them.
But God had condemned sin in the flesh of Christ (8:3) and had put to death the body of

sin (6:6). Therefore, those who had died with Christ in baptism (6:8) would also live according

to the Spirit of Christ (8:9) in a new eschatological way, living because of righteousness and in

union with Christ. But this is not only to be a spiritual life, for the body that is now dead because

of sin will be raised at the last day. Paul says (8:24) that we were saved in this hope: that the

adoption we receive as sons of God – and that, by the Spirit of God by which we call him

“Father” and become co-heirs with Christ – also meant the redemption of our physical bodies

(8:23). The new spiritual life that believers enjoy now is a foretaste of the final eschatological

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life when spirit and body are redeemed and the inward groaning of the sons of God is turned into

outward thanksgiving.

This process of salvation is assured, for Paul speaks definitively about the “golden chain”

of predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. It cannot be broken. Those God

“foreknew” speaks of his relational knowledge of certain individuals. It is insufficient to say that

God merely knows in factual terms, but has relational knowledge in covenantal love. The Old

Testament speaks repeatedly about the relationship God has with his chosen people in

specifically theses terms. One scholar notes, “The background of the term should be located in

the Old Testament, where for God ‘to know’ refers to his covenantal love in which he sets his

affection on those whom he has chosen.”2

The purpose for this foreknowledge is established in verse 29; God “predestined

[believers] to be conformed to the image of his Son” (ESV). The fact that God works all things

together for good in verse 28 is now made more explicit; the “good” that God plans to

accomplish in the believer’s life is conformation to the likeness of Christ. In speaking of the

“image” of Christ, Paul is referring to that eschatological glory experienced in the resurrection;

thus, being conformed to the likeness of Christ carries two meanings: (1) we begin to emulate the

life of Christ in our journey of sanctification and (2) we ultimately inherit the eschatological

resurrection life that Christ, as the “firstborn among many brothers,” experienced.3 Our spirit
will be conformed; our physical bodies will be transformed.

Some significant implications emerge: If the elect of God are justified so that there is no

charge to be brought against them; and if the justified are given all things in Christ; and further,

2
Thomas R. Schreiner Romans. (BECNT. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1998), 452. Cross
reference the following passages: Genesis 18:19; Exodus 33:17; 1 Samuel 2:12; Psalm 18:43; Proverbs 9:10;
Jeremiah 1:5; Hosea 13:5; and Amos 3:2. Note in particular the Jeremiah passage in which the parallel terms
“consecrate” and “appoint” speak of more than just factual foreknowledge. The point of this passage is to
communicate that God chose the prophet in love before he was born. In Amos, God “knows” Israel in a unique
covenantal way in contrast with the nations of the earth.
3
The use of the word “many” harkens back to the Abrahamic Covenant and its fulfillment in Christ.

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if there is no condemnation because of the resurrected and interceding Christ, then what can be

said of Israel, the elect of God from the Old Testament? If nothing separates the elect from the

covenant love of God, then did the word of God fail in regard to his covenant people?4 The

question must first be answered: “Who are the elect of God from the people of Israel?”

Eschatological Life & Unconditional Election

The flow of Romans 9 follows the ending of chapter 8 that speaks of the election of God

resulting in justification. There can be no condemnation for the believer because no charge can

be brought against them. Nothing separates the elect of God from their foreordained

glorification. But many individuals from the elect nation of Israel had been separated from God;

in fact, they remained in spiritual exile that was so blinding as to escape human detection and,

therefore, self-diagnosis. They had physically returned from the Babylonian exile, but had

remained in spiritual exile through their rejection of the Messiah. But were all individuals within

the nation of Israel to be identified as the elect of God?

The Apostle Paul begins to answer this question in 9:1-5. There he confirms the place of

ethnic Israel within the covenant of God and expresses a great degree of personal and

psychological anguish because ethnic Israel remains unsaved. Paul desires to be a substitute for

his fellow Jews, but realizes this is impossible. Only Christ could die for sinful humanity. In
some way, however, the Israelites still possess “the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving

of the Law, the worship, and the promises.”5 Further, they possess the “patriarchs, and from their

race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.” So if anyone

4
In Romans 8:37-38 Paul is abundantly clear that nothing in the created order, whether physical or
spiritual, can overcome those who conquer through Christ. God’s elect shall never be separated from Him.

Adoption = God’s salvation in the Egyptian exodus. Glory = God’s presence in the tabernacle and
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temple. Covenants = God’s salvation revealed in the Abrahamic Covenant, the Sinai Covenant, and the Mosaic
Law. Worship & Promises = God’s assurance of salvation in the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law.

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were to be saved, justified, and glorified because of the covenantal love of God, it would

certainly be all ethnic Israel. But this is not Paul’s answer.

In fact, Paul answers that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel and not

all are children of Abraham because they are his [ethnic] offspring” (9:6-7, ESV). The

foundation is being laid for how we might understand the salvation of Israel. How does it

happen? How can they be considered covenant people when they are cut off from God? Paul

continues by saying that the children “of the flesh” are to be contrasted with the “children of the

promise” in the same way that Ishmael (flesh) and Isaac (promise) are contrasted in the Old

Testament.6 It is not ethnic descendants of Abraham who comprise the family of God; indeed, it

is the spiritual descendants who are adopted as sons. The clear and consistent Christological

hermeneutic of Paul speaks of these spiritual descendants as being “in Christ” and therefore

“sons of God,” “Abraham’s offspring,” and “heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:26-29,

ESV).7 It was through Isaac that the “seed” of Abraham would be “called” or “named.”

This is further applied to the Old Testament, in which the election of Isaac through Sarah

is recounted, the election of Jacob through Rebekah is retold, and the nature of God’s election is

revisited. Neither Ishmael nor Esau were children of promise, which is significant because,

although Ishmael had been born “according to the flesh” – that is, according to the will or

decision of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar – Esau was a twin brother of Jacob. There was no longer
any debate about one having been born “according to the flesh” and the other having been born

“according to promise.” Ishmael had been the son of an Egyptian, but Esau was the son of the

patriarchal and matriarchal lines of covenant heritage. Thus, the Apostle Paul reveals that God’s

election of individuals is not based on proper human behavior or poor human choices. It is based

solely on his sovereign will, so that, even in the Old Testament, the sons of promise inherited the

Abrahamic blessing because of unconditional election.

6
Refer back to our discussion on Galatians 4:21-31 for confirmation of the contrast Paul intends.
7
See also Romans 4:13-18; 9:29; 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:22; Galatians 3:16.

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 We note as well that double predestination is taught in God’s love for Jacob and his

rejection of Esau. The covenantal love and covenantal rejection explain how God elects some

for salvation and others for rejection. This speaks both of individual and corporate election and

rejection. In the Old Testament, the nation of Edom (the descendants of Esau) is outside the

people of God,8 under the wrath of God forever as a “type” of all condemned peoples, 9and

eternally condemned.10 Far from a condemnation of all ethnic or national Edom, however, this

speaks of individuals from within Edom that are rejected. Similarly, when speaking of Israel,

Paul does not affirm a total ethnic or national election – neither in the past or in the future – but

rather affirms the election of individuals, a smaller group of “loved” Israelites.

The connection between 9:7 (“Through Isaac shall your offspring [seed] be named”) and

9:24 (“Even us whom he [God] has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles”) is

found in the root word for “named” and “called.” In both instances, Paul uses the same Greek

word καλέω (kaleo) in different forms. He teaches that the seed of Abraham, as revealed through

Isaac, are “named” or “called” from both Jews and Gentiles. But this is not strange for the

Pauline Epistles. We have already discovered the spiritual and Christological nature of Paul’s

hermeneutics. Neither is it strange to the larger biblical narrative. For Paul continues by

outlining the truth of Gentile conversion in becoming Abraham’s children as anticipated

throughout the Old Testament. In 9:25, Paul quotes Hosea in terms of Gentile salvation. How

8
On this point, see Malachi 1:2-5, particularly verse 4 that speaks of God’s anger upon Edom forever.
9
See here Isaiah 34; 63:1-6; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Amos 1:11-12; Obadiah.
10
On this point, Schreiner, Romans, 503 refers to Jubilees 26.34, which says of Edom, “You will surely
sin completely unto death, and your seed will be rooted out from under heaven.” The Book of Jubilees, sometimes
called “Lesser Genesis,” is an ancient Jewish book of fifty chapters, considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church as well as Ethiopian Jews, where it is known as the Book of Division (Ge'ez: Mets'haf Kufale). The Book of
Jubilees is considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches. It
was well known to Early Christians, as evidenced by the writings of Justin Martyr, Origen, and others and many
copies were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Book of Jubilees claims to present “the history of the division
of the days of the Law, of the events of the years, the year-weeks, and the jubilees of the world” as revealed to
Moses (in addition to the Torah) by angels while he was on Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights. The
chronology given in Jubilees is based on multiples of seven; the jubilees are periods of 49 years, seven “year-
weeks”, into which all of time has been divided.

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was it going to occur? God would “call” the Gentiles “my people” and “beloved.” The Gentiles

would be called “sons of the living God.” In 9:27, Paul quotes Isaiah in terms of Jewish

salvation. How was it going to occur? God would save only a “remnant” of Israel and would

not destroy the entire ethnic nation of Israel. Israel’s unbelief in the First Century AD was due to

a law-based righteousness as they stumbled over Christ, who was the “end of the Law for

righteousness for everyone who believes” (10:4, ESV). But their unbelief would not end in total

annihilation; instead, a remnant reserved from every generation would be saved.11

In summary, then, the first part of Paul’s answer to the question – “Has the word of God

failed” because of Israel’s unbelief? – centers on sovereign election. It was never the intent of

God to save all ethnic descendants of Abraham; neither was it His intent to save all national

Israel. For even in the founding of the Patriarchal lineage, there were some who were rejected

and others who were beloved. The second part of Paul’s answer to the same question centers on

a remnant theology. What God had done with national Israel in punishing her and exiling her in

Babylonian captivity was with the purification of the remnant in mind. When condemnation and

punishment (in divine wrath) are Israel’s experience, God is sure to confirm that a righteous

remnant remains.

In the time of Elijah, seven thousand men were reserved for the Lord, a remnant who did

not worship Baal. In the time of Isaiah, the wicked from among Judah would be punished while
a remnant would return to the Mighty God.12 The theological concept that intersects both

answers is particular atonement. God had chosen some; God would purify some; God would

save some. As Paul reflects on redemptive history, he recognizes that some are cut off from the

11
Note how this development, coupled with 11:4, confirms that only a remnant of elect Israel would be
saved.
12
Isaiah explains that national punishment would not negate God’s eternal decree that a remnant of
Israel would be saved through the Assyrian conflict and the Babylonian exile. The above reference is to Isaiah
10:20-23.

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tree of Abrahamic blessing, and have fallen. Those who have fallen are under the wrath

(severity) of God. Some who have fallen will be grafted back into the tree by faith.13

Eschatological Life & Israel’s Salvation

Did God reject his people? The Jewish people are in spiritual exile, but for how long?

Did the Jewish people stumble beyond recovery? These are the all-important questions to

consider when speaking of Pauline eschatology. Picking up on the theme of the Abrahamic tree,

Paul says that this olive tree is singular; it represents the singular people of God in which there is

no more Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. There is divinely empowered unity.

The roots of the tree are firm in the Abrahamic Covenant (not the Sinai Covenant). Its trunk is

Abrahamic. But its branches are understood christologically; they are grafted into the singular

tree “in Christ.” The branches that have been cut off from the olive tree represent ethnic Israel.

These branches come from “their own olive tree” and are “natural” branches. But only some of

ethnic Israel had been cut off, not all. Persistence in unbelief is the reason for this rejection.

So we have natural branches (Jews who are elect according to promise) and wild

branches (Gentiles who are elect according to promise) that are grafted into the one tree by the

work of God himself. Thus, it is a mystery (11:25); it does not signify a “riddle or puzzle that

surpasses human comprehension” but “refers to a secret element of God’s plan that has been
hidden from human beings but has now been revealed.”14 The content of the mystery is unveiled

in the salvation of Israel, in light of Gentile salvation, according to the promise of God.

The Promise of Israel’s Salvation: Three Views of Romans 11:26

In the spiritual exile of the Jews, ethnic or national Israel had been partially hardened so

that salvation might be available to the Gentiles. At some point, when “all Israel” is saved, this

13
See here the flow of Paul’s thought in Romans 11:11-24.
14
Schreiner, Romans, 613.

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will no longer be the case. Salvation will no longer be available to anyone, because the end will

have come. The mystery involves: (1) the partial hardening of Israel for a limited amount of

time, (2) the salvation of the Gentiles which precedes the salvation of the Jews, and (3) in some

sense, “all Israel” will be saved. The important feature of the mystery is the timing and manner

of Israel’s restoration. They will be saved after (timing) the Gentiles and in a specific way

(manner). So we must ask of Paul, “In what manner will all Israel be saved?” There are three

main views:

1. Future Ethnic Israel: the first view believes that a large portion of future ethnic Israel

will be saved. They were hardened as a whole; they will be saved as a whole. They had

experienced national failure as a whole in the rejection of the Messiah; they would

likewise experience national salvation as a whole during a time in which they would

embrace their Messiah. The argument here is that all Israel is in view throughout chapter

11. The strengths of this position lie in the interpretation of ethnic Israel, which seems to

be the emphasis of Paul throughout Romans 9–11.15 This position differs from the one

that says “all Israel” will be saved both past and present as the hardening of God is

transformed to softening that occurs as the mercy, love, and grace of God are revealed.

Most scholars reject the notion that all Israelites will be saved because there seems to be

no indication, according to Paul, that objects of wrath become objects of mercy. They are
eternally predetermined categories according to the will of God. So the totality of Israel

must be future, during the eschatological period.

Adherents of this position rightly suggest that God’s salvation is counter-intuitive. When the

Gentiles thought that Jews were God’s special people, mercy and grace were poured out on them

as a hardening of the Jews occurred. When, in the future period of the Gentiles’ fullness, Israel

was tempted to think they had been passed over eternally, God again surprises and floods mercy

15
Romans 11:26b speaks of the Deliverer coming from Zion to save “Jacob,” which most naturally –
according to this view – refers to Israel as a whole. See footnote #23 below for the alternate interpretation.

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and grace upon them. In connection with chapter 9, in which salvation according to election

remarkably denotes Isaac (not Ishmael) and Jacob (not Esau) as beloved, chapter 11 speaks of

salvation as being surprised by sovereign grace. The consistent interpretation of salvation as

surprising is a strength of the position.

The weakness of this position is the insistence that “all” Israel will be saved at some

point in the future. It is clear that Paul consistently speaks of some being saved, a process that

mirrors how God has worked throughout redemptive history.16 Another weakness is found in the

lack of spiritual interpretation. It becomes clear throughout the Pauline Epistles that Gentiles

become “spiritual Jews” by virtue of being found in Christ. They are not only spiritual sons of

Abraham, but spiritual heirs according to the promises given to Abraham. They are not only

spiritual heirs, but spiritual sons of Abraham as, by faith in Christ, they become Jews by the

circumcision of the heart (Romans 2, Colossians 2).

One additional weakness of this position is that, in speaking of the future salvation of all

ethnic Israel, one contradicts what is taught in 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16. These verses indicate

that the wrath of God remains on the Jewish people forever. If we take “all Israel” in both texts,

we find contradictory teaching: all Israel will be saved; all Israel is under the wrath of God

forever. This cannot be the case. Paul does not teach that all Israel is excluded from salvation

forever. Neither does he teach that all Israel will be saved in the future. Instead, he speaks of
some of Israel being saved by faith in Christ (a remnant) and some of Israel being eternally

condemned for their lack of faith in Christ. If, like Gentiles, they are saved by faith in Christ,

then they are saved – according to the second view – by inclusion within the Body of Christ (the

church).

16
See the third position below for an extensive list of Paul’s “partial” terminology when speaking of
Israel.

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 2. The Church is Israel: the second view believes that “Israel” refers to believing Jews and

Gentiles who are both saved as they become members of the Body of Christ (the church)

by faith in Christ. Thus, their ethnicity is sacrificed in taking on a new spiritual and

Christological identity (there is no more Jew and Gentile).17 Therefore, the church has

rightly replaced Israel because it comprises the New Covenant people of God.18 The

strength of this position lies in the Christological and spiritual interpretation of the Old

Covenant in light of the New Covenant that occurs consistently and frequently within the

Pauline Epistles as the author’s hermeneutics are displayed. When God adopts people

into his family, he includes them in his church. And to love Christ is to love his people,

the church. So the biblical images of the church speak of the gathering of saints, the

body of Christ, the bride of Christ, and the building of Christ. Borrowing from Old

Testament cultic imagery, these terms that spoke of the Hebrew people of ancient Israel

now speak of God’s new spiritual people, believing Jews and Gentiles.

The weaknesses of this view are found in the larger context of Romans 11:26. A significant

number of alternative passages in the Pauline Epistles may be rightly interpreted to teach that the

church has become the New Testament people of God, the organism through which God

dispenses his grace and demonstrates his glory to the world. In this sense, and from these

passages, we may rightly deduce that the church has replaced Israel.19 But in Romans 11,
specifically, Paul appears to be speaking of ethnic Israel using the imagery of a natural olive tree.

Gentiles are grafted in as wild branches to a natural tree. And, despite their being cut off, there is

an anticipation that the natural branches of Israelites would be grafted in again. Thus, a pure

17
This argument is historically grounded in Saint Augustine and is later developed by John Calvin, most
notably. The notion that the church replaced Israel as the covenant people of God was extremely popular during the
Early Church Period, as evidenced in the writings of Justin Martyr and others. See Schreiner 1998, 614.
18
Note Ephesians 2:11-22 on this point.
19
These passages speak of believers as (1) true spiritual Jews and the true circumcision [Romans 2:28-
29; Philippians 3:3], (2) the true spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham [Romans 4:1-17; Galatians 3:6-9, 26-29]
and (3) the true Israel of God [Galatians 6:16]. In all these passages, we find a spiritual and Christological
hermeneutic.

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replacement theology grounded only in Romans 11 would be difficult to substantiate.

Furthermore, the term “Israel” seems to contrast the term “Gentiles” in this chapter, making the

inclusion of the Gentiles within Israel a difficult proposition. In the larger context of 9-11, the

Apostle Paul agonizes over the fact that his ethnic kinsmen have fallen in rejecting their Messiah,

Jesus of Nazareth. We have already seen this above in our exposition of Romans 9:1-5.

3. Remnant of Israel: the third view believes that “Israel” refers to ethnic Jews that are

saved throughout history as God saves a remnant for himself from every generation (see

11:5). In supporting this view according to a remnant theology, scholars notice the

repeated language of salvation for a “partial” group of Jews throughout chapters 9-11.

 Did the Word of God fail? The argument of Romans 9-11 (specifically 11:4-5)

unfolds as the Old Testament remnant who God reserved for himself is compared

to the New Testament remnant that God sets apart, chosen by grace. The answer

of the Apostle Paul is that the Word of God had not failed in the past, because

God had reserved this remnant in sovereign election. So too, in the present, God

had reserved for himself a remnant of Israel. Correspondingly, the Word of God

would not fail in the future either, for a new remnant would be set aside yet

again.20

 9:6 = Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. In other words, there was
a relatively small remnant even in the Old Testament who were set apart to

receive the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. This is the framework for

understanding the election of Jacob and not Esau, as well as the remnant theology

of Isaiah in light of New Testament salvation. Paul cites these two examples

purposefully to provide the framework of his own understanding.

20
On this final point, Romans 11:12 speaks of a future “fullness of Israel” that was to be saved.

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  9:8 = the natural children (ethnic descendants) are not God’s children, but the

spiritual children (note the spiritual Christological hermeneutic of Paul) who are

Abraham’s offspring. Therefore, it is not “all” who are in view here, but “some”

who are defined spiritually and christologically.

 9:27 = Isaiah 10:22-23 says that, even though the Israelites are “like the sand by

the sea” in fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, the fundamental promise was

divine blessing. And “only the remnant will be saved.”

 10:16 = It is clear that not all ethnic Israelites believe the gospel and place their

faith in Christ. But there are some who do – namely, Peter, James, John, and the

eleven disciples who followed Christ and together constituted the New Spiritual

Israel around Jesus who is the singular New, True, and Spiritual Israel.

 11:7 = Israel as a corporate body did not obtain the blessing promised to

Abraham, but the elect (remnant, or spiritual descendants both Jew and Gentile)

did inherit this promise. There is a partial hardening here.

 11:14 = Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles and makes much of his ministry,

arousing the ethnic Jews to jealousy so that he might save some. This is the

remnant that God had set aside, part of the elect that he had chosen in grace.

 11:17-24 = Some natural branches were broken off of the singular olive tree. This
can only mean that some ethnic Jews were rejected (not all of them, but some)

and that some will be grafted back in. The tree (or vine – see John 15:1-8) is

Christ, the roots are the Abrahamic Covenant.

 11:25 = just as there is a partial hardening in 11:7, so also is there a partial

hardening again here in 11:25. Partial hardening most naturally corresponds to a

partial softening by the mercy and grace of God.

The conclusion, according to this view, is that the phrase “and so” must be taken to mean “in this

way.” The reading of 11:26 follows: “And in this way, all Israel will be saved.” In other words,
all who are saved from the ethnic people group of Israel must be saved in “this way.” What

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way? Through election, through being grafted into Christ, by inclusion within the remnant that

God chooses according to his grace. According to one scholar, the meaning of καὶ οὕτως (in

11:26) “denotes manner” and should, therefore, be translated “in this way.”21

This view is distinct from #2 in that, while Jews are saved by faith in Christ – or, by

inclusion within the Church of Christ – they remain distinct in their Jewish ethnicity just as

Gentiles do. The church does not replace Israel, then, but stands as the Christological fulfillment

of the Abrahamic Covenant. It fulfills Israel, in a manner of speaking, but does not replace Israel

entirely. Indeed, the roots of the olive tree that is God’s people are grounded in Israel’s history

and heritage. If the church were to replace Israel entirely, one would be forced to divorce the

branches and the roots, a notion that is unthinkable for the Apostle Paul.

Admittedly, there are very few weaknesses in this position. However, as with all biblical

interpretation, there are no divinely inspired positions. The weaknesses of this position, then,

are found in the expectation of the Apostle Paul, who foresees a “fullness” of Israel coming to

faith in Christ. This corresponds to the “fullness” of the Gentiles and, though this is almost

never considered to be “all” in the sense of every single individual, there is an expectation of

large masses of Jews and Gentiles being included within the church. In addition to this, in

chapters 9-11, there appears to a climactic end in view, such that Paul places the conversion of

ethnic Jews in close proximity with the second coming of Christ.22 In fact, Paul may intend to
show that the precise nature of the second coming is the removal of sin from Jacob and the

climactic conversion of ethnic Israel.23 It would be anti-climactic, then, to suggest that the

21
Schreiner, Romans, 621 is In agreement with the ESV rendering of 11:26 and considers the parallel
usages of the Greek phrase in 1 Corinthians 11:28; 14:25; and 1 Thessalonians 4:17.
22
Note how this happens in 11:26-27. The coming of the Deliverer to (or from) Zion for the removal of
sin, ungodliness, and guilt and the establishment of a covenant, taken together with 1 Thessalonians 1:10, identifies
the referent as Christ and the context strongly suggests the second coming.
23
However, adherents to this third position would argue that “Jacob” sometimes refers to a remnant of
believing Israel in Old Testament apocalyptic literature, particularly when found in parallel lines with “Israel.” See
Isaiah 10:20-23; 27:6; 41:8-10; 43:1; 44:1; 46:3; 48:12; 49:5-6; 59:20-21 (quoted in Romans 11:26-27).

15
remnant of Israel would be saved as history unfolds, for Paul suggests that a large number of

ethnic Jews would be saved as history comes to its conclusion.

At the outset of our course, we proposed that any understanding of this section (Romans

9-11) must be held in light of Paul’s sermons in the Book of Acts, particularly the final one in

Acts 28. We want to briefly draw some conclusions from the synthesis of these texts in the next

section. The nature of Paul’s ministry reflects God’s activity in redemptive history. That Paul

turned from the Jews to the Gentiles is a reflection of the hardening of Israel in spiritual exile

(Isaiah 6:9-10) for such a time as the fullness of the Gentiles might be saved. God was active in

hardening ethnic Jews against believing the Messiah – he turned from them – for the sake of

Gentile salvation – God turned toward them. It should be noted that a partial hardening of Israel

corresponds to a fullness of Gentile belief in the present. Likewise, the completion of Gentile

salvation corresponds to a fullness of Jewish belief in the future. This might serve as support for

the first view presented above.

However, as God turned from his Old Covenant people (Israel) to his New Covenant

people (Church), he established a new method by which the remnant of Israel would be saved.

Under the Old Covenant, salvation was found by inclusion within an ethnic people group. Under

the New Covenant, salvation is found by inclusion within a spiritual people group. This shift

does not communicate a turning from all individual Jews to all individual Gentiles, but instead
communicates a functional shift in God’s redemptive plan and work. The corresponding

elements of the physical, literal, and ethnic particularities in the Old Covenant become spiritual,

metaphorical, and Christological particularities in the New Covenant. Any other interpretation

misunderstands the nature of the transition between the Old and the New Covenants.

This transition in turning from Israel toward the Church of Christ is foretold in rather

similar imagery to that which the Apostle Paul employs in Romans 11. In Isaiah 11, the Lord

had just orchestrated the judgment of Judah through the Assyrian invasion (see 10:33-34). Then,

from the stump of Jesse the Messianic “Branch” emerges. Israel had been cut down. The stump
and “Branch” are still nourished by the Abrahamic Covenant, but in the Messiah a new tree with

16
new fruit grows. As we have argued above, the new tree is the Body of Christ, the church. The

new fruit that is produced is not based on righteousness from law-keeping, but on the

righteousness that comes from God [apart from the Law] by faith in Christ. This new fruit is the

“fruit of the Spirit.” Therefore, even if there is a future movement of ethnic Jews to embrace

Jesus Christ, it is most assuredly a movement into the church of Christ. And since very few

accepted scholars speak of a total salvation of all ethnic Israel – whether in the past, present, or

future – we may rightly follow the argument of Romans 9 that promises salvation only to a

remnant. This remnant may be large or small, but it finds salvation through the church. As well,

this remnant best represents the “fullness” of Israel as the flow of though in Romans 9-11 is

unpacked. This speaks in defense of positions 2 & 3.

In conclusion, we return to the election of God discussed at the end of the lecture notes

entitled, “The Soteriology of Paul: The Faithfulness of Christ.” There we recognized that the

sovereign God is likened to a potter while all humanity is likened to a lump of clay. Regardless

of our personal views concerning the salvation of “all Israel,” we all may agree that any salvation

of ethnic Jews or Gentiles in the present and future comes directly from the shaping work of the

potter who forms clay unto his sovereign purposes. This begs the question, however, as to the

Jews who lived before the time of Christ. Were they saved by faith or were they saved through

covenant? Some have argued that there are two tracks of salvation: one for the Jews according to
covenant and one for Gentiles by faith in Christ. However, this view is clearly unbiblical. When

we speak of Hebrew salvation in the Old Testament, we are speaking as Paul does about those

who were born according to promise. They too were descendants of Abraham because they

possessed, by God’s grace, the same faith as Abraham. One could believe the promises of God

even though the fulfillment was, as yet, unseen. One could trust in the provision of God for the

salvation of his people even though the one to secure their salvation was, as yet, unseen. And

finally, one could trust in the coming “Son of David” even though the future referent was, as yet,

unknown. Like our ancient spiritual ancestors, we have believed in one we have not seen. We
believe in his coming (a second time, as the Victorious King) just as they believed his coming

17
(for the first time, as a baby boy in Bethlehem). We trust in the past provision of God in Christ

that reaches us in the present. They trusted the future provision of God in (1) the seed of the

woman, (2) the seed of Abraham, (3) the eternal Son of David, and (4) the Suffering Servant.24

All these proclamations of God’s salvation, issued throughout the generations of Old Testament

Israel, find their fulfillment in the person and work of Christ.

24
On the first point, see Genesis 3:15. On the second, see Genesis 21:12. On the third, of course, see
the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7. And on the final point, see Isaiah 52:13-53:12. In every generation, then, God
announced his salvation. To the generations from Adam to Moses, the first proclamation was made. To the
generations of the Patriarchs, the second proclamation was made. To the generations of Israel’s kings, God issued
the third proclamation. And to the generations of Hebrew exiles, God foretold the gospel in the fourth proclamation.

18
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