CHAPTER 11
[p. 113] CHAPTER 11
The olive tree is symbolical of promise, and the “root” was Abraham. The testimony of God’s word of old was limited to Israel, but by the exaltation of Christ to the right hand of God, and the rejection of Israel, the whole world has been brought within the range of God’s testimony; hence we have the expression “the riches of the world”. Israel had been tested by the glory of the Lord, that comes out in the end of chapter 9 and in chapter 10. The gospel of the glory was presented to them in the exaltation of Christ, so we have in chapter 10, “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord”. Peter’s testimony in Acts 2 was, “God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ”; that was the final test as to Israel; the exaltation of Christ characterised Peter’s testimony.
It is a great point to see the connection of these chapters with the previous part of the epistle. The second parable in Luke 15 illustrates the first part of Romans down to chapter 8. The light of God has come into the world to bring to light the lost piece of silver. At the close of Romans 8 we have the elect of God brought to light, namely, those who “love God”. There is nothing about profession in those chapters. It is the light of God in the world, and the elect of God brought by it into view. In the succeeding chapters, 9, 10 and 11, you get the conciliation of that with God’s dispensational dealings on earth; apparently there was a certain contradiction between the light of God going out to all, and God’s dispensational dealings, which necessitate a special place for Israel; but these chapters show that in all His dealings God has been consistent; the first part of the epistle is however greater than the second. The gospel has for its object to bring to light the church; but Israel was tested by this gospel of the glory, they stumbled [p. 114] at the stumbling-stone; and then God turns in His public dealings to the gentiles, but they do not continue in the goodness of God, and they are broken off and the Jews grafted in again. The result of all is that the failure of man accomplishes in every way the purpose of God. Hence the doxology at the close.
In the olive tree there is the thought of the continuity of promise. The inheritance is an essential part of the gospel; the commission given to Paul was “to open their eyes ... that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance”. Thus the inheritance is an integral part of the gospel. The gentiles come into the inheritance through the death of Christ, that is, the death of Christ was death to Israel, and the inheritance went back to the hand of God, and is connected now with a risen Christ. The gentiles come into it in connection with a risen Christ, and Israel too, by-and-by, will come into it in a risen Christ. The disposition of the inheritance is in the hands of Christ. The inheritance lapsed when Israel rejected Christ, but it was given again to Christ risen. That is how the gentile comes in and the Jew also; the promises were lost after the flesh, but they are confirmed in a risen Christ, that is, in Abraham’s seed. If Israel had not stumbled it would be difficult to see how the gentiles could have been brought in; and if the gentiles continued in the goodness of God it would be difficult to understand how the Jew could be brought in again. The sovereign purposes of God are worked out through the failure of man. The purpose of God is not like the net thrown into the sea gathering both bad and good; there is not in His work a bit of the bad seen, the lost piece of silver is brought to light as the effect of the light coming into the world. No doubt the light addresses itself to everybody, because it is light from God, and therefore puts everybody under responsibility, but the great point is that by it the elect of God are brought to light. It is [p. 115] beautiful to see the triumph of God over the evil of the people, in spite of their unbelief, and of all they have proved themselves to be. The sense of the sovereignty of God gives a certain dignity to the gospel, though you do not preach sovereignty. God would have all men to be saved, the elect are not known, and therefore you present the light to all. We have not in preaching to reconcile the sovereignty of God with the responsibility of man.
“The times of the gentiles” is a dispensational expression, it covers the period during which power is committed to the gentiles; the close of it will be in the revived form of the Roman empire; the term ‘fulness of the gentiles’ is the completeness of the gathering out from the gentiles; it is not simply blessing going out to gentiles as gentiles, but a testimony going out to them to gather out from them a people. All depended upon the glad tidings of the glory, for the moment Christ is set at the right hand of God, there must be a world-wide testimony. As long as Christ was here after the flesh the testimony might be confined to Israel, but Christ risen is Lord of all, and the testimony could no longer be limited to the Jew. Peter said to Cornelius, “He is Lord of all”, and the gentile comes in on that ground. Psalm 19, which is quoted in chapter 10, shows this. “The heavens declare the glory of God”, for Christ is there. This psalm, though referring primarily to the heavens, has a hidden meaning. “In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun”. What is the real sun in heaven? The material sun is truly there, but the real sun is the “sun of righteousness”. The moment Christ took His place at the right hand of God there must be a world-wide testimony. It began at Jerusalem, but went out to all the gentiles. “The same Lord over all is rich unto all those that call upon him”. It is a remarkable thing that when Israel failed in the wilderness then the Lord said, “As I live, all the earth [p. 116] shall be filled with the glory of the Lord”, Numbers 14. God takes occasion of Israel’s failure to show how wide His purpose was. Israel took advantage of Christ in humiliation to reject Him, but Christ is God’s Son and is seated at His right hand, so the testimony widens out; but even then it is to the Jew first and then to the gentile.
In verse 16 “the root” is Abraham, and the branches are Israel: the first-fruits is, one would suppose, the ingathering from Israel at Pentecost; that is the pledge that the lump is holy, the lump is seen in looking forward to Israel in the future. It is evident that the branches mean Israel, because it says, “If some of the branches were broken off”. The root carries you back to Abraham, and the lump carries you forward to the Israel of God’s purpose. There was an ingathering at Pentecost typified by the two wave-loaves; that took place through the power of the Holy Spirit; then the lump will be fulfilled according to the text, “All Israel shall be saved”. The first-fruits is a pledge of the lump, and the lump is of the same character as the first-fruits. The only principle on which the gentile comes in (it is not exactly the church here) is as being Christ’s; the gentile could not come in on the ground of flesh. If Israel had not failed under the first covenant, how could the gentiles have been brought in, and if the gentiles continued in the goodness of God, how could they be broken off, and the natural branches grafted in again? The truth is that God works out His purpose through the failure of man, and reconciles His purpose thus with His ways. Those ways will result in the restoration of Israel according to His purpose. This should have a special voice to us in these days, because we are probably on the eve of the cutting off of the gentiles.
Verse 33. “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”. This answers the [p. 117] question of Israel in Isaiah 40: 27. The judicial dealings of God in these chapters are referred to in the term ‘judgments’, which eventuate in Israel coming in on the ground of mercy; then God’s “ways” are hidden, they are untraceable, but God works out His purpose through the failure of man in His own way, and according to His own will, and to His own praise. In Psalm 108, “O God, my heart is fixed”, we see the heart established by the purpose of God. His mercy is great above the heavens and His truth reacheth unto the clouds.
In verse 26 we see the purpose of God, that a Deliverer shall come out of Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. The way in which the apostle puts the case is remarkable; as regards the gospel, Israel are enemies, but, as touching the election, beloved for the fathers’ sake, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. They are enemies for the gentiles’ sake, and yet none the less beloved. This brings in the sovereignty of divine love: why should God love Jacob? There was nothing in him naturally for God, and yet it says, “Jacob have I loved”. There are two distinct thoughts in Scripture, the love of God and the purpose of His love. “God so loved the world”, that is the love of God towards the world, His nature, so to speak; then there is another thought, “The love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. There is the purpose of His love, and that brings in the thought of sovereignty; for love is sovereign, as J.N.D. used to say. John 3: 16 is the presentation of what God is in His nature, it is a different thought from “Jacob have I loved”, that is the love of purpose; so as regards us, “God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us”, that is undoubtedly the love of purpose. In His sovereignty God saw fit to set His love upon the fathers, and the nation in the future are loved for the fathers’ sakes, and therefore the salvation of Israel [p. 118] cannot fail. The enmity was in that they set themselves to slight the gentiles, and they are therein found to be diametrically opposed to God. It was on account of the gospel going out to the gentiles that they became enemies. The love of God to the world opens a door to all out of the world. But the gospel is at the same time the means by which God manifests the elect, and they are brought to light by life, the proof of which is that they love God. It is those who love God who are the called according to His purpose, and loving God is the response to the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us. It is beautiful to see that all through Scripture we get the thought of loving God; even in the law it was, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart”, and love is the real expression of life. Love to God and also to the brethren, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren”. Though we get the idea of life in the wilderness, as in the brazen serpent, yet the proper sphere of life is on the other side of Jordan. The sphere of divine affections does not belong to this side of Jordan, it belongs to where we have put off the old man and put on the new, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is everything and in all; there is not a rag left of the distinctions of the flesh there, and you have simply the sphere of divine affections; that is what is meant by having passed from death to life.
You hardly get the purpose of God in Romans, that is, the development of His purpose. In Colossians you get quickened together with Christ, making good His purpose to bring us into association with Christ. ‘In Him we stand a heavenly band’. The effect of this is that you are found in the christian circle, the scene and sphere of divine affections. The purpose of God is just touched upon in Romans 8, but you do [p. 119] not get association with Christ and what is connected with that. The Israelites who settled down in the land of Sihon and Og did not exhibit love for their brethren, they went over Jordan with them, but they did not continue with them; they lost, so to speak, the idea of the assembly. It is not until you are clear of the influences and proprieties of the world that you really enter into the christian circle. You cannot wholly break away from the externals of these while you are here, but very few have broken away from them in spirit so as to be able to say that they have come to a sphere where Christ is all and in all.
These chapters are really very wonderful, in the sense that God should take pains to reconcile before man ways apparently differing; first to justify Himself in regard of His righteousness, and then to open up the whole course of His dealings from the time of Abraham to show that He has let nothing go out of His hand. The epistle is full of divine principles, and it is not easy for poor things such as we are to grasp divine principles. Only think what the effect would be if they laid hold of us.
We see today the state of man after nearly two thousand years of christianity, but Scripture foretold that the gentiles would not continue in the goodness of God. You might see placarded in the streets, ‘Europe after two thousand years of christianity’; but they forget to say what man has made of christianity; it is rank infidelity which thus seeks to impugn christianity; but the comfort is that, after all, God’s purpose is carried out, and the lost piece of silver is found — the church is brought to light, and all Israel will be saved.