Romans

9:6-13

Arguments in support of the proposition, 1:18-11:36

4. God's true Israel consists of the children of promise, not the children of law, 9:1-11:36

ii] Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 9:6-29

a) The children of promise are the children of God

In chapters 9 to 11 sets out to explain "the place of Israel in God's purposes", Davies. In our passage for study Paul establishes his proposition (against the Roman nomists ["the weak"] who sought to identify with Israel and its institutions) that the children of promise are the children of God, not the children of the law. In fact, "the purpose of God never included the salvation of every Israelite. Salvation was never ethnic, by race, but always by grace throughout Israel's history", Dumbrell. Paul first establishes his proposition in v6, "not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel", Cassirer. He then goes on to develp his proposition from the life of Ishmael and Esau and their descendents, establishing that "God never made bodily descent the title to a place in his family", Hunter, v7-10, arguing that divine prerogative stands over lineage, or personal righteousness, v11-13.

In chapters 9-11, Paul's argument is advanced in a clearly defined literary unit with an introduction , 9:1-5, a propositional statement defining the issue at hand, 9:6, a three-staged developed argument, 9:7-11:32, and a conclusion, 11:33-36. In these three chapters Paul establishes that a remnant according to grace realizes the true Israel, 9:6-29, that national Israel's present condition of unbelief is due to its own pursuit of law-righteousness, 9:30-10:21, and that national/ethnic Israel's present state of unbelief does not annul God's promises, 11:1-32.

"Don't even suppose for a moment that God has reneged on his promises to Israel." The simple fact is "you cannot count all Israelites as the true Israel of God", Phillips. See the introductory notes in 9:1-5 on the point Paul is making in chapters 9-11. If he is arguing that the failure of Israel to appropriate the promised covenant blessings does not throw into question the blessings of justification outlined in 5:1-8:39, then 6a will serve as his central proposition. If, on the other hand, Paul is wanting to explain "the place of Israel in God's purposes" in order to establish that the children of promise, believers, are the rightful inheritors of the Abrahamic promises and that therefore the nomist believers in Rome are doing themselves a disservice when they align themselves with historic Israel and its institutions, then v6b will serve as Paul's central proposition.

ouc oiJon de oJti "it is not as though" - not however that. A combination of idioms; "it is not as if", Bauer.

oJ logoV tou qeou "God's word" - Paul often uses this phrase with reference to the gospel, but here surely with the more particular sense of "God's gracious purpose of election which has been declared in the bestowal on Israel of the privileges listed in verses 4 and 5", Cranfield, or better, "God's Old Testament word with particular reference to his promises to Israel", Moo. "The declared purpose of God", Sandy and Headlam.

ekpeptwken (piptw) perf. "had failed" - had fallen away from = had failed, come to naught, weakened. In the sense that God had failed to keep his promises. "It cannot be said that God broke his promise", CEV.

gar "for" - expressing cause/reason. Since "the truth of the matter being this", Cassirer.

oiJ ex "who are descended from" - the ones out of [Israel]. The preposition expressing origin. In the clause, v6b, the verb must be supplied, "are descended from", NIV, "sprung from", Knox, possibly "belongs to", Moffatt. The sense is "not all born Israelites belong to Israel", NJB, and certainly not "the people whom God has specifically chosen include more person's than simply the people of Israel", TH (ie. "Israel" = a "spiritual Israel" which includes Gentile Christians). God's dealings with Israel has always been with a "remnant" of Israel, a "true Israel", a "spiritual Israel", Moo. Abrahamic descent defines Israel, but "the salvation of every single Israelite was never the divine intention" since "the covenant promises of God .... always necessitated belief", Dumbrell. "Only some of the people of Israel are truly God's people", NCV.

Having stated, in v6, that the covenant "never applied to the whole of physical Israel", Morris, Paul goes on to establish, in v7-10, the simple truth that it is actually the children of promise who are the rightful inheritors of the covenant promises. A simple examination of Israel's history supports this contention. Both Ishmael and Esau and their descendents, although properly descendents of Abraham, stand outside God's covenant people; they are not Abraham's children according to promise. It is important to note that Paul is not arguing for the salvation, or otherwise, of these patriarchs, on the basis of the determined will of God. God covenanted (made promises to) both Ishmael and Esau and their descendents, and their eternal standing with God will depend on their faith response to these promises. Paul is using a salvation-history argument concerning God's determined preservation of the Abrahamic covenant through a God-ordained line, which, of its very nature, never included all the natural descendents of Abraham. For a contra view see Schreiner p496/7.

oJti "because" - Here explanatory.

sperma (a atoV) "[his] descendants" - seed [of Abraham]. "Seed" here is used of Abraham's descendents by physical descent, while "children" is used of his "children of promise."

tekna (on) "children" - Are they Abraham's children, as NIV, or God's children, as TEV, "neither are all Abraham's descendants the children of God"? Abraham's children seems best and is accepted by most commentators. Probably Paul intends the sense "Abraham's real children", Barclay, "Abraham's true children", REB, ie. those of Abraham's descendents who may rightly claim to be God's covenant people.

alla "on the contrary" - but. Strong adversative. "In point of fact scripture says", Barclay.

klhqhsetai (kalew) fut. pas. "will be reckoned" - will be called [to you]. The sense is either: i] meaning no more than "shall be" = "in Isaac you shall have your descendents", BAGD; ii] meaning "recognized as" = "it is thy descendants through Isaac that shall be called they seed", Cranfield; iii] meaning "appointed [by God]" = "through Isaac shall God call individuals to participate in the benefits of the covenant", Moo, cf. Dunn. It is likely that Paul intends the word in its Old Testament sense here, namely, "named / identified", ie. option [ii], rather than the sense of "an effective call that creates what is desired", Schreiner, ie. option [iii]. "It is through the line of Isaac's descendents that your name will be traced", REB.

touto estin "in other words" - that is. Explanatory of the quoted text.

ou ... tauta "[it is] not [the natural children]" - not these [the children of the flesh]. The neuter pronoun is interesting, possibly indicating that the comparison being made is not just between Isaac and Esau, and their descendents, expounding the quoted text (Gen.21:12), but between "the true Israel and all Israel", Jewett. This is true of v6b where the comparison is between the covenant people of God = all Israel and the covenant people of God, who through faith, are covenant compliant = remnant Israel / the children of promise. In support of this reality Paul demonstrates that even when it comes to the natural descendents of Abraham, some qualify as the people of Israel and others don't. That is, Paul's argument in v7-13 is more tactical than theological. "That is, it is not those who are simply physically Abraham's children", Barclay.

tekna tou qeou "who are God's children" - the children of God. That is, "the children of promise", the children of the covenant; "who automatically inherit the promise", Phillips.

alla "but" - Strong adversative.

ta tekna thV epaggeliaV "the children of promise" - God determined that the Abrahamic covenant applies to the child of promise, Isaac (the child "born as a result of God's promise to Abraham", Morris), and his seed (="children of promise"), rather than the child of human management, Ishmael, and his seed.

logizetai (logizomai) pres. pas. "who are regarded as" - are considered, reckoned, calculated (for a seed). God "regards" them as "Abraham's real descendents", Barclay. Paul likes this word and uses it freely in that it well describes the application of God's sovereign grace. "That are counted as the heirs", NJB.

gar "for" - for, because. Expressing cause/reason in support of v8. The descendents of Isaac are the children of promise because Isaac is a consequent result of the promise made to Abraham and Sarah by God.

epaggeliaV (a) "the promise" - [for] of promise [this word]. The position is emphatic, although "promise" (anarthrous - without the article) is properly the predicate ie., stating a truth about the subject, "word", so Sanday and Headlam against Barrett. The verb must be supplied. "A word of promise is this word", Cranfield.

kata + acc. "at [the appointed time]" - according to [this time]. The preposition here probably takes the sense "at", as NIV. The phrase in the LXX takes the sense "at this time next year", but here best left in the air; "in due season", REB.

eleusomai (ercomai) fut. "I will return" - I will come. Referring to God's coming upon Sarah to miraculously render her fertile for the fulfilment of the divine promise.

Esau also serves as an example of a true descendent of Abraham who stands apart from Israel.

ou monon de "not only that" - and not only. A transitional phrase in the argument, so, a new paragraph, as NIV. "And this is not all", TEV.

Rebekka "Rebecca's" - Rebecca. Possibly a nominative absolute, "take Rebecca for instance, her children had the same father ..."

ecousa (ecw) pres. part. "had" - having. The participle is possibly substantival, "Rebecca, the one having [children]", or adverbial, possibly temporal, "when Rebecca became pregnant by our father Isaac", Moffatt.

enoV koithV "one and the same father" - sexual intercourse, bed, sperm of one [man]. Moo argues that Paul is actually saying that Rebecca conceived twins from a single sexual act, a single delivery of sperm, so emphasizing the particularity of God's choice between Jacob and Esau. There was nothing between them, but God chose between them such that only one was a child of promise. "Also Rebecca, when she conceived children in one act of intercourse with Isaac", Moo.

In these next three verses Paul develops the issue of divine "election" in the choice of Isaac over Esau, an issue which will lead him to examine how this sits with the justice of God in v14ff. Verses 11 and 12 are a single sentence. Note how they are worked in the TEV. In the Gk., "the purpose [of God]" is the subject of the sentence and is modified by the adjectival phrase "according to election/selection", and has as its main verb "might remain" in a final (purpose) clause and its modifier "not of works but of the calling." The main verb is further modified by the adverbial clause "[ the twins (supplied)] not yet having been born nor doing anything good or bad it was said to her ......." All a touch complex! The theological issue of divine election that Paul now touches on, further address the problem of the seeming failure of the Abrahamic covenant. The reality is that God's "plan/purpose" is realized by divine "choice/election" and this is evidenced by a called out people (by "the one calling") within the seed of Abraham, a "true Israel" within "ethnic Israel" which is apart from race or virtue. The issue is one of constant debate, often focused on whether God's election is that of individuals to his remnant people Israel, or the election of Israel itself, or a remnant within Israel, the membership of which is by faith. So, what Paul may be proposing is: i] An election to salvation (that God's call was on the basis of predestination [single, or double], so Calvin, Hodge..), a view still argued by some, if not explicitly then certainly implicitly, cf. Schreiner, Luz, although those who argue that predestination rests on his knowledge of a future faith response (that God's call was on the basis of foreknowledge, so Chrysostom) forget that Paul is here making the point that God's "election/choice" is not in any way consequent on the actions of either Jacob or Esau; ii] A "new perspective" position which views God's election in the terms of Israel itself. "The children of Israel should recognize that their own selection as God's people was solely a matter of God's free choice, and that his purpose continues to unfold solely in terms of what God determines", Dunn; iii] A "salvation history" position, "it is election to privilege that is in mind, not eternal salvation", Morris; "the sovereign freedom of God in assigning priority", Mounce. It is likely that God's sovereign grace, his determined covenant mercy, is realized in the establishment and maintenance of a Godly line, a remnant, in which, again in God's sovereign grace, participation is by faith. Paul is affirming that "lineage cannot guarantee election; nor does election presuppose righteousness; but God's election is, rather, a free act of mercy", Throckmorton, Jr.

gar "-" - for. It is likely that the conjunction here is not expressing cause/reason, rather it is expressing a hesitation, introducing "a connection with an unexpressed thought in Paul's mind", Cranfield. In fact, Paul actually leaves the grammar of v10 incomplete in order to broach the subject of divine election.

mhpw "yet" - and yet.

gennhqentwn (gennaw) gen. aor. pas. part. "before (the twins) were born" - having been born. The participle is adverbial, possibly temporal, as NIV, since a genitive absolute is usually temporal, or concessive, "though the children were still unborn", Moffatt.

praxantwn (prassw) gen. aor. part. "had done [anything good or bad]" - practising, doing. The participle aligns with "having been born", so either temporal or concessive. As noted above, v7-13 serve to illustrate the truth that not all the children of Abraham are necessarily God's children, which point is easily established by examining the actual children of both Abraham and Isaac and noting that Ishmael and Esau stood outside the covenant family. Paul's comment here that inclusion in the covenant family is apart from good works reminds us that Paul has in mind his nomist readers ("the weak") whose alignment with Israel and its traditions (particularly the Sinai covenant - the law), in order to shape their Christian lives for the appropriation of God's promised covenant blessings, remains Paul's central concern. Covenant inclusion rests on the covenant faithfulness of God facilitated through faith (Christ's faithfulness, his atoning sacrifice, and our faith in his faithfulness).

iJna + subj. "in order that" - Forming a purpose clause, as NIV.

hJ proqesiV (iV ewV) "[God's] purpose [in election]" - [that] the purpose, the plan in advance [of God according to election might remain]. The "purpose" refers to God's "plan" to call a people to himself.

kata + acc. "in [election]" - according to [election]. God's plan to gather a people to himself is realized through his sovereign choice, both of a Godly line (remnant Israel) and of the method of inclusion, namely, faith. "God's purpose which is characterized by election", Cranfield.

ekloghn (h) "election" - election, choice. Referring to either the act of choosing, or to those who are chosen. Along with eklegomai, eklektoV, "choose", "one chosen", expressing sovereign choice. "In order that the divine purpose with its principle of free electing choice might be exhibited", Pilcher.

menh/ (menw) pres. subj. "might stand" - might remain, abide, continue to be, not fail, be accomplished. That God's purpose will remain, no matter what", Morris. "Might be permanently based", Barclay.

This clause modifies/qualifies the verb "might stand", v11. "That the divine purpose, with its free electing choice, might be permanently based ("might stand"), not on the merits of the persons concerned, but solely on the divine initiative. God's words to Rebecca make the point, 'the elder will serve the younger.'"

ouk ex ergwn (on) "not by works" - not of/from works. Either the result of a persons activity, or the activity itself, so, God's "choice/election" ("divine initiative", Morris) is not dependent on what we do, or the product of what we have done. The sense is probably general ("the choice of 'do' rather than 'work'" indicates that "conduct" is in mind, not "works of the law", Dunn), although Dumbrell holds that the Torah is in mind since Paul wants to establish that neither "pedigree or performance" achieves the "fulfillment of [the] divine purpose." "What God did in this case made it perfectly plain that his purpose is not a hit-or-miss thing dependent on what we do or don't do, but a sure thing determined by his decision, flowing steadily from his initiative", Peterson.

alla "but" - Strong adversative. The divine "purpose/plan" is realized through God's initiative and certainly not ours.

tou kalountoV (kalew) pres. part. "[by] him who calls" - [of, out of, from] the one calling. Participle as a substantive. The issue here is whether the sense of "call" is that of an "effective call", so "call" in the sense of "summons", or "call" in the sense of "invitation." At least we can say that "the divine call is that which gives effect to the divine election. It is the call to a positive relationship to God's gracious purpose", Cranfield.

erreqh outh/ "she was told" - Rather than "God said", the passive serves to avoid the use of the divine name.

oJti "-" - Here introducing a quote.

oJ meizwn comp. adj. "older" - the greater one. Adjective as a substantive. "The elder shall be the servant of the younger", Cassirer.

tw/ elassoni comp. adj. "younger" - worse.

Malachi 1:2-3. Best viewed as a summary text covering the issue of divine choice raised in v11-12. The corporate nature of the quote supports a new perspective position, although surely Paul is using the verse to support the divine prerogative in salvation history. Similarly, it is likely that the verse does not support the view that God chooses one group over another, or one individual over another, or believing Jews over the rest of Israel, so Sandy and Headlam, or that God loved Jacob more than Esau, Fitzmyer, or believers over unbelievers among Israel, Osborne. God chooses a people of promise, a Godly line, a remnant, and he chooses to include those in that remnant who rest in faith on his covenant promises. In the end, Christ is remnant Israel, and in union with him, in faith, the covenant promises are ours.

gegraptai (grafw) perf. pas. "it is written" - The perfect expressing a completed act with ongoing consequences, "was written and stands written today for us."

hgaphsa (agapaw) aor. "I loved" - The aorist is gnomic. A very strong word, so also "hate", although the Hebrew idiom is probably not as strong, possibly just expressing preference. "To Jacob I was drawn", Berkeley.

Romans Introduction.

lectionarystudies.com