Romans 11
Paul answers the purpose of Israel in God’s planverses 1-6
I say then – Has God cast away HIS people?
God forbid
For I am an Israelite – of the seed of Abraham
of the tribe of Benjamin
God has not cast away HIS people which HE foreknew
Wot you not what the scripture says of Elijah?
how he makes intercession to God against Israel
saying
Lord – they have killed YOUR prophets
digged down YOUR altars
and I am left alone – and they seek my life
BUT what say the answer of God to him?
I have reserved to MYSELF seven thousand men
who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant
according to the election of grace
and if by grace – then is it no more of works
otherwise grace is no more grace
but if be of works – then is it no more grace
otherwise work is no more work
God’s purpose at present is the blindness of Israelverses 7-10
What then? Israel has not obtained that which he seeks for
BUT the election has obtained it – and the rest were blinded
(according as it is written
God hath given them the spirit of slumber
eyes that they should not see
ears that they should not hear)
unto this day
And David said
Let their table be made a snare – trap – stumbling block
recompense to them
Let their eyes be darkened – that they may not see
and bow down their back always
Paul still knows some in Israel will be savedverses 11-15
I say then – Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid
but rather through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles
for to provoke them to jealousy
Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world
and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles
How much more their fullness?
FOR I speak to you Gentiles
inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles
I magnify mine office
If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh
and might save some of them
FOR if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world
what shall the receiving of them be – BUT life from the dead?
Paul uses illustration of grafting to olive tree [Israel]verses 16-18
OR if the firstfruit be holy – the lump is also holy
and if the root be holy – so are the branches
And if some of the branches be broken off – and you
being a wild olive tree were grafted in among them
and with them partakers of the
root and fatness of the olive tree
Boast not against the branches
BUT if you boast – you bear not the root
BUT the root you
Paul warns Gentiles not to think highly of their positionverses 19-24
You will say then
The branches were broken off – that I might be grafted in
Well – because of unbelief they were broken off
and you stand by FAITH
Be not high-minded – BUT fear
for if God spared not the natural branches
take heed lest HE also spare not you
BEHOLD therefore the goodness and severity of God
on them which fell – severity
but toward you – goodness
if you continue in HIS goodness
otherwise thou also shall be cut off
And they also – if they abide not still in unbelief – shall be grafted in
for God is able to graft them in again
FOR if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature
and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree
How much more shall these – which be the natural branches
be grafted into their own olive tree?
Fullness of the Gentile nowverses 25-32
FOR I would not – brethren – that you should be
ignorant of this mystery
lest you should be wise in your own conceits
that blindness in part is happened to Israel
UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles be come in
AND so all Israel shall be saved – as it is written
There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob
for this is MY covenant to them
when I shall take away their sins
As concerning the gospel – they are enemies for your sakes
but as touching the election
they are beloved for the fathers’ sake
For the gifts and calling of God
are without repentance
For as you in times past have not believed God
yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief
even so have these also now not believe
that through your mercy they
also may obtain mercy
For God has concluded them all in unbelief
that HE might have mercy upon all
Gentiles give glory to Godverses 33-36
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God
how unsearchable are HIS judgments
and HIS ways past finding out
For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been HIS counselor?
Or who has first given to HIM
and it shall be recompensed unto HIM again?
For of HIM – and through HIM – and to HIM are all things
to WHOM be glory for ever AMEN
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.
(4457 “blindness” [porosis] means stubbornness, dullness, obstinacy, a covering with a callous, stupidity, hardness, dulled perception, or obtrusiveness of mental discernment)
DEVOTION: Paul is talking with the Gentiles of Rome regarding the LORD’S dealing with the Israelites. He is emphasizing the fact that God has set them aside for a time period because of their stubbornness or hardness of heart regarding Jesus Christ.
He warns the Gentiles to think more highly of themselves because God has granted them a special place in HIS kingdom. They had been wild and yet God has grafted them into the tree of faith that was established in Abraham. He informs them that God can also take them out. God can also re-graft the children of Israel back into the tree of faith. Paul tells them that this will happen when the fullness of the Gentiles is complete.
God has caused the Israelites or Jews to not understand HIS plan for this age. It is a mystery to them. They are ignorant and their senses of Biblical truth are dulled. The Israelites were waiting for a Messiah that was going to deliver them from the Romans. Their Messiah was going to be a ruling king. They continue to think that good works will get them into a relationship with God. They didn’t understand Isaiah 53. The Messiah was going to come first to suffer and then on HIS return HE was going to be the King of the World.
Many have followed their example by thinking that good works will get them into heaven. Paul taught that only through faith could anyone please God. The Gentiles were willing to accept Paul’s message by faith.
We are in the time of the Gentiles. The time of the Gentiles is going to one day be completed. When that day is complete the judgment of God will come on this world. It will be called the Tribulation time period. Many believe that there will be a Rapture of those who are believers just before this time period begins.
We don’t have the same excuse as the Israelites. We need to get the message out to all those in our world. There will never be peace in Israel in our lifetime. The Bible is plain. Our time is short. The mystery is going to come to a close soon.
CHALLENGE: Are we prepared for the end of this age? Do we feel the excitement of going to be with Jesus? Are we ready? What more can we do to hasten the return of the LORD?
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (419 “unsearchable” [anexereunetos] means unfathomable, impossible to understand, or inscrutable)
DEVOTION: We sometimes have a low view of how great our God is in all HIS works. We bring God down to our level of thinking many times. We sometimes get confused because we can call Jesus our “friend.” We sometimes think that HE is our servant rather than the other way around.
There are people who study the Bible for a living and think that they have a handle on all of the attributes of God. They can think that they have God in a box and HE can never surprise them. This is wrong thinking.
This verse ends with a statement that HIS ways are past finding out. We can never put HIM in a box. HE never fits. HE is too big and our thinking is too small.
There is so much depth to HIS wisdom. There is so much depth to knowing about God as a person. We sometimes think we know how HE should judge those around us. We understand very little of what to expect from HIM because HE can the unexpected do.
Paul is dealing with the fact that God offered Israel salvation through Christ first but they rejected the offer. God then sent Paul to the Gentiles because of this rejection. HE put Israel aside for a while and reached out to the Gentiles. It seems that more Gentiles were going to be saved under the ministry of Paul then Jews. That was God’s plan.
Paul warned that the Gentiles should not be filled with pride because God can go back to saving the Jews. They were to be thankful for the privilege of salvation. They needed to learn more truth about the only true God of the universe.
CHALLENGE: We need to think the same thoughts. Our pride can get in the way of learning more about God. Don’t let that happen!! We never arrive at a full knowledge of God until we get to heaven.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 34 For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been HIS counsellor. (4825 “sumboulos] means adviser, a person who proposes course of action for another, giver of advice, or consultor)
DEVOTION: Paul under the ministry of the Holy Spirit quoted these verses from the book of Job. Remember that Job was a man who lived at the time period of Abraham who was tested of God. He lost his family and his wealth because of a challenge that Satan gave the LORD. He was an upright man.
This upright or just man who honored God had three “friends” who came while he was going through his testing and blamed him for sin. He defended himself against their accusation. That is why I put “friends” in quotes. They were not very good friends who were not there to encourage him but to discourage him. All of us have “friends” like these at times in our lives.
We sometimes think that we can know the thoughts of the LORD in a given situation. We think we know the will of God. This is true at some times but not always. We have to continually pray for wisdom from above concerning what we are presently going through because at times HE takes HIS time revealing to us the reason for the test we are going through. We are not to be prideful during these times.
One of the temptations during our times of testing or the times of testing of others that we want to give God advice regarding how HE should handle a situation. This is also prideful. Our attitude should be one of learning and waiting for the lesson from the LORD.
CHALLENGE: The Holy Spirit will reveal what we are supposed to learn in any given testing time. We need to wait on HIM!!!
: 35 Or who has first given to HIM, and it shall be recompensed to him again? (467 “recompensed” [antapodidomi] means repay, render, requite, to be or become repaid for something, pay back, or to reimburse)
DEVOTION: One of the tests we face every day is our thinking that we are doing so much for God that HE owes us. We bring things to HIS attention that we have done in the past or are presently doing and think we deserve a reward for all the good we are doing for HIS kingdom.
Our attitude needs to be one of submission to the LORD in every situation and continue to work as if HE owes us nothing because that is the fact. If HE gave us what we desire we would be spending eternity in the lake of fire.
One author wrote: “God can send us to prison for the rest of lives for a crime we did not commit and still be fair.” We might not like this statement regarding the holiness of God but it is true.
We can never paid God back for the salvation HE has provided through Jesus Christ. We were given a gift called salvation. If we received no other gift, besides the gift of salvation, in our lifetime than that would be enough. However, HE does give more gifts because of HIS love and not because HE owes us anything.
CHALLENGE: We need to be a thankful people who appreciate every gift HE gives us each day.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Elijah made intercessionverses 2, 3
God answered prayerverse 4
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Scriptureverse 2
Elijahverse 2
As it is writtenverses 8, 26
Gospelverse 28
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 21-23, 29, 30, 32
Foreknowledge of Godverse 2
Lordverses 3, 34
Answer of Godverse 4
Goodness and severity of Godverse 22
God is able to graft Israel in againverse 23
Gifs and calling of Godverse 29
Without repentanceverse 29
Wisdom and knowledge of Godverse 33
Unsearchable are HIS judgmentsverse 33
HIS ways past finding outverse 33
Mind the LORDverse 34
No counsellorverse 34
All things belong to Godverse 36
Glory belongs to God aloneverse 36
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Deliververse 36
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
God forbidverses 1, 11
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Gentilesverses 11-13, 25
Worldverse 15
Wild olive treeverse 17
Partaker of the root and fatness of olive treeverse 17
Fullness of Gentilesverse 25
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Killed the prophetsverse 3
Cast down God’s altarsverse 3
Seek Elijah’s lifeverse 3
Image of false god [Baal]verse 4
Trust in worksverse 6
Boastverse 18
Unbeliefverses 20, 23, 30, 32
High-mindedverse 20
Ignorantverse 25
Wise in thine own conceitsverse 25
Blindnessverse 25
Ungodlinessverse 26
Sinsverse 27
Enemies of the gospelverse 28
Not believedverse 31
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Foreknownverse 2
Not bowed down to false godverse 4
Remnantverse 5
Electionverses 5, 7, 28
Graceverses 5, 6
Election of graceverse 5
Salvationverse 11
Saveverses 14, 26
Reconcilingverse 15
Holyverse 16
Faithverse 20
Fear of the LORDverse 20
Goodness of Godverse 22
Gospelverse 28
Belovedverse 28
Giftsverse 29
Calling of Godverse 29
Repentanceverse 29
Believedverses 30, 31
Mercyverses 30-32
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
His peopleverses 1, 2
Israeliteverse 1
Seed of Adamverse 1
Tribe of Benjaminverse 1
Elijah made intercessionverse 2
Israelverses 2, 7, 25, 26
Prophetsverse 3
Blindedverses 7, 25
Spirit of slumberverse 8
Eyes that not seeverses 8, 10
Ears that don’t hearverse 8
Davidverse 9
Table a snare – trap – stumbling blockverse 9
Provoked to jealousyverse 11
Flesh of Paulverse 14
Olive treeverse 17
Israel root of olive treeverses 17, 18
Natural branchesverse 21
Severity of godverse 22
Unbeliefverses 23, 30
Graft in againverse 23
Natural branchesverse 24
Sion (Jerusalem)verse 25
Jacobverse 26
Covenantverse 27
Take away their sinsverse 27
Church(New Testament people of God)
Paul an apostle to Gentilesverse 13
Officeverse 13
Provoke to emulationverse 14
Save some Jewsverse 14
Take heedverse 21
Brethenverse 25
Mysteryverse 25
Gospelverse 28
Give glory to Godverse 36
Last Things (Future Events)
Cut offverse 22
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QUOTES regarding passage
In view of the assurance generated by v. 32, it is no wonder that Paul, despite his burden for the Israel of his day, is able to lift his heart in adoring praise to God. We are reminded of Isaiah 55, where the ungodly and sinful man is urged to return to the Lord and find mercy, for God’s thoughts and ways are not those of men but are infinitely higher and better. Instead of being vindictive, God is gracious. His plans defy the penetration of the human mind and his ways surpass the ability of man to trace them out. The Lord has not been obliged to lean upon another for advice (v. 34). He has not had to depend on human assistance that would make him indebted to men (v. 35). He is the source, the means, and the goal of all things (v. 36).
While this exalted and moving ascription of praise has in view God’s plans and operations in the history of salvation affecting the great segments of mankind, Jew and Gentile, the closing verse applies also to the individual life that pleases God. For that life has its source in God, lives by his resources, and returns to him when its course has been run. To God be the glory! (Harrison, E. F. (1976). Romans. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, pp. 125–126). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
O the depth (Ὀ βαθος [O bathos]). Exclamation with omega and the nominative case of βαθος [bathos] (see on 2 Cor. 8:2; Rom. 8:39). Paul’s argument concerning God’s elective grace and goodness has carried him to the heights and now he pauses on the edge of the precipice as he contemplates God’s wisdom and knowledge, fully conscious of his inability to sound the bottom with the plummet of human reason and words. Unsearchable (ἀνεξεραυνητα [anexeraunēta]). Double compound (α [a] privative and ἐξ [ex]) verbal adjective of ἐρευναω [ereunaō] (old spelling -ευ- [-eu-]), late and rare word (LXX, Dio Cassius, Heraclitus), only here in N. T. Some of God’s wisdom can be known (1:20f.), but not all. Past tracing out (ἀνεξιχνιαστοι [anexichniastoi]). Another verbal adjective from α [a] privative and ἐξιχνιαζω [exichniazō], to trace out by tracks (ἰχνος [ichnos] Rom. 4:12). Late word in Job (5:9; 9:10; 34:24) from which use Paul obtained it here and Eph. 3:8 (only N. T. examples). Also in ecclesiastical writers. Some of God’s tracks he has left plain to us, but others are beyond us. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Ro 11:33). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
11:33–36. As Paul ended his discussion on the revelation of God’s righteousness in His sovereign choice, he burst forth in a doxology of praise to God. He exclaimed, Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! The plan of God for the salvation of all people demonstrates God’s infinite knowledge and His ability to use it wisely. God has revealed some of His judgments and His paths (“ways”) so that people may know them, but it is humanly impossible to exhaust them. Beyond tracing out translates the one word anexichniastoi, which means “incapable of being traced by footprints.” In Ephesians 3:8, its only other use in the New Testament, it is rendered “unsearchable” and refers to the riches of Christ.
The apostle then quoted Isaiah 40:13, which shows that God is the sole Designer of His wise plan. No one knows His mind or gives Him advice. This is followed by a free quotation from Job 41:11, which testifies to God’s sole responsibility for His acts. God is indeed the Sovereign of all things, the One to whom all creatures are accountable and whom all should glorify. He is under no obligation to repay anyone, for no one has ever given Him anything. Paul concluded, For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. God is the first Cause, the effective Cause, and the final Cause of everything. His deep ways are beyond man’s discovering (Rom. 11:33); beyond man’s knowing (v. 34a), beyond man’s counseling (v. 34b), and beyond man’s giving (v. 35). “All things” come from Him and by means of Him (John 1:3; Col. 1:16a; Rev. 4:11) and are for Him and His glory (Col. 1:16b). Therefore, To Him be the glory forever! Amen (cf. Rom. 15:6; 16:27; 1 Peter 4:11; Rev. 5:12–13). God is the only proper One to magnify (1 Cor. 1:31). The all-sovereign God deserves the praise of all His creatures. (Witmer, J. A. (1985). Romans. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 486–487). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
God’s wisdom (vv. 33–36). Having contemplated God’s great plan of salvation for Jews and Gentiles, all Paul could do was sing a hymn of praise. As someone has remarked, “Theology becomes doxology!” Only a God as wise as our God could take the fall of Israel and turn it into salvation for the world! His plans will not be aborted nor will His purposes lack fulfillment. No human being can fully know the mind of the Lord; and the more we study His ways, the more we offer Him praise. Are we to conclude that God does not know what He is doing, and that the nation of Israel completely ruined His plans? Of course not! God is too wise to make plans that will not be fulfilled. Israel did not allow Him to rule, so He overruled!
Paul summoned five witnesses, and they all agreed: there is a future for Israel. When Israel recovers from her “fall” and enters into her “fullness,” the world will experience the riches of God’s grace as never before. When Jesus Christ returns and sits on David’s throne to reign over His kingdom, then Israel will be “reconciled” and “received,” and it will be like a resurrection! (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 553). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
11:33 wisdom. See Ps 104:24; Da 2:20; Eph 3:10; Rev 7:12. knowledge. God’s omniscience (cf. 1Sa 2:3; 1Ki 8:39; Pss 44:21; 147:5). judgments. God’s purposes or decrees, which are beyond human understanding (cf. Ps 36:6). ways. The methods God chooses to accomplish His purposes (cf. Job 5:9; 9:10; 26:14). (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Ro 11:33). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
Ver. 33. O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! &c.] These words are the epilogue, or conclusion of the doctrinal part of this epistle, and relate to what is said throughout the whole of it hitherto; particularly to the doctrines of salvation by Christ, justification by his righteousness, predestination, the calling of the Gentiles, the rejection of the Jews, and their restoration in the latter day; upon the whole of which, the apostle breaks forth into this pathetic exclamation; the design of which is to shew, how much of the wisdom and knowledge of God is displayed in these doctrines, and how small a part of it is known by the best of men, and therefore ought not to be cavilled at and objected to, because of some difficulties attending them, but to be received upon the testimony of divine revelation: and if there was a depth in these things unsearchable and past finding out by so great a man as the apostle, who had by revelation such knowledge in the mysteries of grace, and who had been caught up into the third heaven, and heard things unutterable, how much less is it to be fathomed by others, and therefore should be silent: by the wisdom and knowledge of God, one and the same thing is meant; and design not so much the perfections of the divine nature, which are infinite and unsearchable, the understanding of which is too high for creatures, and not be attained to by them; nor the display of them in the works of creation and providence, in which there are most glorious and amazing instances; but rather the effects of them, the counsels and decrees of God; which are so wisely formed and laid, as not to fail of their accomplishment, or to be frustrated of their end; and the doctrines of grace relating to them, in which are treasures, riches, that is, an abundance of wisdom and knowledge; and a depth, not to be reached to the bottom of, in this imperfect state, and in which the knowledge and wisdom of God are wonderfully displayed: thus in the doctrine of redemption and salvation by Christ, wherein God has abounded in all wisdom and prudence; in the person fixed upon to be the Saviour, his own son; who by the assumption of human nature, being God and man in one person, was very fit and proper to be a Mediator between God and man, to transact the affair of salvation; was every way qualified for it, and able to do it: so likewise in the manner in which it is accomplished, being done in a way which glorifies all the divine perfections; in which the rights of God’s justice and the honour of his holiness are secured, as well as his love, grace, and mercy, displayed; in which Satan is most mortified, sin condemned, and the sinner saved; and also in the persons, the subjects of it, ungodly sinners, enemies, the chief of sinners, whereby the grace of God is the more illustrated, and all boasting in the creature excluded. The wisdom of God manifestly appears, in the doctrine of a sinner’s justification; which though it proceeds from grace, yet upon the foot of redemption and satisfaction, in a way of strict justice; so that God is just, whilst he is the justifier; it is of persons ungodly, and without a righteousness in themselves, and yet by a perfect and complete righteousness, answerable to all the demands of law and justice; and the grace of faith is wisely made the recipient of this blessing, that it might appear to be of free grace, and not of works, and that the justified ones might have solid peace, joy, and comfort, from it. The doctrine of predestination is full of the wisdom and knowledge of God; his choice of some to everlasting life in his son, through sanctification of the spirit, and belief of the truth, tor the glorifying of his grace and mercy, in a way of righteousness; and his passing by others, leaving them to themselves, and in their sins, justly to perish for them, for the glorifying of his justice, are acts of tue highest wisdom, and done according to the counsel of his will. The account just given of the call of the Gentiles, and the rejection of the Jews, is an astonishing scheme of infinite wisdom; that, on the one hand salvation should come to the Gentiles, through the fall of the Jews, and they should obtain mercy through their unbelief; and on the other hand that the restoration of the Jews should be as life from the dead to the Gentiles; and the Jews, through their mercy, obtain mercy; and that both, in their turns, should be shut up in unbelief by God, that he might have mercy on them all, O the depth, &c. To which is added, how unsearchable are his judgments! which are not to be understood of his awful judgments on wicked men in particular, nor of the administrations of his providence in general; though these are a great deep, and in many instances are unsearchable, and can’t be accounted for in the present state, but will hereafter be made manifest; nor of the commands of God, sometimes called his judgments, which are all plain, and may be easily searched out in his word; but rather of the counsels and purposes of God, and the doctrines of grace relating thereunto; which are the deep things of God, and are only searched out by the spirit of God, who reveals them to us: and his ways past finding out! not the methods and course of his providence, though his way in this respect is often in the deep, his footsteps are not to be known, discerned, and traced, by finite creatures; but rather the goings forth and steps of his wisdom from everlasting, in his purposes and decrees, council and covenant, which are higher than the ways of men, even as the heavens are higher than the earth; and which are all mercy and truth to his chosen people, and strict justice to others, and not to be found out by any; particularly his ways and methods, and dealings, with both Jews and Gentiles; that he should for so many hundred years leave the Gentiles in blindness and unbelief: and now for as many years his favourite people the Jews in the same, and yet gather in his elect out of them both; these are things out of our reach and comprehension. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 541). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
FROM MY READING:
A VITAL UNION
And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. John 1:16
We are joined to Christ in a union with Him by means of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. It is a vital union because our spiritual life is drawn directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. We are sustained by Him through the indwelling Holy Spirit. There is nothing more important in the Christian life than to realize that our union with Christ is a vital one. It is a living thing. It is not something mechanical or conceptual; it is not a thought or an idea; it is really a vital, spiritual union.
“And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:16). That says it all. That is our relationship to Him, says John; something of His fullness and of His life is passing into us, and we are receiving it.
The trouble with all of us is that we do not realize the truth of these things. But this is the truth given by the Lord Himself. It is His prayer for His people that they may know the meaning of this vital, spiritual relationship. And He does not hesitate to compare it with the relationship that subsists between the Father and Himself: As the Father is in Him, so He is in us, and we are in Him. But consider the statement of this truth that is made by the apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” There is nothing greater than that, and what it does teach is that this is a life-giving relationship; it is a union of life. “Not I, but Christ liveth in me.” And then Paul goes on to say, “And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
A Thought to Ponder: Our union with Christ is a vital, spiritual union.
(From God the Holy Spirit, pp. 108-109, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Genesis 40
Joseph is confined in prison.
INSIGHT
Joseph is one of the finest examples in the Bible of faithfulness in the face of tribulation. Wherever he was, Joseph lived for the glory of God. He demonstrated that he could be trusted in the tough times, thereby making himself eligible for God to use him in other settings. Joseph was faithful over small things, so God was able to set him over large things. Most of our failures come with the small things. It rarely occurs to us that the challenge of the moment is to demonstrate ourselves faithful at that point. Then — and only then — will we be trusted in the greater things. Joseph is a good reminder.
(Quiet Walk)
Thoughts of the Heart
“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6)
These two verses, describing the incurable wickedness of the antediluvian world that finally brought on the global Flood, contain the first two of over a thousand occurrences of the word “heart” in the Bible. Note the contrast: man’s heart was evil; God’s heart was grieved.
Both the Hebrew and Greek languages treated the heart as the center of a person’s being, the seat of all feelings and thoughts, and we do the same in English. The writers knew that the heart was a physical organ, with its function of circulating the blood as basic to physical life. Leviticus 17:11, among other Scriptures, notes that “the life of the flesh is in the blood,” but only rarely was the word used thus in Scripture. Nearly always the word is used symbolically in reference to the deep essence of a person’s being. It is also used occasionally to refer to the innermost part of physical objects (e.g., “the heart of the earth,” as in Matthew 12:40).
In this first occurrence, it refers to the “thoughts” of the heart. Somehow, before one thinks with his mind, he thinks with his heart, and these deep, unspoken thoughts will determine the way he reasons with his brain. Jesus confirmed this in Mark 7:21: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts.”
How important it is, then, to maintain a heart that is pure. In fact, in sharp contrast to the first occurrence of “heart” in the Old Testament referring to man’s evil thoughts, the first occurrence in the New Testament is in the gracious promise of Christ: “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
There are four principles we need to maintain:
First, read the Word of God,
Second, consume the Word of God until it consumes you.
Third believe the Word of God
Fourth, act on the Word (Smith Wigglesworth)
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