Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Boasting » Spiritual
Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" read more.
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel. And to preach it with no fine rhetoric, lest the cross of Christ should lose its power! Those who are doomed to perish find the story of the cross 'sheer folly,' but it means the power of God for those whom he saves. It is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the sages, I will confound the insight of the wise. read more.
Sage, scribe, critic of this world, where are they all? Has not God stultified the wisdom of the world? For when the world with all its wisdom failed to know God in his wisdom, God resolved to save believers by the 'sheer folly' of the Christian message. Jews demand miracles and Greeks want wisdom, but our message is Christ the crucified ??a stumbling-block to the Jews, 'sheer folly' to the Gentiles, but for those who are called, whether Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the 'foolishness' of God is wiser than men, and the 'weakness' of God is stronger than men. Why, look at your own ranks, my brothers; not many wise men (that is, judged by human standards), not many leading men, not many of good birth, have been called! No, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame what is strong; God has chosen what is mean and despised in the world ??things which are not, to put down things that are; that no person may boast in the sight of God. This is the God to whom you owe your being in Christ Jesus, whom God has made our 'Wisdom,' that is, our righteousness and consecration and redemption; so that, as it is written, let him who boasts boast of the Lord.
Sage, scribe, critic of this world, where are they all? Has not God stultified the wisdom of the world? For when the world with all its wisdom failed to know God in his wisdom, God resolved to save believers by the 'sheer folly' of the Christian message. Jews demand miracles and Greeks want wisdom, but our message is Christ the crucified ??a stumbling-block to the Jews, 'sheer folly' to the Gentiles, but for those who are called, whether Jews or Greeks, a Christ who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the 'foolishness' of God is wiser than men, and the 'weakness' of God is stronger than men. Why, look at your own ranks, my brothers; not many wise men (that is, judged by human standards), not many leading men, not many of good birth, have been called! No, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame what is strong; God has chosen what is mean and despised in the world ??things which are not, to put down things that are; that no person may boast in the sight of God. This is the God to whom you owe your being in Christ Jesus, whom God has made our 'Wisdom,' that is, our righteousness and consecration and redemption; so that, as it is written, let him who boasts boast of the Lord.
Now I have applied what has been said above to myself and Apollos, to teach you ... that you are not to be puffed up with rivalry over one teacher as against another. Who singles you out, my brother? What do you possess that has not been given you? And if it was given you, why do you boast as if it had been gained, not given?
I do not venture to class myself or to compare myself with certain exalted individuals! They belong to the class of self-praisers; while I limit myself to my own sphere, I compare myself with my own standard, and so my boasting never goes beyond the limit ??it is determined by the limits of the sphere marked out for me by God. That sphere stretches to include yourselves; I am not overstepping the limit, as if you lay beyond my sphere; I was the very first to reach you with the gospel of Christ. read more.
I do not boast beyond my limits in a sphere where other men have done the work; my hope rather is that the growth of your faith will allow me to enlarge the range of my appointed sphere and preach the gospel in the lands that lie beyond you, instead of boasting within another's province over work that is already done. However, let him who boasts boast of the Lord; for it is not the self-praiser with his own recommendations who is accepted, it is the man whom the Lord recommends.
I do not boast beyond my limits in a sphere where other men have done the work; my hope rather is that the growth of your faith will allow me to enlarge the range of my appointed sphere and preach the gospel in the lands that lie beyond you, instead of boasting within another's province over work that is already done. However, let him who boasts boast of the Lord; for it is not the self-praiser with his own recommendations who is accepted, it is the man whom the Lord recommends.
For it is by grace you have been saved, as you had faith; it is not your doing but God's gift, not the outcome of what you have done ??lest anyone should pride himself on that;
Faith » By it saints » Stand
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted.
Verse Concepts
(Not that we lord it over your faith ??no, we co-operate for your joy: you have a standing of your own in the faith.)
Verse Concepts
Gentiles/heathen » Salvation coming to the gentiles
The apostles and the presbyters met to investigate this question, and a keen controversy sprang up; but Peter rose and said to them, "Brothers, you are well aware that from the earliest days God chose that of you all I should be the one by whom the Gentiles were to hear the word of the gospel and believe it. The God who reads the hearts of all attested this by giving them the holy Spirit just as he gave it to us; read more.
in cleansing their hearts by faith he made not the slightest distinction between us and them. Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? No, it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe and are saved, in the same way as they are."
in cleansing their hearts by faith he made not the slightest distinction between us and them. Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? No, it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe and are saved, in the same way as they are."
As they could not agree among themselves, they were turning to go away, when Paul added this one word: "It was an apt word that the holy Spirit spoke by the prophet Isaiah to your fathers, when he said, Go and tell this people, 'You will hear and hear but never understand, you will see and see but never perceive.' For the heart at this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy at hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them. read more.
Be sure of this, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen to it."
Be sure of this, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen to it."
What are we to conclude, then? That Gentiles who never aimed at righteousness have attained righteousness, that is, righteousness by faith; whereas Israel who did aim at the law of righteousness have failed to reach that law. And why? Simply because Israel has relied not on faith but on what they could do. They have stumbled over the stone that makes men stumble ??33 as it is written, Here I lay a stone in Sion that will make men stumble, even a rock to trip them up; but he who believes in Him will never be disappointed.
Then, I ask, has God repudiated his People? Never! Why, I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin! God has not repudiated his People, his predestined People! Surely you know what scripture says in the passage called 'Elijah'? You know how he pleads with God against Israel: Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have demolished thine altars; I alone am left, and they seek my life. read more.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Why, it is as with Abraham, he had faith in God and that was counted to him as righteousness. Well then, you see that the real sons of Abraham are those who rely on faith. Besides, Scripture anticipated God's justification of the Gentiles by faith when it announced the gospel beforehand to Abraham in these terms: All nations shall be blessed in thee. read more.
So that those who rely on faith are blessed along with believing Abraham. Whereas a curse rests on all who rely upon obedience to the Law; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not hold by all that is written in the book of the law, to perform it. And because no one is justified on the score of the Law before God (plainly, the just shall live by faith, ??12 and the Law is not based on faith: no, he who performs these things shall live by them), Christ ransomed us from the curse of the Law by becoming accursed for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a gibbet), that the blessing of Abraham might reach the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
So that those who rely on faith are blessed along with believing Abraham. Whereas a curse rests on all who rely upon obedience to the Law; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not hold by all that is written in the book of the law, to perform it. And because no one is justified on the score of the Law before God (plainly, the just shall live by faith, ??12 and the Law is not based on faith: no, he who performs these things shall live by them), Christ ransomed us from the curse of the Law by becoming accursed for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a gibbet), that the blessing of Abraham might reach the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
Humility » Encouraged
You younger men must also submit to the presbyters. Indeed you must all put on the apron of humility to serve one another, for the haughty God opposes, but to the humble he gives grace.
Verse Concepts
Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus.
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No, when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when your host comes in he will tell you, 'Move higher up, my friend.' Then you will be honoured before your fellow guests.
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In virtue of my office, I tell everyone of your number who is self-important, that he is not to think more of himself than he ought to think; he must take a sane view of himself, corresponding to the degree of faith which God has assigned to each.
Verse Concepts
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted.
Verse Concepts
humble yourselves before the Lord, and then he will raise you up.
Verse Concepts
not so with you. He who is greatest among you must be like the youngest, and he who is chief like a servant.
Verse Concepts
Israel/jews » The salvation of israel
Then, I ask, has God repudiated his People? Never! Why, I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin! God has not repudiated his People, his predestined People! Surely you know what scripture says in the passage called 'Elijah'? You know how he pleads with God against Israel: Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have demolished thine altars; I alone am left, and they seek my life. read more.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Jews, the » Cast off for unbelief
Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem,
Verse Concepts
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted.
Verse Concepts
Jews, the » Punished for » Unbelief
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted.
Verse Concepts
Olive » Figurative » The wild, a figure of the gentiles; the cultivated, of the jews
For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive?
Verse Concepts
Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" read more.
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Punishment of the The Wicked » On account of their » Unbelief
And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his Rest? To whom but those who disobeyed?
Verse Concepts
he who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who will not believe shall be condemned.
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Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted.
Verse Concepts
For we have had the good news as well as they; only, the message they heard was of no use to them, because it did not meet with faith in the hearers.
Verse Concepts
Salvation » Salvation coming to the gentiles
The apostles and the presbyters met to investigate this question, and a keen controversy sprang up; but Peter rose and said to them, "Brothers, you are well aware that from the earliest days God chose that of you all I should be the one by whom the Gentiles were to hear the word of the gospel and believe it. The God who reads the hearts of all attested this by giving them the holy Spirit just as he gave it to us; read more.
in cleansing their hearts by faith he made not the slightest distinction between us and them. Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? No, it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe and are saved, in the same way as they are."
in cleansing their hearts by faith he made not the slightest distinction between us and them. Well now, why are you trying to impose a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? No, it is by the grace of the Lord Jesus that we believe and are saved, in the same way as they are."
As they could not agree among themselves, they were turning to go away, when Paul added this one word: "It was an apt word that the holy Spirit spoke by the prophet Isaiah to your fathers, when he said, Go and tell this people, 'You will hear and hear but never understand, you will see and see but never perceive.' For the heart at this people is obtuse, their ears are heavy at hearing, their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they understand with their heart and turn again, and I cure them. read more.
Be sure of this, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen to it."
Be sure of this, then, that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen to it."
What are we to conclude, then? That Gentiles who never aimed at righteousness have attained righteousness, that is, righteousness by faith; whereas Israel who did aim at the law of righteousness have failed to reach that law. And why? Simply because Israel has relied not on faith but on what they could do. They have stumbled over the stone that makes men stumble ??33 as it is written, Here I lay a stone in Sion that will make men stumble, even a rock to trip them up; but he who believes in Him will never be disappointed.
Then, I ask, has God repudiated his People? Never! Why, I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin! God has not repudiated his People, his predestined People! Surely you know what scripture says in the passage called 'Elijah'? You know how he pleads with God against Israel: Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have demolished thine altars; I alone am left, and they seek my life. read more.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Why, it is as with Abraham, he had faith in God and that was counted to him as righteousness. Well then, you see that the real sons of Abraham are those who rely on faith. Besides, Scripture anticipated God's justification of the Gentiles by faith when it announced the gospel beforehand to Abraham in these terms: All nations shall be blessed in thee. read more.
So that those who rely on faith are blessed along with believing Abraham. Whereas a curse rests on all who rely upon obedience to the Law; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not hold by all that is written in the book of the law, to perform it. And because no one is justified on the score of the Law before God (plainly, the just shall live by faith, ??12 and the Law is not based on faith: no, he who performs these things shall live by them), Christ ransomed us from the curse of the Law by becoming accursed for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a gibbet), that the blessing of Abraham might reach the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
So that those who rely on faith are blessed along with believing Abraham. Whereas a curse rests on all who rely upon obedience to the Law; for it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not hold by all that is written in the book of the law, to perform it. And because no one is justified on the score of the Law before God (plainly, the just shall live by faith, ??12 and the Law is not based on faith: no, he who performs these things shall live by them), Christ ransomed us from the curse of the Law by becoming accursed for us (for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a gibbet), that the blessing of Abraham might reach the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promised Spirit.
Salvation » The salvation of israel
Then, I ask, has God repudiated his People? Never! Why, I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin! God has not repudiated his People, his predestined People! Surely you know what scripture says in the passage called 'Elijah'? You know how he pleads with God against Israel: Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have demolished thine altars; I alone am left, and they seek my life. read more.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Yet what is the divine answer? I have left myself seven thousand men who have not knelt to Baal. Well, at the present day there is also a remnant, selected by grace. Selected by grace, and therefore not for anything they have done; otherwise grace would cease to be grace. Now what are we to infer from this? That Israel has failed to secure the object of its quest; the elect have secured it, and the rest have been rendered insensible to it ??8 as it is written, God has given them a spirit of torpor, eyes that see not, ears that hear not ??down to this very day. And David says, Let their table prove a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; let their eyes be darkened, that they cannot see, bow down their backs for ever. Now I ask, have they stumbled to their ruin? Never! The truth is, that by their lapse salvation has passed to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. Well, if their lapse has enriched the world, if their defection is the gain of the Gentiles, what will it mean when they all come in? I tell you this, you Gentiles, that as an apostle to the Gentiles I lay great stress on my office, in the hope of being able to make my fellow-Jews jealous and of managing thus to save some of them. For if their exclusion means that the world is reconciled to God, what will their admission mean? Why, it will be life from the dead! If the first handful of dough is consecrated, so is the rest of the lump; if the root is consecrated, so are the branches. Supposing some of the branches have been broken off, while you have been grafted in like a shoot of wild olive to share the rich growth of the olive-stem, do not pride yourself at the expense of these branches. Remember, in your pride, the stem supports you, not you the stem. You will say, "But branches were broken off to let me be grafted in!" Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider both the kindness and the severity of God; those who fall come under his severity, but you come under the divine kindness, provided you adhere to that kindness. Otherwise, you will be cut away too. And even the others will be grafted in, if they do not adhere to their unbelief; God can graft them in again. For if you have been cut from an olive which is naturally wild, and grafted, contrary to nature, upon a garden olive, how much more will the natural branches be grafted into their proper olive? To prevent you from being self-conceited, brothers, I would like you to understand this secret: it is only a partial insensibility that has come over Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles come in. This done, all Israel will be saved ??as it is written, The deliverer will come from Sion, he will banish all godlessness from Jacob: this is my covenant with them, when I take their sins away. So far as the gospel goes, they are enemies of God ??which is to your advantage; but so far as election goes, they are beloved for their father's sake. For God never goes back upon his gifts and call. Once you disobeyed God, and now you enjoy his mercy thanks to their disobedience; in the same way they at present are disobedient, so that they in turn may enjoy the same mercy as yourselves. For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all.
Unbelief » The reward for not believing the lord
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He said to them, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you truly, if you had faith the size of a grain of mustard-seed, you could say to this hill, 'Move from here to there,' and remove it would; nothing would be impossible for you."
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
Unbelief » The jews rejected for
Granted. They were broken off ??for their lack of faith. And you owe your position to your faith. You should feel awed instead of being uplifted.
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