Chapter # 9 Paragraph # 4 Study # 6
April 8, 2018
Humble, Texas
(042)
1769 Translation:
24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, [
that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye [
are] not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:
28 For he will finish the work, and cut [
it] short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.
29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha.
1901 ASV Translation:
24 [
even] us, whom he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?
25 As he saith also in Hosea, I will call that my people, which was not my people; And her beloved, that was not beloved.
26 And it shall be, [
that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, There shall they be called sons of the living God.
27 And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, If the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved:
28 for the Lord will execute [
his] word upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short.
29 And, as Isaiah hath said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, We had become as Sodom, and had been made like unto Gomorrah.
- I. Vessels of Mercy Validated by Scripture.
- A. Paul has already argued that God's Greater Plan includes "demonstrating His wrath" by "tolerating" the existence of wicked persons (angelic and human).
- B. Then he argued that God's Greater Plan includes "making His power known" by "making the riches of His glory known" upon "vessels of mercy".
- C. At this point, he defines and validates his "vessels of mercy" concept.
- 1. First, he identifies the "vessels of mercy" as "Those indeed whom He called: us...".
- a. He clearly intended to identify "vessels of mercy" as people with whom He took the initiative and "called".
- 1) A significant concept within God's "calling" is revealed in Romans 4:17 where Paul wrote that one of God's characteristics is that He "calls things that do not currently exist as if they do currently exist". This is a critical concept, especially in respect to God's "declaration" ("calling") that those who believe are "righteous". There is a crucial New Testament sense of the "they are righteous right now" in terms of their new creation reality, but there is also a tacit New Testament acknowledgement that "they continue to sin on a regular basis, day in and day out". Thus, they are "called" righteous, but continue to sin; an example of God's calling that realities that do not currently exist are yet said that they do currently exist.
- 2) Past that, God actively "calls" those upon whom He is going to shower "glory" in the eschaton. Romans 8:30 makes this "calling" the second activity of God (the first is His predestination of them) that is followed by "justification", which, in turn is followed by "glorification". This "glorification" is directly tied to the reality that these "called" are intended to enter into the "rich" experience of His glory.
- 3) Romans 9:7, in context, goes another step forward: it says that "calling" is the foundation of the entire principle of "Promise/faith" as the most fundamental of the principles of God's "relational universe" where "persons" and their "Life" is the highest of priorities.
- 4) And he follows up in Romans 9:11 by saying that this purpose of God is "according to election" and that it "stands" because it is rooted in "Him Who calls" rather than in what men do, or do not do.
- b. He also was determined to not allow "Jews" to disallow his majority-ministry-focus to the "Gentiles" by identifying those "called" as "out from Jews" as well as "out from Gentiles".
- 1) This claim, with its focus upon the Gentiles, he buttressed by quoting from Hosea.
- a) First is Hosea 2:23 where the "not My people" are to be called "My people" and the "not beloved" are to be called "beloved".
- b) Then is Hosea 1:10 where the "not My people" are called "the sons of the Living God" in the very place where they were identified as "not My people".
- 2) He does not here go into the issues of the "Church" but, in general, claims that the Old Testament was no stranger to the idea that God had bigger plans that just "Jews".