Chapter # 11 Paragraph # 4 Study # 2
February 3, 2019
Humble, Texas
(108)
1769 Translation:
17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;
18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.
20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, [
take heed] lest he also spare not thee.
22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in [
his] goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.
24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural [
branches], be graffed into their own olive tree?
1901 ASV Translation:
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive, wast grafted in among them, and didst become partaker with them
of the root of the fatness of the olive tree;
18 glory not over the branches: but if thou gloriest, it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee.
19 Thou wilt say then, Branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in.
20 Well; by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 for if God spared not the natural branches, neither will he spare thee.
22 Behold then the goodness and severity of God: toward them that fell, severity; but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
23 And they also, if they continue not in their unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if thou wast cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and wast grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree; how much more shall these, which are the natural [
branches], be grafted into their own olive tree?
- I. Paul's Warning of a Grave Danger Continued.
- A. Given the facts of the previous argument (God's turn to the nations in this time in history was rooted in Israel's determined resistance and God's more determined pursuit), there is a serious likelihood that the "nations" will misconstrue God's willingness to extend reconciliation to them and, perhaps, create a scenario that will result in their own experience of being "cut off" (11:22).
- 1. The "setting".
- a. Some "Branches" of the "Holy Root Tree" were "broken off".
- 1) This particular verb is only used three times in the New Testament and all three are in Romans 11:17-20.
- 2) This verb is an intensified form (it has the original "ek" duplicated and added as a prefix to the original verb (ek plus ek plus klaio). However, that original "ek" was, apparently, also, initially, a prefix added to the verb "klaio", which at least one source defines as "break", though most translate it "weep". The possible explanation for this is that as "break" it signified a painful event, and as "weep" it signified the reaction of the one suffering from the "break". In any event, the addition of two prefixes of the same preposition ("ek") to a main verb is intensive.
- 3) As an "intensive", there is a strong suggestion of "violence" in the action. This form of the verb is used in the New Testament in fourteen texts and it invariably signals the "breaking" of bread when a person takes a "loaf" and "tears off" (our English word "tear", when used as a noun, indicates "tears as an expression of strong emotion, mostly negative", but when used as a verb indicates "tearing" as opposed to separating something from its unity by simply ripping it off; thus, we follow the Greek lead) a piece to eat. It is not "sliced off"; it is simply "torn off".
- 4) Thus, as a doubly intensified word, the suggestion seems to be of, at a minimum "violence of mind", and, at a maximum "violence of action". This fits Paul's context because he is dealing with God's hatred of wickedness that exists in determined and persistent rejection by men of God's extraordinary desire to bless.
- 5) At this point we need to be clear on the identity of the "branches" that grow on the tree of the "holy root".
- a) Paul is addressing "branches"; including those which grow on the tree and remain, those which grow on the tree and are ripped off, and those which are grown on a "wild" olive tree, but are cut off of it and then grafted into the "tree of the holy root".
- b) These "branches" have to be individuals, for the following reasons.
- i. Paul has just written, "...I am speaking to you gentiles..." (11:13). These are individual converts ("believers in the Gospel as presented by the apostle to the gentiles").
- ii. The final identification of "the holy root" is given by Paul in Romans 15:12 as "...He that shall arise to reign over the Gentiles..." and the Person in Whom "...the Gentiles shall trust...". The "Root" is an Individual trusted in by individuals.
- iii. The larger category of these "branches" is a multitude of individuals, some of whom remain attached to the "tree" and some of whom are "broken off".
- iv. Within that larger category are two subsets: those who "believe" and are identified as "the People of God" (Romans 15:11, resting upon the revelation of 9:24-26 that these "People" are both "of the Jews" and "of the Gentiles"); and those who "disbelieve" and have no part among the branches because of their lack of "faith" (11:20).
- c) Thus, the "branches" are those individuals who have a "natural" place on the tree ("natural" in the sense of a genetic link to Abraham") that is temporary because of "unbelief"; those who have a "natural" place on the tree that is permanent because of both genetics and "faith" (Jews who "believe"); and those who have an "unnatural" place on the tree ("unnatural" in the sense of "no genetic link" to the "root") because they have been "grafted on" because of "faith".
- b. Some "branches" of a wild olive tree were grafted onto the "Holy Root Tree".
- 1) These "branches" are clearly identified as not "natural", i.e., not the physical seed of Abraham.
- a) God made two specific promises to "the Holy Root Tree" as Abraham: a specific, genetically linked, "great nation" (Genesis 12:2); and a specific, non-genetically linked, "multitude of nations" (Genesis 17:4-6) that is associated with the change of his name from "Abram" to "Abraham".
- b) Both "promises" were rooted in the "promise/faith" principle, but the first promise was also rooted in the "children of flesh/children of promise" setting. Not so the second promise: that Abraham was to be a "father" of a multitude of nations was tied only to the "promise/faith" principle so that Abraham was a "father" of those who "believe" in that they became "sons" by virtue of "believing" ("sons" are those who mimic the attitude/behavior of a "father" [Note carefully Romans 4:16-18 where Abraham's "fatherhood" is that of "faith" with some "sons" coming out of the Jews (those that are "seed that is of the Law") and some coming out of Gentiles (those that are "seed" that is "of faith" apart from Law)]. The eventual outworking will be realized in Messiah's earthly kingdom where there will be both a "nation" of those who are characterized by being both "children of flesh" and "children of promise" (as was Isaac, and not Ishmael), and a "host of nations" of those who are characterized by "the faith of Abraham" even though having no "attachment of flesh" to his gene pool.
- 2) These "branches" are clearly identified as coming from a "wild" olive tree, but are "grafted" on to the "good olive tree" because of "faith" in the Ultimate Root (...in whom [they] trust...).
- c. Paul is addressing the shift in the divine program at the point within it wherein the "natural", but "unbelieving", branches are being "broken off" and the "unnatural", but "believing" are being "grafted in" through the preaching of the Gospel to "gentiles".
- 1) As this "point" in the divine program becomes extended through time, there are less and less "natural and believing" branches and more and more "unnatural and believing" branches.
- 2) As this reality sets in, the danger arises: the "unnatural branches" might begin to "boast against" those branches that were "broken off". Paul's "bottom line" is that there is no place for "boasting" under "grace" and if it shows up, it is a revelation of an underlying "theology" of "salvation by merit", which is absolutely deadly.
- 2. The result for the "unnatural" branches.
- a. They (though Paul says "you" -- second person, singular pronoun) get to "become" fellow-participants (a "sharer together with them") of "the root of the fatness of the olive tree".
- 1) The olive tree is the metaphor for the "My people" category of humanity, both Jews and Gentiles (Romans 9:24), which is the same category of humanity that Paul had just identified as "the vessels of mercy which He had afore prepared unto glory" (9:23).
- 2) This "olive tree" is "fat" (the sole use of this term in the New Testament). This "fatness" refers to both the extremely nutritious nature of the fruit and the extremely large volume of olives produced.
- 3) This "fatness" has, itself, a "root" which lies at the foundations of the tree. This "root" is identified later in Romans (15:12) as the One in Whom the Gentiles shall trust; i.e. Jesus, the Christ. Thus, this "fatness" consists of those aspects of the attributes of Jesus Christ which He has shared, is sharing, and will share with "His People" as "vessels of mercy" who are designed to be the display of the "mercy of God" in His creation. The expression of Paul in Ephesians 1:3, "all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies", immediately comes to mind.
- b. Thus, they get to experience for themselves what the natural branches naturally experience (except for those "broken off").