Chapter # 11 Paragraph # 5 Study # 4
May 12, 2019
Humble, Texas
(130)
1769 Translation:
29 For the gifts and calling of God [
are] without repentance.
30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.
1901 ASV Translation:
29 For the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of.
30 For as ye in time past were disobedient to God, but now have obtained mercy by their disobedience,
31 even so have these also now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to you they also may now obtain mercy.
32 For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.
- I. Paul's First Word in 11:29.
- A. It is an adjective, placed at the very beginning of Paul's rationale for declaring the hateful Jews "beloved".
- B. Its meaning has to do with an "unchangeableness" that stands in spite of whatever value-attachments might attack its standing.
- 1. It is a three-part composite word.
- a. It has an "alpha particle" at its beginning that serves as a "negator" so that all that follows is "negated". It is much like our "un" in words like "un"successful: the notion of "success" is negated so that we understand that the opposite is true.
- b. It has the preposition meta following the "alpha particle" that is tightly tied, not to the alpha particle, but to the following main idea. This preposition, says Robertson, has the root idea of "midst" and is most frequently used to indicate "association". Thus, the main word that follows it identifies the "associates" "in the midst of" which the main idea stands.
- c. It is rooted in the idea of the final element of the word, and that idea is "caring", as in 1 Peter 5:7 where Peter urges his readers to take their concerns to "the mighty hand of God" because "He cares for you". The idea of "caring" is the idea of being willing to make large sacrifices in order to protect from harm as the "Good Shepherd" does in contrast with the "hireling" who "careth not for the sheep" in John 10:13 in its context.
- 2. Its meaning is that the "caring" that exists in the midst of multiple issues of attachments that might sway a person to abandon a previous commitment is "negated". In other words, there are no "other" commitments that will be exalted over the commitment(s) under consideration.
- a. Perhaps the best illustration of this meaning is given in Jesus' parable of the four soils that exist and upon which the "seed" of the Word is sown (Mark 4:15-20). It is the third type of soil that reveals the sense of our word: there are multiple "cares" in this world that compete for our loyal attention; but only one is worthy of that loyal attention. In an interesting dove-tail in this regard is the fact that 1 Peter 5:7 uses the root idea (selective care that winnows out all lesser cares) of God, Who "cares" for us with this "winnowing care" that separates us out of all lesser cares and moves God to act on our behalf so that we can confidently "cast all of the lesser cares of our lives upon Him".
- b. This meaning comes out most clearly in Hebrews 7:21 where a commitment is made ("Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchisedec") with an "oath" so that there cannot be a "negation" for any cause because fundamental integrity is at stake. This is the point in the earlier text of Hebrews 6:16-20 where an "oath" is added to a "promise" so that "we might have strong consolation" because it is impossible for God to lie.
- c. The point is: in spite of many/any other "cares", this "care" will never be allowed to go begging because it is the most important of all "cares".
- II. The "Cares" That Will Never Be Allowed to Fail.
- A. The setting of "other cares": the current Jewish hatefulness toward the Gentiles will not, by God, be allowed to unseat the "covenant" which God made with the fathers.
- 1. This sad state of affairs (Jewish hatefulness arising out of their wallowing in their self-deification) will not be allowed to cause God to "reject His people". This flies in the face of "Justice", but God's "promises" are more important to God and to His people than "Justice" as the "final" value: Mercy trumps Justice; Grace trumps Vengeance. However, this is not without enormous sacrifice by God Who cannot violate the "promises" of "Justice" in order to establish the "promises" of "Grace". Witness the Cross as the event wherein both sets of promises were established forever. This means, as far as creatures are concerned, that "Integrity" is a greater "care" than all others.
- a. The phrase "as far as creatures are concerned" is a critical phrase: it does not mean that integrity is the greatest value of all. In the "Love" of God there is a higher value than integrity simply because integrity is a "means-to-an-end Value", and it is the "end" that has the highest "value".
- b. But, the phrase does mean that creatures (as creatures, they will never be omniscient and thus, cannot have all things "explained" to them) must hold "faith" as their greatest need because "integrity" does not apply to those who do not "believe". "Faith" is another "means-to-an-end Value", because it allows its "end" (integrity) to be accomplished.
- c. The point is: in all value systems only one ultimate "value" can exist so that all lesser, but real, values serve the interests of the ultimate one. Paul, in arguing for the "inalterable" reality of the two "cares" listed by him in his text, is not addressing the greatest of all values, he is simply addressing the supremacy of "integrity" in respect to the "good outcomes" men seek.
- 2. In Paul's "T"heology, God establishes all of the aspects of His Glory without violating any of them; but, in his "theology" unbelief is the marker of "the line of demarcation". Unbelief makes the "promises of Grace" of no effect for the particular person who is unbelieving, and Faith makes the "promises of Justice" of no effect for the particular person who is believing.
- a. In God, integrity is at the root: He makes no promises out of Grace that He does not fulfill for those who depend upon Him, but He keeps no promises of Grace for those who reject His integrity and do not believe Him.
- b. On the other hand, "faith" is not a crucial aspect of "the promises of Justice" in terms of whether, or not, a person "believes" them and, thus, receives from them.
- 1) "Justice" is the "fall-back" position in the glory of God: those who do not "believe" in the promises of "Grace" are relegated to "the promises of Justice" that require vengeance whether, or not, a person "believes" in that required "wrath".
- 2) In other words, for one to receive the benefits of "Grace", "faith" is required, but no "faith" is required of those who will be subjected to the disastrous consequences of "Justice" as it is applied to evil doers.
- B. The "inalterables".
- 1. The Gifts of The God.
- a. "Gifts" are, by definition, "freely bestowed benefits".
- 1) They are "free" in that they cost the recipient nothing.
- 2) This does not mean that there is no cost to the Giver.
- 3) And, there is a specific distinction between the nature of the "Grace" given to those who "believe" and those who do not: "rain" is a "grace-gift" and it requires no "faith" in the recipient (rain falls upon the just and the unjust); but "grace-gifts" that are specifically for "relationships between persons" do require "faith" in those who receive them simply because "relationships" do not prosper in the presence of distrust.
- 4) In other words, "grace-gifts" that are specifically for a beneficial relationship between a person and his impersonal environment ("rain" for the growing of crops for the food of the person) require no "faith", but "grace-gifts" that are specifically for a beneficial relationship between a person and another person do require "faith" because personal relationships do not begin, or are not able to continue, when there is an absence of "faith" between the persons.
- b. The word is plural because there are multiple "gifts", the chiefest of which is identified in Romans 6:23 as "Eternal Life". This is the "chiefest" in that it is an umbrella under which other "gifts" are extended to "recipients".
- 1) This chief "gift" is "chief" because it is between a person and God, Who made him/her. It is also "chief" because it is the root of all good lesser "relationships".
- 2) The other "grace-gifts" mentioned by Paul in this letter (1:11 and 12:6) are gifts given by God, the Author of Eternal Life, for the benefit of those around the one who has been given a "grace-gift". The "gift" is not for the one who receives it (though this recipient does benefit the most from its use); it is for the ones who receive "personal benefit" because they receive "good" from the one with the "gift". This is Paul's point in both 1:11 and 12:6.
- 3) Under the umbrella of Eternal Life are all of the issues of "Life" in its details. In the event that a person is deficient in his/her experience of the "umbrella" (a small and limited experience of "Life"), another person's "grace-gift" can be used to "edify" ("build up whatever is lacking so the deficiency diminishes") so that the experience is enhanced.
- c. These "gifts" are "irrevocable": God does not take them back even if they are seriously abused and especially if they are seriously developed for the sake of others. There are consequences for the abuse of a "grace-gift", but having it taken back isn't one of them.
- 2. The Calling of The God.