Fulfilled Promises

 2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

20 ὅσαι γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ναί· διὸ καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀμὴν τῷ θεῷ πρὸς δόξαν δι᾽ ἡμῶν.

This is one of those verses where we need to look at the language a little bit. The phrase  ὅσαι γὰρ ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ναί does not translate into English in a one-for-one manner. Quite literally it is something like, "For as many as the promises of God, in Him the yes." The New American Commentary understands the ὅσαι  to refer to an indeterminate number of OT promises of God. That seems to make good sense of the passage.


The point is that the promises of God in the OT are not fulfilled in Israel. They are fulfilled in Christ. Now Romans 9-11 tells us that there is a future hope for some remnant of ethnic Israel, but if we focus on Israel we have missed the point. The point is Christ. 


The Bible is not a book about Israel, though Israel is in it. The Bible is about Christ. Specifically, it is about how God created man, man fell, and what God did to redeem His people back to Himself. Why was it such a long history instead of redeeming them right away? Ultimately it was for His glory, which He deserves. Also, keep in mind that if He had done it sooner then you would not be reading this and would not have a future hope of eternity with Him.


If you are in Christ, rejoice that He saved you. If you are not, what keeps you from repenting and believing?

Saving All Israel

Romans 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";

26 καὶ οὕτως πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται, καθὼς γέγραπται· ἥξει ἐκ Σιὼν ὁ ῥυόμενος, ἀποστρέψει ἀσεβείας ἀπὸ Ἰακώβ.

I have found that this is one of the favorite proof-texts for Dispensationalists. One cannot escape the construction in Greek. It clearly reads that  πᾶς Ἰσραὴλ σωθήσεται. The verb is a future passive indicative. The phrase means all Israel. There is no other exegesis than to read this to mean that everyone who is part of Israel will be saved. This is further emphasized by the construction at the end where Ἰακώβ is used as a metaphor for Israel. Does this mean that everyone who has a genetic tie to Jacob and is circumcised will be saved?


This is why one must study hermeneutics and not stop with exegesis. Exegesis is vitally important to understand what a text reads, but it doesn't tell anyone what it means. There is a distinction.


Here we need to look back at the rest of Paul's argument. He established earlier that not all Israel is true Israel. In fact, earlier in this chapter he establishes that there is a remnant of ethnic Israel, but the existence of this point demonstrates that there is a distinction between natural ethnic Israel and spiritual Israel.


So who is Israel? In the greater context of Pauline theology, it is clear that believing Gentiles can be thought of as Israel to some degree. We can create a false distinction if we want, but the language in this chapter, Galatians 3, and Ephesians 2 is pretty stark. Christ created "one new man in place of the two," as we see in Ephesians 2:15. Galatians 3:7 tells us that "it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham," and this theme is repeated throughout the chapter. Therefore, we cannot take this verse in isolation, but as we read it in context with the rest of Paul we see that the term "Israel" goes beyond simply those with a genetic tie to Jacob.


But what does this mean for us? It means that God has expanded His salvation program. In the Old Testament it focused primarily on the Jews, though there were some believing Gentiles (i.e. Melchizedek). Now the focus is primarily on Gentiles since God hardened the hearts of the Jews. 


I do need to point out that there will clearly be an influx of believing Jews just before Christ returns. To deny that would be to deny the clear language of this chapter. God is not done with ethnic Israel.


All of this fits into the grand narrative of God saving a people to Himself. And just as the Jews were found like an abandoned baby in its blood, so also we are completely dependent on His grace for our salvation. Let us give thanks to Him as we consider that this Lord's Day.

The True Offspring

Romans 9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

8 τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, οὐ τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκὸς ταῦτα τέκνα τοῦ θεοῦ ἀλλὰ τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας λογίζεται εἰς σπέρμα.

Romans 9-11 gives us a lot of insight as to the current nature of "Israel" and how that term relates to God's covenant people today. Does it refer to people who have a genetic tie to Abraham or to those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ?


This verse implies the latter. Who are τὰ τέκνα τῆς ἐπαγγελίας? Paul uses this chapter to show that although Ishmael was a child of Abraham, he was not part of the promise. The promise was through Isaac. In other words, having a genetic tie to Abraham was not enough.


What about Isaac? Could having a genetic tie to him be enough? Paul goes on to explain that before either one did anything outside the womb he loved Jacob, but hated Esau. To us this may seem arbitrary, but it's part of God's plan for saving His people.


So maybe it's about having a genetic tie to Jacob. In one sense that is true as the twelve tribes come from him, though two are indirect as they come from his beloved son Joseph. But we know from passages such as Numbers 24 that the ruler was to come from Judah. We see that later in 2 Samuel 7 as God makes His covenant with David. 


So does this mean that you need a tie to Judah? To David? To Solomon? To...Josiah? Who are the σπέρμα of Abraham?


The good news is that we have Christ, so we can see how this all works out. True Israel today is not associated simply with being able to trace genes to any of these men. It comes from being a new creation in Christ. To be sure, God is not done with those who have a genetic tie to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But as things stand right now we who are in Christ are part of Israel. Let's enjoy the blessings that come from being added to God's covenant people. We are just as deserving as Jacob was--meaning that we don't deserve it one bit. But we can still rejoice in being chosen by grace.

Who are the Heirs?

Romans 4:14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.

14 εἰ γὰρ οἱ ἐκ νόμου κληρονόμοι, κεκένωται ἡ πίστις καὶ κατήργηται ἡ ἐπαγγελία·

We continue walking through Paul's argument here. Basically, what Paul has told us is that circumcision is not what saves anyone. Works cannot save. It is through faith and faith alone that we are saved.


What does this mean? As a Gentile, I am thrilled that God would open up His kingdom to me. Frankly, I deserve nothing better than the Moabites got, for example. I would be, as David put it in 1 Samuel 17, an uncircumcised Philistine. Or at least I may as well be because I am not a Jew.


Yet in His grace God chose to save Gentiles as well as Jews. It is not those who adhere to the law, but those who have faith that are saved. The personal application is that we must know Christ. We'll keep building on this as we go through Romans.


On a more global scale, this tells us that we need to be careful about mixing up the current nation-state of Israel with the Israel spoken of in Scripture. Yes, God still has a plan for these people and they will be gathered in at the end of the age. But we don't have to get all worked up over the President's plea for them to retreat to their 1967 borders. I don't want to get too political on this blog, but I do ask that you think through the implications of this combining of Jew and Gentile as it pertains to politics. Things are not quite as simple as some would make them seem.

Being a Jew

Romans 2:29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

29 ἀλλ᾽ ὁ ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ Ἰουδαῖος, καὶ περιτομὴ καρδίας ἐν πνεύματι οὐ γράμματι, οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ.

This is the end of a long argument that Paul makes about what it means to be a Jew. He uses the word τῷ κρυπτῷ to describe what it means to truly be a Jew. This word means "hidden," which certainly stands in start contrast with the sign of circumcision. His point is that one's ancestry is not the important thing here. Even the sign of circumcision is not the important thing. It is a matter of the heart.


I won't go so far as to say that God has finished with ethnic Israel. We will see more about that as we go through this book. But what is undeniable is that somehow Israel and the Church are combined right now. We will definitely see more of that as we go through Romans. If we know Christ then we are sons of Abraham. But we're not just any sons of Abraham. Ishmael was a son of Abraham too, but we see that his descendants build mosques and a few of them crash airplanes into buildings. 


We are Abraham's covenant children if we are in Christ. We will see more of this in Colossians 2 as well. Of course, this is all fascinating in its own way, but what difference does this make to us? It means that as Gentiles we should be completely cut off from the blessings of God. But as sons of Abraham we get to enjoy salvation and blessing.


I just finished going to school with some people who make a huge deal about the Jew. We should make a big deal out of them because the Bible does. We need to make sure that we realize how Christ is at the center of all of this. It is not about the nation of physical descendants of Abraham anymore, but about the spiritual descendants. Those are the true Jews. So, in a manner of speaking, I am more Jewish than Jerry Seinfeld.

He Has Called His Son

Matthew 2:15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son."


15 καὶ ἦν ἐκεῖ ἕως τῆς τελευτῆς Ἡρῴδου· ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ κυρίου διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐκάλεσα τὸν υἱόν μου.

Matthew is making a very clear reference to Hosea 11:1 which reads: When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.  If you look at Hosea you see that he is clearly referring to the Exodus.  The nation of Israel was still relatively young, but God graciously called Israel out of Egypt and we have the record of that in Exodus.  You don't have to read the Old or New Testaments very carefully to find that the Exodus is a major theme used to explain what it means to be a Christian.  We are previously in bondage to sin and through Christ we are set free.

Even though this is a repeated theme, Matthew's use of this verse is a bit puzzling.  After all, Hosea was referring to the nation of Israel.  Matthew is clearly referring to the child Jesus.  Although some disagree, I find it highly unlikely that Hosea was thinking of Jesus when he wrote Hosea 11:1.  So what was Matthew doing?  Was he using a Jewish hermeneutic where you can take any language you want from the OT as long as it suits what you want to say?  I don't think so.

I think that Matthew was using typology here.  You also could think of it as sensus plenior, if you mean that Matthew was adding meaning that the original author could not have intended.  I come to this conclusion based on the research I'm doing for a thesis on this topic.  When I have it done I will certainly post it.

But what difference does this make?  I think that Matthew is identifying Jesus with Israel.  Just as Jesus is the better Adam, the better Moses, the better Aaron, and the better David, He is also the better Israel.  He is the consummation of the Old Testament.  Certainly the Old Testament spoke to the nation of people known as Israel.  However, in a greater sense it was leading them to Messiah.  Here Matthew is telling his Jewish audience that in this boy they had the fulfillment of their search.

Every Bible reader needs to decide what is at the center of his Bible.  Is it Israel?  Or is it Jesus?  Israel is certainly important, but I would maintain that Israel points us to Jesus, not the other way around.  I believe that at Christocentric hermeneutic is the way to go.  This verse is a large part of why I come to that conclusion.  Seeing Christ throughout the Old Testament without resorting to ridiculous allegorizing magnifies my view of God and gives me great hope.

Who He Helps

Hebrews 2:16 For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.

16 οὐ γὰρ δήπου ἀγγέλων ἐπιλαμβάνεται ἀλλὰ σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ ἐπιλαμβάνεται.

Given a discussion I have had recently on Facebook, this verse really leaps out at me.  Here we see that Jesus helps the σπέρματος Ἀβραὰμ.  The word σπέρματος is a genitive singular and it means "seed."  This would be very confusing except that this word can also be used in the singular to refer to a collective plural.  It's sort of like how a farmer would buy a bag of seed today.  You could say "seeds," but you don't have to in English and you don't in Greek either.

Why is this significant?  We know from the Old Testament that the "seed" of Abraham has two meanings.  One refers to Christ Himself as Paul explains in Galatians 3:16.  However, one does not have to read much in the Old  Testament to see how Israel is described as the seed of Abraham as well.  As my Old Testament professor pointed out over and over again, the three megathemes of the Old Testament are land, seed, and blessing.

Here we see that Christ helps the seed of Abraham.  Just taking this text at face-value, I don't see what else it could mean other than the author of Hebrews is identifying the church with the seed of Abraham.  It is possible that since this is written to a Jewish audience he is telling them that Christ helps the seed of Abraham, but that is just a subset of all the people who He helps.  I find that logically possible, but highly improbable.

To be fair I consulted my MacArthur Bible Commentary on this verse and, sure enough, that is the argument that he uses.  He writes that since the readers were Hebrews they would identify themselves with this description.  True, but it seems like that ignores the flow of the chapter.  We just had references to the "children God has given me," for example.  Read it for yourself and I think you'll see that the scope of the chapter refers to all of God's children in Christ.  I don't think it makes contextual sense to take this verse and limit it to those who are actually genetically linked to Abraham.

What do we do with this?  As a friend of mine says, Israel is the key to the Bible.  How we read the Bible depends on what we do with Israel.  If we take Israel to refer to the literal people who are genetically linked to Abraham then we read the Bible and particularly the Old Testament one way.  But if we understand the church to be the fulfillment of Israel then we read it another way.  A verse like this has me leaning in the latter category.  But frankly that gives me a lot of hope because that lets me read the Old Testament in a way that it actually has meaning to me rather than to a group of people that I will never truly be a part of, despite being grafted in.

Of course, I still have not studied any of this in a structured way so I am open to criticism and correction.  Please comment if you have thoughts on this matter.  Did I completely miss the point of this verse?

Note: This is the 1000th post for this blog.  I love round numbers like that.  I want to thank those of you who read this regularly.  I really write it for my own benefit as it serves as a way for me to get deeper into something I've read each day.  But if you've enjoyed it or been edified I'd love to know in the comments.