Understanding Paul's Message to the Gentiles in Romans 9-11: Unity, Humility, and God's Irrevocable Promises
The Apostle Paul had much to say to the Gentiles about their relationship with the Jewish people, even warning them not to boast or become arrogant against them. Paul highlighted these critical points in his message to the church in Rome, specifically in chapters nine through eleven. I have paraphrased and emphasized what Paul wrote:
Romans 9:3-5
Beginning in chapter 9, Paul said that all the promises of God belong to Israel.
These include the adoption as sons of God, the manifest glory of God (the Shechinah), all the covenants, including the Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and Aaronic, the giving of the Law of Moses and its foundation for Christianity, the priestly and kingly service of God, and the promise of resurrection and eternal life in Christ Jesus.
All these were promised to the Jewish people through Christ. And Paul referred to them as his countrymen according to the flesh and Israelites.
Romans 9:6-8
He qualified that not all the children of Abraham are genuinely Israel, nor are they all children of God just because of their natural lineage.
Only those born again of the Spirit of God are considered children of God and children of the promise in Christ.
Romans 9:30-32
The Gentiles who were not part of the covenants made with Israel are now part of the covenants and have attained the righteousness of God and the righteousness of faith in Christ.
However, much of Israel, to whom all the promises belonged, pursued their own righteousness by trying to fulfill the Law out of their human effort.
Therefore, they have not attained the righteousness of God because they did not seek it by faith but rather by the carnal works of the Law.
Romans 10:3-4
In Romans chapter 10, Paul says that unsaved Israel remains ignorant of God’s righteousness, which was His sacrifice on the cross.
Israel sought to establish righteousness through their human efforts under the Law. Therefore, they have not submitted to the righteousness of God, which is acceptance by faith that Christ died on the cross for their sins.
Romans 10:12-13
Therefore, God makes no distinction (in terms of our salvation) between Jew and Gentile, for God is the same Lord and Savior over all who call upon Him.
Romans 11:11-12
Lastly, in Romans chapter 11, Paul asks this rhetorical question? Has Israel stumbled that they should permanently fall? Absolutely not, He says!
Instead, through Israel’s stumbling, God has given the Gentiles the message of salvation and the calling and responsibility to share the gospel with the whole earth, especially the Jewish people, to provoke them to jealousy.
If Israel’s stumbling means spiritual riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their salvation usher in the return of Christ and the Messianic Kingdom?
Romans 11:17-21
Paul goes on to say that some of the Jewish people were cut away from Israel. And the Gentiles (being called a wild olive tree) were grafted in amongst Israel contrary to nature, and Israel can now share in the spiritual riches of the foundation of Israel. These include sharing in all their covenant promises, blessings, and inheritances.
Therefore, Paul warned the Gentiles not to think of themselves more highly than them or speak prideful words against them but to remember that you do not support the root. Still, the root (the Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) support you.
Because of Israel’s unbelief, they were broken off. But you must stand humbly in your simple faith and not be proud. Fear God, for if God did not spare the Jewish people, He might not spare you either.
Romans 11:25-29
Paul then councils the Gentiles, saying:
I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your human intellect. Temporary blindness, in part, has happened to Israel until the fullness (the full number) of the Gentiles has come into the kingdom of God.
And so, all the natural remnant of Israel will be saved as it is written:
The Deliverer, Christ, will come out of Zion (the place of His holy habitation, the church). He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is My eternal and unbreakable covenant with them when I take away their sins.
Concerning the gospel, they, Israel, are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election (Israel’s unique chosen status), they are beloved for the sake of the fathers (the Patriarchs).
The gifts of the Spirit are irrevocable, including the responsibility to carry the oracles of God and bring the message of salvation to the ends of the earth, to be a blessing to every nation, and to fill the whole world with the fruit of His Spirit.
Even in this condensed and paraphrased reading of Romans, Paul shares considerable information with the church in Rome. Its content is straightforward—the children of Israel are the rightful heirs to all of God’s covenant blessings and promises, not by any works of the flesh or their fulfillment of the Mosaic Law, but only through their faith in Christ Yeshua.
God’s promises to Israel are irrevocable, meaning they are still in effect to this day and remain in effect for eternity. Because Israel rejected her Messiah and her calling to bring God’s message of salvation to the nations, the Lord has turned (for a season) to the Gentiles. He has given them the mantle and responsibility for completing the great commission, not to the exclusion of Israel, but entirely to their inclusion. Specifically, God’s remnant of Jewish believers would join their Gentile brothers as one new man in Christ and co-labor to provoke Israel to jealousy.
This provocation would not only result in bringing the full number of Gentiles into the Kingdom of God. It would also bring resurrection life to the church and the earth itself, thereby ushering in the return of the Lord and the fulfillment of the Millennial kingdom. As Yeshua declared, “This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14, NKJV).[i]
Yeshua told His disciples that He could do nothing of Himself, but whatever He saw His Father doing, He did in like manner.[ii] Therefore, our heavenly Father did not give verbal instructions to Yeshua because Yeshua always responded from the deepest inner will of God Himself—His Spirit.
In comparison, should our mouth instruct the hand to move? No, the hands and feet move by the will of man. Therefore, if the church is called to be one in Christ and function as one body, how much more should the parts of the body conform and move to the will of God without Him having to dictate what we ought to do? As it is written, “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
The body of Christ should move per the will of God, every part obediently and faithfully responding to His will and desires. And just so that we would have a road map for the journey, God wrote His instructions for us in the bible and gave us a deposit of the Holy Spirit to remind us of all the things Yeshua spoke.
Yeshua’s primary instruction is to do the will of our Heavenly Father. As it is written, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). And what is the will of God? He is not willing that any should perish, and that most certainly, that includes the Jewish people.
I will not dive into church history regarding how the nations have treated the Jewish people. Other scholars have studied it exhaustively, and their history is not good. Instead, I want to focus on where God is taking us because God’s promises have yet to be fulfilled for the church and Israel.
Paul said, “Through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:11). So, the question remains: Has the church in its history ever provoked the Jewish people to jealousy? Some scholars say this happened in the first century. I do not see any lasting evidence of that, so I argue it has not happened. These days, most church theology and tradition point to a separation of the church at Rome from the Jewish people and a distancing from its biblical foundation. This separation predates the formation of the Roman Catholic Church in 325 A.D.
Paul’s writing to the church in Rome and his reference to the Christian community who lived there was to Gentiles.[iii] The word Gentile translates as “nation” or “family.” Paul referred to Gentiles who had accepted Christ, referencing the church in Rome.[iv] Paul was not speaking to Rome’s heathen; he was writing to our brothers and sisters in Christ. He was writing to Christians.
Therefore, we can conclude that there are both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians in the church today. It raises an interesting question: Are the Gentiles who are grafted into Israel through Christ now Jews or Jewish? No. Paul was quite clear in distinguishing between Abraham’s natural branches (the Jewish people, whom he also called Israelites and of the circumcision) and those grafted into Israel, whom he called Gentiles.
So, while we are now one people of God in Christ and one new man, where there is no distinction between Jews and Greeks (in terms of our salvation), there is still a natural distinction in God’s Kingdom of those called His firstborn.[v] God has exclusively reserved this term for Israel, where it is written, “Israel is My son, My firstborn” (Exodus 4:22). Therefore, Paul said, “Glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 2:10).
Yes, we are all sons and daughters of God through Christ our Lord and Savior,[vi] but we are also sons of Adam; as it is written, “As we have borne the image of the man of dust [Adam], we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man [Christ]” (1 Corinthians 15:49).
And why do we also bear the natural image of Adam? Because God honors what He created, and while He is making all things new and making us a new creation in Christ, He is also building upon a natural foundation He established with Abraham. Therefore, Paul warned the Gentiles, saying, “Do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root [the patriarchs] supports you” (Romans 11:18).
The Jewish people are called the natural branches of Abraham, and the Gentiles in Christ are called Abraham’s spiritual seed. While the early church was comprised mostly of Jewish Christians, today, the global church is composed mainly of Gentile Christians. And it is they who are called to provoke unsaved Israel to jealousy.
It is difficult for me to see how this provocation will happen, given the sharp division within the church surrounding Israel. However, I believe God’s word will not return to Him void.[vii] Therefore, as the Lord fulfills His prophetic promises to Israel, we will see these things unfolding on the earth.
The Gentile church, at some point in time, will provoke Israel to jealousy. Many Jewish people will return to the Lord, and the church and the saved remnant of Israel will become united people of God and one new man in Christ Yeshua. For this reason, the Book of Romans, especially Chapters 9 through 11, is critically important for the church to understand and embrace.
God’s will and plans will be fulfilled. And those who walk in the Spirit will experience God’s love for the Jewish people. The question is whether we will allow God to conform our will to His, or will we continue to hold onto a lie perpetuated by Satan that has divided the church and Israel?
There is a decision to be made, and the wrong choice could lead to separation from God, hence Paul’s warning to the Gentiles: “For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either” (Romans 11:21). On the other hand, the right choice will lead us to fulfill God’s promises for both Israel and the church. I pray the right path for your life so that we, Jew and Gentile, might stand together before the throne of God and sing this new song to our Lord and Savior:
“[Oh Lord] You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10).