Bible Question:
Tim (and my fellow Christian observers): I have been studying Romans 11 myself this month, and I was wondering precisely whom you hold the "branches" to be. Do you think branches represent individuals, or do they represent the collectives of Jews and Gentiles? Paul and the Jewish believers are obviously in some way represented by the "natural branches" still on the tree. And Romans 11:2 does refer to Israel in general, although it should be plain to the evangelical mind that while He has not rejected Israel wholesale, he goes on to specify a REMNANT of the nation that He has kept for Himself, not the entirety of Jacob's descendents. Aside from Elijah and the 7000, there was a lot of rejection going on. I hold that the branches do not refer to individuals, because natural branches will be grafted back in (implying that they were there before) after the fulness of the Gentiles has been grafted in (Romans 11:25). Individual Jews living today were not born "grafted in." Now for my Calvinist jab (since we have not danced this little rumba in a while, my non-TULIPy brother): does the "all Israel" in verse 26 refer to "every single Israelite"? Have fun! --Joe! |
Bible Answer: Joe, It depends on whether you define "all" in the distributive or the collective sense. The same question applies to all in Romans 3:12, keeping in mind of course the full context of Psalm 14:1-7. However, as Hank has often pointed out, it is a dangerous thing for the word "all" to fall into the hands of a Calvinist. ;-) Since Romans 9-11 is a rubic cube for even the best exegetes, I will be interested to see your explanation. If you are interested I can refer you to an excellent tape set on those chapters. Emmaus |