PART FOUR

AN EXPOSITION OF THE ESCHATOLOGY OF ROMANS

-THE ISRAEL OF GOD-     

-INTRODUCTION-

SOME of the greatest moments in this study were those moments when God so graciously drops His nuggets of truth right in our laps.  One truth in particular is the truth concerning the simplicity of His Covenants, His peoples, and His Kingdom.  That His complex Covenants, His complex peoples, and His complex Kingdom, can be defined in the New Testament as simply a matter of the VISIBLE and the INVISIBLE.  That is, His first peoples can be identified as Israel and Israel, or as the Circumcision and the Circumcision, or as a Jew and a Jew.  Then we can naturally extend this complex analogy into the New Testament dispensation, as Baptism and Baptism, or as the little invisible Congregation within the larger visible corporate Congregation /or Ekklesolia en Ekklesia.

What is so marvelous about these experiences with God, is that God does not stop at just revealing these nuggets of truth, but continues on to reveal supportive evidences for these truths. 

One of these supports came in a morning sermon, where the pastor was preaching on the God given resilience of man; Or the hope that is evident even in the moment of God's judgments - Gen.3:15. 

Now this support revelation revealed that the important thing about God's judgment here in Genesis, was not so much the removing of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden and their future life’s struggles in the natural world, but it was the removal of His Kingdom from the VISIBLE realm—as He placed His Eternal Kingdom with its elect inhabitants entirely in the INVISIBLE realm of the supernatural.  The Kingdom of God and the elect peoples of God, from that very early time to the present, have been kept substantially outside of the area of natural observation—as they are entirely invisible.

I know that this principle has a basic understanding within the Reformed /Presbyterian Church.  During their administering of the sacrament of infant baptism, I have heard pastors make the statement that "these children were being baptized into the VISIBLE BODY", fully understanding that the entrance into the INVISIBLE BODY was achieved only through the sovereign regenerative act of God Himself—of which they have their own peculiar way of confirming. 

These few brief passages explain the INVISIBLE nature of God's Messianic Kingdom, and that His Kingdom is approached only on the supernatural plane.  Though an elect Christian is individually VISIBLE with their physical presence within the visible institution, the reality or essence of what made them an elect Christian is totally INVISIBLE.  The very same reasoning that must be applied to the entire body of the invisible elect priesthood throughout the whole course of God’s reconciliation.

Jn.4:21-24 explains the method and place of worship for the elect peoples of God within this dispensation: "The hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father.

You worship that which you know not; we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth; for such does the Father seek to be His worshippers.  God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth."

There is an added intimacy indicated for these elect ones who have been given access to the supernatural plane: These intimately know the Creator God whom they worship and serve in a new and living way that was heretofore beyond most human knowledge or understanding.  This is most evident by this added revelation: Where our Lord has clearly told us that the place of worship is no longer in this visible world: "Not in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem".  Facts that are also confirmed in Gal.4:24-26:

"Which things contain an allegory.  For these two women are two covenants: one from Mt.Sinai bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar—now this Hagar is Mt.Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that now is (the visible Jerusalem), and is in bondage with her children (The Covenant of Bondage is the Circumcision of the Flesh Covenant to which all of the corporate progeny of Abraham belong)—but the Jerusalem that is above (the invisible heavenly Jerusalem) is free, which is our mother."

The key to understanding this passage from John, is in our coming to understand that these two covenants are derived from the visible characteristic and the invisible characteristic of God’s Abrahamic Covenant of Grace.  Then these two characteristics of this one covenant are best understood by observing the visible Circumcision Covenant—the Covenant of Bondage (Ref.Gen.17:1-14, 18, 20, 22-27: Gal.4:21-25) and the invisible Messianic Covenant—the invisible Covenant of Promise that God also established with Abraham in (Ref.Gen.17:15-17, 19, 21; Gal.4:26). 

Then we can further define this invisible aspect in Heb.12:18-24: "You are not come to a mountain that might be touched...  but you are come to MT. ZION and to THE CITY OF THE LIVING GOD, to THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM... to THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN WHO ARE ENROLLED IN HEAVEN". 

Phil.3:20 tells us, “OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN".                    

Col.3:1 adds, “You were raised together with Christ, so seek the things that are above where Christ is"...

By now, from the Christian perspective, one might also begin to ask this question—"When did visible Israel stop being the peoples of God?"  My immediate answer to this question is that the visible Israel, the visible Jews, and the visible Circumcision, never really were, in the definitive sense, the elect peoples of God.  What I mean by that is that the hidden elect peoples of God have always been determined by something beyond the simple observable physical characteristics.  Yes, the visible Israel, the visible Circumcision, and the visible Jews did represent the visible elect peoples of God: They were the visible manifestation of the gracious visible Covenant of Circumcision that God made with Abraham, and was designed to typify the Covenant of Promise that is always hidden in God.  So the term ELECT must also have a complex definition—the visible elect and the invisible elect that are always coexistent within God’s reconciliation.

Then at the very same time, God’s first peoples must always be seen as a necessary example of something hidden: Something invisible to the understanding of natural man.  I would also think that these visible examples that God established so long ago would still be considered examples yet today: Even as this visible example relationship is also seen in and through the institutional presence of the visible Christian Church. 

But the membership of the elect Congregation—the hidden Israel of God, which constitutes only the invisible Messianic Covenant line and the Covenant of Promise, have always been determined by the internal dispositions of God.  Just as they have always been determined by the RENEWING POWER of REGENERATION in the process of each and every elect one’s receiving a CIRCUMCISED HEART from Almighty God Himself. 

God alone has always individually ELECTED the chosen peoples of His holy Congregation.  Then it is this fact that God has been doing all of the calling and choosing throughout time and eternity that is the absolute evidence of His supreme ELECTIVE SOVEREIGNTY. 

1. Though Cain and Able were equally born of the same parents, God, to reveal His ELECTIVE SOVEREIGNTY, chose Able's sacrifice over that of Cain.

2. Though Ishmael and Isaac were both the seed of father Abraham, and both received the Covenant of Circumcision (the circumcision of the flesh), only Isaac was ELECTED by God to be a part of His Holy Congregation: a part of His invisible Covenant of Promise.  Special note should be given to God’s command to Abraham to circumcise all of the male children at the tender age of eight-days-old, as a clear demonstration of God’s absolute sovereignty in the distribution of His grace.  That is, God’s grace does in fact freely flow out through the obedient application of His commanded institutional initiatory rites. (Ref.Gen.17:14; Mat.27:18-20)

3. Though Jacob and Esau were both the seed of father Isaac (even being twins within the same womb), and both of these also received the Covenant of Circumcision (the circumcision of the flesh), only Jacob was ELECTED by God to be a part of His invisible Holy Congregation.  Then Jacob would later be identified as ISRAEL. 

Now if Jacob and Esau were born twins, and both of them received the Covenant of Circumcision (the circumcision of the flesh), and then we are told that Jacob was ELECTED by God while Esau was rejected by God, then we must conclude that there is something more involved in God's special ELECTIVE process than any simple physical attribute.

With respect to the New Testament, these examples are presented to show the absolute insignificance of the physical attributes when considering God's hidden determinations.  I believe that these examples are sighted in the New Testament for the purpose of clarification.  These examples also stimulate some needed conversation on this very complicated matter concerning the visible characteristics and the invisible characteristics of God’s Abrahamic Covenant of Grace.

God, because of the obvious limitations that are inherent in the human specie, has always dealt with the creature on multiple levels:

1. God is SPIRIT, so the level of God's existence would be the Spiritual or supernatural level.  Now this SPIRITUAL or SUPERNATURAL level is completely outside of our personal range of possibility, and there is but one known way for us to attain this elevated position.  That happens only when God Himself, through the regenerative power of His Holy Spirit, personally brings the individual into this SUPERNATURAL realm.  Then it is here at this level of Spiritual renewal where we become aware that our own spiritual senses are heightened and our understanding and knowledge of the invisible Creator God are increased beyond measure.

2. It is because the human specie is naturally bound to this physical world, and because of their obvious physical limitations, that made it necessary for God to first deal with the creature on this physical plane.  It is because we are only physical beings, and because our understandings are often limited by our own physical nature, that has necessitated the institution of all of these visible symbols (ISRAEL, CIRCUMCISION, JEW, ELECT, BAPTISM, CHRISTIAN, CHURCH).  God had all of these visible symbols established for the benefit of enhancing our understanding into this vast unknown.  I will repeat what is said in other places: "Without these visible symbols, we would have no comprehension of the CREATOR GOD."  NONE AT ALL!  Consequently, as the justifying faith we initially receive allows us to know about God’s existence, the process of regeneration allows us to intimately know the God of Creation.

The question that was first asked was this—"When did visible Israel stop being the people of God?"  For the benefit of visible Israel—that even though Israel continues on even now as God’s first peoples, the immediate answer would be when God's dispensational change was fully effective.  This became apparent when God began to manifest and explain His preexistent invisible dispositions to our understanding.  "When He (Jesus) ascended on high, He led captivity captive and (He) gave gifts unto men. Eph.4:8" 

Clearly, to grasp the universal character of the Abrahamic Covenant of Grace, we must understand that the distribution of this blessed grace, because of Christ’s complete atonement for the sins of the world, comes only through the power of God Himself.  This dispensation, this Year of Jehovah’s Favor, represents the consummation of God's program of reconciliation: Where the door of salvation has now been opened to all peoples, tribes, tongues, and Nations: The fulfillment of His original promise to Abraham.

Finally, you would again ask me how I could say that visible Israel, the visible Circumcision, and the visible Jews were never really the elect peoples of God?  This statement is proved by the Old Testament examples of God's ELECTIVE SOVEREIGNTY that are sighted by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament.  We know with absolute certainty, that they were established primarily as visible examples of God's invisible dispositions.  I am not saying that all of those who were a part of the visible body are excluded from the invisible priestly body, but I am saying that the visible body does not collectively represent nor make up the invisible body.  The two, though coexistent throughout God’s entire reconciliation, are always completely separate as far as God's redemptive plan is concerned. <**> 

So to enter into God’s visible Covenant of Grace—the visible component of the Abrahamic Covenant, one need only be an obedient recipient of God’s visible institutional initiatory rites. 

And then under normal circumstances, subsequent to that initial institutional initiation, to be counted as one that is chosen into God's hidden Kingdom and made to be an integral part of His holy priesthood, one must experience the regeneration of the Holy Spirit that comes only through the ELECTIVE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD HIMSELF.  Now this “regeneration” could be seen as a second work of the Holy Spirit of God. Ref.Acts.8:14-17  It would more than seem with these passages concerning Samaria, that “receiving the Word of God” and being “baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus” had some noticeable characteristics that were observed by the Church at Jerusalem.  I would surmise that they had become visible worshippers of Jehovah.

This brief discussion should help our understanding in this eschatological dilemma.  As this proper understanding will surly allow both visible Israel and invisible Israel to achieve their eschatological fulfillment.  That is, the progressive fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant with all of its complex parts was the planned process that would culminate in the continuum of God’s Universal Reconciliation.

          Now before beginning this very important examination of the book of Romans, I would like to add these few personal comments. 

There is absolutely nothing that I could present that would qualify me to make any commentary on this portion of Scripture or upon the writings of any of these notable expositors of the Scriptures.  Except that the Lord has placed a very heavy burden upon my heart to accomplish this work of critiquing the writings on these various sections of Romans.   I am extremely thankful for the extensive works on the epistles of Saint Paul that have been accomplished in John Calvin's Commentaries and Herman Ridderbos' PAUL An Outline of His Theology.  Though I must confess that the work that I have produced holds no comparison to those that are here mentioned, but I must say that the similitude of the substance is astounding.  Thankfully God continues even now to recapitulate for the sake of His saints: "By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established." 2Cor.13:1

I have also come to understand that part of my problem in explaining this information that the Lord has so graciously given to me, would be found in where I begin my explanation.  I have, within these comments, been dealing with the theology of God’s peoples nearly exclusive from the details associated with the doctrine of salvation.  Where JOHN CALVIN, because of the obstacles associated with the Reformation, was, I believe, greatly pre-occupied with the works verses grace aspects of the doctrine of salvation; The complete justification by grace through faith.  I myself, from the perspective of ministering and for discussion purposes, make the assumption that these principles of salvation are already established for the members of the Abrahamic Covenant.  My investigation will consider more the details associated with the historic doctrine of the Church, and its institutional relationship and comparison to the various religions and denominations within the Abrahamic Covenant.

A CAUTION FROM THE PAST:

This caution that has been extracted from the Translator's Preface of Calvin's Commentary on Romans is most necessary for our personal understanding within today’s Church.  We must understand the required active prerequisite of the Holy Spirit of God in each of our lives for our own understanding to become complete.

"Attempts have been made by various authors to show and prove, that the STYLE OF THE EPISTLES, especially those of Paul, is consonant with that of classical writers.  Blackwall laboured much to do this in this country, as well as many German divines, particularly in the (19^th) century.  In common with some of the Fathers, they thought to recommend in this way the Apostolic Writings to the attention of literary men.  But it was a labour not wisely undertaken, as it must have necessarily proved abortive: for though some phrases may be classical, yet the general style is what might have been naturally expected from the writers, brought up, as they had all been, in the Jewish religion, and accustomed, as they had been, to the writings of the Old Testament.  Hence their style throughout is Hebraistic; and the meaning of many of the Greek words which they use is not to be sought from the Classics, but from the Greek Translation of the ancient Scriptures, and sometimes from the Hebrew itself, of which that is a translation.

Much evil and no good must result from a claim that cannot be supported: nor is it at all necessary to make such a claim.  It has been long ago repudiated, and repudiated by Paul himself.  Writers have often ascribed to Paul what he himself distinctly and entirely disclaimed, and never attempted to attain or to practice, and that on principle, "Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect."  It was not by "excellency of speech" that he courted the attention of the classical and refined Grecians, that he recommended the gospel to them; it was not by the tinsel of mere eloquence that he succeeded in his preaching, nor by the elegance and beauty of his diction; but by something much higher, much greater, much more powerful and efficient.  We ought to follow his example, and stand on his high ground, and not to descend to that which is no better than a quagmire.  It is a happy thing, and no doubt so designed by God, that the shell should not be made of fine materials, lest men's minds should be attracted by it and neglect the kernel.  God might, if he chose, have easily endued his Apostles with eloquence more than human, and enabled them to write with elegance more than Grecian; but He did not do so, and Paul expressly gives us the reason, that our faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."

Calvin's Commentary - Romans - Translator's Preface. pp. ix., x.

"It may seem very strange, when we consider the plain and decisive language, especially of this Epistle, and the clear and conclusive reasoning which it exhibits, that any attempt should ever be made by a reasonable being, acknowledging the authority of Scripture, to pervert what it plainly teaches, and to evade what it clearly proves.  But a right view of what human nature is, when unrenewed, as exhibited in God's Word, and as proved by history and made evident by observation, enables us fully to account for what would otherwise remain an enigma.  No truth is more fully confirmed by facts (and it ought ever to be remembered) than that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God," and that he "cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned."  This declaration clearly accounts for the fact, that men of great learning have often misunderstood many things in Scripture, and such things as are plain enough even to the unlettered when spiritually enlightened.  The learned Scribes and Rabbins were blind leaders of the blind, when even babes understood the mysteries of the kingdom of God: and no better than the Scribes are many learned men, professing Christianity, in our day."

Calvin's Commentary - Romans - Translator's Preface. pp.xvi., xvii.

STUDY LEGEND

    ? = Questionable stated point.                         

    Y = Yes-I would be in some agreement with the given statement.

    $ = This stated point is on the money.                                  

    aaron = Aaron.

    * = Take special notice / text to comments follow-up reference.

    1, 2… = Reference point numbers.

    God’s expanded salvation program = God’s universal reconciliation.

  <*> or <**> A statement of special importance and interest.