Chapter XI.
1. I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid . And then while able to adduce proof of this from many other quarters, and bring forward the three thousand who believed in Jerusalem, (Acts ii. 41,) and the many myriads of whom the great James spake, (Acts xxi. 20,) and those of the Jews spread over the face of the land who had accepted the gospel, instead of all these he instances himself; and says, For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin . 2. God hath not cast away His people, which he foreknew . For if He had cast them off, I also had been one of the condemned, seeing that I also have sprung from that root, and glory in Abraham as |155 my forefather, and Benjamin as the head of my tribe, and boast myself in the name of Israel. And well has he added the which he foreknew , that is, those that are worthy of the divine knowledge, having welcomed the light of faith; for so he presently after shows, Wot ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel (1 Kings xix. 14). 3. Lord, they have killed Thy prophets, and digged down Thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life? 4. But what saith the answer of God unto him ? (v. 13,) I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal . And at that time also, says he, were there many of Israel, and all were called Israel, and yet the God of all things designated Himself the God of seven thousand (only), and all the rest He rejected; for I have left unto Myself, said He, seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal ; and this indeed the prophet knew not, but imagined that in himself alone was preserved what remained of true piety. No new nor inconceivable thing then is it, if you also know not those among you who have fixed their faith in the Saviour, whom the God of all things acknowledges as His people . And most opportunely does he bring forward the great Elias making this accusation against them, that not only had they slain the prophets, but even overthrown the altars from their foundations; for granting, says he, that they were evilly-disposed towards the prophets, as denouncing bitter things against them, what had they to allege against the divine altars? Rather then by such daring impieties did they manifest that their hatred was against the God thereof. And here the holy apostle, leaving these scripture testimonies, resumes the thread of his own discourse, and says, 5. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6. And if by grace, then is it no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more work . As at that time, says he, among countless myriads, seven thousand only were left who were free from impiety, even so now also have the greater number disbelieved, and the smaller are they who have believed and enjoyed the divine grace , for it is not the polity of the law that has justified them, which is what is here meant by of works , but the grace of God has saved them; wherefore also salvation itself is called grace , because it proceeds from the divine loving-kindness; and this also he said in speaking concerning the patriarch Abraham, (ch. iv. 4,) "but to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt." 7. What then? Here we must place a stop, for it is put interrogatively, that is, what shall we say to this? and then the rest as the reply, Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were hardened . By the election he signifies those that had believed; and what he means is this, Israel by his adherence to the law has failed of the mark, for now contrary to the (spirit of the) law, he still observes the law, and reaps no righteousness, but such among them as have believed have obtained it, but the rest were hardened , that is, their infidelity has yet more hardened their heart; and he shows that this also was foretold from of old; 8. As it is written , (Isa. vi. 10, xxix. 10,) " God hath |156 given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear unto this day ." Gave them, as "gave them up," (i. 24,) that is, permitted them (to fall into), for God did not incline them to disbelief, for how were it possible for Him to have inflicted infidelity on them, and Himself demanded vengeance for the same? And this the prophet has yet more clearly shown, (ch. vi. 10, LXX., as also so cited Matt. xiii. 15, Acts xxviii. 27,) "for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed." Not another then has blinded them, but themselves have closed their eyes, and have not chosen to see the light. And by the spirit of slumber , he means a fixed and obdurate mind; that as he who enjoys a sound and healthy sleep is open to no change for the worse, so he who has surrendered himself up entirely to evil, admits no alteration for the better. 9. And David saith , (Ps. lxviii. 22,) Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling-block, and a recompense unto them ; 10. Let their eyes be darkened that they may not see, and bow down their back alway . By the word table he speaks of their luxurious living, which he prophesied would be exchanged for the reverse. 11. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid, but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy . For to them first, such as believed among them brought the saving gospel, and when they set themselves against it, and refused to receive their teaching, then to the Gentiles did they offer the divine gospel; but they that believed obtained salvation. And this was suited to prick in heart the gainsayers among the Jews, and excite them to emulation, and so gain for them a participation in that salvation, for those that have been last they see made first. |363
12. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness ? |364 For if, when the greater number disbelieved, those that were converted among them brought the riches of the divine knowledge to the Gentiles, most manifest is it, that if all believed, they would become the means of yet greater blessings to all mankind, for all would the more readily believe, when these no longer opposed, but joined with us instead in preaching, the truth. Thence he turns his exhortations to those among the Gentiles who had believed, and counsels them to entertain a chastened view of themselves; aiming at once at a double point, on the one hand to pull down all self-sufficiency on their part, and lead them to fear; and on the other, to bring the Jews to a participation of their ancestral inheritance; and thus he begins, 13. For I speak unto you, Gentiles; inasmuch indeed as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office, 14. If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and may save some of them . Since God sent me forth as the minister of the Gentiles, necessarily do I labour after the salvation of the Gentiles, and direct my discourses in their behalf, and point out the holy prophets of old predicting these things; and this, that so I may excite the Jews to rivalry, and induce some of them to share in that salvation; for by his flesh he means the Jews, as those that in spirit were distant, and related to him only by the affinity of kindred, 15. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if, says he, on their disbelief the Gentiles were received in, and freed from their former ignorance, manifest is it, that if all these were willing to believe, nothing else would then remain to be accomplished, but the resurrection of the dead; for so the Lord also said, "and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached unto all nations for a witness unto them, and then shall the end come," (Matt. xxiv. 14). And all this we must recollect the holy apostle says, from a desire to suit his matter exactly to the subject in hand, and teach humility to those among the Gentiles that had believed, hold out the offer yet to the disbelieving among the Jews, and point out the salvation that would arise from their change of mind; as what follows teaches yet more clearly, 16. For if the first- fruit be holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root be holy, so are the branches . 17. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; 18. Boast not thyself against the branches . By the first-fruit he means the Lord Christ in his human nature; by the root , the patriarch Abraham; by the branches of the olive , the Jewish people as sprung from thence; and by the richness of the olive , the doctrines of religion. He admonishes those among the Gentiles who believed, not to be puffed up against the disbelieving Jews; for these are they whom he speaks of as branches broken off. Observe rather, says he, that you, born of another race, have been grafted into this, and have received of the richness of the holy root. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee; and consider this also, that the root bears thee, not thou the root, and thou |365 needest it, not it thee. 19. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20. Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. Infidelity has rendered them aliens from the root, and faith has connected thee with the root, and made thee to share in its richness; it behoves thee therefore not to become self-sufficient, but to fear and tremble.—Wherefore? 21. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee . For if the connexion of nature profited them not at all, because they retained not the same character and disposition, much more thou, if thou preservest not that grace, shalt become an alien from the root. 22. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but towards thee, goodness, if thou continue in His goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off . Behold now how God has cut them off, because they followed not the faith of their forefathers, and how He has conferred on thee the blessing of his loving-kindness, and made thee to share in a root not appertaining to thee, from which thou wilt be altogether severed again, if thou keepest not the gift bestowed on thee. 23. And they also, if they abide not in unbelief shall be grafted in. For it becomes the righteousness of God, both to sever again from the root thee, who contrary to hope wert blessed with the privilege of that root, if thou thereafter preserve not the grace given; and to join them again to it, if they renounce their infidelity. And aptly does he use the words grafted in as regards them also, infidelity having altogether severed them from, and faith exactly, as in the case of the Gentiles, connecting them with, the root. For God is able to graft them in again. By mentioning the power of God, he shows the ease with which this would be done; and gives an instance, not one removed far from them, and of ancient times, but one which comes home, and was recent, for he calls themselves as witnesses to this; and says, 24. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree; how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? If thou, being a wild olive—for thou hadst not the law tending thee, nor the prophets, watering, and pruning, and taking all needful care about thee,—hast been detached from unholy ancestors and relations, and made a partaker in the faith of Abraham, and boastest in him as thy father and ancestor, not by the natural course of the law, but by the divine loving-kindness; much more probable and natural must it be, that they, on believing, should be united again to their own root. And all this, as I before remarked, he says in order to teach humility to the Gentile converts, and exhort to salvation the disbelievers among the Jews; and with this agrees what follows, 25. For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits. A mystery is a thing not known to all, but to those only who are entrusted with it. What he means then is, that I wish you to understand the mystery I am aware of as regards these things, that you may |366 not over-estimate your own spiritual knowledge, and hence be puffed up with self-sufficiency. And what is the mystery? That blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and so all Israel shall be saved . He puts the in part , to show that not all had disbelieved, for many even among them had believed; and he bids them not despair of the salvation of the rest. For when the Gentile nation shall have received the gospel, then they also shall believe, the great Elias having come and brought instruction in the faith to them, for so the Lord also said in the holy gospels (Matt. xvii. 1), "Elias cometh and shall restore all things and he adds also the testimony of the prophet (Isa. lix. 20,) 26. As it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27. For this is My covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins . If the polity of the law gives forgiveness of sins, that it is, which the speech of the prophet predicted; but if the law punishes those that transgress it, and the Jews ever lay under the accusation of such transgression, it is plain that the sentence points out the forgiveness which arises from baptism. And by all Israel , he means such as believe, whether they were of the Jews, as having a natural descent from Israel, or of the Gentiles, as connected with him by the relationship of faith.28. As concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election they are beloved for the fathers' sakes . When I look to you, with whose instruction I am entrusted, I consider them as enemies and hateful, as doing all in their power to your injury; but when I turn to their forefathers , and reflect how God chose them from among the whole earth, on their account I love even these. 29. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance . All this he says as an incitement to the Jews; for that the blessings which God gives he again resumes, when He sees those that have received them infected with ingratitude, Saul is a proof, who, having enjoyed spiritual grace, was afterwards deprived thereof; and Solomon in like manner, who, having obtained peace through the divine loving-kindness, after his transgression was stripped of that grace; and indeed the Jews themselves, who, ever having enjoyed the fostering care of the prophets, at that present time had been bereaved of this guardianship. And the same he had also, just before threatened to the believers among the Gentiles, "if thou continue," says he, "in His goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." 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 . Remember indeed how for so long a period all of you lived in sin, and yet the merciful Lord looked not to that lengthened and bitter ungodliness, but blessed with his unspeakable loving-kindness such as were willing to receive it, and when these (the Jews) would not believe, called you in their room; nothing inconsistent then were it, that these also, who now gainsay, should be accepted of God whenever willing to believe, and so inherit the divine loving-kindness. And the that he here again uses in |367 the idiom and sense familiar to him, for they did not therefore disbelieve, in order that they might find mercy, but they disbelieved because of the hardness of their hearts, and will find mercy by turning to a change of mind. 32. For God hath concluded all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all. Concluded he puts for convicted. For he convicted the Gentiles, as having both received natural judgment, and had the creation teaching them the knowledge of God, and yet from neither the one nor the other having derived benefit; and He convicted the Jews likewise, as having enjoyed yet more instruction, in that in addition to nature and the creation, they had received the prophets also teaching what was right, and so become obnoxious to the heavier vengeance; while at the same time both these and those, thus deserving total destruction, has He blessed with the privilege of salvation, provided only they were willing to believe. Having thus fully gone through these things, and contemplating the profundity of the divine lovingkindness, and how incomprehensible is His wisdom, he cries out, 33. O the depth of the riches, and of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God! For of old, and from the beginning, has He foreknown all these things, and foreknowing has wisely disposed, and in that dispensation manifested the riches of His loving-kindness. How unsearchable are his judgments, and His ways past finding out! The scheme of the divine economy surpasses man's understanding; nor even by the invisible powers is the providence of the God of all things fully reached unto. 34. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been His counsellor? 35. Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? These three he puts us answering to the former three, the "riches," and the "wisdom," and the "knowledge:'' the who hath known the mind of the Lord , to the knowledge; the who hath been His counsellor , to the wisdom; and the who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed to him again , to the riches. For so immense are the riches of His goodness, that both to them that were not, has He given existence, and on such as are, of His free grace bestowed well- being. And not as really due to us for any thing we have first given , but of His own free kindness does He confer His blessings, although in mercy condescending to call each such free gift, the repayment of ourselves. 36. For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. For He created all things, and He continues governing all that He thus created. To Him we ought to look, confessing our gratitude for all we already have enjoyed, and begging for His future providence; and to Him we ought to offer up also the praise and honour due.— Now in the words above, the holy apostle shows that he recognised not any difference between the expressions of whom and through whom , as though the former, as indicating some |368 superiority, belonged to the Father; and the latter, as implying some inferiority, were suited to the Son. For he applies both of them to the same Person; whom if, on the one hand, the Arians and Eunomians say is the Father, they will find the through whom joined to the of whom ; and if, on the other, they refer it to the Son, they will see then the of whom connected to the through whom . If then the of whom implies any superiority, and the through whom any inferiority, and yet both are spoken of the same Person, He must in all reason be considered greater than Himself, on account of the of whom , and less than Himself on account of the through whom . Let us then, leaving such (arguers) for the present, magnify our Creator and Saviour, to whom belongs glory for ever and ever. Amen. |617