Some Key Words (11/22/00-11/23/00)

Stumble (ptaio [4417]):

to cause one to fall, to make a mistake, to sin, to fall into misery, become wretched; to trip, fail of salvation

Fall (pipto [4098]):

to fall, to fall down, to perish or be destroyed, to fail, to fall into a state of disfavor with God, to fall into judgement, to be condemned and punished; to descend from a higher to a lower place, to be thrust down, to fall under judgement, to fall down, to be prostrated, to be overcome by terror or grief, to perish or be lost, to fall into ruin, to fall from uprightness, to come to an end;

Transgression (paraptoma [3900]):

fault, purposely stepping over, sin and all its suffering; to fall beside or near, to lapse or deviate from righteousness, a misdeed; a side-slip, an unintentional error or a willful transgression

Salvation (soteria [4991]):

deliverance, preservation, the present experience of God's power to deliver, the future deliverance at the Second Coming, all the blessing of God; safety, Messianic salvation, the present possession of all true Christians, all the blessings of the redeemed consummated in the eternal kingdom; rescue

Make jealous (parazeloo [3863]):

to provoke to jealousy or rivalry, to provoke to anger; to stimulate alongside, to excite to rivalry

Failure (paraptoma [3900]):

same word as 'transgression'.

Fulfillment (pleroma [4138]):

a filling up, a fullness, something put in to fill, a complete number, completion; what is filled - as the church filled with God's presence and power, that with which a thing is filled, completeness, abundance; what fills or what is filled

Apostle (apostolos [652]):

sent forth, the one sent, an ambassador, the office instituted by Christ as His witness, the authority associated with the office; a delegate, one sent with orders, the twelve directly appointed by Christ, other eminent Christian teachers; an ambassador of the Gospel, a commissioner of Christ with miraculous powers

Ministry (diakonia [1248]):

serviceable labor, assistance, compassionate love for the Christian needy, every beneficial labor, vocation; service, the executing of another's commands, those who promote the Gospel by God's command, those who help to meet need by charities, the office of deacon, the service of food preparers; attendance as a servant, service, the work of a Christian teacher

Save (sozo [4982]):

to save from danger or suffering, to save spiritually; to keep safe, to rescue from danger, to make well, preserve, to deliver from Messianic judgement, to save from evil obstructions to receiving Messianic deliverance; to deliver or protect

Rejection (apobole [580]):

repudiation, to throw away from oneself, cast off, a loss;

Reconciliation (katallage [2643]):

to change, to reconcile from enmity to friendship; to exchange things of equivalent value - as a money-changer would, to adjust differences, restore to favor;

Acceptance (proslepsis [4356]):

a receiving into the kingdom of God; admission

First piece (aparche [536]):

first fruits, the beginning, the first of the ripe fruit, Christ, as the first risen from the dead, the gifts of the Spirit as the first taste of our future inheritance, the patriarchs - as the root of Israel; to offer the first fruits, the first portion of dough from which the show bread was prepared, a person consecrated to God for all time; a beginning of sacrifice

Holy (hagios [40]):

set apart, sanctified, consecrated, separate, devotion to the service of God, sharing in His purity, moral cleanliness; a most holy thing, a saint; sacred, physically pure and morally blameless, ceremonially consecrated

Lump (phurama [5445]):

something mixed with water and kneaded, a mass, a lump of dough or clay; something formed by a mix of liquid and solid, a mass of dough

Root (rhiza [4491]):

a root, or the shoot that sprouts from it, offspring;

Branches (klados [2798]):

a young tender shoot broken off for grafting, the posterity of the patriarchs as offshoots of the patriarchal root; a twig or bough broken off

 

Paraphrase: (11/22/00)

11 Israel's fallen state is not permanent. It is their fall that made salvation available to the Gentiles, that they themselves might be made jealous. 12 If their fall has so enriched the world, imagine how greatly their salvation shall enrich us! 13 To this I direct the attention of the Gentiles to whom I minister, and 14 insofar as I move my own people to jealousy by this ministry, I increase it. For, if I cause them to be jealous, some may be saved among them. 15 Yes, their rejection by God has brought reconciliation to the world. Even so, their acceptance by God will be like bringing life from death. 16 As the first bit of dough, so the whole of it; as the root so the plant that springs from it. If the beginning is holy, the rest can but follow.

Key Verse: (11/22/00)

11:15 - Israel's rejection brought salvation, their salvation will be as resurrection.

People Mentioned: (11/22/00)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (11/23/00)

11:11

Ac 28:28 - God's salvation has been declared to the Gentiles, who hear it effectively.

11:12
11:13

Ac 9:15 - God declared Paul a chosen instrument, to declare His name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites.

11:14

Ge 29:14 - Laban declares Jacob to be his bone and flesh (as close kindred). 2Sa 29:12 - David declares Judah to be his bone and flesh. Ro 9:3 - Paul longs for the salvation of his fleshly kinsmen. 1Co 1:21 - The world's wisdom did not lead them to God, so God decided to save those who would believe His foolish message. 1Co 7:16 - We cannot know whether or not our example might save our loved ones. 1Co 9:22 - All things to all men, whatever might further the Gospel. 1Ti 1:15 - Christ came to save sinners, 1Ti 2:4 - for God's desire is that all might be saved and know His truth. 2Ti 1:9 - His salvation was offered for His own purpose and due to His own grace, having no basis in our works, Tit 3:5 - not for our righteous deeds, but for His mercy in which He renews us in the Holy Spirit.

11:15

Ro 5:11 - We exult in God, for the reconciliation we have through Christ Jesus. Lk 15:24 - The father rejoiced for the return of his prodigal son from death to life, Lk 15:32 - for which his brother, also, needed to learn to rejoice.

11:16

Nu 15:18-21 - the offering of the first fruits is declared and instituted. Neh 10:37 - This was re-instituted at the rebuilding of Jerusalem, along with the tithe. Eze 44:30 - The giving of the first of the dough unto the priesthood brings blessing on the house.

 

New Thoughts (11/24/00)

When God threw Israel away from Himself, He accepted us in return as a thing of equivalent value. No greater, no less, but equal in value to Him as are His chosen people. That is an awesome compliment, coming from our Lord! It is also a quiet warning to those who would look down on His fallen children. For indeed, they have become wretched, but they are not so far gone as to have fallen into God's disfavor, and so ensured their own destruction. Their present state, just as ours, has been decreed by God. They are in His plan as much as we, and they will - as God's plan unfolds - be reconciled to Him just as we have been: by His grace alone. Our part in the plan, we are told here, is to provoke the unbeliever to jealousy, to stir up in them an envy for intimacy with our God. This reminder provides me with another call to inspection. Are my actions likely to provoke anybody to jealousy for what I've found? It seems kind of doubtful to me. I can still be terribly acerbic, I remain far too wrapped up in myself - my desires, my accomplishments, my goals. I remain far too quiet about what God has done, is doing, and will do. By the same token, I know many zealous brothers and sisters who pride themselves in having offended "for Jesus' sake," when in fact they have merely offended by being jerks. What does Paul say? He was willing to be all things to all people. Rather than complaining about their habits, and then offering the "you must," or the "you should," he instead displayed himself as the common man - by whatever definition his audience of the moment might hold. He showed them the common ground, and then invited them to come the next step. He provoked them to jealousy, saying "Look, I'm just like you, and yet God enabled me to become such as I am. What prevents you from being likewise empowered by my God, who indeed created you and loves you no less than I?" I recall a friend of my youth who was caught up in homosexuality. I recall discussing - with a mixture of amusement and disgust on both our parts - the idea of his religious sister, who would constantly tell him of God's great disapproval of his lifestyle, and then suggest that he worship this God. What an odd approach! At the time, it just struck me of further proof that Christianity was a bunch of nonsense. Now, it just strikes me as an example of how to ensure the damnation of another. Am I suggesting that we should become homosexual in the hopes that maybe we could then lead one or two of them to Christ? No. How could my falling into a trap help the one already caught in it to get out? However, standing at the edge of the trap and telling the poor victim he shouldn't have been caught by it really won't help, either. The message of the Gospel is good news. It is a message of hope, of the very reconciliation we ourselves received. It is a message of amnesty. God has declared what we all deserve, and He has offered to let that go on the part of those He has determined in His own will to forgive. There is a place for the call to repentance, for the word of rebuke. But the goal of such efforts is to recall one to holiness. To begin the message to the lost with this, is as likely to condemn them as it is to save them. If the Holy Spirit is not consulted constantly as to which approach to take, we will do our Lord a great disservice. If we remain silent when He has promised us words to speak, we do Him just as great a disservice.

Hmm. Got myself off-track a bit there. God, I need to look to my own garden. I need to look to my own witness. You and I both know that I am inclined to remain silent when I ought not to. I err on the side of being unwilling to offend at all. I fear, as I noted above, that my example would provoke more to run quickly in the opposite direction, truth be told. But my trust remains in You to do Your will in me. With Augustine, I ask that You would cause me to do Your will, that You would give me the will to do what You have asked, and empower me to do what is willed. In spite of my bullheadedness, I see that I am unable in myself to be other than I am, and yet I see that I must be other than I am, if I am to have peace in my own heart. You have shown me the great difference between my ways and Your desires for me, and have had to prove over and over to me that I cannot attain to them on my own. Oh, but I keep trying. I know You desire me to keep trying, but You also desire me to bear in mind that I cannot possibly succeed without You. Work in me, Lord, as with Nehemiah. Teach me, Lord, to pray as though I could never do, and to do as though I could never pray. Create in me, Lord, the example You desire, that I may realize a profit for Your kingdom.

After such introspection, I want to take some reassurance from Your Word. First, I will seek the assurance offered in 1Co 7:16: We are not always given to know the results our example has brought. Our lives are likely to impact others in ways we never suspect, and may not ever know this side of eternity. I thank You, Lord, for the possibility that I have so impacted another life. I pray that it be so. I want this life I live to be a testimony to Your goodness; a standing stone, as it were, to memorialize Your work in my life. The other reassurance I see here is one for parents, especially those of us with children no longer in the home. The description of Israel gives us cause for hope for our children, for it describes the patriarchs - the parents of Israel - as a root; and the present Israel - the wayward children - as branches broken off. However, there is also that implication of a shoot cut off in preparation for grafting. Two things really catch my attention in this. First, there is the simple assurance in this passage that, even though the branch has been broken off, it retains the nature of its root. The children of righteous parents retain the flavor of righteousness in themselves, even when they stray. This is the thing that saved the prodigal son. Try as he might, he could not cease being the child of his father, and so the pull of righteousness called him back from his rebellion. This same assurance would cause me to believe that the elder son, who cut such a poor example in the parable, must also have returned to a more righteous viewpoint at some future time in his life, for God does not change, and His Word is sure. The second reassurance I see for the parents of a wayward child, lies in the nature of the breaking off of that branch. This is not the violent wrenching of a limb broken off in heavy weather. Nor is it the irreparable damage of a plant invaded by parasites, gnawed on from within or without. It is a careful breaking, intended not to harm the branch. That branch has been broken off in preparation for grafting! And I rather doubt that the Gardener intends to graft it into the weeds. No, rather that time of separation may be needed to make the fruit more sweet when they return to the root. The call is to pray for the wayward child, that God might work swiftly and gently to prepare them. The call is to remain sure of their salvation, praying always that their stumbling not lead to a permanent fall, knowing that God is willing and able that they should recover and return. Thank You, Lord, that You are so merciful towards us, that You are so kind to Your children as they become parents. Thank You, Father, for being our Father, and understanding the anguish of parenthood. Thank You for the assurance that - as the Parent of all creation - You preserve our children in Your will.