Firstborn Sonship of Christ
CHAPTER THREE
SEPARATION FROM THE ELECTION
In chapter
two we were in the process of reviewing Rom 11 with emphasis on
Israel as God's elect people being cut off out of the
election and thereby being separated from Christ. As we continue
in this chapter we will be pointing out the following
interrelated factors:
1.
Israel is God's covenant people, His elect, His firstborn
nation of firstborn sons.
2.
Israel is currently cut off from God's covenant blessings and
promises and is being punished.
3.
The church is the medium through which God is grafting Gentiles
into the elect, covenant, firstborn sonship.
4.
The covenant people must be faithful to qualify for the election
into the firstborn sonship.
5. Only the faithful covenant
people will qualify for the election into the firstborn
sonship.
6.
Saved covenant people who make shipwreck of faith are cut off
from Christ, from the election, and from the firstborn
sonship.
7.
The firstborn sonship provides the birthright which includes all
the covenant promises.
8.
The unfaithful saved will be servants to Christ and to all who
qualify for the firstborn sonship. They will be servant flesh
sons, not free divine sons.
9.
The elect in Israel were cut off from the election because they
made shipwreck of faith. The Jews were cultured branches in the
cultured olive tree, and, for the most part, were true believers
in God who made shipwreck of faith, as their fathers did when God
brought them out of Egypt.
10. Gentiles in the
church are grafted into the election on the basis of the faith of
Christ, which we have only in the body of Christ. We are warned
that we will also be cut off out of Christ and out of the
election if we do not continue in God's goodness by grace
through faith. We continue here with Rom 11 concerning separation
from Christ and therefore from the firstborn sonship.
THESE WERE SAVED COVENANT PEOPLE
The Jews in
the time of Christ were believers in God, and therefore saved as
we normally used the word "saved." Most of them were missing the
mark with regard to covenant salvation by grace through faith,
Rom 9:30-33; 10:1-3. We hope to have more to write on saved
people, servant sons, Gal 4:21-31, outside the church and outside
the covenants before we finish these books on the firstborn
sonship of Christ. For now, consider the cutting off of the tame
olive branches from the election. The Jews believed in God, but
rejected the meek and lowly Messiah. They were saved, but not
with covenant salvation, Jn 7:31-37; Rom 9:30-33; 10:1-3,
therefore they must suffer the judgment of Gehenna, Mt
23:15,33.
ISAIAH'S PROPHECY OF DOOM
8
"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I
send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send
me.'
9
"And He said, ‘Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on
hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not
perceive.'
10 "Make the heart of
this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest
they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
understand with their heart, and return and be healed
(saved with covenant salvation).'
11
"Then I said, ‘Lord, how long?' And He answered: ‘Until
the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are
without a man, the land is utterly desolate,
12 "The LORD has removed
men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of
the land," Isa 6:8-12.
Jesus quoted from these
verses, Mt 13:14-15; Mk 4:12; Lk 8:10; Jn 12:40, and so did Paul,
Act 28:26; Rom 11:8, and applied them to the Jews of the times of
Jesus and Paul. The cutting off of Israel will last until the
return of Christ when they will repent and be grafted back into
the covenant position, Rom 11:23-36.
WHEN WERE THE OLIVE BRANCHES BROKEN OFF?
The
rejection of Israel as a nation obviously took place over a long
period of time, beginning with the commission given to Isaiah,
Isa 6:9-12 Rom 11:8-10. This first phase affected the seeing, the
hearing, and the understanding: they saw but could not see
properly or spiritually, they heard but could not hear
spiritually, they understood but could not understand the true
meaning. The result was that the interpretation of the Law
Covenant was corrupted, Mt 15:1-20, faith was made void, Mt
23:23, and entrance into the kingdom was being blocked for most
of the covenant people, Mt 23:13.
John refused to baptize the
leaders of the Jews, Mt 3:7-12. This was the beginning of the
second phase of God's rejection of Israel as a nation, as
well as Israel's rejection of Christ and the New Covenant.
The crucifixion of Christ by the nation was the climax of the
national rejection of Christ, and was equally God's rejection
of Israel as a nation in favorable covenant standing. Israel, as
the covenant nation, is now under covenant punishment, with the
church grafted into the covenant stock of Abraham. The cutting
off of these olive tree branches continued after the crucifixion
and resurrection of Christ, and perhaps until AD 70 when even the
Jerusalem church was cut off from Christ, Gal 5:1-4.
SAVED AND BAPTIZED DISCIPLES WHO FORSOOK CHRIST
66
"From that time many of His disciples went back and walked
with Him no more," Jn 6:66.
These were obviously saved
and baptized disciples, who, like many today, were not able to
endure "sound doctrine" – "the
doctrine of Christ," 2Jn 9-11; 2Ti 4:3-4; Jn 8:30-32.
Many of those who "went back and walked
with Him no more," were of the olive branches who
were cut off. Many Landmark Baptists today are forsaking the
doctrine of Christ by converting to the universal church theory,
which says that all believers are in the body and bride of
Christ.
BELIEVERS AFRAID OF THE RELIGIOUS POWERS
42
"Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him,
but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they
should be put out of the synagogue;
43 "For they loved the
praise of men more than the praise of God," Jn
12:42-43.
Nicodemus, Jn 3, and Joseph
of Arimathea, Jn 19:38, were among these rulers, but appear to
have improved later. However, there obviously were many who
believed but never confessed Christ publicly, and were branches
cut off from the olive tree.
MANY THOUSANDS WERE BAPTIZED BY JOHN AND JESUS
John and
Jesus baptized many thousands of people, Mt 3:5-6; Mk 1:4-5; Jn
4:1-2. What happened to all of them? Only about one hundred
twenty received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Act
1:15. Thousands of converts were also made by the Jerusalem
church, Act 2 thru 6, then were scattered far and wide, Act 8:1;
11:19-20, by the persecution under Saul who was later converted.
The first apostles were initially saved and baptized, then later
came to recognize Jesus as the Messiah and joined themselves to
Him as His disciples, Jn 1:29-51; 2:1-2. Still later we read of
the churches of Judea, Gal 1:22, which no doubt included many of
those baptized by John and Jesus. However, observe as we proceed
what happened to these Jewish churches.
THE ROMAN CENTURION OF GREAT FAITH
Jesus
marveled at the faith of this Roman centurion as being greater
than He had witnessed in all of Israel, Lk 7:1-9. How did this
centurion come to such great faith? Who taught him the truth so
well? Jesus marveled at his great faith, but faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by a proper teacher of God's Word, Rom
10:14. The centurion's military discipline served as fertile
ground for his great faith, but more often that discipline served
as a source of selfish pride and brutality. It is obvious that
the centurion had been privileged to have some teachers among the
Jews who themselves were "of the faith
of Abraham."
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH
The
Ethiopian eunuch was a very high official under the queen of
Ethiopia and was evidently a Gentile, Act 8:26-38. What was he
doing in the land of Israel, and why was he reading the book of
Isaiah? Evidently, he was a proper convert to the Jewish faith
under the Law Covenant. And obviously there were proper believing
Jews of the dispersion who lived in Ethiopia.
It was appropriate for Jews
of the dispersion as well as Gentile converts to make pilgrimages
to the temple in Jerusalem, Act 8:27. The eunuch was honest,
devout, and obviously had proper faith in God. But who taught
him? How did he come to be a true convert to the true God? He was
clearly already a saved man in Law Covenant standing.
The Holy Spirit sent Philip
to the eunuch because this man's heart was right with God and
God wanted a church in Ethiopia, as was true with Cornelius and
his immediate household shortly after, Act 10. We can be
confident there were others with the eunuch, because a man of
such "great authority" in
charge of all the queen's treasury, would not be traveling
this great distance alone. There should be little doubt that
others were baptized with the eunuch, and a church organized and
provided for by the Holy Spirit. God was still using true
believers in Israel as Joseph and Mary, in Jerusalem as Simeon
and Anna, in the temple as Zechariah, and among Jews of the
dispersion as in Act 2. The dispersion (diaspora) refers to Jews who were scattered abroad
under the Babylonian conquest of Israel, and who did not return
to Israel with Ezra and Nehemiah.
Philip was used to spread the
Gospel further to the Samaritans, and establish a church among
them. Then to these Gentiles now returning to Ethiopia fully as a
church, under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
SAUL WAS A SAVED MAN
1
"Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, ‘Men and
brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until
this day,'" Act 23:1.
6
"Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the
righteousness which is in the Law, blameless," Phi 3:6. See also Lk
1:5-6.
13
"Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an
insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in
unbelief," 1Ti 1:13.
The first apostles as well as
many other Jews were saved, some of them years before they were
baptized by John the Baptist, but did not believe that Jesus was
Christ until after they talked with Him, heard Him teach, and saw
His miracles. This is precisely where Saul was before He
personally met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Saul was
persecuting Christians and therefore persecuting the Lord, but he
was exceedingly zealous and fully honest, thinking he was doing
the right thing. And Saul would have been doing the right thing
had he been destroying false prophets, Lev 20; 1Ki 18:20-40.
Saul (Paul) was a true
believer in God, just as Nicodemus, Jn 3; Zacharias and
Elizabeth; Lk 1:5-6; Joseph and Mary, Mt 1:18-25; Simeon, Lk
2:25-32; Anna, Lk 2:25-32; the shepherds, Lk 2:8-20; and others
in Israel and among the dispersion, even the wise men from the
east, Mt 2.
Paul said, 27 "King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I
know that you do believe.
28 "Then Agrippa said to
Paul, ‘You almost persuade me to become a
Christian,'" Act 26:27-28.
Paul's statement
indicates Agrippa was also a believer under the Law Covenant, but
was not a Christian, as pointed out above, with so many who had
not personally met Christ.
CORNELIUS AND OTHERS WITH HIM WERE TRUE CONVERTS UNDER THE
LAW COVENANT
1
"There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a
centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment,
2 "A devout man and one
who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously
to the people, and prayed to God always.
3 "About the ninth hour
of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in
and saying to him, ‘Cornelius!'
4 "And when he observed
him, he was afraid, and said, ‘What is it, lord?" So he said
to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial
before God," Act 10:1-4.
We need to read and study the
many passages which speak of God's witness to the nations
through nature which leaves all the people of the nations
"without excuse," Gen 6:1-7;
11:1-9; Ps 19:1-6; Isa 45:22; Jn 1:9; 12:32; 16:7-8; Act
14:16-17; 17:26-28; Rom 1:18-20; 10:14-18.
But what does it take to
render the people of the nations "without excuse," in the sense of Rom
1:18-20? 1) Sufficient knowledge of
God, of sin, of righteousness, and judgment, Jn 16:7-8; Rom
1:18-20, and 2) sufficient grace,
ability, to seek, find, and believe, Act 14:16-18; 17:26-28. Yet
God gave no Gentile person or nation a covenant outside Israel
and the church, Deu 4:7-9; 29:29; Ps 25:14; 103:7; 147:19-20; Rom
3:1-2.
Through the covenants God
provides detailed instructions on worship and godly living.
However, every rational person who has ever lived has been given
sufficient knowledge and sufficient grace to be saved as far as
salvation from hell is concerned, though no covenant for
salvation of the life has been given to anyone since the giving
of the Law Covenant except to Israel and the church.
Cornelius and many of his
household and immediate subordinates were saved converts to the
Law Covenant, Act 10, and God was ready to open the door wide for
these Gentiles to be a church within the New Covenant. Cornelius
was a man of devout faith, and had been well taught by someone or
more persons according to the Law Covenant and who were
"of the faith of Abraham,"
Rom 4:11-17; Gal 3:6-9,14.
THE JERUSALEM CHURCH
17
"And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us
gladly.
18
"On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all
the elders were present.
19 "When he had greeted
them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the
Gentiles through his ministry.
20 And when they heard it,
they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, ‘You see, brother,
how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed,
and they are all zealous for the
Law (Covenant)," Act 21:17-20.
The Jerusalem church was a
Jewish church made up of natural olive branches. They had not yet
been cut off from Christ and from the olive tree when the letter
to the Romans was written, but they never stopped trying to keep
the Law Covenant. This meant they were of the works of the Law
Covenant and were therefore inevitably under the curse,
condemnation, wrath, death, slavery, etc., of the Law Covenant,
Ja 2:10; Gal 3:10; 5:1-4. God gave them a number of years to
correct this situation, but according to Edward Gibbons they
never did.
Trying to keep the Law
Covenant along with the New Covenant carried the ultimate penalty
of being cut off from Christ and everything provided and promised
under the covenants, Gal 4:21 thru 5:4.
THE GALATIAN CHURCHES
1
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has
made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of
bondage.
2 "Indeed I, Paul, say
to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.
3 And I testify again to
every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the
whole law.
4 "You have become
severed from Christ, you who attempt
to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace,"
Gal 5:1-4.
The Galatian churches were
primarily Gentile churches, but the same covenant rules apply to
both Jew and Gentile, to the natural branches and to the
engrafted wild olive branches. The covenants must be obeyed by
grace through faith – "you stand by
faith," Rom 11:20.
The Roman churches were
primarily made up of Gentile believers, but the same rule applies
to the engrafted branches as to the natural branches; that is, we
were graphed into the olive tree by grace through faith,
John's baptism, and we must stand by grace through faith. All
who make shipwreck of the faith, will be cut off from Christ and
all the covenant provisions and promises.
THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES
1 "I
am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 "Every branch in Me
that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that
bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 "You are already clean because of the word
which I have spoken to you.
4 "Abide in Me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides
in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 "I am the vine, you
are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much
fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 "If anyone does not
abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they
gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are
burned," Jn 15:1-6.
In John 15, Jesus was
speaking directly to His apostles, who were already clean by His word, Jn 15:3. They were
saved, scripturally baptized, formed into a true local church,
ordained apostles, and were the ones Jesus left as special
witnesses of His new birth resurrection. Yet Jesus warned them
that they could become unfruitful and fail to make their calling
and election sure. They would thereby be cut off out of the
election, by being cut off, separated, from Christ, Jn 15; Rom
11; 2Pe 1:3-10; 2Jn 9-11.
The Galatian church members
were saved, scripturally baptized, and properly formed into true
churches. These also were not unsaved people. However, they were
warned that trying to keep both the Law Covenant and the New
Covenant would unavoidably cut them off from Christ, Gal 4:21
thru 5:4. Trying to keep the Law Covenant, in every case, would
bring the curse, condemnation, death, wrath, slavery, etc., of
the Law Covenant upon them, because such is true with everyone
under the Law Covenant, Gal 3:10; 5:3; Ja 2:10.
This would sever, separate,
them from Christ, from the body of Christ, Gal 5:2,4. This would
cancel out the New Covenant, and would thereby cancel out all the
covenants and covenant promises. This includes election because
election is clearly a covenant promise to the faithful covenant
overcomers, 2Pe 1:3-10.
ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS
1
"Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that
all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,
2 "All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in
the sea,
3 "All ate the same spiritual food,
4 "And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock
was Christ.
5 "But with most of them
God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the
wilderness.
6 "Now these things
became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after
evil things as they also lusted.
11
"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they
were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages
have come.
12 "Therefore let him
who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall," 1Co
10:1-6, 11-12.
As demonstrated in these
verses and in earlier articles, the Israelites were believers who
worshiped God. Their hope was in their covenant God, and God
blessed them greatly as well as severely trained them in their
215 years of Egyptian slavery, Ex 1 thru 15; 1Co 10:1-13; Heb
3.
Verses 6, 11, and 12 above
are written to and about saved and properly baptized church
members concerning making their calling and election sure, and
thereby qualifying for the firstborn sonship of Christ. God
predestined that His elect must faithfully endure and overcome in
His prescribed covenant training program, or they will fail to
qualify for the election. Let the one who is thinking to stand,
take great heed lest he fall – as Paul severely disciplined his
body lest he become disqualified in his agonizing pursuit for the
firstborn sonship of Christ.
THE HEAVENLY CALLING
1
"Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of
the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest
of our confession, Christ Jesus," Heb 3:1.
6
"But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are
IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm
to the end," Heb 3:6.
12
"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any
of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living
God;
13 "But exhort one
another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of
you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 "For we have become
partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence
steadfast to the end," Heb 3:12-14.
Hebrews was also written to
and about saved and properly baptized church members, Heb 3:6;
10:25, who were urged repeatedly throughout the book to
"Beware, brethren, lest there be
in any of you an evil heart of
unbelief in departing from the living God," Heb 3:12.
Conversely, they were to "hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope to the end,"
Heb 3:6,14.
The Hebrew Christians in the
book of Hebrews, the Israelites in the wilderness, Heb 3:7-19;
1Co 1:1-12, and the Israelites referenced in Romans, Rom 11,
were, for the most part, saved covenant people who were urged to
hold fast what they had, stand fast where they were, and not to
make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience, 1Ti 1:18-20. The
urgency in each of the three cases is equally applicable to all
the Lord's covenant people, lest there be in any of us
"an evil heart of unbelief in departing
from the living God," Heb 3:12; Rom 11:20-22.
The "heavenly calling" of Heb 3:1, is the
calling and election into the firstborn sonship of Christ. This
was settled in God's predestination before the ages that we
must overcome by grace through faith throughout our lives in
order to qualify for the firstborn sonship of Christ, Heb 3:1-19;
5:8-9; 12:1-23; 2Pe 1:1-10; Rom 11.
CALLED IN "ONE
BODY"
15
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also
you were CALLED IN ONE BODY; and be
thankful," Col 3:15.
That "one body" is a true local visible
church – not a universal invisible church. This "one body" is one from which we can
purge out the leaven of unholy, but saved, church members. That
cannot be done in the spurious
universal invisible church, because that doctrine says all saved
people are in a mythical invisible church. Another theory is that
the saved person who becomes unfaithful must be saved all over
again. Yet again, it is said that the saved person who becomes
unfaithful was never saved in the first place. All three of these
are incorrect; God has two kinds of sons: the faithful saved who
will be firstborn sons, and the unfaithful saved who will be the
other sons – servant sons, Gal 4:21-31; 5:1-5; Heb 12:8,
1-29.
If all saved people were in
the church, it would be impossible to put a saved person out,
without, outside, 1Co 5, regardless of how leavened, unholy or
unfruitful, he is, 2Pe 1:8-9. "Without" or "outside" means outside the local
church. The Scriptures support "one
body," not two, Eph 4:4; and that "one body" is the local church which has
a "within" or "inside" and a "without," or "outside." Therefore it is possible to
put an unrepenting saved church member "outside," 1Co 5; Mt 18:15-18; 2Th
3:6-15.
The elect are "called in one
body," a true local church as an institution, Col
3:15. Saved people outside the church are not a part of God's
elect, and are therefore not in position to become firstborn
sons.
16
"And that He might reconcile them both (Jew and
Gentile) to God IN ONE
BODY through the cross, thereby putting to death the
enmity," Eph 2:16.
Again, that "one body" is the local church, and
since there is only "one
body" that one body is necessarily the local church
as an institution. All the faithful covenant people since the
first Adam are qualified to be in that "one body" when Christ returns. And
"in Christ," the body of
Christ, there are no nations. This
means there are no national distinctions in the body of Christ,
Gal 3:27-29, and therefore no nations
"in Christ."
THOSE WHO LOVE GOD
28
"And we know that all things work together for good to
those who love God, to those who are the
called according to His purpose," Rom
8:28.
Those who "love God" and those who are
"the called
according to His purpose," are one and the same
people. And they are faithful covenant people, because those who
love God are faithful, Jn 14:21-14; 1Jn 5:2-3; 2Jn 6, and also
because we must be faithful in order to make our calling and
election sure, 2Pe 1:5-10; Jn 15:1-11.
If we love God, we will be
faithfully keeping His Word, Jn 14:21,23. We will thereby be
steadfastly remaining in Christ and bearing the proper fruit, Jn
15:1-5; 2Pe 1:5-10; 1Jn 5:2-3; 2Jn 6,9-11.
HOLINESS, AN ABSOLUTE REQUIREMENT
16
"For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and
if the root is holy, so are the branches," Rom
11:16.
Holiness or sanctification,
on the one hand, means being set apart for service to God. In
this respect, the tabernacle and temple and all their furnishings
were holy. But holiness as God is holy is much more than this,
for holiness is one of God's divine attributes, as
righteousness, glory, and life are divine attributes of God, and
are all infinitely beyond what mere flesh can understand and
experience.
11
"For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of
the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God
except the Spirit of God," 1Co 2:11.
To understand mankind, one
must be a human. Similarly, to "know" and understand God, we must be
partakers of the divine nature, and that is what God is offering
to us within the firstborn sonship of Christ, 2Pe 1:4 (3-10). To
be holy as God is holy, we must daily (constantly) be looking
into the mirror of God's Word to intently observe the glory
of the Lord, and thereby be progressively being transformed into
that same image from glory into more abundant glory, 2Co 3:17-18;
4:17 thru 5:5; 9:10; Jn 10:10; Heb 12:1-11; 1Co 15:40-41.
16
"For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and
if the root is holy, so are the branches," Rom
11:16.
Israel was and is a holy
nation by virtue of their covenant position, Ex 19:1-6; Lev
20:22-26; Deu 26:16-19; Lk 1:72. Likewise the church is holy
because of its covenant position as the deified body and bride of
Christ, Heb 10:29; 1Co 3:16-17; 5; 6:15-20; 2Co 6:14-18; Eph 1:4;
2:21-22; Col 3:12,15; et al. However, to be holy as God is holy,
we must have circumcised hearts, Rom 2:28-29. We must be daily
and devotedly reading and meditating on God's Word in order
to be constantly and progressively being transformed into the
image of Christ in our minds and lives, Rom 12:1-2; 2Co 3:17-19;
Eph 4:11-24; Col 3:1-11.
GOD PREDESTINED ONLY HOLY BRETHREN TO HIS ELECTION
4
"Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and
without blame before Him in love," Eph 1:4.
1
"Therefore, holy brethren,
partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ
Jesus," Heb 3:1.
;12
"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief in departing from the living God;
13 "But exhort one
another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of
you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 "For we have become
partakers of Christ IF we hold the beginning
of our confidence steadfast to the end," Heb
3:12-14.
There are two things which
constitute "holy brethren"
in our current covenant standing: 1)
Being in the covenant (body of Christ) position, 2) Being personally holy in our lives by grace
through faith, according to the Scriptures. An unbelieving and
unholy life will cancel out both of these holy relationships. We
must be sacrificially believing into Christ by presenting our
bodies a living and holy sacrifice, and by continually being
transformed into the image of Christ by the renewing of our
minds, while munching on God's Word, Rom 12:1-2; 2Co 3:18;
4:7-17; 1Ti 1:19-20; Heb 3:1-19; 2Pe 1:5-10; 3:16-17; et
al.
GOODNESS AND SEVERITY OF GOD
20
"Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off,
and you stand by faith. Do not be
haughty, but fear.
21 "For if God did not
spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22 "Therefore consider
the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity;
but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness.
Otherwise you also will be cut off," Rom
11:20-22.
Paul said, "you stand by faith." The book of Romans
was written to those who were true believers and had been
baptized into the body of Christ, Rom 6:3-5. Being properly in
the church they had thereby been grafted into the election, the
elect nation. That is what this entire chapter of Rom 11 is
concerned with.
Christ is the chief objective
of all the covenants. Being clothed in the righteousness of
Christ, partaking of Christ, is the same chief objective of all
the covenants, Gen 3:21; Rev 3:4-5,18; 19:7-8. We will have many
articles on this subject, if the Lord permits, when we cover the
firstborn sonship in the Old Testament. All the promises of all
the covenants are predestined before creation to be fulfilled in
the body of Christ. Gal 3:14-19,27; Eph 1:3-5; 2:10-16;
3:6-11.
Christ is "the" Seed of Abraham, Gal 3:14-19, and
therefore more than merely of the stock of Abraham. Hence, we
Gentiles, being in the body of Christ, are grafted into the stock
of Abraham, which is the election. We are grafted in as seed of
Abraham by being in "the"
seed of Abraham, Gal 3:29.
It was to saved and
scripturally baptized Gentile church members, who had been
grafted into the stock of Abraham and were thereby properly
standing in the election by grace through faith, who were
solemnly warned that they must continue in God's goodness or
they "also would be cut
off," separated from Christ and from the election,
Rom 11:20-22.
CALLING AND ELECTION IRREVOCABLE
28
"Concerning the Gospel they are enemies for your sake, but
concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the
fathers.
29 "For the gifts and
the calling of God are irrevocable," Rom
11:28-29.
God predestined before
creation that we must repent of our sins, believe into Christ,
and continue believing into Christ
throughout our lifetime in order to consummate our calling and
election as firstborn sons together with Christ. That is what Rom
11 requires. That is what the whole Bible requires, as we have
been demonstrating and will continue to do so. God requires that
we live daily in a holy way, being transformed into the image of
Christ in order to make God's calling and election sure. This
progressive calling and election is irrevocable, Rom 11:28-29,
(1-36).
MAKING OUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE
3
"As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain
to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us
by glory and virtue,
4 "by which have been
given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through
these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 "But also for this
very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge,
6 "To knowledge
self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance
godliness,
7 "To godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8
"For if these things are yours and abound, you will be
neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
9 "For he who lacks
these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has
forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 "Therefore, brethren,
be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if
you do these things you will never fall," 2Pe
1:3-10.
LIKE PRECIOUS FAITH
1
"Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to
those who have been allotted like precious
faith with us (the gift of faith) in the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus
Christ," 2Pe 1:1.
The "like precious faith" is the
"gift" of "the faith of Christ" which we have in
the covenants in the body of Christ, Rom 3:26 (Gr); Gal 2:16,20;
3:22-25; Phi 3:9. The faith of Christ is twofold: 1) The personal faith of Christ which we have by
the indwelling Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, 1Co 2:16,
2) The system of New Covenant
doctrines. Both of these are included in 2Jn 9-11 and 1Jn
2:23-24.
We have believed into Christ
that we may be justified by the faith OF Christ, Gal 2:16 – an
accurate translation. This faith is the "gift" of faith given to us only in the
body of Christ, where Christ is the Head, and the Holy Spirit is
the One who is endeavoring constantly to work in us both to will
and to do of the Father's good pleasure, Phi 2:13; Gal
5:17.
Peter is writing to saved and
scripturally baptized people in the body of Christ, "who have obtained like precious faith with
us" within the body of Christ, 2Pe 1:1.
ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO LIFE AND GODLINESS
3
"As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and
virtue," 2Pe 1:3.
"All
things that pertain to life and godliness" can be had
only in the covenants in the body of Christ. Those who have
refused to receive the baptism of John, which is the circumcision
of Christ, have rejected the doctrine of Christ and the counsel
of God against themselves, Lk 7:29-30; Col 2:11-12; 2Jn 9-11; 1Jn
1:5-7.
PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE
4
"By which have been given to us exceedingly great and
precious promises, that through these you
may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust," 2Pe
1:4.
Partaking of the divine
nature is a covenant promise of a future experience, a
resurrection birth into the divine kingdom of God when Christ
returns. These exceeding great and precious promises are covenant
promises and are contingent upon our overcoming, by grace through
faith, a very wide range of trials and hardships in this life.
They require that we make our calling and election sure by a
daily transformation of our lifestyle from the old man image of
the first Adam into the new man image of the second Adam, Rom
12:1-2; 2Co 3:18; 4:1-12; Eph 4:20-24; Col:3:1-10; 1Co
15:1-2,44-50.
12
"Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief in departing from the living God;
13 "But exhort one
another daily, while it is called ‘Today,' lest any of you be
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 "For we have become partakers of Christ IF we hold the
beginning of our confidence steadfast to the
end," Heb 3:12-14.
It is not true that once
people believe they will always be believing into Christ, and
therefore the divine life and divine firstborn sonship are
guaranted. An evil heart of unbelief, a root of bitterness,
lukewarmness, etc., can cause us to make shipwreck of faith and a
good conscience, Heb 3:12-14; 12:15-17; 1Ti 1:18-20; Jer 17:9; et
al.
Partaking of Christ is
partaking of the divine nature, and this will happen in the
resurrection. The body of Christ was born of God in His
resurrection, Col 1:18; Rev 1:5; Act 13:29-33; Heb 1:5-6; 5:5;
1Co 15:44-50, and the faithful covenant people are predestined to
consummate their calling and election by partaking of Christ –
being born of God in the resurrection when Christ returns, 2Pe
1:4 (3-10); 2Co 6:14-18; Rev 21:7; Mt 5:9,44-45; 12:46-50;
19:16-30; Rom 8:23-25; Jn 8:31-32; Gal 4:21-31; 5:1-5; Jn 3:1-18;
1Pe 1:3-9; et al.
The unfaithful saved who do
not make their calling and election sure, 2Pe 1:5-10; Rom
11:11-22, will not partake of Christ, Heb 3:14; Jn 6:27-67, will
not partake of the divine nature, 2Pe 1:4-10; Heb 3:14, will not
be born of God, 2Pe 1:4-10; 1Pe 1:3-9, and will not escape the
corruption that is in the world, 2Pe 1:4; Gal 5:7-9. The divine
nature, divine life, will be given only to those who win Christ,
Phi 3:7-14,21, by continuing to believe into Christ, Jn 3:16;
5:24; 1Jn 5:13, progressively coming to Christ, Jn 6:37; 10:27,
habitually sowing to the Spirit, Gal 6:7-9; 2Co 9:10, diligently
putting to death the deeds of the flesh, Rom 8:6,13; Col 3:1-10,
and patiently waiting on for the adoption, Rom 8:23-25; Gal 5:5;
et al.
FOR THIS VERY REASON, GIVING ALL DILIGENCE
4
"By which have been given to us exceedingly great and
precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust.
5 "But also for this
very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge,
6 "To knowledge
self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance
godliness,
7 "To godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love,"
2Pe 1:4-7.
"For this very reason," 2Pe 1:5, goes
back to the "promise" of
divine life, the divine nature, in verse 4. The divine nature has
not yet been received, and it is not guaranteed to every saved
person. The promise is made on the basis of the believer being
one who is constantly believing into Christ, and that always
means believing into the body of Christ.
4
"But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of God,'" Mt 4:4.
27
"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food
which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give
you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him,"
Jn 6:27.
The divine nature and the
divine life are the same. They are in the "promise" and "hope" category, where we must eagerly
wait for them with an active mind-set of believing into Christ –
the constant renewing of our minds by feeding constantly on the
Word of God, Rom 12; Col 3.
"For this very reason" we are to give
all diligence by grace through faith,
by the Holy Spirit, to progressively maintain a God fearing
circumcised heart, Rom 2:28-29. There is a "sad day coming" for us if this is not
true both in word and in deed, Mt 23; 2Jn 9-11.
IF THESE THINGS BE IN YOU AND ABOUND
8
"For if these things are yours and abound, you will be
neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ," 2Pe 1:8.
God requires us to give all diligence to abound in
these godly virtues, and His promise is that if we give all
diligence we will abound. However, we have a sinful nature where
the Spirit is striving against our sinful flesh nature, and our
sinful flesh nature is striving against the Spirit, Gal 5:17; Rom
7:14-25, and even when we persistently and severely discipline
ourselves, 1Co 9:27, there is still reason to fear: "Wherefore let him who thinks he stands take heed
lest he fall," 1Co 10:12. There is no reason to fear
if election is guaranteed to every saved person. Why should Paul
so severely discipline himself and urge the Corinthians and
everyone else to do the same if there is no danger of falling out
of the election? We must remember that we are "CALLED IN ONE BODY," Col 3:15. And
again remember that "calling and
election" go together, 2Pe 1:10; Rom 8:28-30;
11:1-29.
QUESTIONS AND WORK TASKS FOR CHAPTER THREE
1. Israel is
God's covenant people, His elect, His firstborn nation of
firstborn sons. Explain and give scripture to support this
statement.
2. Israel is currently cut off from
God's covenant blessings and is being punished. Describe how
Rom 11:23-32 states this fact.
3. The church is the medium through
which God is grafting Gentiles into the elect covenant Sonship.
Discuss and correlate Rom 11:11-22; Gal 3:27-29; and Eph
2:11-22.
4. The covenant people must be
faithful to qualify for the election into the firstborn sonship.
Support this from Rom 11:11-22; 2Pe 1:5-10.
5. Saved covenant people who make
shipwreck of faith are cut off from Christ, from the election,
and from the firstborn sonship. Analyze and correlate; 1Ti
1:19-20; Jn 15:1-6; Heb 12; and 2Pe 1:5-10.
6. The firstborn sonship provides the
birthright which includes all the covenant promises. Consult Gen
25:29-34; 27:27-37; Rom 8:28-30; 11:1-32; Eph 2:11-22; Heb
12:15-24; 2Pe 1:3-10; and explain.
7. The unfaithful saved will be
servants to Christ and to all who qualify for the firstborn
sonship – they will be mere flesh sons, not divine sons. See Gen
25:29-34; 27:27-37; Gal 4:21-31; Rev 2:26-27; 21:24; 22:2.
Explain why they will be mere flesh sons.
8. Israel was cut off from the
election because they made shipwreck of faith. Gentiles thru the
church gain the election by faith. Explain from Rom 11:11-22; Gal
3:6-29; Eph 2:10-22; 2Pe 1:1-10.
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