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those who trusted Christ, He could just of Abraham, can, by faith in Christ, be
as easily take away the gospel from the partakers of God’s promises to Abraham,
Gentiles, as a class of people, while saving surely those to whom the promises were
those who believe. originally given can be saved, if they trust
Notice in this section that when Paul is Christ. However, this verse leads Paul to
addressing Gentiles, he uses the pronoun the next paragraph in verses 25-32.
“thou”; at least, that is how it is translated Verse 25 commences, “For I would not,
in the KJV. “Thou” always represents a brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
pronoun in the singular form. In other this mystery, lest ye should be wise in
words, Paul is not addressing Gentiles as your own conceits.” The word “mystery”
individual people but as a single entity. in the New Testament does not refer to
Then he states, “Behold therefore the something that is difficult or impossible
goodness and severity of God: on them to understand, but to something that God
which fell [the Jews], severity; but toward has kept secret in the past, but has “now
thee [Gentiles], goodness, if thou continue revealed unto his holy apostles and proph-
in his goodness: otherwise, thou also shalt ets by the Spirit” (Eph 3:5). There are many
be cut off” (v22). Notice the use of the such mysteries in the NT. For example,
word “severity” in this verse. The Greek in Matthew 13 we have the mysteries of
word comes from a word meaning “to the Kingdom of heaven, in 1 Corinthians
cut.” Paul is still following the metaphor of 15:51 the mystery of the transformation of
“the olive tree.” Paul is warning the Gen- the believer’s body at the Rapture, and in
tiles that if they reject the favour they are 1 Timothy 3:16 the mystery of godliness.
receiving, they also will be “cut off.” That In Romans 11:25, Paul sought to en-
is, the gospel will no longer be offered to lighten the Gentiles as to the fact that
them. This, no doubt, will take place at the Israel’s blindness and the consequent en-
end of this dispensation of grace, when the lightenment of Gentiles to the gospel was
Church is raptured to heaven. due to divine intervention, and was not
Paul continues by writing, “And they grounds for boasting on their part. Then
also [the Jews], if they abide not still in Paul informed them of the subject of the
unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able mystery of which he was writing, “that
to graff them in again” (v23). During the blindness in part is happened to Israel,
until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
tribulation period, God will again com- in.” First of all, the blindness was judicial,
mence working among the Jews, and they because as a nation the Jews had rejected
will ultimately know national deliverance their Messiah when He came. Second, it
and salvation. This is not what this verse was partial (“blindness in part”). Not all
is referring to, of course. It is referring to Jews were blinded; many had received
the fact that, even while, nationally, Israel Jesus as their Messiah, of which Paul was
is rejected, if individual Jews trust Christ, an example (v1). Third, it was temporary
they will be saved. Verse 24 implies that (“until”). The judicial blinding of Israel
God has not ceased to love them because was never intended to be permanent.
of Israel’s national rejection of Christ. If We will continue this subject in our
Gentiles, who are not the natural seed final article.

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