NOTES for Rom 11:17-18

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¹⁷And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

¹⁸Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Among modern Christians there is a fairly widespread idea that one union-covenant with God somehow replaces another. Thus, the covenant with Noah was replaced by the covenant with Abraham, the covenant with Abraham in turn by the covenant with Moses, then by the covenant with David, and the pyramid is crowned by the covenant concluded through Jesus Christ, the new, messianic, and final covenant, which cancels all the previous ones, which automatically cease to operate with the coming of Christ.

Perhaps that would be so if the matter concerned only a legal contract. Then such logic would be quite understandable and absolutely correct: if changes are made to a contract concluded by the parties at the initiative of one of them, then the previous version of the contract automatically ceases to be valid. But in this case we are not speaking of a contract in the legal sense, but of a union, of relationships binding God with His people and with individual representatives of that people.

And a union and relationships presuppose a certain dynamism; they can and must deepen and be filled with new content as they develop. And in this case a new stage of relationships by no means cancels or devalues the previous one. At least as long as the previous stage or previous stages remain relevant for even one person. And even the coming of Christ and the nearness of the Kingdom change nothing in principle here, because concrete people are what matter in this case.

Of course, the approaching Kingdom changes many things objectively, but a person remains a person. And if there are people on earth who remain at the stage, for example, of the covenant with Noah, then that covenant itself will remain relevant precisely for such people. What has been said is all the more true with regard to the covenant with Abraham or with Moses: after all, the Torah entered the world precisely through the covenant with Moses, and it remains relevant for Christians too, if, of course, we are speaking of the inner Torah. But those who stop at the Noahic covenant, or, like most Jews in Paul's day, at the Abrahamic covenant, cannot be considered rejected by God.

The door always remains open for them. They have passed through some part of the path in their relationship with God, stopping at a certain stage; however, this does not mean that their path is finished. God is always waiting for them. And the apostle is convinced: when those who have stopped use their opportunity to move farther and enter the Kingdom, it will be a great day in the history of the Church and in their own history. A day comparable to the day of the universal resurrection from the dead.

Other notes

For Rom 11:13-24

¹³For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

¹⁴If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

¹⁵For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

¹⁶For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

¹⁸Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

¹⁹Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

²⁰Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

²¹For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

²²Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

²³And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

²⁴For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

No one knows the Father. But the Lord reveals His Father to us... Read more

No one knows the Father. But the Lord reveals His Father to us, and not only reveals Him but also makes us His children. At the same time, the Apostle warns us against exalting ourselves above those who have not yet accepted Christ. On the contrary, God's children should be characterized more by His humility and gentleness. The meaning of these words is often distorted. To learn true humility, as we read the Gospel we must gaze upon Christ, who is truly humble and gentle in heart.

For Rom 11:11-24

¹¹I 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.

¹²Now 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?