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"I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham"
(Matt. 3: 9).
And the Lord's own words concerning the great faith of the centurion:
"Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out"
(Matt. 8: 11, 12).
The first occurrence of pleroma ("fullness") is found in Matt. 9: 16 where it is
translated "to fill up", indicating a patch in a torn garment. This is evidently the
Apostle's intention in Rom. 11: 25. The failure and diminishing of Israel had, as it were,
caused a "rent" in the purpose of God, and the "fullness"--"that which fills up"--is
supplied by the believing Gentiles.
The completion of the period of Israel's blindness synchronizes with the Coming of
the Lord, when they shall look upon Him Whom they have pierced and so "all Israel shall
be saved". We must remember here that the term "Israel" has already been defined. In
Rom. 9: 4 the Israelites were those to whom the covenants and glory pertained, and we
must remember that while every Israelite must be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, every descendant of these patriarchs is not necessarily an Israelite in the true
meaning of the term:
"For they are not all Israel which are of Israel, neither because they are the seed of
Abraham are they all children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called . . . . . the children of
the promise are counted for a seed" (Rom. 9: 6-8).
Every true Israelite is a child of promise, an elect person, and it is not, therefore, true
to say that the "all Israel" of Rom. 11: 26 must necessarily include every descendant of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who has lived in the past, or who shall be living at the time of
the end. God alone knows whom He has chosen, and these must be saved. Just as we
discovered that the sovereign choice of Jacob had no reference to his having "done
good", and the rejection of Esau had no reference to his having "done evil" (Rom. 9: 11),
so we find that the purpose of God according to election stands, even though many true
Israelites were "enemies" because of the gospel. The election of God stands firm, for
"the gifts and calling of God are without repentance".
An attempt has been made by some to teach the doctrine of "Universalism" from
Rom. 11: 32. We can hardly believe, however, that anyone who has once perceived the
scope of Rom. 9:-11: will be deceived by such handling of the text.
"For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon them
all" (Rom. 9: 32).
In both instances "all" is tous pantas, "the all"--some particular "all" that is under
discussion. The only "all" under discussion here is "all Israel", and Rom. 9: has
already warned us against a universal application of the word even so far as Israel is
concerned.