Romans 9:4-5 “Out Of Whom…”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses: 

⁴ones who are Israelites, of whom [is] the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the [temple] service and the promises. Of whom [are] the fathers, and out of whom [is] the Christ (that [is], according to the flesh), the One being God upon all, blessed into the ages. Amen.

At the end of this list of advantages the Jewish people enjoy, Paul finally comes to what is, in fact, their crowning glory: “out of whom is the Christ (that is, according to the flesh), the One being God upon all, blessed into the ages. Amen.” The Lord had told Abraham, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3), and we have no problem today seeing in that promise none other than Jesus Himself. He is the Blessing! The Father had said to Him, “It is too small a thing for You to be My servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make You a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth” (Isa. 49:6).

Us lowly Gentiles can this very morning enjoy the blessings of knowing God, knowing His forgiveness and His love, of being called His children, entirely because of Jesus, and Paul’s words would add one more thought – …and He was a Jew. Jesus was not a 17^th century Englishman! He was a Jew. As you and I would relish the blessings of Jesus’ atonement, let us be reminded He came to us through the Jewish people!  The angel Gabriel was sent to a Jewish girl named Mary to tell her she would be the mother of the Messiah, and though it may be true that “He came unto His own and His own received Him not” (John 1:11), yet, let us be reminded the Jewish people are still “His own.”

It is notable to me that, with all the other blessings Paul has listed here, they were literally “of whom.” When it comes to Jesus, he changes it to “out of whom.” I do not doubt for a minute, that distinction was deliberate. Yes, Jesus came to us through the Jewish people, but He is something more, something special, that needs a place of honor all its own. As we all know, He wasn’t just a man, He was the God-man. He wasn’t just Mary’s son. He was the Son of God, God the Son, born the son of Mary.

That is why Paul takes pains in this passage when telling us Jesus was “out of the Jewish people,” that it was “according to the flesh.” There is simply “more to the story.” It is not enough to say Jesus was a Jew. The fact is He was more than a Jew. Now, it is extremely important to recognize that Jesus was fully a man – a Jewish man, but still a man. Heb. 2:14 tells us, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil.” In God’s great order of our universe, He ordained that our Redeemer needed to be a kinsman-Redeemer – one of us, and Jesus was willing to be just that man, to “empty” Himself and “to set aside the free exercise of His divine attributes” entirely for the purpose of saving our fallen, lost souls.

It was important too for Paul to emphasize that Jesus’ Jewish lineage was “according to the flesh,” precisely because he can’t for a second forget this reality – that Jesus is more than a man. Paul says very clearly who He is: “the One being God upon all, blessed into the ages. Amen.” All down through the centuries, people have tried to explain away this passage, refusing to believe that Jesus was none other than God Himself. Their hermeneutical gymnastics are impressively creative, but totally unconvincing for people who know personally that none other than the God-man could ever wash away our sins.

As we’ve seen before, Paul had asked back in Rom. 3, “What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew?” then answered himself, “Much in every way!” Having taken the time to slow down and actually consider all the advantages he lists here in Romans 9, I am more impressed than ever with what a blessed people are the descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people. I feel like I’ve “known” that for years, but never taken the time to ever really let it all “soak in.” I am very thankful for these two simple verses where the Lord provided for us the information and the opportunity to, in fact, let it “soak in.”

It all makes me want to rush ahead and say with Paul in 11:33, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!” I’m only five verses into chapter 9 and he already has me saying that. I’m sure I have no idea what amazing things the Lord has yet to show us as we would work our way slowly all the way through chapters 9 and 10 and 11, until we finally come to that praise!