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Saturday, May 17, 2014

1 Corinthians Chapter 12 Part One








1 Corinthians 12:1-3


The state of spiritual gifts
Related to the subject of irregularities in the worship of the Corinthian church, was a question on the nature of spiritual gifts and their exercise in the public assembly. This subject should also be considered under the broader rubric of Christian freedom which Paul had been qualifying and regulating by the principle of love (starting with 1Co_8:1). The need for such regulation was certainly evident. A self-indulgent spirit, which debauched the principle of freedom in other areas, found similar expression in the area of spiritual gifts, and produced selfishness and disunity (1Co_12:7, 1Co_12:25; 1Co_14:4) and apparent chaos in the assembly (1Co_14:23, 1Co_14:33, 1Co_14:40).
Paul dealt with the problem by describing the nature and purpose of gifts (1Co_12:1-30), the superiority of love (12:31-13:13), and the regulating of the exercise of gifts by love (1Co_14:1-40). As in other areas, so in using gifts in the church, believers should promote the glory of God and the good of others instead of self-satisfaction. We see that the early church had much confusion about the gifts of the Spirit. There is more to Christianity than just the salvation experience. We find that many churches stop with the salvation experience, and really believe that these other gifts went out with the apostles. This is primarily because of spiritual ignorance on these points. We have a tendency to believe in only the things that have happened to us personally. This being a young church, here, at Corinth, they possibly had not gotten deep enough into Bible study to make them aware that there was more than salvation available to those who desired it. Another way of saying this is "gifts of the Spirit". When a person becomes a new creature in Christ, they are a babe at first. As they study the Word of God and the Holy Spirit reveals truth to them they grow into mature Christians.
Spiritual gifts are divine enablements for ministry that the Holy Spirit gives in some measure to all believers and that are to be completely under His control and used for the building of the church to Christ’s glory.
These had to be distinguished from the mystical experiences call “ecstasy” (meaning supernatural, sensuous communion with a deity) and “enthusiasm” (divination, dreams, revelations, visions) that were found in the pagan religions of Corinth.
Unity and diversity of gifts (1Co_12:1-31).
Before Paul began his discussion of spiritual gifts he thought it necessary to confront, at the outset, any in the Corinthian assembly who might contradict his message (cf. 1Co_14:37). The situation in Corinth, before Paul established the church there, had been idol worship and heavy involvement with the false religion of Aphrodite. "Gentiles", here, is speaking of people before they became Christians. Idol worship had been very prevalent here in Corinth prior to Paul.
Incredibly, some church members were mimicking certain dramatic and bizarre practices of the mystery religions in which they had been formerly involved. The practice of ecstasy, considered to be the highest expression of religious experience, involved supposed supernatural interaction with a deity, induced through frenzied hypnotic chants and ceremonies. The practice frequently included drunkenness and sexual orgies, to which the devotees willfully yielded themselves to be led into gross sin.
It is probably in this regard that 1Co_12:3 are to be understood.
Paul apparently believed that some of the Corinthians’ problems were due not entirely to their worldly attitudes (1Co_3:3) but also to the presence of false teachers who preyed on their spiritual immaturity and exacerbated the problems. The pagan background out of which many had come (and some were still coming; cf. 1Co_8:10; 1Co_10:14, 1Co_10:20-21) did not help them ascertain the presence of false prophets. When they were pagans, they had been influenced and led astray to dumb idols (1Co_12:2). Certainly lifeless idols are totally helpless in such matters! (In the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they showed themselves to be unusually gullible [cf. 2Co_11:1-21, esp. 1Co_11:19].)

Paul therefore laid down a simple test related to the person of Christ. The false teachers obviously claimed that their visions, revelations, and messages (cf. 2Co_12:1) were from God, but they apparently denied the humanity of Christ, as expressed by the words Jesus be cursed. This may have been a factor in the Corinthians’ aversion to Paul’s “message of the Cross” (1 Cor. 1:10-4:13). It may be surprising today to realize that the earliest Christological heresy (Docetism) denied Jesus’ humanity, not His deity. John had to deal with the same problem years later (1Jn_4:1-3).
Also Jesus who had suffered was now the Jesus who reigns as Lord, whom Paul represented (1Co_1:1) and who was to be obeyed. Only believers, speaking by the Holy Spirit, acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. To denounce Jesus as God in the flesh, was what this was speaking of that caused them to be accursed. Notice, what those who are speaking by the Holy Ghost call Jesus. They call Him Lord. It is one thing to know Jesus as your Savior, but it is an entirely different thing to know Him as your Lord. When He is your Lord, you have turned your will over to His will. It is the Holy Ghost within that calls Jesus Lord. Know Him as your Lord means that you have totally submitted your will to Him as your Lord and Savior.
Some of the Corinthians were fleshly and given over to ecstasies that were controlled by demons. In that condition, they actually claimed to be prophesying or teaching in the Spirit while demonically blaspheming the name of the Lord whom they were supposed to be worshiping. They had been judging the use of gifts on the basis of experience and not content.
What a person says and believes about Jesus Christ is the test of whether he speaks from the Holy Spirit. He always leads people to Christ’s lordship.
Nonbelievers — including false teachers — deny His sovereign lordship. Thus anyone who tries to controvert Jesus’ authority and His Word will suffer the consequences (1Co_14:38; 1Co_16:22).
1 Corinthians 12:4-6

Paul had referred to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in 1Co_12:3. Now in reverse order he stressed the unity of the Godhead in relation to the different spiritual gifts. The Holy Spirit gives a diversity of gifts (cf. “Spirit” in 1Co_12:7-9, 1Co_12:11) so that individuals can serve the Lord and His body, the church, in various ways (cf. 1Co_12:7, 1Co_12:27), all empowered by God and exercised under His aegis (cf. 1Co_12:18, 1Co_12:24). "Diversities", here, means distinction, variety, difference. Then, this is saying, there are many different gifts, but all gifts come by the same Spirit. James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." The differences in the gifts are as wide as the people receiving the gifts.
These “diversities of gifts” or categories of giftedness are not natural talents, skill, or abilities, such as are possessed by believers and unbelievers alike. They are sovereignty and supernaturally bestowed by the Holy Spirit on all believers (verses 7 and 11), enabling them to spiritually edify each other effectively and thus honor the Lord. The varieties of gifts fall into two general types, speaking and serving (see verses 8 and 10).
The speaking or verbal gifts, (prophecy, knowledge, wisdom, teaching and exhortation) and the serving, non-verbal gifts (leadership, helps, giving, mercy, faith and discernment) are all permanent gifts that will operate throughout the church age. Their purpose is to edify the church and glorify God.
The list here and in Romans 12:3-8 is best seen as representative of categories of giftedness which the Holy Spirit draws from to give each believer whatever kind or combination of kinds He chooses (v.11).
Some believers may be gifted categorically similar to others but are personally unique as the Spirit suits each grace gift to the individual. Miracles, healing, languages and the interpretation of languages were temporary sign gifts limited to the apostolic age and have therefore, ceased. Their purpose was to authenticate the apostles and their message as the true Word of God, until God’s written Word was completed and became self authenticating.
Though there are different kinds (diaireseis) of gifts… service, and working, the same Spirit… the same Lord (Christ), and the same God are involved in all of them. This, on the basis of an individual, means that a person administers the gift God has given them in his own unique way. I believe this goes even further than individuals and is speaking of different denominations, who might not cross every T and dot every I the way another denomination does, but is still administering the gifts the Holy Spirit has given them to the best of their ability. One may call themselves Methodist and another call themselves Baptist, but they are serving the same Lord. I could have used any other protestant church, but everyone is very familiar with these two. No harm was intended.
Bottom line is that the Lord gives believers unique ministry arenas in which to fulfill their giftedness and provides varieties of power to energize and accomplish them. I always say, it is alright to be a Baptist, if you are a Christian Baptist, not a Baptist Christian or a Methodist, or an Assembly of God, or a Pentecostal, etc. We are all worshipping the same God. We may be taking a little different route to get to heaven, but we all have the same destination. Read the 4th chapter of Ephesians to understand better. Why do we Christians fight each other about denomination, when we should be banning together fighting the atheist and those who do not look to Jesus as their Savior?
1 Corinthians 12:7-10

The gifts had a unity in source (1Co_12:4-6), and they also had a unity in purpose. They were given, not for personal enrichment (cf. 1Co_14:4; 1Pe_4:10), but for the common good of the body of Christ, the building up of others (1Co_10:24; 1Co_14:12). Paul listed some of the gifts here. It is not for God's profit for us to have the gifts of the Spirit. It is to help us be more effective ministers. How would you like to build a house without a hammer? The gifts of the Spirit are the tools that we build with. They are our very present help. Manifestation is something that is made real. The world cannot see God with their physical eyes. They see the followers of Jesus. We must be so full of the Lord Jesus that when they look at us, they will not see us, but will see Christ in us. A very good friend of mine explains Jesus in us, this way. He says, we are the glove, and Jesus is the Hand in the glove. We Christians are actually a kingdom in exile. Our King is in exile, as well. He is Jesus Christ. We will be in exile, until Jesus comes back to this earth and sets up His Kingdom. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. We are better workers, if we have the Holy Spirit inside of us guiding us and teaching us as we minister.
“Manifestation of the Spirit: No matter what the gift, ministry or effect, all spiritual gifts are from the Holy Spirit. They make Him known, understood and evident in the church and in the world, by spiritually profiting all who receive their ministry.
Others, along with some of these, are given in Rom_12:6-8; 1Co_12:28-31; Eph_4:11; 1Pe_4:10-11.
The list here includes nine gifts.  Wisdom refers to insight into doctrinal truth. Paul exercised and expressed this gift in this letter (e.g., 1Co_2:6).  Knowledge refers to the ability to apply doctrinal truth to life. "Wisdom" is an understanding that is a gift from God. "Knowledge" is accumulated learning. In this case, there would be a supernatural ability to accumulate learning through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Wisdom is from above and knowledge is from within. I know a number of older people who never went past the second grade in school who have great wisdom. Many of them can understand the Bible better than some of the highly educated people. Wisdom is a gift from God. You do not earn it, or accumulate it. Knowledge is accumulated learning. The gift of knowledge could be explained by someone who studies his Bible regularly and the Holy Spirit helps him understand what it is saying.
In the New Testament, “wisdom” is most often used of the ability to understand God’s Word and His will, and to skillfully apply that understanding to life.
“Word of knowledge”: This gift may have been revelatory in the first century, but it is today the ability to understand and speak God’s truth, with insight into the mysteries of His Word, that cannot be known apart from God’s revelation. Knowledge majors on grasping the meaning of the truth; wisdom emphasizes the practical conviction and conduct that applies it.
Paul also exercised and expressed this gift in this letter (e.g., 1Co_12:1-3; 1Co_11:3). (Cf. the recurrence of the phrase “Do you not know” in 1Co_3:16; 1Co_5:6; 1Co_6:2-3, 1Co_6:9, 1Co_6:15-16, 1Co_6:19; 1Co_9:13, 1Co_9:24; also cf. 1Co_8:1-3, 1Co_8:10-11).  Faith as a spiritual gift is probably an unusual measure of trust in God beyond that exercised by most Christians (e.g., 1Co_13:2).  Healing is the ability to restore health (e.g., Act_3:7; Act_19:12) and also to hold off death itself temporarily (Act_9:40; Act_20:9-10). Everyone has their measure of faith. This is not speaking of that, but a supernatural knowing and trusting in God. This is the faith that moves mountains. We read in the 14th chapter of John beginning with the 12th verse, that all believers can heal the sick with the power of Christ working in them. This is speaking of something more. Some have been anointed of God to pray for healing. This, again, is a supernatural ability to heal, such as Paul had. Peter had so much of this gift operating in him, that his shadow falling on people healed them.
Faith: Distinct from saving faith or persevering faith, both of which all believers possess, this gift is exercised in persistent prayer and endurance in intercession, along with a strong trust in God in the midst of difficult circumstances (Matt. 17:20).
“Healings”: A temporary sign gift used by Christ (Matt. 8:16-17), the apostles (Matt. 10:1), the seventy (Luke 10:1), and a few associates of the apostles, such as Philip (Acts 8:5-7). This ability was identified as a gift belonging to the apostles (2 Cor. 2:12).
Although Christians today do not have the gifts of healings, God certainly still hears and answers the faithful prayers of His children (James 5:13-16). Some people feel that healing should be common and expected in every era, but this is not the case. Physical healings are very rare throughout the Old Testament record. Only a few are recorded. There was never a time before the coming of Christ when healings were common. Only in His lifetime and that of His apostles was there a veritable explosion of healing. This was due to the unique need to accredit the Messiah and to authenticate the first miracles of the gospel. Jesus and His apostle temporarily banished disease from Palestine, but that was the most monumental era of redemptive history and called for such authentication.
To normalize healing would be to normalize the arrival of the Savior. This gift belonged to the sign gifts for that era only. The gifts of healings were never used solely for brining people physical health. Paul was sick but never healed himself or asked another human to heal him. His friend Epaphroditus was near death (Phip. 2:27), and Paul did not heal him. God intervened. When Timothy was sick, Paul did not heal him but told him to take some wine (1 Tim. 5:23). Paul left Trophimus “sick at Miletus” (2 Tim. 4:20).
Healings were not the everyday norm in Paul’s ministry, but did occur when he entered a new region, i.e. Malta, where the gospel and its preacher needed authentication (see Acts 28:8-9). That healing was the first mention of healing since the lame man was healed in Lystra (Acts 14:9) in connection with the arrival of Paul and the gospel there. Prior to that, the nearest healing was by Peter in Acts 9:34, and the resurrection of Tabitha in 9:41, so that people would believe the gospel Peter preached (9:42). 
 Miraculous powers may refer to exorcising demons (Act_19:12) or inducing physical disability (Act_13:11) or even death (Act_5:5, Act_5:9).  Prophecy is the ability, like that of the Old Testament prophets, to declare a message of God for His people (1Co_14:3).  Ability to distinguish between spirits is the gift to differentiate the Word of God proclaimed by a true prophet from that of a satanic deceiver (cf. 2Co_11:14-15; 1Jn_4:1). If the Corinthians possessed this gift (cf. 1Co_1:7), it was not being put to good use (cf. 1Co_12:1-3). Tongues refer to the ability to speak an unlearned, living language (e.g., Act_2:11). Interpretation was the ability to translate an unlearned, known language expressed in the assembly (1Co_14:27). You would think at a glance that working of miracles would be the same as healing, but it is not. This is speaking of things like the water turning to blood on Moses command. It would, also, be things like the Red Sea parting. We know, from reading the Old Testament, that there were people who had the gift of telling of things in the future. That is what a prophet is. God reveals things to them that will happen in the future. Discerning of spirits is a very important gift to have. We can be deceived into thinking that someone is of God, when they are not, if we do not have this gift. We are told to try the spirits and see whether they are of God or not. All believers in Christ are to do that, but this means that a person filled with this Spirit can determine right off whether they be of God or not.
Not all believers in Christ speak with tongues, but it is a manifestation of the Spirit of God. This just means, if your native language is English, you might speak in Hebrew or French, or some other language foreign to you. This is true, because the Bible says that every man heard them in his own language.
Acts 2:6-10 "Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language." "And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?" "And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?" "Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia," "Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,"
We see, also, why it would be important for someone in a congregation to be able to interpret for everyone, if the message from God was to be understood by all. Even in the natural world, an interpreter is very useful to men of different languages who want to communicate with each other.
In chapter 14 we will again discuss “tongues” in much more detail which the Corinthians seemed to have abused so greatly.
With the possible exception of faith, all these gifts seem to have been confirmatory and foundational gifts for the establishment of the church (cf. Heb_2:4; Eph_2:20) and were therefore temporary.
1 Corinthians 12:11

The gifts were not meant to be selected by individuals or personally solicited by them, but were instead given by the… Spirit… as He determined. We must notice from this, that we are not limited to receiving just one of these gifts from God by the Holy Spirit. We can have as many of these gifts as we desire, if we will be willing to use them fully to minister with. Notice, severally, as he will. Several mean more than one. All of these are free gifts from God by the Holy Spirit of God. We must show a desire to receive them, and then we must use them for God's purposes and not our own.
“One and the selfsame Spirit”: While stressing the diversity of gifts (verses 4-11), Paul also stressed the singular source in the Spirit. This is the fifth mention, in this chapter, of the source of gifts being the Holy Spirit. It emphasizes that gifts are not something to seek, but to be received from the Spirit “as He will”. It is He alone who “works” or energizes (verse 6), all gifts as He chooses.  “The Spirit” is referred to six times in 1Co_12:7-11.

Romans Chapter 9 Part Two





Romans 9:19-21

The Choice Explained
Once again Paul anticipated the questioning response of his readers: Then why does God still blame us? (The Gr. word trans. “then” probably goes with the preceding statement rather than this question, though this also makes good sense.) For who resists (perf. tense, “has taken and continues to take a stand against”) His will? (boulēmati, “deliberate purpose”) These questions are still raised by those who reject the biblical doctrine of God’s sovereignty. If God makes the choices, how can He hold man responsible? Who can go against what He does?
In response Paul reaffirmed the reality of God’s sovereignty and the effrontery of such questions. But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? (cf. Isa_45:9) Man, the created one, has no right to question God, the Creator. “Who has resisted his will”? Does all this lead to fatalism? Paul does not answer this question directly, for it is absurd and raised by one who is ignorant of the righteous character of the infinite God and the finite character of man. Paul rather deals with the heart attitude that would produce such a question and reminds man of his limited understanding of the unlimited and sovereign God.
The nature of Paul’s reply makes it clear that he is not addressing those with honest questions about this difficult doctrine, but those who seek to use it to excuse their own sin and unbelief.
Isaiah  45:9 "Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!  [Let] the potsherd [strive] with the potsherds of the earth.  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, what makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands?"
Paul then quoted a clause from Isa_29:16 : Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, Why did You make me like this? Drawing an analogy between the sovereign Creator and a potter, Paul asked, Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes (lit., “one vessel [pot or vase] unto honor”) and some for common use? (lit., “unto dishonor”) Paul argues that it is as irrational, and far more arrogant, for men to question God’s choice of certain sinners for salvation, as for a piece of pottery to question the purposes of the potter.
Until we can say, not my will be done but thine O Lord, we are truly not His. One of the first things a Christian must do is let God cut away all the rough edges. We must get on the wheel and let God form us into what He would have us to be. He has a perfect plan for us, if we will just submit and let Him fulfill it.
Isaiah 64:8 "But now, O LORD, thou [art] our Father; we [are] the clay, and thou our potter; and we all [are] the work of thy hand."
II Timothy 2:20-21 "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour."
If a man therefore purges himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, [and] prepared unto every good work."
It is not our job to figure out what we are to do for God. He chooses what position we are to have and we must conform to His wishes.
Obviously a potter from the same pile takes some clay to form a finely shaped and decorated vase and takes other clay to make a cooking pot (cf. Jer_18:4-6). And the clay has no right to complain! The sovereign Creator has the same authority over His creatures, especially in light of man’s origin from dust (Gen_2:7).

Romans 9:22-26

Having stated that God is like a potter, Paul now applied this illustration to God’s sovereign purpose for different people. He stated the two alternatives as conditional clauses (What if… ?) and left unstated the obvious common conclusion: Does not God have that right? The one alternative is that God… bore with great patience (cf. 2Pe_3:9) the objects (lit., “vessels”; cf. Rom_9:21) of His wrath — prepared for destruction (apōleian, “ruin”). This verse begins with a rhetorical question, “What if”. “Willing” means “wanting”. The Greek word speaks of divine intention, not passive resignation.
“Endured”: God could justly destroy sinners the first time they sin. But He patiently endures their rebellion rather that giving them what every sin immediately deserves: eternal punishment.
“Vessels of wrath fitted to destruction” are those whom God has not chosen for salvation, but rather allowed to incur the just penalty for their sin.
“Fitted to destruction:” By their own rejection of Him. God does not make men sinful, but He leaves them in the sin they have chosen.
Ephesians 5:5-6 "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience."
We deserve the wrath of God. Only those who accept full pardon through the shed blood of Jesus Christ will be spared the wrath of God which will surely come.
The perfect participle “prepared” describes past action with a continuing result or state. “Prepared” may be reflexive (“prepared themselves”), but it seems preferable to take it as passive (“were prepared”). The thought is that they have been and are in a state of readiness or ripeness to receive God’s wrath. The objects of God’s wrath are the unsaved (Rom_1:18), who will suffer eternal judgment (Joh_3:36). God has patiently endured their antagonism to Him (cf. Act_14:16; Rom_3:25), but their judgment is coming. Those who oppose Him and refuse to turn to Him (Mat_23:37) are then “prepared” by Him for condemnation. They are “storing up [God’s] wrath” against themselves (Rom_2:5). In hell they will experience His wrath, and His power will be made known (cf. Rom_9:17). God does not delight in wrath, and He did not choose some people to go to hell. Choosing (Rom_9:22) should be rendered “willing.” Some are prepared by God for eternal judgment not because He delights to do so, but because of their sin. In view of their sin, which makes them “ripe” for destruction, God is willing to exhibit His wrath, and He will do so at the proper time.
The other alternative relates to God’s dealings with the objects (lit., “vessels”; cf. Rom_9:21) of His mercy. God chose them as such in order to make the riches of His glory known and He prepared them in advance for glory (cf. Rom_8:29-31; Col_1:27; Col_3:4). The verb “He prepared in advance” (Rom_9:23) is proētoimasen, “He made ready beforehand,” which God does by bestowing salvation. (The word “prepared” in Rom_9:22 is katērtismena, “are made or prepared or ripened.”)
Up to this point Paul had been speaking conditionally and objectively, but in Rom_9:24 he was more direct — even us — because he and his readers were some of the vessels of mercy sovereignly chosen by God. God not only chose them but He also called them, including Jews and Gentiles. This scripture is speaking of the greatness of His character, seen especially in the grace, mercy, compassion and forgiveness He grants sinners in Christ.
“Afore prepared unto glory” is speaking of God’s divine election.
The “vessels of mercy” are those He has chosen for salvation.
Ephesians 2:3-5 "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us," "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved ;)"
You see, the mercy of God is so great that He holds back His wrath until all who will accept Jesus as Savior have come into the kingdom.
The point is that God’s sovereign choice was manifested not only in the Jews’ ancestry (in Isaac and Jacob, Rom_9:6-13), but also in Paul’s generation and today. To back up his conclusion and particularly the part about Gentiles, Paul quoted two verses from Hosea (Hos_2:23; Hos_1:10). God directed Hosea to give his children symbolic names — one son Lo-Ammi (not my people) and the daughter Lo-Ruhamah (not… loved). These represented God’s abandonment of the Northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrian Captivity and Exile (Hos_1:2-9).
God was not permanently casting away the people of Israel, however. In the verses quoted by Paul God promised to restore them as His beloved and as His people. By ethnic heritage the Gentiles were not God’s people, so Paul was led by the Spirit of God to apply these verses to Gentiles — and Jews also — who were sovereignly chosen by God and called to be His people in Christ. Hosea spoke of the ultimate restoration of Israel to God, but Paul’s emphasis is that restoration necessarily implies her present alienation from God. Therefore, Israel’s unbelief is consistent with the Old Testament revelation.
This scripture quotes from Hosea:
1:9-10 "Then said [God], Call his name Loammi: for ye [are] not my people, and I will not be your [God]." "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, [that] in the place where it was said unto them, Ye [are] not my people, [there] it shall be said unto them, [Ye are] the sons of the living God."
2:23 "And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to [them which were] not my people, Thou [art] my people; and they shall say, [Thou art] my God."
I John 3:1 "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not."
We see in all of this that God is speaking of the Gentiles who become spiritual Israelites through faith in Jesus Christ.
Galatians  3:29 "And if ye [be] Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
The quotation of Hos_2:23 is rather free with the order of the clauses reversed to fit the application to Gentiles. Paul was applying these verses from Hosea to the Gentiles, not reinterpreting them. He was not saying that Israel of the Old Testament is part of the church.

Romans 9:27-29

Here Paul quoted Old Testament verses to support the fact that God in His sovereign choice and calling always includes a Jewish segment, though it is a minority. The passages quoted (Isa_10:22-23 and Isa_1:9, both from the lxx) make it clear that in God’s judgment on rebellious Israel He by sovereign choice preserves and saves a remnant. Isaiah prophesied that the southern kingdom of Judah would be conquered and scattered, temporarily rejected by God, because of her unbelief. Paul’s point is that the scattering Isaiah described was only a preview of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah and her subsequent destruction and scattering.
Romans 9:28 Psalms 9:8 "And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness." Acts 17:31 "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead." We read of this in Matthew chapter 24. God is not slack, but is longsuffering not willing that any should perish, but that all would come unto righteousness.  “Lord of Sabaoth” is an Old Testament title for God is translated “Lord of hosts” sovereignty and refers to His all encompassing.
This scripture is telling us that a seed or a remnant of Israel will survive God’s wrath, solely because of His mercy.
These 2 evil cities were destroyed by fire and brimstone. We know that God will not always look the other way. Sin of the same nature as that of Sodom and Gomorrah is rampant in the U. S. today. The day of reckoning is coming.  America better stop homosexuality, lesbianism, drugs, and all the other related sins of our nation or the wrath of God will fall on the U.S.
Those promises were fulfilled in the Captivity and Exile of both Israel and Judah and in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and will also be fulfilled in the national end-time deliverance of Israel (Rom_11:26-27). Even today the same principle is true. Jews who become members of the church, the body of Christ, are what Paul later called “a remnant chosen by grace” (Rom_11:5), which included himself (Rom_11:1).

Romans 9:30-33

God’s sovereign choice applied
Israel’s stumbling
Once again Paul asked his familiar rhetorical question, What then shall we say? (cf. Rom_4:1; Rom_6:1; Rom_8:31; Rom_9:14) preparatory to his summation of this situation. His identification of the Gentiles (lit., “the nations”) as the ones who have obtained… a righteousness that is by (ek, “out from”) faith is interesting. As Paul stated later, the church included Jewish as well as Gentile believers (Rom_11:1-5), but by the time of Paul’s third missionary journey the increasing rejection of the gospel by the Jews and the predominance of Gentiles in the church led the apostle to speak of “the Gentiles” as antithetical to Israel. The latter pursued (“kept on pursuing”) a Law of righteousness, but has not attained it. “A Law of righteousness” refers to the Mosaic Law (cf. Rom_7:7, Rom_7:12, Rom_7:14). To seek to attain righteousness by observing the Law requires that it be kept perfectly (cf. Jas_2:10). Why did Israel not attain it? Because they pursued it not by (ek, “out from”) faith but as if it were by (ek, “out from”) works. The Israelites did not admit their inability to keep the Law perfectly and turn by faith to God for forgiveness. Instead a few of them kept trying to keep the Law by their own efforts. Consequently they stumbled (cf. Rom_11:11) over the “stumbling Stone.” The Lord Jesus Christ, “the stumbling Stone” (cf. 1Pe_2:4-8), did not conform to the Jews’ expectations, so they rejected Him instead of responding to Him by faith. Paul concludes the lesson on God’s divine choice by reminding his readers that although God chooses some to receive His mercy, those who receive His judgment do so not because of something God has done to them, but because of their own unwillingness to believe the gospel. Sinners are condemned for their personal sins, the supreme one being rejection of God and Christ.
Matthew 21:42 "Jesus saith unto them, did ye never read in the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?"
Matthew 21:44 "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."
We see in all of this that the Jews rejected Jesus as their Messiah. Faith is what pleases God. By faith the elders received a good report. Abraham's faith was counted unto him as righteousness. Our faith in Jesus is what saves us. We cannot be good enough to be saved and neither could the Jews who had the law. We all need a Savior and His name is Jesus Christ the Righteous.
To show that God anticipated this, Paul quoted from Isa_8:14 and Isa_28:16 (cf. Rom_10:11), combining the two statements to indicate the two contrasting reactions by men to the Stone that God placed in Zion (cf. “Zion” in Rom_11:26). I Peter 2:6-8 "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." "Unto you therefore which believe [he is] precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner," "And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, [even to them] which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed."
And just one more Scripture makes it very clear.
I John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." There is little to add to this, except to say that our faith in Jesus Christ is our salvation, whether we are Jew or Gentile believers.
Long before His coming, the Old Testament prophets had predicted that Israel would reject her Messiah, illustrating again that her unbelief is perfectly consistent with the Scripture.
Isaiah 8:14 "And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem."
Isaiah 28:16 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner [stone], a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."