Gentiles Grafted In
For 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? Rom 11:24
contrary to nature... A fruitless branch grafted to a good tree is contrary to custom.
how much more... Question 79. Next, Rom. 11:34. It being contrary to custom to graft unfruitful branches into a good and fruitful tree, how much more will it be natural to graft branches into their own fruitful tree?
We can see, this is not a statement of just the Old Testament, but of the New Testament as well. God loves all Israel; physical and spiritual and the Church.
These are the branches of the olive tree.
In the future, Israel will repent of unbelief and embrace the Messiah. In the terms of Paul’s analogy, God will at that time, gladly graft the believing Jewish people back into the olive tree of His covenant blessings because it was theirs originally, unlike the wild branches, the Gentiles.
The
“olive tree” is not the church; it is the spiritual stock of
Abraham. Believing Gentiles are included in that sphere of blessing
so that in the Church Age both Jews and Gentiles are in Christ’s
body (Eph. 2:11-22; 3:6). Yet someday Israel as a whole will turn to
Christ (as Paul will discuss in Rom. 11:25-27). This passage does not
teach that the national promises to Israel have been abrogated and
are now being fulfilled by the church. This idea, taught by
amillenarians, is foreign to Paul’s point, for he said Israel’s
fall is temporary. While believing Gentiles share in the blessings of
the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:3) as Abraham’s spiritual children
(Gal. 3:8-9), they do not permanently replace Israel as the heirs of
God’s promises (Gen. 12:2-3; 15:18-21; 17:19-21; 22:15-18).
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