and rose again. But the Jews as a nation rejected Christ and his apostles, and hardened their hearts
in unbelief. This fact filled the apostle with unutterable sadness, and made him willing to sacrifice
even his own salvation (if it were possible) for the salvation of his kinsmen.
But he sees light in this dark mystery. First of all, God has a sovereign right over all his
creatures and manifests both his mercy and his righteousness in the successive stages of the historical
execution of his wise designs. His promise has not failed, for it was not given to all the carnal
descendants of Abraham and Isaac, but only to the spiritual descendants, the true Israelites who
have the faith of Abraham, and they have been saved, as individual Jews are saved to this day. And
even in his relation to the vessels of wrath who by unbelief and ingratitude have fitted themselves
for destruction, he shows his long-suffering.
In the next place, the real cause of the rejection of the body of the Jews is their own rejection
of Christ. They sought their own righteousness by works of the law instead of accepting the
righteousness of God by faith.
Finally, the rejection of the Jews is only temporary and incidental in the great drama of
history. It is overruled for the speedier conversion of the Gentiles, and the conversion of the full
number or the organic totality of the Gentiles (not all individual Gentiles) will lead ultimately to
the conversion of Israel. "A hardening in part has befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles
be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved."
With this hopeful prophecy, which seems yet far off, but which is steadily approaching
fulfilment, and will be realized in God’s own time and way, the apostle closes the doctrinal part of
the Epistle to the Romans. "God has shut up all men (τοὺς πάντας) unto disobedience that he might
have mercy upon all men. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God!
how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! ... For of Him (ἐξ αὐτοῦ) and
through Him (δἰ αὐτοῦ), and unto Him (εἰς αὐτον́) are all things. To Him be the glory forever.
Amen."^813
Before this glorious consummation, however, there will be a terrible conflict with Antichrist
or "the man of sin," and the full revelation of the mystery of lawlessness now held in check. Then
the Lord will appear as the conqueror in the field, raise the dead, judge the world, destroy the last
enemy, and restore the kingdom to the Father that God may be all in all (τὰ πάντα ἐν πᾶσιν).^814
Notes.
I. The Pauline System of Doctrine has been more frequently explained than any other.
Among the earlier writers Neander, Usteri, and Schmid take the lead, and are still valuable.
Neander and Schmid are in full sympathy with the spirit and views of Paul. Usteri adapted them
somewhat to Schleiermacher’s system, to which he adhered.
Next to them the Tübingen school, first the master, Baur (twice, in his Paul, and in his New
Test. Theology), and then his pupils, Pfleiderer and Holsten, have done most for a critical
reproduction. They rise far above the older rationalism in an earnest and intelligent appreciation
of the sublime theology of Paul, and leave the impression that he was a most profound, bold, acute,
and consistent thinker on the highest themes. But they ignore the supernatural element of inspiration,
they lack spiritual sympathy with the faith of the apostle, overstrain his antagonism to Judaism (as
did Marcion of old), and confine the authentic sources to the four anti-Judaic Epistles to the Galatians,(^813) Rom. 11:32, 33, 86.
(^814) 2 Thess. 2:3-12; 1 Cor. 15:28.
A.D. 1-100.