Skip to content

Commentaries
English
Romans
  
c) Warning the believers of the Gentiles of being proud toward the children of Jacob
(Romans 11:16-24)
16For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.17And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,18do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.19You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."20Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.21For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.22Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.23And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.24For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?


Paul ascertains that Abraham was justified by grace alone, and he recognizes that the descendants of Abraham would also be justified if they believed as their father did, for if the roots of the tree were good, its branches might also be good; and if the first loaves were delicious, the other loaves of the same dough would also be delicious. In the beginning, Christians were strangers in the kingdom of God. They were like the branches of an olive tree in the wilderness, but the hand of the Lord grafted them into an old olive tree, like Abraham and his clan, that they might live from his juice, and bear fruit from his power. But if the hand of the Lord cut down some original branches to graft in foreign branches, the grafted branches must not become proud, thinking of themselves as better and more valuable than the removed ones.
The Jews are like the removed branches because they rejected Christ and hated his salvation, while the new grafted branches represent the Christians who have received faith in the Son of God. The newly grafted are apt to boast in themselves, and say that the children of Abraham are corrupt and hated. He who becomes proud and glorifies himself will soon fall into destruction. This is why Paul warns the believers among the Gentiles against becoming puffed up.
The apostle goes on and confirms that the righteous holy God did not feel pity for the original branches, because they did not bear fruit, though he had spoken to them frequently through promises. He would rather cut down the newly grafted branches if they carried a disease in their nature, and did not allow the power in the old roots to restore them. Paul speaks about the goodness and the severity of God at one time. The severity of God appears in his cutting down the unfruitful branches if they do not give way to their regeneration, purification, and sanctification. God’s goodness is realized in those who become grafted in Christ, for he is the spiritual olive tree, and they will be restored and fruitful if they stand fast in him, but if they become stubborn and opposed to the work of his Holy Spirit, he will cut them down again.
Jesus had explained this principle by saying: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6).
Yet the Jew, who was once a branch removed from the old olive tree, but who now believes in Jesus and his divinity, and has accepted his atonement, will be grafted in again by the hand of the Lord. God can do the incredible. He can give life to the cut off branches, and therefore some of the Jews may return in belief to their Savior Jesus.
As for us, God did not hate us while we were sinners, but he purified us in our repentance with the blood of Christ, and brought us to life by his Holy Spirit. In this manner he wants to save all the children of Abraham, with the tribe of Ishmael, and the children of Jacob, if they seek the truth. Jesus grafts them in to bring many fruits in each of them.

Prayer
O heavenly Father, we thank you because you have purified us impolite humans, sanctified us with your grace, and grafted us into the spiritual body of Christ. How great is the privilege that you have freely granted us! Help us not to live for ourselves, or to become proud, but to strive for entering many of the impolite into your good life.
Question
What is meant by grafting into the spiritual body of Christ? Who would be in danger if the grafting were damaged?