The God(ness) of God: The God of Glory - Week 2
April 20, 2008 3:19 pm Chapter 9, Romans, Sermon-Texts
This sermon is week 2 of The God of Glory section of our “The God(ness) of God” sermon series. It is an exegetical treatment of Romans 9:6-14, addressing the themes of the God’s word which stands, the inability of race or family heritage to save you either before or after birth, and the justice of God. This sermon was originally preached April 20th, 2008 at The Resolved Church in San Diego, CA.
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April 20th, 2008
Pastor Duane M. Smets
Series: The God(ness) of God | Romans 9-11
I. The God of Glory 9:1-29
II. The God of Gospel 9:30-10:21
III. The God of Future 11:1-36
I. The God of Glory 9:1-29
Week 2 - Romans 9:6-14
A. God’s word stands v.6a
B. The Israel of Israel v.6b
C. Sperm doesn’t save v.7-9
D. Before and after birth v.10-13
E. God is holy v.14
Introduction
Good morning everyone. Today we continue in the second week of our new series, “The God(ness) of God. The word “God” today is thrown around in so many different ways with very few ever actually saying what they mean by the word “God.” What do you mean when you say the word “God?” What are you talking about? Who is this person? What are his traits? What is he about?
The politicians have to be very careful when they talk about God, to try and make sure they don’t offend too many people. So the strategy is to say as little as possible about what you actually mean by that word and then hopefully everything will be okay. Our strategy is the opposite. Not to intentionally offend people, though that happens a lot, but to say as much as possible about our God in hopes that many might catch a glimpse and a passion for his greatness and for devoting their lives into his love and service.
The three chapters of the Bible this series devotes itself to is a penetrating look into some of the things which make God God, his God(ness). The majority of the first chapter we’re addressing deals with his glory as God. We’ll see that increasingly as we move through the chapter.
Last week we looked at the first 6 verses of Romans 9, which are foundational for the entire series, all three chapters: 9, 10, 11 are dependent upon those verses for in them God and his God(ness) is put on the stand. The first six verses of chapter 9 present the thesis or the problem which the next three chapters spend answering. And in addition, the verses we looked at last week are what connect these three chapters to the rest of the book. The entire book so far has been written to say that if sinners like us put our faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, that we can be forgiven and declared right before God and be saved from his just judgment and nothing, nothing at all will be able to separate us from his love.
But there is a problem, because God said some things to some people once before in human history, offering them salvation and love and blessing, so what became of that? Are they not going to be saved anymore and if not does that means that God’s word failed? If the things God has said in the past apparently didn’t work, then what gives us any reason to think anything that he says or offers now in the gospel of Jesus Christ can be true for any of us? How can we trust him? Romans 9-11 answers those questions and are really written to defend everything that has been said in the book so far. They are not just irrelevant chapters to Christians as some might have you think. They are crucially important to the gospel itself.
Well, let’s read our verses for this week and pray.
Oh my God, I believe that you are real and that you alone, the maker of heaven and earth, you alone are God and that this is your book. We are a difficult people God. Slow and hard to bend and bow our knee in worship toward your great name. And yet you are so wise and patient with us to endure our questions and our doubts. You have given us Jesus who’s goodness toward us causes us to want to forever bow and live and sing for you. Help us today as we deal with the words of your book . Bolster confidence in us toward you that you are God and that your word is true and that your gospel can and does save. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
A. God’s word stands v.6a
I ended last week by reading the first part of verse six as the conclusion to the first 5 verses where Paul, the human author of Romans, expresses his personal pain for his race, the Jews, because the majority of them have thought Jesus is not the savior and not necessary. After almost literally crying, he dashes in and sets up the theological problem, how can this be, they are Israel, the people of God, adopted in, shown glory, given covenants, the law, worship, promises, a rich history Godly men, and are the chosen race for the God-man messiah to come from? How can this be?
He moves from pain to praise of Jesus because once he mentions the Jewish prophecies of a messiah to come from their race, he probably remembers that day when he was on a trip to go to a city to kill a group of Christians who said this Jesus was that messiah and Jesus himself appears to him coming down in a massive light out of heaven, and stands before Paul. He says, “who are you?” And the Lord answers, “I am Jesus!” From that point on Paul was a changed man, who believed in Jesus and fell in love with him. So in verse 5, once he mentions Jesus he says, “who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.”
Then he has to get back to business. Verse 6, “But it is not as though the word of God has failed.” The word here for failed is quite literally “fallen.” That would be an acceptable translation. It is not as though the word of God has fallen. No, it stands. As we read from Isaiah 40:8 last week, “the word of the Lord stands forever.”
Paul’s mission is to convince us that God’s word is trustable. Yes, God’s word as the gospel offer itself, and probably more generally, the reliability of a promise God himself, that he will do that which he says. His word is trustable. You can trust this book and you can trust the gospel which says “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” That is his mission. But if that is true, he’s got some tough things to answer about promises God made to Paul’s ethnic kin, the Jews.
B. The Israel of Israel v.6b
Let’s look at the second part of verse 6, the Israel of Israel. Here’s his first answer, “not all who are descended from Israel.” Who’s Israel? If you were here last week, I pointed out that it is significant that Paul called his ethnic brothers “Israel” instead of where other places in his book he calls them Jews. Jew is the national, political, ethnic name that comes from the land, the land of Judea. It’s over there in the middle east, the people who come from there. Israel, is the spiritual name, it was the name given by God to Jacob, the third generation from Abraham. God appears to Abraham and says he will bless him and make him into a great nation. Abraham has a son named Isaac, who God says he will fulfill that promise through. Isaac has a son named Jacob. God appears to Jacob, like he did to his grandpa Abraham.
Here’s the story, Genesis 35:9-12 “9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. 11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. 12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”
So the name “Israel” is a name change, given by God for those who would be his people. Name changes are important. Paul himself was one who had his name changed. Before he was called Paul he was Saul, and when he became a Christian he started going by Paul. A lot of people have had their names changed, either because of some bad past experience or to mark some new course of their life.
A lot famous people have had their names changed. Bob Dylan’s real name is Robert Zimmerman. Bono’s real name is Paul Hewson. Dr. Dre is Andre Young. Snoop Dogg is Calvin Broadus. Bill Clinton’s real name is William Blythe. And Prince is Rogers Nelson, though since then he has changed his name on record 743 times, most recent to a symbol and now is currently in the process of changing it to “Bob.” I used to want my name changed because I got tired of everyone calling me Dwayne Wayne and telling me that stupid bathtub joke. 
Here in the Bible, this name change is important, because Paul makes a theological point here with it. Let me try and make it even clearer for you by translating it this strict literal way, “all the ones from Israel, these are not Israel.” So here is the question, who is Israel? Who is the Israel of Israel? It has to do with the name change. Israel is the people of God.
We ought not start reaching for any kind of replacement theology here because we still have to deal with chapter 11. But the point is clear. What makes you Israel is not your blood. It’s a spiritual thing of whether or not you are one of God’s people. And now Paul, the lawyer that he is, is going to offer some supporting proofs or evidences. Let’s look at them.
C. Sperm doesn’t save v.7-9
I’ve called the first one, “Sperm doesn’t save.” I called it that because of this word “offspring” in verse seven and eight is the Greek word sperma, where we get the word sperm. I thought I might get your attention from that because it is one of those unwritten rules that you are not supposed to talk about sex in church right? But this is a sexy passage! He’s talking about sperm here and then in verse 10 he’s going to start talking about conceiving. So I think I can get away with it without having you guys stone me today.
Let’s read verses 7-9. “…not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring (sperm), but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: ‘About this time next year I will return and Sarah will have a son.’”
Now a couple things first. If you’re a new Christian or you’re not one yet and all these people and names and stories that are mentioned are just totally unfamiliar, don’t feel bad or lost. That’s okay. The people who this book was originally written to was a mix of people who knew these old stories about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and a mix of people who didn’t.
Paul here quotes twice from the Jewish Bible, which is the first two-thirds of our Bible. It’s in our Bible because Jesus says those first two-thirds are all about him. And it’s important for him to quote it because the words of God, from the Jewish Bible are what’s at stake, whether God’s word stands or falls. So for those of you that these names and stories are unfamiliar, I’ll do my best to fill you in…just know his point. If those stories don’t support what he is saying, then the first 8 chapters of the book start to fall apart and the gospel salvation by faith alone is Jesus is lost.
Let’s look at each of these verses in parts. Verse 7, “Not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring.” We naturally think, of course, any one that you father is your child whether or not you run out on your wife and kid, or just made some poor decisions when you were younger, or whatever the case…you are still the biological dad of the children your sperm gives life to.
Yes, of course. Paul isn’t disagreeing with us here. He is defining children in a particular way remember. Israel, children of God. So his point is just because you have kids doesn’t guarantee that because they are your kids they are children of God. That means you parents need to pray your children will put their faith in Jesus and teach them to do so, it will not happen automatically.
So he quotes Jewish Scripture to prove his point, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” Notice the word, “named.” The name change, Jacob to Israel, the promise of blessing as God’s people, it happens by God’s naming.
Here is how Paul explains it. Verse 8, “This means.” See he is interpreting it for us. “This means it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” Flesh is bloodline, and God’s naming is a promise that occurs from him and when that happens you are counted as offspring.
Counted is a bank bookkeeping word. You might remember it from back in Romans 4. A counting is a reckoning, making the books balance. It’s like someone goes and puts $100,000 in your bank account. So God names, promises, and counts and when that happens you are transferred over into the status of being his, a child of God.
To add extra weight, Paul quotes a second passage from the story in verse 9, “For this is what the promise said: ‘About this time next year I will return and Sarah will have a son.” Now let me just kind of retell the story for those of you who it might be new to. Here is what happened.
The story says the Lord God appeared to Abraham by the oak trees of Mamre, Abraham starts acting really nervous and starts scrambling and running around trying to get food together because he doesn’t know what to do when God shows up. The Lord says to him, where’s your wife? Abraham tells him his wife is in the tent and God tell him this phrase, the word of God, “About this time next year I will return and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah is inside the tent and overhears God say this and she laughs, almost in disbelief and in mocking because she’s old. How old? Old, the text says she was 90, old and white haired. The whole story is meant to highlight the fact that it is God who gives spiritual life, it is his naming and his promise and his counting which makes you his child. So the physical components of Sarah being old, and God coming 1 year before, stress that it was God who enabled Sarah to get pregnant 3 months from that day. So if God is the one who determines physical life to be, how much more spiritual life?
Do you guys see why I’ve called this series, “The God(ness) of God?” This is huge. We are saying that our God, the God of the Bible, is the one who determines both physical life and spiritual life. None of you would ever have been born if God did not cause it to be. And none of you will love God and be his child unless in the same way he extends his promise and blessing to you. Dare you not claim race. It is not race that counts but God’s grace. Just because you may have grown up in a Christian home that means nothing for you, that doesn’t make you a Christian. All of us have been born out of the water of the womb, but we must be born of the Spirit, born again if we are to be God’s (Jn 3:5). At least that is what Jesus said.
Paul is calling out his Jewish brothers saying, look guys, our Jewish ethnicity guarantees us nothing. So what our bloodline comes from Abraham, that is never what made Abraham or Isaac God’s in the first place so what makes you think it does now? God’s word has never failed if the gospel is true, it stands.
D. Before and after birth v.10-13
So that’s Paul’s first point, sperm doesn’t save you. Here’s his second point, it is the same thing, God’s word, that matters before and after birth. Let’s read it, verse 10-13, “And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call - she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Here is what is going on. Neither Abraham nor Sarah believed the word of God. Sarah laughed out loud, Abraham figured he’s just try and make it happen. He thought, hmm, okay God, you’re going to give me a son huh? Well, Sarah is old and wrinkled and has never been able to give me a kid in the entire 70+ years we’ve been together, so maybe I’m supposed to sleep with the maid who cleans our house and she’ll give me a son. So that’s what he does, he has sex with the maid and sure enough she gets pregnant. God shows up again and is like no, my word stands, I meant what I said. And Sarah gets pregnant and gives birth to Isaac.
Now, Paul’s smart and just in case his reader might think, well Paul you see, the reason God had favor on Isaac is because he was legit, from both Abraham and Sarah. Abraham’s other bastard child didn’t have God’s favor because what Abraham did with the maid was wrong.
So Paul says okay, let’s talk about Isaac’s kids, Abraham’s grandkids. Verse 10, when Isaac and his wife Rebecca had sex, my paraphrase, she got pregnant. And if you know the story she ends up having twins, Jacob and Esau. So Paul offers us this, look here, you got two dudes from the same parents, twins, and verse 11, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call - she was told, ‘The older will serve the younger.’ As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
Three things are added with this second story. One, what we already said, that it doesn’t matter who you get pregnant with, it is God who determines who his children will be, that is who Israel is. Then he adds a second thing. Not only does it not matter who or what the parents do, but even before the kids are born and ever even have a chance to do anything wrong, even that doesn’t matter.
So this idea of God looking into the future and then choosing to bestow favor on the good ones falls to the ground hard with this verse. It cannot stand up. If everybody already had faith, or if God was looking to see which of the two would be good, it would say so here and on top of it, Esau was a better man than Jacob in many ways. Jacob was a lying deceiving schemer.
The natural question is why? Why would God have chosen Jacob over Esau. The answer in the text is this, “in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of his call.” What is that? God’s purpose of election. That doesn’t really tell us anything. He’ll tell us more about this purpose in upcoming weeks, but right here, that answers nothing, it just tells us that God elected.
We are in the midst of these primary elections, soon to be presidential elections. But here in the Bible, election isn’t a democratic thing. It is God himself selecting or choosing or electing within himself whichever he wants, and all this passage tells is that there is a purpose to it. And whatever that purpose is, it has nothing to do with considering our works, the good or bad things we do.
So if you are going to get God on your side by doing things for him, you are wrong. We hope you do get into God and fall in love with worshipping and adoring and serving him through his son, but all of that always and forever is out of our thanks for undeserved favor. We always worship in response to his grace. We love him because he first loved us. Why did he first love us? I don’t know. That’s mystery to me, I’m not too lovable.
We love because of a “call” Paul calls it here. Earlier he said it was a promise that involved naming and a counting and here he says it is a calling. We addressed this idea of calling in depth when we depth in our last sermon series when we dealt with Romans 8:28-30, where it says “All things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.” And where it says, …those whom he predestined he also called.” You can read or listen to those sermons online to get a full treatment of what God’s “call” means generally and effectually.
I’ll just say this for today, “call” is God’s determination to set his grace upon you and that determination is completely independent of anything such as racial ethnicity or however good you think you might be. I call out to all of you now and say put your faith in Jesus and I pray that God effectually works something in your heart, maybe even in this very moment to say, “Oh yes, give me Jesus, he is all I want and all I need, I give up all my strivings and surrender to God’s mighty hand.”
May it be that God would extend his promise and name children as his own and count many righteous today because of Christ. I dare say some here may never have understood the gospel until this point. The point at which in your heart you bow your knee with appreciation toward to God for undeserved love and follow him whatever the cost.
E. God is holy v.14
Well, let’s start wrapping things up for today and talk about how God is holy. To do that there are a couple loose ends here we need to tie up. One is obvious, the other is less obvious. Let’s hit the obvious one first. How many people here when we read, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” get uncomfortable? You don’t like that? Me too. That’s what I thought. A lot of us. What are our thoughts? God is love right? How can he hate, isn’t that wrong, unjust?
Saint Paul who wrote this anticipated our response, which is why he raises the question of verse 14, look at it. “What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!” Now you’ll have to wait for next week to get the full answer on that. For today I just want to address the two loose ends and then conclude by talking about the rightness, or justness or perhaps best, the holiness of God.
The first obvious thing is that we are uncomfortable with this idea here that God hates someone, Esau, and others whom he does not call to be his children. We don’t like that. So a lot of people try to soften this in one of two ways and they are the loose ends I’m referring to.
The first way is to say, Paul couldn’t have really meant “hate” here, he must of just meant “loved less.” That idea will not do. Because this phrase is exactly quoted in the Bible in another place, the book of Malachi. Here is how the book of Malachi describes God’s determination toward Esau beyond just saying he hated him. In Malachi 1:2-4 right after quoting Genesis where God first said “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I hated,” God says Esau’s inheritance is a wasteland and if Esau builds he will tear down his buildings, he says he will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and God says Esau is someone “with whom the Lord is angry forever.” I don’t know about you but that pretty much sounds to me like God hates him. And I just made things worse and more uncomfortable didn’t I? I’m just going to let you sit on that for a minute. Maybe it will scare you in a good way so that you start praying that God doesn’t hate you. That’s a good idea.
The second way people, especially guys known as “New Perspectivists,” the way they try to soften this is to say this whole idea here of Israel, and Abraham, and offspring, and Jacob and Esau is about corporate national group identities and is not referring to God’s salvation of particular individuals.
That idea will not do. Because the whole reason Paul is even writing these chapters is so that he can defend the thesis of the book that God will save individuals who put faith in Jesus. There is also just too much language here referring to specific individual people. And on top of it all that makes no sense because groups are always composed of individuals. And it still doesn’t get around the problem of God hating and predetermining whom he will love.
So those are the loose ends. If anything at this point, this sermon feels not good. By the end of a sermon you are supposed to have resolution and comfort and all those good things and I have just exacerbated the problem for us all big time. So here is what I want to do. Rather than to try and make you feel less uncomfortable, I’m just going to let us feel that, I think some uncomfortableness is good and healthy, that’s how you grow, when you know you’re being stretched and challenged.
But now I want to turn your attention to the holiness of God and that is how we’ll conclude. The seemingly automatic charge that arises in our heads against God is to call him on his justice and say that’s not fair and it’s wrong. We’ll get into that next week and deal with our uncomfortableness. Today, I simply want to call your minds to think of God’s holiness. It’s what that little phrase calls me to in verse 14, “By no means!”
In Isaiah 6, the prophet has a vision of God. The heavens are opened up and he’s sees God seated upon his throne and the train of his robe fills the temple, about a football field’s worth. So this vision is big. Around the throne of God there are angels flying around the throne. They each have six wings, with two they are covering their face, with two they are covering their feet, and with two they are flying and they are calling out in loud voices, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.” They called out so loud that there was an earthquake and the house where Isaiah was filled with smoke.
Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD. In the whole of all that he is and all that he does he is holy. There is not a single drop of evil in the whole ocean of his existence. He is perfectly right and just and true. The angels, beautiful, sinless and powerful angels still have to cover their face and their feet when confronted with his pure goodness. My friends, our God is a holy God.
Conclusion
Here is our conclusion for the day. Our God is just and righteous and holy, it flows out of his very being, it is who he is, he cannot but be holy. He does not owe us existence. There is no constraint on him to create life and love. That we breathe air right now is a pure act of his grace. If we call him on justice we done with, I am ashes.
In Jesus, God poured out the full measure of his justice so that we might become his children, children of the promise, called by his name out darkness and into his light. In our place on the cross Jesus suffered a physical and human punishment as well as eternal divine one that we deserve and he offers that provision freely to all who cling to him and to him alone. Not our supposedly good works, not our supposedly good family name, not anything but him alone.
Jesus Christ is the true seed of Abraham and is true Israel himself, he fulfilled all Israel is called and meant to be. The word of God stands. Now every person, whether they are blood Israel or not, anyone who puts there faith in him becomes Israel, a child a of God. All the promises of God’s word now hold true in his son for us. God’s word does not nor cannot fail, you can trust him.
Jesus is holy God, sinless, the one seated on the throne who came to earth so that many who were not blood Israel might be Israel. He lived the life try so hard at and fail so miserably at time and time again and he died the death we deserve in our place. He determined to do this from long ago, long before everyone in this room was born. So embrace him today and know the invincible love of God that nothing will be able to separate you from.
Let’s pray.