Bird's-eye view
In this monumental section of Romans, the Apostle Paul tackles a profound theological problem head-on. After soaring to the heights of assurance at the end of chapter 8, declaring that nothing can separate the elect from the love of God, a glaring objection arises: what about Israel? If God's promises are so secure, why does the vast majority of ethnic Israel stand in unbelief, accursed and cut off from their own Messiah? Has the word of God failed? Paul's answer is a resounding and emphatic "No." He proceeds to demonstrate, with surgical precision from the Old Testament Scriptures, that God's saving purpose has never been tied to mere physical lineage. From the very beginning, God has distinguished between a natural seed and a spiritual seed. This is not a new development; it is the way God has always operated. The passage establishes the bedrock principle of God's sovereign election, showing that salvation is not based on ethnicity, human decision, or personal merit, but solely on God's gracious and unconditional choice. This is the foundation upon which the security of every believer rests.
Paul builds his case with two historical examples: Isaac over Ishmael, and Jacob over Esau. In both instances, God's choice subverted natural expectations. He chose the son of the promise over the son of the flesh, and He chose the younger over the elder before they had done anything good or evil. This was done, Paul argues, for one explicit reason: "so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand." The ultimate ground of our salvation is not found in us, but in Him who calls. This is a hard truth for our man-centered age, but it is the only ground for true humility and unshakeable hope.
Outline
- 1. The Unfailing Word of God (Rom 9:6-13)
- a. The Problem Stated: Has God's Word Failed? (Rom 9:6a)
- b. The Principle Established: Two Israels (Rom 9:6b)
- c. The First Illustration: Isaac and Ishmael (Rom 9:7-9)
- i. Not All Descendants are Children (Rom 9:7)
- ii. Children of Promise, Not Flesh (Rom 9:8)
- iii. The Specific Word of Promise (Rom 9:9)
- d. The Second Illustration: Jacob and Esau (Rom 9:10-13)
- i. A More Pointed Example (Rom 9:10)
- ii. Election Apart from Works (Rom 9:11)
- iii. The Prophetic Reversal (Rom 9:12)
- iv. The Stark Reality of Divine Choice (Rom 9:13)
Context In Romans
Romans 9-11 forms a distinct unit within the letter, addressing the question of Israel's place in God's redemptive plan. Having laid out the doctrine of justification by faith for all people, Jew and Gentile, in chapters 1-8, Paul must now reconcile this with the Old Testament promises made specifically to the nation of Israel. The climax of chapter 8, with its glorious declaration of the security of the elect, makes the problem of Jewish unbelief all the more acute. If God's elect are eternally secure, and Israel is God's elect nation, how can so many of them be lost? Paul's argument in chapter 9 is the necessary foundation for all that follows. He must establish the principle of God's sovereign freedom in election before he can explain the historical process of Israel's hardening (chapter 10) and the future hope of their restoration (chapter 11). This section is not a theological detour, but rather the crucial hinge that connects the doctrine of salvation to the sweep of redemptive history.
Key Issues
- The Relationship Between Ethnic Israel and the True Israel
- The Nature of God's Promise
- The Doctrine of Unconditional Election
- The Meaning of "Children of the Flesh" vs. "Children of the Promise"
- The Significance of Divine Foreknowledge
- The Interpretation of "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated"
- The Relationship between Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
God's Purpose in Election
The central nerve of this passage is found in verse 11: "so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls." This is Paul's own inspired commentary on the story of Jacob and Esau. Why did God choose Jacob? Why did He make this determination before the boys were even born? Paul tells us plainly. It was to make a point. It was to demonstrate a foundational truth about how He saves people. The ground of salvation is not in the one who is chosen, but in the One who chooses. It is not based on what we do, but on what He purposes. This is what we mean by election. It is God's free, sovereign, gracious, and unconditional choice of sinners to be saved. This doctrine is not intended to be a playground for theological speculation, but a bedrock for Christian assurance. If my salvation depends in any way on my performance, my foresight, or my inherent goodness, then it is as precarious as I am. But if it rests on the immutable purpose of God, then it is as secure as God Himself.
Verse by Verse Commentary
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel;
Paul begins by stating the problem and his thesis in one breath. The problem is the apparent failure of God's word to Israel. His thesis is that the word has not failed at all, because we have misunderstood who "Israel" is. He introduces a crucial distinction, one that runs through the entire Bible: the distinction between the visible, ethnic nation and the invisible, spiritual remnant. Not everyone who is a physical descendant of Jacob is part of the true, believing Israel. There is an Israel within Israel. This is not a New Testament invention; it is the story of the Old Testament. Think of Elijah and the seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. God has always had His remnant, His true people, within the larger covenant community.
7 nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed, but: “THROUGH ISAAC YOUR SEED WILL BE NAMED.”
To prove his point, Paul goes back to the very beginning, to the patriarch Abraham. Abraham had more than one son. His firstborn was Ishmael. By all natural and cultural rights, Ishmael was the heir. But God's promise was not tied to natural rights. God sovereignly chose Isaac, the son of the promise. Paul quotes Genesis 21:12 to clinch his argument. The "seed" of Abraham, in the saving sense, was to be reckoned through Isaac's line. From the outset, God was making a distinction. Bloodline alone does not make one a child of God.
8 That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are considered as seed.
Here Paul explains the principle derived from the Isaac/Ishmael story. He sets up a fundamental antithesis: "children of the flesh" versus "children of the promise." Ishmael was a child of the flesh, the result of Abraham and Sarah's human striving and unbelieving haste. Isaac was the child of the promise, the result of God's supernatural intervention in fulfillment of His word. This is the pattern for all of God's children. We are not born into God's family through natural generation or human effort. We are born again through the power of God's promise, the gospel, applied by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual birth, not physical birth, is what makes one a child of God.
9 For this is the word of promise: “AT THIS TIME I WILL COME, AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON.”
Paul substantiates his claim by quoting the specific promise from Genesis 18:10. Isaac's very existence was a miracle, a direct result of God's spoken word. God said, "I will come," and a barren womb conceived. This is a picture of our salvation. God speaks His life-giving word into our dead hearts, and we are made alive. Our status as children of God is not based on our pedigree, but on His promise.
10 And not only this, but there was Rebekah also, when she had conceived twins by one man, our father Isaac;
Now Paul tightens the screws of his argument. An objector might say, "Well, the difference between Isaac and Ishmael was their mothers. Hagar was a slave, Sarah was free." So Paul moves to the next generation. Here we have one father, Isaac, and one mother, Rebekah. And they have twins. In this case, you cannot appeal to different mothers or different circumstances of birth. The conditions are as identical as they could possibly be.
11 for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,
This verse is the theological heart of the chapter. Before Jacob and Esau were born, before they had a chance to perform a single act, whether good or evil, God made His choice. Paul is explicit about why God did it this way. It was to demonstrate that His saving purpose is grounded entirely in His sovereign choice, His election. It is not based on our works, our foreseen faith, or anything else in us. It is based solely on the will of "Him who calls." God's call creates the response; it does not follow it. He calls whom He will, because He will.
12 it was said to her, “THE OLDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER.”
Quoting from Genesis 25:23, Paul shows that God's choice overturned the natural order. By right of primogeniture, the elder son, Esau, should have received the blessing and the preeminence. But God's purpose is not bound by human customs. He declared that the natural order would be reversed: the older would serve the younger. This is a consistent pattern in Scripture. God frequently chooses the unlikely, the younger, the weaker, to show that the power is His and not ours.
13 Just as it is written, “JACOB I LOVED, BUT ESAU I HATED.”
Paul concludes this section with a stark and startling quotation from Malachi 1:2-3. This is not simply about God foreseeing that Jacob would be more pleasant than Esau. The language is one of divine choice and rejection. "Love" here means elective love, the covenant love with which God sets His affection on His people to save them. "Hated" is its opposite; it means to reject, to pass over, to not choose for this same covenantal blessing. Some try to soften this by saying it merely means "loved less," but that misses the force of the contrast in this context. Paul is using this to cap his argument that God's saving purpose is discriminating. It is not arbitrary or capricious, but it is free and sovereign. God is not obligated to love everyone in the same way. His special, saving, electing love is a gift of pure grace, bestowed according to the good pleasure of His will.
Application
This passage should produce in us a profound sense of humility. If our salvation rests on God's sovereign choice made before we ever existed, then there is absolutely no room for boasting. We did not choose God; He chose us. We did not make ourselves differ from our unbelieving neighbor; God's grace alone made the difference. This truth should cut the root of all pride and self-righteousness. We are all, like Jacob, undeserving recipients of a love we could never earn.
Secondly, this doctrine should be the source of our greatest comfort and assurance. If God chose us apart from our works, then our standing with Him is not dependent on our works. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, and therefore nothing in all creation can separate us from His love. Our failures do not surprise Him. Our sins cannot thwart His eternal purpose. He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion precisely because the foundation of that work is not our wavering will, but His unchangeable choice.
Finally, this truth should fuel our worship. To contemplate the sheer freedom and grace of God in election is to be driven to our knees. Why me? The only answer is, "Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight." It is a mystery, but it is a glorious mystery. It is the mystery of a God who is truly God, who has mercy on whom He will have mercy, and who does all things for the praise of His glorious grace.