As He says also in Hosea: "I will call them My people, who were not My people, and her beloved, who was not beloved."
Truth to Learn
God chooses people, not nations, and all of His chosen ones are His beloved children.
Behind the Words
The word “people” is from laos, which refers to “a people, nation, or a number of people joined together by common bonds.” Another word translated “people” is nēmos, which refers to one’s own populace. Paul is showing that God’s people are not just a single nation or ethnic group, but His own select group of people united in Him.
“Beloved” is from a form of agapaō which means “to esteem or love, indicating a commitment of the will and of finding one's joy in something or someone.” It is the kind of self-sacrificing love in which the lover is focused on the best possible good for the beloved rather than self.
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse Paul turned a corner in his dissertation on the doctrine of election. He left off his discussion as to why and how His choosing is true. He now goes on to show the Jewish Christians in Rome the fact that God has always had a plan for non-Jews (Gentiles) as well as the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Jews).
As we already pointed out, the Jewish Christians in the early years of the church believed that the Jews were a called nation. That is, the sons of Jacob had a special privilege in their relationship with God simply because God chose Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since this previous verse would come as a shock to many of these Jewish Christians, Paul quotes from the Old Testament prophets to show that it has always been God’s plan to select from the Gentiles as well as from the Jews.
The quotation in this verse is from the book of the prophet Hosea in which he says
And I will have mercy on No-mercy. And I will say to Not-my-people, You are My people. And they shall say, My God. (Hosea 2:23)
Since the Jewish believers were so proud of the fact that to them had been entrusted the Oracles of God (see Romans 3:2), and they believed, as we do, that these Holy Scriptures contained the very words of God, this becomes a very powerful demonstration to these Jewish Christians that the church is to be made up of both Jews and Gentiles. Peter discovered this in a miraculous way in chapter 10 of the book of Acts. Paul makes a very powerful argument to the Gentile members of the church in the book of Ephesians that the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross broke down the wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles.
But now in Christ Jesus you who then were far off became near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, He having made us both one, and having broken down the middle wall of partition between us, (Ephesians 2:13-14)
Application
We who are not descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob can rejoice in the fact that He chooses individuals to his family. And, as individuals we are to serve Him in joyful thanksgiving because He has chosen us to be His own children. Are you a true child of God?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved