ouchi – Ministry of Grace Church

Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,

Truth to Learn

No group of people has exclusive rights to God and His truth.

Behind the Words

“Only” is translated from the Greek word monon. This is probably derived from the verb menō, meaning “to remain” or “to stay.” Hence, monon means “that which remains, alone, or only.”

The word “not” is translated from ouchi, which is derived from ou, the absolute “not” in Greek. However, ouchi is a stronger form meaning “not at all” or “no way!”

“Yes” is from the Greek word nai, which implies strong affirmation. We could reasonably translated this as “yes, certainly.”

The word “Gentiles” is from ethnos, meaning “a group of people belonging together and living together, a race, or a nation.” It has been used historically by Jewish writers (as it is here) as a reference to those people, or nations, who are not Jewish.

Meaning Explained

Paul has just stated in conclusion that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law. To a Jew this would imply that the Law is void, otherwise why have they been working so hard for all these centuries to satisfy the Law through works.

Paul is saying that if justification could come from the Law (and only from the Law, as the Jews thought) then He must only be the God of the Jews since they are the only ones who had the Law. That’s why Paul asks the question, “Or is He the God of the Jews only, and not also of the gentiles?” He then immediately answers the question, “Yes, He is the God of the Gentiles also.”

The apostle is not making a casual statement here. The use of ouchi and nai indicate that he is making a couple of very strong statements: “Is He not at all also the God of the Gentiles? He most certainly is also the God of the Gentiles!”

The Jews knew that Jehovah is the God of all mankind, but they also knew that only the Jews had the Law. This made them selfish about the Scriptures and their relationship with God. They began to believe that Jehovah was their God exclusively, but Paul is bursting that bubble. Not only is He the God of both the Jews and the Gentiles but, as he will state in the next verse, He justifies (declares as righteous) both the Jews and the Gentiles. That would have come as a shock to many Jewish Christians who believed that God only justifies those who keep the law. It also may come as a shock to Christians today who believe we have to keep a lot of “rules” to be saved or to stay saved.

Application

Once again, we can see a strong parallel between the attitude of the Jewish people at the time of Christ and the attitude of Christians today. The Jews believed they had exclusive rights to God and were unwilling to share Him with Gentiles, building a wall between Jews and Gentiles. Since Christians have been given the Great Commission, we are commanded to share the Gospel with the whole world. But many denominations believe only they have “the correct” truth, thus building walls between Christians.

In God's service, for His glory,

Then where is the boasting? It is excluded. Through what kind of law? Of works? No, but through a law of faith.

Truth to Learn

Salvation through faith in the blood of Christ is nothing to brag about.

Behind the Words

“Boasting” is from kauchēsis, which refers to the act of bragging or boasting.

The Greek word translated “excluded” is ekkleiō, which is made up of ek, meaning “out” or “out of” and kleiō, meaning “to shut.” Therefore, this word literally means “to shut out.” In other words, something has no chance of coming in whatsoever. In sports, we refer to a team as having been “shut-out” if they have been beaten without having scored a single point.

The words “what kind of” are translated from the Greek word poios, which means “of what sort” or “what kind.”

“Law” is translated from nomos, which refers to “a law” or “a principle.” Paul is using it here, as he does in many places, in reference to a principle rather than a specific law.

The word “no” is from the Greek word ouchi, which is a stronger form of the word ou, meaning “no” or “not.” We might translate this as “No way!”

Meaning Explained

The apostle now goes on to cement in the minds of the Roman Christians that their salvation is not of themselves through acts of righteousness, but completely through the actions of God. He starts off this verse by asking where any of us can find room for boasting. There is nothing to boast about in having been granted righteousness. Since all have sinned and have failed at being able to justify themselves by obeying the Law, and since all are alike, dependent on the mercy of God, any reason for bragging is, of course, taken away. It is shut out.

That’s what Paul is telling us about boasting or bragging with regard to our salvation. There is no way we can brag about our salvation because bragging has been shut-out!

This boasting is not shut-out by the law of works, but by the law of faith. By this Paul means that we cannot be justified by performing any works no matter how unselfish or self-sacrificing they are. We cannot be justified by keeping the 10 commandments, and we cannot be justified by obeying all the rules or ordinances set-down for us by our church. We simply cannot be justified by this kind of law. In other words, there is nothing we can do to earn righteousness, nothing! It can only come through faith.

Back in verse twenty-two we learned that faith (Greek pistis) means “belief in a truth.” But what does Paul mean by “the law of faith?” This is not a written law or set of commandments, but a principle. The principle here is, “believing in a truth.” That is, the truth that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of God who, while completely God, is completely man. The truth that He lived a perfect life, then offered His life as a sacrifice in payments for your sins and mine.

Application

It’s easy to boast about all the things we have done to earn something, but salvation can’t be earned. It requires humility to accept salvation and become a Christian. It can’t be bragged about. A humble person doesn’t brag about his humility.

In God's service, for His glory,

Ministry of Grace Church

Tag: ouchi

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