“And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.”
Romans 11:23, KJV
“And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.”
Romans 11:23, ESV
Table of Contents
- Romans 11:23 Meaning – And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in
- Romans 11:23 Meaning – for God is able to graff them in again
Romans 11:23 Meaning – And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in
The other side of the contrasted statement is equally true — Israel, if they abide not in unbelief, shall not abide in abandonment.
The apostle has shown that, as it is by faith that standing in the Church of God under the Messianic economy is enjoyed [Romans 4], the Gentiles, who had found a place in that Church, would lose it if they fell from the faith; and he now goes on to state and prove that the Jews, if they continue not in unbelief, may still obtain a place in that Church:
The apostle still uses figurative language, carrying out the metaphor of the mystical olive, but the meaning is obvious: ‘If the unbelieving Jews, at any future period, shall lay aside their prejudices against Jesus Christ, and embrace the Gospel, they shall be readmitted into the Church of God, and enjoy its privileges.’
Brown, John – Analytical exposition of the epistle of Paul the apostle to the Romans (1857)
Romans 11:23 Meaning – for God is able to graff them in again
This argument would be cold and lifeless, when applied to profane persons; for although they grant Jehovah to be possessed of power, yet, because they consider it is shut up at a distance in heaven, they generally deprive it of all vigour and efficacy.
But since the faithful, whenever the power of God is named, regard it as a work actually present, Paul considered the mere statement of it sufficient to appal [greatly dismay or horrify] their minds.
The apostle lays it down as a settled maxim, that God so avenges the incredulity of his people, as never entirely to forget his clemency; thus also, on other occasions, he often restores his kingdom, after he had appeared to deprive the Jews of it entirely.
Calvin, John – Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans tr. Francis Sibson (1834)
Argument 12. Even as thou, unless thou continue in the faith, shalt be cut off: So the Jews, if they continue not in unbelief, they shall again be graffed into the holy Church of the Patriarchs; yea, verily, the restoring of the Jews, according to the omnipotent goodness of God, is not to be despaired. Therefore the Jews are not to be despised by thee.
Dickson, David – An Exposition of All St. Paul’s Epistles (1659)
This [the possibility of Jews embracing the Gospel and enjoying the privileges thereof] is true of individual Jews, but the apostle is here speaking of the great body of the nation.
He first shows that this is by no means an impossible thing — “God is able to graff them in again.” There is nothing in the nature of things, nothing in the declarations of God, to make this impossible. It may appear to man impossible; but what is impossible with man, is possible with God. He can do anything that does not imply a contradiction.
This, when taken in connection with God’s promise to restore the Jews, is a triumphant answer to all objections in reference to this event. “Why should it be thought an incredible thing” that God should restore the Jews, any more than that He should raise the dead?
The words indicate more than possibility. When God is said to be able to give Amaziah more than he sacrificed at the command of duty — to be able to make a man stand — to be able to make all grace abound to men — to be able to do abundantly above all that we ask or think — to be able to keep from falling, — more than a mere assertion of power adequate to these effects is intended; and so here. Still, possibility is the leading idea.
Brown, John – Analytical exposition of the epistle of Paul the apostle to the Romans (1857)
