It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.  

{Romans 15:27}

Of course one thing is to not understand that we are partakers of Israel’s spiritual things, but another thing not to understand what those spiritual things are. Spiritual’s counterpart in this context is carnal. Paul is not distinguishing between Israel’s spiritual and carnal things, but rather because the Gentiles have been made partakers of Israel’s spiritual things then the Gentiles should minister unto them in carnal things. Nonetheless, Israel has physical things that differ from their spiritual things. These physical things is not the point of debt to which the Gentiles out to respond in carnal things. Therefore, although Paul is not drawing the line between Israel’s spiritual and physical things, he does not say we are partakers of their things (which could imply all their things), nor their physical things (excluding their spiritual things), thus their spiritual things (excluding their physical things).

ISRAEL’S PHYSICAL THINGS

Paul set forth in clear terms in Romans 9-11 that Israel will see her fulness. Moreover, all that God promised and covenanted with her will be fulfilled with her and not a substitute or replacement from those justified among the nations. Such faithfulness of God is determined upon the immutability of His counsel – He cannot lie.

God throughout times past has covenanted with Israel to do many things to and for her, things which under the law they strictly learned they could not do for themselves. These things essentially entailed a kingdom and all glorious kingdom features. Land, city, nation, agricultural riches, abundant peace and safety, freedom from sickness and disease, and more. These things constituted Israel’s physical things set forth in covenants and promises.

God the Father therefore does not have Paul, unlike Peter, state that we are a “holy nation”. Unlike the writers of the General Epistles, Paul does not talk about waiting for the peaceable fruit of the earth, nor look for a city whose builder and maker is God.

SPIRITUAL THINGS

Of all the covenants, especially covenants of promise that God made with Israel only one is purely spiritual. The covenant of promise that is strictly spiritual with its spiritual things is the New Covenant and Testament. The “I will” provisions of God in the New Testament entail: forgiving transgressions, remembering sin no more, putting a law in their inward parts, writing it on their hearts, being their God, and knowing the Lord. These spiritual things are provided and procured by God through His Son, shedding His own blood instead of the blood of bulls and goats. The force of these spiritual things upon them that believe is after the death of the testator.

Although these spiritual things were promised to Israel they are also part of “the gospel of God” which concerns His Son and the power He is declared to possess according to the spirit of holiness. It is this powerful Christ in which Paul received grace and apostleship to deliver these things to the nations apart from Israel to whom they were given to.

THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST

When one ministers “the gospel of Christ” they are ministering the things of the New Testament. In the gospel there is offer of “the forgiveness of sins and remembering them no more” by the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Moreover, the Spirit of God puts in us the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and has “things” in which we are to believe from the heart and become written there that we beome living “epistles of Christ”. God becomes our God and we His people of which He as our Father, instead of tutors of governors, teaches us in His deep, hidden things that we may be to the praise of His glory.

Truly, these things are glorious and ought not be taken for granted – we are “partakers of their spiritual things”. May we continue to enjoy the root and the fatness, that is – Christ, and grow up into Him in all things they work to prepare us for the mystery of Christ, that is, to reign with Him in the heavenly places and thus be His fulness which filleth all in all – world without end, amen!

Look Up,

Josh Strelecki