Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 1 * PART 4 * BOOK 24
ROMANS 9:4-5
Now let’s turn to Romans Chapter 9 again, and we might just finish verse 5 in this lesson. It always thrills us so when we get letters and telephone calls that tell us that you’re learning, because that’s all we hope to do is to help people enjoy this Book because it’s the greatest Book on earth, and there’s nothing that can be compared to it. But you have to study it to appreciate it so this is our whole reason for doing what we are doing, and that is to get people interested again in the Word of God. I intended to bring a quote with me today, but forgot it, but it was a quote from a former President of Princeton University. And the quote was, “Either it’s the epistles of Paul, or it’s back to nothing.” Now that’s not the full quote, and I’ll try to bring it with me next time. But that says it all, and unless Christendom gets back into the letters of Paul, and realizes that here is the seat of our doctrine as Gentiles, then it’s going to be on and on into a darkness, it’s going to be a Christendom without any power, and I’m afraid we’re seeing the results of it already.
So now let’s get back into the Book in Romans Chapter 9, for just a moment, and remember we’re still in verse 5. Speaking of the Israelites in verse 4.
Romans 9:5
“Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.”
Now we looked at that verse some in our last lesson in Colossians, and found that Christ is the Creator, and Sustainer of everything. We saw that His finished work nailed all the rituals of religion to the Cross. And in our closing moments in the last lesson we were back in Genesis Chapter 3, so let’s go back there for a moment. Remember that just as soon as man fell, as soon as sin entered we find that God stepped in with the remedy, and that of course was the promise of a Redeemer.
Genesis 3:15
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it (the seed of the woman) shall bruise thy head, (the serpent) and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Now that sounds like gobbledy-gook to the casual reader, but you want to remember that the “Seed of the woman” as the Book of Galatians explains is Christ, and He’s speaking to the serpent so the Seed of the woman is going to bruise the head of the serpent. Now you have to stop and think for a little bit, When did Christ bruise, and defeat Satan? Well at the Cross. Now how did Satan bruise Christ’s heel as we see in the last part of verse 15? The suffering that Christ went through with the ordeal of the Cross. And so here is the first promise then concerning Christ in the flesh. Now for a moment I’d like to go to the New Testament, in Matthew Chapter 1.
Now in our previous lesson we were dealing with the Davidic Covenant, how that God promised David that through him would come this royal line of kings out of which would come the final King, the Messiah of Israel, Jesus of Nazareth. But now here in this chapter we have another reference to this same fulfillment of the coming of the “Seed of the woman.” And remember the Seed of the woman in Scripture is always Christ, and we’ll be looking at that in a moment. Beginning with Eve, God promised that through the woman of the human race would come the Messiah. Now remember when we were back there studying in Genesis I showed so clearly that the very physiology make-up of the woman’s reproduction system shows that the fetus never receives any of the blood from the mother. In fact I lost my physiology text books that shows that so vividly, but I have a doctor in one of my classes that is in the process of getting me another one. But anyway I know that statement blows the mind of a lot of people, but it is physiology the way it is. The blood of the mother never courses through that fetus or baby in her womb, but rather the blood comes from the father. So Christ as the, “Seed of the woman” then had to be virgin born otherwise the blood would have come from a human father which would have tainted His divine ability to die for the sins of the world. And so consequently His blood came from His Father, as does every other creature that is reproduced.
In fact, I remember a year or two ago reading an article on cattle genetics, and you know I’m a cattleman, and am interested in that. But in this article we had veterinarians from Colorado State University proving the same thing. That even in the species of cattle none of the blood of the mother cow ever courses through the fetus. The blood system comes from the sire. Well this is all part of God’s intrinsic plan of getting ready for the virgin birth. That Christ’s Blood was divine because it came from His Father Who was God Himself. See how beautifully that all fits. Now I know the first thing people say is, “What about the RH Factor, and so forth.” Well another physiology book that I read one time explained the best that I had ever read, and he used an analogy of fencing your garden. If you want to keep out the rabbits, and dogs, and larger animals you can just put up a netting around your garden, and it will keep all the bigger animals out. But what will still get through? Well the smaller mice, birds, insects, and so forth. That is exactly how the placenta in the mother’s womb works. The major components of the mother’s blood never go through the placenta to the baby, but some of the small chromosomes and genes that carry our inherited characteristics will go through the placenta. So don’t misunderstand me on this subject, and I hope this clarifies this a little bit, because this boggles lots of people’s minds that when Mary, who was the physical fleshly mother of the Lord Jesus, and whose blood was just as corrupt as any other woman’s blood, and was a sinner just like everybody else, but none of her blood coursed through the baby Jesus. But always remember that His blood system came from His Father, just like any other child’s blood system comes from the father. I have all kinds of illustrations that I could give you but time doesn’t permit today. But nevertheless it all began back there with the promise of the, “Seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15, and now here in Matthew Chapter 1 we will introduce the New Testament with almost the same kind of language.
Matthew 1:1,2a
“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (And then he goes through the genealogy) Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob;…” and so forth.
Now here we have Christ then born of the human element, Mary, but from the Father giving Him then that divine attribute of incorruption, His Body did not suffer corruption in the tomb, His Blood was not corrupted it was divine, and sinless, otherwise it could have never paid your sin debt and mine. So these are principles that have carried all the way up through human history, and the Scriptures. Now let’s turn to Luke 2 for a moment and follow that up.
Luke 1:30,31
“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.”
Which of course in the Hebrew meant Joshua or the Saviour. Let’s go on to the Book of Romans again, Chapter 1.
Romans 1:1,2
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures.)”
In other words all the aspects of His death, burial, and Resurrection were back there in the Old Testament. Oh it was in veiled language, but nevertheless it was back there. Now as we have an understanding we can go back and see it in Psalms 22, and Isaiah 52, and 53, and other places you will find graphic language of His death, burial, and Resurrection.
Romans 1:3
“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David…”
Do you see how that word seed just keeps chasing all the way through Scripture? The “Seed of the woman” in Genesis 3:15 is going to come right up through these Jewish Patriarchs, through the little Nation of Israel, and all the Covenant promises that I have been talking about for the past four lessons are based on God’s promise of the coming of the “Seed of the woman.” which is Christ. Reading verse 3 again:
Romans 1:3,4a
“Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;” (That’s why He was the God-Man. Now verse 4:) And declared to be the Son of God with power,…”
Now He manifested that power, of course, with all of His miracles throughout that three years of earthly ministry. One miracle after another, and some were more explicit in His power over nature than others. For example when they were in the little boat on the sea of Galilee, and a storm was raging, and the disciples were scared to death. The way I have it pictured in my mind is that Jesus was in a little double deck boat. He must have been below deck sleeping, and what did the Twelve do?
Matthew 8:25
“And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, `Lord, save us: we perish.'”
They let Him know how worried they were because they’re about to sink, but what does Jesus do? He spoke the Word, and what happened? Hey, the wind died down, the sea became calm, and what did the Twelve say?
Matthew 8:27
“But the men marvelled, saying, `What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!'”
Well they didn’t have the full comprehension of Who Jesus was, that He could speak a word, and the wind would die down. Well another obvious one was when He came walking on the water, and Peter tried it, and as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus what happened?
Matthew 14:30
“But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, `Lord, save me.'”
And remember there are many, many other times how He manifested His power even over nature. Do you remember when He needed tax money? What did He tell Peter?
Matthew 17:27
“Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.”
And then in the last chapter of the Gospel of John, the eighth sign in that Book we find the eleven fishermen had been out all night, and had caught no fish. And here Jesus was on the shore with fish ready for breakfast, but He’s still not going to let them be skunked at not catching any fish, so what does He asked them?
John 21:5,6
“Then Jesus saith unto them, `Children, have ye any meat?’ They answered him, `No.’ And he said unto them, `Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.’ They cast therefore and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.'”
The net was full and yet it didn’t break. Well how did He know? He had that power over even the fish of the sea of Galilee. All right, that’s what Paul is referring to here in Romans Chapter 1. Repeating that verse again:
Romans 1:4a
And declared to be the Son of God with power,…”
He’s declared to be the Son of God after the seed of David in verse 3, but with power. And never underestimate that power. And now I want to show you in Galatians that it is Christ who is the “Seed of the woman.” And we find that in Galatians Chapter 3: I never know where to start because I don’t like to just begin in the exact verse because we need to pick up the flow of the Scriptures. And again, remember, Galatians was written to Gentile believers who were being besieged by Judaisers that they just couldn’t be saved by faith in the Gospel alone but they must also embrace Judaism. They had to practice circumcision, they had to keep the Law, and so Paul has to write this letter to refute all that, and to straighten them out. We may someday teach the Book of Galatians on the program, but this is the theme of the little Book of Galatians. “You’re not under Law, You’re under Grace!”
Galatians 3:13-14a
“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Now that goes clear back to the Book of Deuteronomy 21:22.) That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles (How?) through Jesus Christ;…” Now do you remember what the Scriptures said back there in Genesis 12? Through Abraham all the families of the earth would be blessed. How? Because the “Seed of the woman” would be coming through Abraham. Now reading on.
Galatians 3:14,15
“That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit (Not through Judaism, or Law-keeping, but rather)through faith.” Simply by believing The Word. It’s not what we do, but just simply believing the Gospel. (Ref. I Corinthians 15:1-4) Verse 15. “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.”
When God made a Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David or any of the other Patriarchs none of those great men could take away a single word or add to it. It stood settled in concrete because God was the One Who made it. And even though thousands of years of time may have elapsed, these Covenants are still absolute. No one can annul or abridge them, they are settled forever. Now reading on:
Galatians 3:16
“Now to Abraham and his seed (Now in this case it’s not just talking about Christ, but it’s talking about that line of men and women who would bring it all the way to the coming of The Messiah) were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, (plural) as of many; but as of one, (Now here it comes) And to thy seed, (That is the seed of Abraham as well as women). which is Christ.”
So when you see that term the “Seed of the women” it’s always a reference to Jesus Christ the One Who was promised way back in Genesis Chapter 3. This falls back on that Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis Chapter 12, that through that man all the nations of the world would be blessed, and how? Through that “Seed of the woman” Who would go to the Cross, who would be raised from the dead, and would become the very epitome of our Salvation experience. Romans 9 verse 6:
Romans 9:6
“Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:”
Is that gobbledy-gook? “Not all Israel are Israel.” Now go back to Genesis Chapter 17. Abraham and Sara were having no children, and so being human they got impatient, and so what did Sara suggest one day? Oh she lived to regret it, but she was the one who suggested it. Well according their custom she said, “Why don’t you have a child by our slave girl Hagar?” Well, old Abraham was just as anxious to have a child so he immediately agrees. And so Ishmael is born, but you see Ishmael was not the “son of promise.” Ishmael was after the energy of the flesh, and never lose sight of that, because that carries all the way through Scripture. Ishmael was after the flesh, and Isaac was the “son of promise.”
God kept promising and promising. Many people don’t realize how many years went by. I’m pretty sure that when God first promised Abram that a nation of people would come from his very body, and with his own wife Sarai he was only 50 years old. Then 25 years go by before he even leaves Haran to go down into Canaan, by now he is 75. Another 14 years go by before they finally decide that God’s not going to do anything, so they take matters into their own hands and have a child by Hagar. Now Abraham is 86 years old. God didn’t come through with His promise of a son until Abraham was 100. So how long did he wait? 50 years. That’s a long time, no wonder the poor guy got impatient. But nevertheless God’s Word was sure. In due time he will have a son, but not every child of Abraham was the promised son.
Genesis 17:18,19a
“And Abraham said unto God, `O that Ishmael might live before thee!’ And God said, `Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac:'”
Now what’s that? That’s a promise. Whenever God said, “I will” that was a promise. Now even though Abraham and Sara may have lost sight of it, yet it was God’s promise and it was going to happen. Now it’s the same way concerning the promises made to the Nation of Israel tonight. God has promised that He is yet going to return, and be their King, He is yet going to give them the Kingdom, because it’s promised. Now man doesn’t go on God’s time table, we get impatient, but with God, Who is eternal, time doesn’t mean anything. Now for over 20 years I’ve been expectantly waiting for the Lord to call us up in the Rapture. But 20 years in God’s timing isn’t even a split second. I think it’s been a long time, and it may be that long yet. I don’t see how it can be, I think we’re getting so close. Just remember with God time isn’t all that important. Now reading verse 19 again:
Genesis 17:19,20
“And God said, `Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (Now verse 20; remember Ishmael is a son of Abraham.) And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.'” Has God done it? Yes! I mentioned a few lessons ago that the Arabs outnumber the Jews tonight 50 to 1. So God has blessed them, they’ve got all the oil in the world, what more could they ask for? Now verse 21, and 22.
Genesis 17:21,22
“But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.”
So going back to Romans 9:6 Not all the children of Abraham are children of the promise. Only those that came through Isaac, Jacob, and the Twelve Tribes.
Romans 9:6b
“…For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:”