Who are God’s redeemed people?
Jesus the Messiah, though his faithful death, has redeemed God’s people – a people now defined by his faithfulness – from their sinfulness and unfaithfulness. But, while this is the climax of the great story, it’s not the end of the story. God’s covenant people weren’t intended as the final goal in themselves; they were meant to restore humanity to God, and in doing so to restore the entire creation. But who are the covenant people now?
In Romans, Paul draws on the covenant blessings in Deuteronomy 30 to prove how God has redefined his people. According to these blessings, when Israel would be restored from exile, they would be circumcised in their heart to be able to fulfill Torah (Deut. 30:1-10), so that Torah is near to them (30:11-14). Paul says that this has been fulfilled! Those who are not circumcised in their flesh may be “Jews,” regarded as circumcised in their heart by God’s spirit, and may actually judge those who are physically circumcised (Rom. 2:25-29). He says that this covenant blessing, the fulfillment of Torah, is found in the Messiah and belongs to those who confess him as lord and trust that God raised him (10:4-10; cf. 8:3-4).
Because God’s people have been redefined by the Messiah’s faithfulness (3:21-26), they’re declared ‘right’ by faith, so that ethnic Jews and gentiles have been joined in a unified people befitting the one God — and this fulfills Torah, rather than nullifying it (3:27-31). When the covenant was first given, Abraham trusted God that he would have many descendants, and they would “inherit the world” (4:1-8, 13; cf. Gen. 15:1-7). The covenant was based on faith, not on Torah — if it were based on Torah, no one would fulfill it, because Torah condemns Israel too (4:13-16)! Since the covenant is based on faith, not circumcision or Torah, anyone who trusts in the God who raised the Messiah – whether ethnic Jew or gentile – may be counted as Abraham’s descendant and “inherit the world” (4:9-12, 16-25).
The same idea appears in Paul’s other letters. Although he only refers to Jesus’ followers as “Israel” once or twice (Rom. 9:6; Gal. 6:16?), he can speak of a former time “when” the Corinthian believers “were gentiles” (1 Cor. 12:2), and refer to the ancient Israelites as their “fathers” (1 Cor. 10:1). They have “a new covenant,” no longer on the basis of Torah (2 Cor. 3:5-11), and receive the promises associated with Israel’s return from exile (2 Cor. 6:1-2, 16-18). There is a single, unified family descended from Abraham, not based on Torah, defined by faith, with both ethnic Jews and gentiles in the Messiah (Gal. 3:6-29). They are “the circumcision,” not based on outward signs like ethnicity, circumcision, and Torah, but based on the faithfulness of the Messiah (Phil. 3:2-11). His audience are “gentiles in flesh,” and were once “excluded from Israelite citizenship,” but now through Messiah – who tears down the dividing wall of Torah – are “fellow citizens of the saints” (Eph. 2:11-19).
For Paul, then, God defines and declares ‘right’ (or “justifies”) his people no longer on the basis of Torah, but on the basis of the Messiah’s faithfulness, which actually fulfills Torah. The purpose of Torah wasn’t to get rid of Sin, but to intensify it and focus it on God’s people, so that it could be climactically condemned by Israel’s Messiah; this is the point of Romans 5:20-21 and 7:13-8:4 (as well as Galatians 3:19-22). Because covenant membership has been redefined around faith, both ethnic Jews and gentiles can join God’s unified people in the Messiah, which fulfills the covenantal promises. Having been declared ‘right’ by faith, we have nothing to fear from God, because we were reconciled to him, and we also know that we will share “God’s glory” which was lost because of sin (5:1-11; cf. 3:23).
The role of God’s redeemed people
We’ve seen who God’s redeemed people are: ethnic Jews and gentiles who have and are defined by the Messiah’s faithfulness, not the outward signs of circumcision and Torah. But what is our purpose as God’s people? We must go back to our calling, which is expounded in chapters 6-8. Paul uses exodus terms to describe the redemption of God’s people – this wouldn’t have been lost on his audience, who was familiar with Torah (7:1).
God’s people were rescued through water; not the water of the Red Sea, but the water of baptism, which unites us with Messiah Jesus in his death to Sin and resurrection (6:3-11). We used to be slaves, not of Egypt, but of Sin itself, and we were freed from this slavery in order to become Righteousness’ ‘slaves’ (6:6-7, 12-22). Since what we were freed from is Sin, it would be utter nonsense to use this freedom from Sin to sin more (6:1-7). The wages that Sin pays are death, whereas God gives the life of the coming age as a free gift (6:23).
Moving on from our rescue from slavery through water, Paul goes to Mount Sinai and the giving of Torah — but there, we find that our united death with the Messiah has also freed us from Torah! (7:1-6) This isn’t because Torah is Sin; rather, the holy and good Torah makes Sin known, but Sin uses it to take power (7:7-12; cf. 1 Cor. 15:56). Torah actually makes Sin incredibly sinful (7:13). When Paul was enslaved to Sin, he desired to fulfill Torah with his mind, but the ‘Torah’ of Sin enslaved his flesh (7:14-25). However, the ‘Torah’ of Sin – and Sin itself – was condemned by God’s son, Messiah Jesus, making it possible for the ‘right’ status of Torah to be fulfilled in us (8:1-4).
Moving on from Mount Sinai and Torah, we find that God’s spirit is guiding us through the present wilderness, the time between our united ‘resurrection’ with the Messiah (6:4-5, 9-11) and the actual resurrection of our bodies (8:4-11). God’s spirit allows us to “put to death the deeds of the body,” making us God’s children (8:12-17) – another probable exodus reference (Exod. 4:22; Hos. 11:1) – a verdict that will become clear at our future “adoption” (8:18-25). God elected this family, declared us ‘right,’ and glorified us (8:28-30), making it clear that nothing can separate us from his love in our lord Messiah Jesus (8:31-39).
The primary role of God’s people in the present time, then, is to act as those who have been freed from Sin. We should be in unity with one another, and contribute to each other’s needs (12:3-13; 13:8-10). We must not pass judgment on other believers for irrelevant matters, like food restrictions and days of worship, in order to stay unified and upbuild one another, to glorify the one God in unity (14:1-15:6). However, we shouldn’t just love one another, but also non-believers, even the authorities, even those who persecute us (12:14-13:7). It’s very important to proclaim the good news to others (15:14-21; cf. 11:13-14). This points forward to the end of the story – God’s people, in themselves, were never the final goal!
The conclusion of the grand story
From the beginning, God’s intention was to restore the entire creation to himself, in spite of humanity’s failure to live up to their role. The means by which he planned to do this is through his set-apart people, through the Messiah who is our representative. As I noted at the beginning of this article, Paul summarizes this story in Romans 8:18-23 – “the creation itself will be freed from its bondage to decay, into the freedom of the glory of God’s children.” But the “creation” doesn’t include only impersonal things. At the end of two major sections of his letter to the Romans, Paul makes this clear.
So then, just as through one trespass it is condemnation to all people, so also through one act of righteousness it is justification of life to all people. For as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. Now Torah entered so that the trespass might abound. Yet where the sin abounded, grace superabounded, so that just as the sin reigned in death, so also grace may reign through righteousness unto life of the Age, through Jesus the Messiah our Lord. (5:18-21)
Here, he emphasizes that the same number that were affected by Adam’s sin will also be affected by Jesus’ obedience. The parallelism is extremely careful from v. 15 to 19; whereas Paul switches between referring to the affected group as “the many” and “all people,” he never distinguishes two groups, for example by saying that “all people” were corrupted by Adam and “the many” will be justified by Jesus. There is only one group in view, and that is all of humanity. Some commentators appeal to 5:17 (“those who take the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness”) as limiting the scope of 5:18-19, but Paul doesn’t say that only some people will ultimately take of the grace and righteousness that is offered. It would be more legitimate to see vv. 18-19 as determining the scope of v. 17 than vice versa. If even one person remains in Sin and Death, then the point of vv. 20-21 (that grace and righteousness superabound where Sin and Death once reigned) is utterly negated.
For I want you to understand this mystery, brethren, so that you may not claim to be wiser than you are: a hardening has come upon part of Israel until the totality of the gentiles comes in. And so all Israel will be saved… For God has shut up everyone in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all. O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how untraceable his ways! “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given to him and it will be recompensed?” For from him and through him and to him is everything. To him be the glory forever. Amen. (11:25-36)
At the end of his quotation-rich, closely-argued discourse in Romans 9-11, Paul concludes that “all Israel will be saved” once “the totality of the gentiles comes in.” He was building to this conclusion throughout the entire section, as most of his Scripture quotations contextually refer to the restoration of rebel Israel. [1] Just as the gentile believers in Rome were once disobedient, but were shown mercy, rebel Israel will be shown mercy once she stops being disobedient (11:30-31). This is to be understood as a general principle: God has locked up everyone in disobedience, for the purpose of showing them mercy (11:32). This brings us to the conclusion of the grand story, summed up concisely in just eleven words: “For from him, and through him, and to him is everything” (11:36). Nothing that God has created will fail to return to him, whether those are disobedient people or corrupted nature. His grand plan, so overwhelming that Paul cannot help but break out into a doxology, is that everything which is “from him” is also, ultimately, “to him.”
Conclusion
When read narratively, Paul’s letter to the Romans expertly elaborates on the ‘grand story’ of creation and recreation (shared by most Second Temple Jews), modifying it according to the Christian perspective and fitting it to the Roman church’s circumstances. The creation has been corrupted by humanity’s failure to live up to its vocation (1:18-32; 3:9-23); even God’s people, whom he intended to bring humanity back to him, has failed to live up to that calling (2:1-3:20; 9:1-18). Fortunately, through the faithfulness of Israel’s Messiah Jesus, God’s plan to restore creation is set on track (3:21-26; 10:4-13). God’s (redeemed) people are defined now by the Messiah’s faithfulness, which tears down ethnic and traditional boundaries (3:27- 4:25; 9:24-29; 10:11-13; 11:1-11). The purpose of God’s people in the present time is to act as those who have been freed from slavery to Sin, in unity and love, and to witness to non- believers (chaps. 6-8; 12-15). The ultimate goal – the conclusion of the grand story – is, as it has always been, the restoration of the entire creation (5:12-21; 8:18-23; 11:12-36).
The primary differences between Paul’s Christian version of the grand story and the typical Second Temple Jewish version are the role of the Messiah and the identification of the enemy. Traditionally, the enemy was understood to be non-Jewish pagans; however, this was turned on its head by Jesus, who pointed out that Israel’s vocation was to bring light to the pagans, and the real enemies were the spiritual forces at play. [2] Paul further identified the enemy as personified Sin and Death (Rom. 5:20-8:2; cf. 1 Cor. 15:26, 54-56). By identifying the enemy not with any group of people, but with the forces that corrupt people, [3] he was able to come to the conclusion that the restoration of creation will involve not only corrupted nature but disobedient people. God’s grand plan to restore creation is not exclusionary, but radically inclusionary, as he will never cease acting to bring all things back to him until it is completed.
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[1] See my exegesis of Romans 9-11 for more details.
[2] N. T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God (London: SPCK, 1996), 446–463.
[3] See also Ephesians 6:12: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, the world-rulers of this darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
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