The Lord will execute His word on the earth, completing what He has decreed: John 15:16.

Title: The Lord will execute His word on the earth, completing what He has decreed: John 15:16.

 

D-Day.

 

[hedgerow]

 

Congressional Medal of Honor recipient:

*DEGLOPPER, CHARLES N., born in Grand Island, NY: Private First Class, U.S. Army, Co. C, 325th Glider Infantry, 82d Airborne Division. Citation: On 9 June 1944 advancing with the forward platoon to secure a bridgehead across the Merderet River at La Fiere, France. At dawn the platoon had penetrated an outer line of machineguns and riflemen, but in so doing had become cut off from the rest of the company. Vastly superior forces began a decimation of the stricken unit and put in motion a flanking maneuver which would have completely exposed the American platoon in a shallow roadside ditch where it had taken cover. Detecting this danger, Pfc. DeGlopper volunteered to support his comrades by fire from his automatic rifle while they attempted a withdrawal through a break in a hedgerow 40 yards to the rear. Scorning a concentration of enemy automatic weapons and rifle fire, he walked from the ditch onto the road in full view of the Germans, and sprayed the hostile positions with assault fire. He was wounded, but he continued firing. Struck again, he started to fall; and yet his grim determination and valiant fighting spirit could not be broken. Kneeling in the roadway, weakened by his grievous wounds, he leveled his heavy weapon against the enemy and fired burst after burst until killed outright. He was successful in drawing the enemy action away from his fellow soldiers, who continued the fight from a more advantageous position and established the first bridgehead over the Merderet River. In the area where he made his intrepid stand his comrades later found the ground strewn with dead Germans and many machineguns and automatic weapons which he had knocked out of action. Pfc. DeGlopper's gallant sacrifice and unflinching heroism while facing insurmountable odds were in great measure responsible for a highly important tactical victory in the Normandy Campaign.

 

ROM 9:22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?

 

Vessels of wrath - unbelievers. John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

EPH 5:6

 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

 

ROM 9:23 And He did so in order that He might make known [evangelization of the world] the riches of His glory [doctrine in the soul, which is true wealth] upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory [in contrast to the previous verse - “for destruction”],

 

Vessels of mercy - all believers. EPH 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),

 

ROM 9:24 even us, whom He also called [elected], not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.

 

The protasis of vs. 22-24 demands only one apotosis [that the reader has to conclude for himself] = only personal faith in Christ can guarantee a vessel of mercy and only faith in doctrine can make an honorable soul.

 

Please note that I am making a distinction between the vessel of mercy and the honorable soul. All believers are vessels of mercy, but not all believers have honorable souls.

 

2 Tim 2:20

Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.

 

2 Tim 2:21

Therefore, if a man [believer] cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.

 

The context of this passage is a message to faithful men; believers.

 

In verses 25-29 Paul documents the OT instruction on what would be considered a vessel of mercy.

 

ROM 9:25 As He says also in Hosea [2:23],

"I will call those who were not My people [Gentiles], 'My people,'

And her who was not beloved, 'beloved.'"

 

Now a quote from Hosea 1:10 …

ROM 9:26 "And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ' you are not My people,'

There they shall be called sons of the living God."

 

This refers to the remnant of Jews that will be saved despite the destruction of the nation. Further, this refers to the fulfillment of the covenants at the Second Coming of Christ for all Jewish believers.

 

Hosea was ordered to marry a harlot and had three children. God gave them names:

1. Jezreel = God will scatter

2. Lo-ruhamah = not loved or not pitied

3. Lo-ammi = not My people

 

His wife represented Israel’s worship of other gods. The children represent the impending judgment on Israel. However, God commanded that their names be changes.

 

In Hosea 1:11 and 2:1 God changes the names.

 

In order to depict God’s restoration of true, believing Israel in the Millennium, God renamed the children.

1. Jezreel = God will sow [agricultural word depending on context]

2. Ruhamah = loved

3. Ammi = My people

 

God’s plan, God’s promises, and all His good pleasure will be fulfilled despite sin, evil, and unbelief that result from the free will of man.

 

There has been and always will be a remnant of believing Jews in every generation, all of which will be gathered, some in resurrection, at the Second Advent.

 

ROM 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel [10:22], "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;

 

ROM 9:28 for the Lord will execute His word upon the earth, thoroughly and quickly."

 

We have a not so correct translation here in the words thoroughly and quickly.

 

 “thoroughly” - suntele,w[sunteleo] = to end together, to bring to an end, or to complete.

 

 “quickly” - sunte,mnw[suntemno] = to cut short or to execute speedily. This represents God’s program or decree.

 

ROM 9:28 For the Lord will execute His word on the earth, completing what He also decreed.

 

Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega. He is involved in the decree in EP, that is His Alpha glory and He became a man and won strategic victory on the cross, which is His Omega glory.

 

God’s plan does not depend on man. The plan of God will always move on until its completion, with you or without you.

 

HEB 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is [present active indicative = eternal - Aand W], and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

 

ROM 9:29 And just as Isaiah foretold [1:9],

"Except the Lord of Sabaoth [Armies] had left to us a posterity [a seed or remnant],

We would have become as Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah."

 

If there were not some believing Jews in every generation from Abraham until the end of human history then mankind doesn’t survive.

 

This reveals the great evil on anti-Semitism, which is always motivated by demon influence or at worst, demon possession. Even during the destruction of the northern kingdom Israel in BC 721, the southern kingdom Judah in BC 586, Jerusalem in 70 AD, through several holocausts during the inquisitions and Nazi Germany, a remnant had to exist. If there is no Jew there is no Gentile. The writers and prophets of the OT are Jewish, the Lord is Jewish, the apostles and writers of the NT are Jewish, the 144,000 witnesses in the Tribulation are Jewish [and whose ancestors live among us now], and the covenants cannot be fulfilled in the Millennium without a remnant of Jews surviving the tribulation. Satan understands this and so he has worked tirelessly to wipe them out, but to no avail since the Lord of the Armies, Jesus Christ, will always leave a posterity. He has decreed this and it will be done.

 

No one is left of Sodom and Gomorrah. They are all forgotten and none of their progeny survives, but Israel lives on. Did they get lucky? The Lord of the Armies ensures that they will survive. It is decreed and not left to chance.

 

ROM 9:28 For the Lord will execute His word on the earth, completing what He also decreed.

 

Survival of Israel depends on the spiritual heritage and not the racial, and God has decreed for that spiritual remnant to be in every generation.

 

ROM 9:30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by [from the source of] faith;

 

 “What shall we say then?” Greek idiom = “Therefore, to what conclusion are we forced?”

 

After all that has been presented beautifully by Paul through the inspiration of the HS - to what conclusion are we forced?

 

Certain Gentiles by passed self-righteousness and attained imputed divine righteousness by faith in Christ.

 

ROM 9:31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law.

 

A portion of Israel pursued righteousness by means of the Law, which is impossible, and only amounts to self-righteousness.

 

Legalistic Israel who thought that salvation and righteousness was in the Mosaic Law as was as their racial heritage missed it completely, while some Gentiles thought the Mosaic Law too difficult, passed by it, and attained divine righteousness in the only way it can be attained, by faith in Christ.

 

The very heritage of Israel is the perfect righteousness of God offered as a potential. The potential is based on faith and not the Law.