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In our verse-by-verse study of Romans last time we started on Chapter 9. We left off at the first phrase translated "I am telling the truth." In the Greek this is just two words "lego" (I communicate, tell or say) "aletheia" (truth).
Rom 9:1; We noted that the absence of the definite article "ho" makes "aletheia" (truth) anarthrous so it emphasizes the highest quality of the truth that is translated as a part of the positive affirmation of Paul's oath, "I communicate doctrinal truth."
To emphasize the fact in spite of his emotion he has not become irrational he describes his own relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In one prepositional phrase he emphasizes the purpose of the Church Age that started with the baptism of the Spirit, and the formation of God's royal family on the day of Pentecost 50 days after Jesus' resurrection and 10 days after His ascension.
The Church Age concludes with the Exit Resurrection or Rapture of the Church when God removes His royal family from the earth for their protection during the Tribulation. He relates all of this to the fact that even though all of us carry burdens, and sorrows and face undeserved suffering and many adversities in life we are secure because we are secure "en Christos" (in Christ).
So we have the phrase, "I communicate doctrinal truth in Christ," or "I am communicating doctrine in Christ." In this phrase Paul separates himself from the Old Testament writers or scripture and their gift of prophecy because Paul writes with the Church Age gift of apostle.
Next we have an oath of negative affirmation that also deals with his personal integrity. This is important because when anyone is dealing with God's Word of Truth, with Bible doctrine, with those things that God has used to reveal Himself to mankind, integrity is required.
"I am not lying" In the Greek it is comprised of just two words, the present middle indicative from the verb "pseudomai" (I lie) with the negative "ou" (not).
"I lie not" or "I am not lying" is a progressive present tense that describes linear action that maintains academic integrity and intellectual honesty. It describes the persistence of honor and integrity in Paul's communication of doctrinal truth that will become part of the canon of scripture.
The middle voice is the indirect middle that emphasizes the agent as producing the action of the verb. The indirect middle is very similar to the active voice except that it produces a closer link between the subject and the verb.
The indicative mood plus the negative describes the historical reality that Paul was not only a man of great genius but, unlike many men of great genius, he was able to make the practical application of his genius to reality.
"My conscience testifies with me" this is a genitive absolute. The purpose of the genitive absolute that has a noun, a pronoun, and a participle in the genitive case but not connected grammatically with the rest of the sentence is to separate this affirmation of a co-witness completely from the other two affirmations to make it unique.
The genitive absolute that is used here as the third part of his oath is in Attic Greek not Koine Greek so it is unusual because it actually goes back to the Classical Attic Greek for the syntax a genitive absolute.
The genitive absolute includes a genitive singular from a noun, "suneidesis" (conscience) that is the subject of the participle. With this is the singular instrumental of association from the personal pronoun "ego" (I or me) so it is translated "with me."
We also have a genitive singular from the definite article "ho" that is used as a possessive pronoun so it is translated "my" in the English. Next is the genitive singular, present active participle from the compound verb "summartureo" ("sum" = with; "martureo" = to testify, support, or bear witness) so it means to make a joint testimony with or to testify along with.
Next we have the word "suneidesis" (sun = with; eidesis = know translated conscience) as part of the genitive absolute that means to know as a norm or a standard "in the Holy Spirit." "En" (in) plus the locative singular of "pneuma" (Spirit and "hagios" (Spirit).
The translation of the Attic Greek genitive absolute is "my conscience bearing witness with me," or "my conscience bearing joint testimony with me."
He is saying that everything that he says is compatible with his conscience and it is also compatible with the teaching ministry of God the Holy Spirit.
The customary present tense of the participle is for what habitually occurs or what may be reasonably expected to occur when one is under the ministry of the Holy Spirit writing scripture. The active voice: Paul is the human writer of the letter to the Romans who produces the action of the verb.
The participle is circumstantial for the formation of the canon of New Testament scripture because God the Holy Spirit is the author of scripture but he uses human beings who are properly qualified to communicate it. The ultimate source of all scripture is God the Holy Spirit because all scripture is "God-breathed." 2Tim 3:16; note 1
Expanded Translation Rom 9:1; "I am communicating doctrinal truth (positive affirmation), I am not lying (negative affirmation), my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit."
We see here that Paul's conscience is under the authority of the Holy Spirit for guaranteed accuracy in his communication and writing of scripture.
This triple-compound oath is necessary because what Paul has to say condemns Jewish unbelievers. It excludes all Jewish unbelievers from eternal life, the unconditional covenants, the future Millennial reign of Messiah and heaven with God.
Paul will express his great sorrow that so many of the Jews that are of the nation of Israel will be excluded from eternal salvation because they have rejected Jesus Christ as Messiah.
The reality that many Jews are going to the lake of fire because they have rejected Jesus Christ as savior but that does not void the unconditional promises that God made to Abraham, reiterated to Isaac and Jacob, and to David, and Jeremiah. All are part of the same covenant that is divided categorically into the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New covenant to Israel.
The only way to be associated with God's unconditional promises is to believe in Jesus Christ who is the personification of Adonai Elohim the revealed God of the Old Testament. Believing in Jesus Christ is their only hope in the same way that believing in Jesus Christ is everyone's only hope. John 14:6;
God's justice totally fair, and that means that every person, in history including every Jewish person has a chance to be saved.
The exclusion for Israel is the same exclusion that exists for everyone else throughout history. Any exclusion is based entirely upon negative volition at God-consciousness or the rejection of Jesus Christ at gospel hearing.
Just because some Jewish people have rejected Jesus Christ that does not rescind the unconditional promises that God gave in the covenants. It doesn't change God's plan for those Jews who do believe in Jesus Christ.
Nor does the rejection of some individuals change the future of Israel. Israel has a future and all Jews who follow the spiritual heritage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by believing with the result that they are born again, will be in that future. John 3:16;
God's promises to Israel or the unconditional covenants will be fulfilled by the election of grace, except for the Church Age where believing Jews merge with believing Gentiles to form God's new spiritual species that comprises God's royal family forever.
Self-determination is the great issue in this parenthesis (Romans 9-11) because the unbelieving Jews despise the grace way of salvation and reject faith-righteousness that is God's imputed judicial righteousness, and attempt to substitute their own self-righteousness for God's righteousness
They have in effect tried to reinvent the wheel and it disturbs Paul that the Jews of his own generation (and many generations since) have reinvented the wheel. The wheel is the plan of God and it runs upon the axle of God's imputed judicial righteousness. Nothing in the God's plan runs on human righteousness or human ability or human works.
Because of the rejection of some Jews God does not cast off or abandon His people. As an Israelite and a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ in the next verse Paul expresses his burden of sorrow for those who have excluded themselves by not appropriating eternal salvation by grace through faith.
Rom 9:2; starts with the expression of Paul's emotional concern. "The conjunction "hoti" (that), used after the statement of an oath to indicate the content of his concern. This is actually a continuation of the sentence he started in the previous verse.
With it are words "that I have great sorrow." It begins with the present active indicative of the verb "eimi" (is). The present tense is a present of duration that describes what started in the past and continues into the present time.
The active voice: Paul produces the action of the verb as his concern for Israel. The indicative mood is declarative for the reality of his concern that is a concern without fear or panic.
Paul is a man of honor, a man of maximum doctrine resident in his soul, so he can clearly and lucidly see that the fall of Israel is inevitable. He can understand that Israel is about to be destroyed under the fifth cycle of discipline. Then we have the dative singular of possession from the personal pronoun "ego" (to me)" that forms a part of a Greek idiom.
There is no exact equivalent for this idiom in the English so while it is literally translated, "There is to me a great sorrow," in the English recognizing the idiom, we would say, "I have a great sorrow."
Next we have the predicate nominative feminine singular from the adjective "megas" (great or large) and the noun "lupe" (sorrow) "great sorrow."
The absence of the definite article " ho" before "megas" indicates that this is the highest quality of sorrow, a sorrow that is legitimate and honorable. It is honorable to have this kind of concern when he recognizes that his nation is about to be destroyed by God under the fifth cycle of discipline.
The concern is not crushing him personally because he has doctrine so he has flexibility and he continues to carry on and to fulfill his responsibilities even with this great sorrow.
No believer who lives in a client nation to God can watch the disintegration of that nation without carrying the burden and having sorrow about it. The royal family honor code demands patriotism. For those citizens in a client nation, born in a client nation under God, patriotism is the order of the day.
Next is the connective use of the conjunction "kai" (and), indicating that this is intensified at this moment but it does not destroy his personal happiness, his personal relationship with the Lord because He is still occupied with Christ.
"unceasing" translated from the nominative singular from the adjective "adialeiptos" (unceasing, constant, something you live with but something that does not change your happiness).
"Grief" is translated from "odune" (pain) so we have "I have constant pain" that is the pain of mental anguish.
"in my heart" referring to the pain this is a pain that he has in his soul. This is the locative of sphere from "kardia" (heart, the right lobe of the soul), plus the possessive genitive singular from the personal pronoun "ego"(my).
Expanded Translation Rom 9:2; "That I have a great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart."
We see in this verse that Paul states the fact of his great concern without revealing its cause that will be described in the next four verses.
In the next three verses Paul will specify Israel as the subject of his grief and that is the source of the pain in his right lobe. Paul has to carry this burden alone but even though he hurts and goes it alone he can handle it because of doctrine in his soul This is similar to how Jesus felt in Luke 19:41-44.
While these same Jews were unrelenting in their maligning and persecuting of Paul he was unrelenting in his concern and burden for them.
Being a Jew and a believer in Jesus Paul understands the failure of Israel. He also understands the solution to the problem and he knows that the solution is still available but they will not take advantage of it.
Understanding the issue and having the burden of it intensifies his concern for them but does not erase his integrity. He doesn't change. He doesn't go on a crusade or become a public nuisance to make and issue of it. He carries on with doctrine and maintains his integrity.
Even though Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles he never abandons his concern for the Jews and his desire for their salvation.