ROMANS 11:16-24–BRANCHES CUT OFF FOR UNBELIEF?
June 11, 2019
READING TIME: 2-3 MINUTES
“Dave, what did Paul mean in Romans 11:16-24 when he mentioned branches cut off for unbelief?”
This passage cannot be understood correctly apart from recognizing the dispensational distinction between national Israel and the largely Gentile church in God’s prophetic program, which forms the larger context of Romans 9-11. Romans 11 speaks of Israel as a distinct corporate body being restored (v. 12) at the future time of the resurrection (v. 15) when Christ returns at His Second Coming (v. 26).
Romans 11:16-24 warns Gentiles collectively to continue in belief and God’s goodness lest they are cut off from God’s olive tree. This raises an important question—what does the olive tree represent? Individual salvation or a corporate position of service? Though salvation is unquestionably part of the immediate context (vv. 11, 14-15, 26), individual salvation is not the focus of the passage. The focus is on Gentiles and Israelites as corporate entities.
In 9:17 the natural branches which were broken off are the unbelieving Jewish people who rejected Jesus. These are the ones who were members of the “synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 2:9; 3:9). The remaining natural branches are the believing Jewish people which Paul refers to elsewhere as “the Israel of God” in Galatians 6:16. The “wild branches” are the Gentiles, some of which placed their faith in Jesus and became grafted into the cultivated olive tree. The “rich root of the olive tree” is the base of the cultivated olive tree which supports and provides nourishment to the grafted and natural branches. This represents the promises and covenants given through the fathers (the Abrahamic Covenant; Genesis 12:3). The participation of this is by faith (Luke 3:8; 19:9; Romans 4:11-18). Believers are the “seed of Abraham” by faith (Galatians 3:7, 29).
This corporate emphasis of Romans 11:16-24 can be observed from the fact that Paul speaks of only two trees—a “wild olive tree” versus the “cultivated olive tree.” If Paul were teaching that the cultivated olive tree, which the Gentiles were grafted into, represents the place of individual salvation, then this would conflict with the rest of Scripture since the Bible is clear that Gentiles have always been able to be justified before God while remaining Gentiles.
The purpose of this passage is to show that although Israel had a place of privilege as God’s channel of blessing to the Gentile world (Rom. 9:3-5), the nation temporarily lost this privilege because of its unbelief. Therefore, Gentiles should not become proud and self-confident lest they also lose this “place of favor or privilege” as God’s representatives to the world.
Sources Used
Garland, Tony. “Romans 11:16-24: Two Olive Trees.” <http://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/11.htm>.
Stegall, Tom. Must Faith Endure for Salvation to Be Sure?: A Biblical Study of the Perseverance versus Preservation of the Saints. Grace Gospel Press, chapter 10.