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A discussion of Romans 11 in light of the "olive tree" motif in the Old Testament by Joseph M. Gleason
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Is the olive tree in Romans 11 a "covenant tree"? Since the word "covenant" does not appear in Romans 11:16-24, some people have suggested that the olive tree in Romans 11 has nothing to do with the New Covenant. Thus, they argue, no one is being "cut off from the New Covenant" in Romans 11.
But if the olive tree in Romans 11 is indeed a tree symbolizing the New Covenant, then the claims of Reformed Baptists and New Covenant Theologians are without merit. Romans 11:22 warns the reader that today, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, people can still be "cut off" from the olive tree. If the olive tree is the "New Covenant tree", then people can be a member of the New Covenant today, and "cut off" from the New Covenant tomorrow. Indeed apostasy is possible.
To determine the identity of the olive tree in Romans 11, we need to consider the author of Romans: the Apostle Paul. Paul was a "pharisee of pharisees" (Acts 23:6) who studied under the illustrious teacher, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). In other words, the Apostle Paul was an Old Testament scholar. He knew the OT Scriptures backwards and forwards, and was well acquainted with the imagery and symbolism which was used in it.
It is with this background that Paul pens the book of Romans. And in the Old Testament, there was already a rich OT background for the olive tree motif. Paul was an expert in the OT Scriptures, and simply used a covenantal analogy that was already well-known by Israelites of his time.
I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon. (Hosea 14:5-6)
Israel, the covenant people of God, is called an "olive tree". And this olive tree has "branches", possibly a reference to individual Israelites.
In that day it shall come to pass That the glory of Jacob will wane, And the fatness of his flesh grow lean. . . . Yet gleaning grapes will be left in it, Like the shaking of an olive tree, Two or three olives at the top of the uppermost bough, Four or five in its most fruitful branches," Says the LORD God of Israel. (Isaiah 17:4-6)
Once again, the olive tree is the people of God. And in this case, the people are called "olives" rather than "branches". And these "olives" are judged for their unfaithfulness to God. The apostate olives are shaken off the tree, leaving behind the faithful olives.
The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, Because they have transgressed the laws, Changed the ordinance, Broken the everlasting covenant. . . . When it shall be thus in the midst of the land among the people, It shall be like the shaking of an olive tree . . . Therefore glorify the LORD in the dawning light, The name of the LORD God of Israel in the coastlands of the sea. (Isaiah 24:5-15)
In this passage, God's people are again called an "olive tree". And again, we see that God judges the unfaithful olives by shaking them off the tree. In this case, we also see the word "covenant" explicitly used in Scripture. God judges his people specifically because they have been unfaithful to His covenant
I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. (Psalm 52:8)
This Psalm was written by King David. He was a covenant member of God's people, and he calls himself an "olive tree".
Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine In the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants All around your table. Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the LORD. The LORD bless you out of Zion, And may you see the good of Jerusalem All the days of your life. Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel! (Psalm 128)
This Scripture is interesting, because here we see direct relevance to the inclusion of children in the covenant. Notice how this Psalm interlinks the blessings of Israel together with the blessings of an individual faithful Israelite. Israel as a whole is an "olive tree", as we already know. And an individual faithful Israelite is therefore considered an "olive tree", as we already know. And here in Psalm 128, we find that the children of believers are also considered to be little olive plants. The children of a believer are considered to be olive plants, not brambles!
The most striking Scriptural counterpart to Romans 11 is Jeremiah 11. Both chapters speak of God's "olive tree". And Jeremiah 11 makes it abundantly clear -- 5 times -- that the olive tree is synonymous with God's covenant people:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this covenant which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’ that I may establish the oath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ as it is this day.”’” And I answered and said, “So be it, LORD.”
Then the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them. For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.” Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but which they have not done.’”
And the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”
Therefore thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal. “So do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.
“ What has My beloved to do in My house, Having done lewd deeds with many? And the holy flesh has passed from you. When you do evil, then you rejoice. The LORD called your name, Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit. With the noise of a great tumult He has kindled fire on it, And its branches are broken.“For the LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.” (Jeremiah 11:1-17)
There are at least 3 key things to notice in this passage:
Now that we have looked at the use of the "olive tree" motif in the Old Testament Scriptures, we can turn forward to Romans 11.
When the Apostle Paul wrote Romans 11, he was well aware of the way the existing Scriptures used the "olive tree" motif. He knew that the "olive tree" was synonymous with God's covenant people, and he knew that people unfaithful to the covenant would eventually be broken off the tree. So, how does Paul incorporate the "olive tree" into Romans 11? Let's take a look at the passage itself:
What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks . . . I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! . . . For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? (Romans 11:7-24)
There are at least 3 initial things to notice in this passage:
Notice how similar Romans 11 is to the Old Testament "olive tree" passages, especially Jeremiah 11! In Jeremiah 11, God's covenant people are called an "Olive Tree", and because of covenant unfaithfulness, branches of the Olive Tree are broken off. We see the same language used in Isaiah 17 & 24. Paul is definitely retaining the Old Testament imagery. The "olive tree" is God's covenant people, and people can be "cut off" the tree if they are unfaithful to the covenant.
There are some additional things to notice in this passage:
Objection #1: "Romans 11 is not speaking of a covenant. It is speaking of salvation itself."
Answer:
If Romans 11 is talking about salvation itself, then Romans 11:22 would be teaching us that salvation can be lost. To believe this, you would have to believe that a person can be regenerate one day, and then unregenerate the next. If you believe the Bible's teaching about salvation, then you know salvation cannot be lost. Therefore, Romans 11 cannot be talking about salvation itself. Rather, Romans 11 is talking about God's covenant people. This makes a lot of sense, because the "olive tree" imagery is used many times throughout Scripture in reference to God's covenant people. If you *do* believe it is possible for a person to lose his/her salvation, then please recognize the fact that Romans 11 cannot be used to prove such a thing. As you can see in the Scriptures referenced above, the "olive tree" is synonymous with "God's covenant people", regardless of whether those people are regenerate or not. Old Testament Israelites were circumcised in infancy (Genesis 17), and were counted as part of God's covenant people (cf. Psalm 128), regardless of whether they had faith in God or not. --- Also, please take the time to read some of these articles, which demonstrate the impossibility of losing your salvation.
Objection #2: "Romans 11 is speaking of a covenant, but it's not the 'New Covenant'."
Answer:
When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper, he said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). In other words, the New Covenant was established by the shedding of Christ's blood upon the cross. This fact is repeated in Hebrews 8 and 10. Likewise, Hebrews 12 says that we have been brought to "Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling" (Hebrews 12:24). The blood of Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant.
Paul, the author of Romans 11, also wrote the book of Ephesians. And in Ephesians 2, he writes:
Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11-13)Note that "the blood of Christ" that brings Gentiles near, is the same blood of Christ that inaugurated the New Covenant. Gentiles used to be "strangers from the covenants". Gentiles used to be "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. But no longer! The blood of Jesus has brought salvation to the Gentiles, and has grafted them into the covenant, and has made them citizens of Israel.Consider the parallels:
- Romans 11 and Ephesians 2 both speak of the same thing: the reconcilliation of Jews and Gentiles by the blood of Jesus
- The New Covenant is inaugurated by Christ's blood, and Ephesians 2 says it is this same blood that reconciles Jews and Gentiles. Thus, Ephesians 2 is speaking of the New Covenant.
- Therefore, the covenant spoken of in Romans 11 must be the New Covenant.
Finally, it is helpful to simply consider the time in which Paul wrote the book of Romans. He wrote it several decades *after* the death and resurrection of Jesus. So Jesus had already made the old covenant obsolete. The New Covenant was already in place by the time Paul wrote Romans 11. So what other covenant could he possibly be referring to, if not the New Covenant?
Objection #3: "God promises salvation to all New Covenant members. So it is impossible for anyone to be "cut off".
Answer:
We need to understand the nature of the New Covenant correctly. In Scripture, the New Covenant is first mentioned by name in Jeremiah 31:31-34. And since in this passage God says, "all will know me from the least to the greatest", many people have concluded that 100% of the members of the New Covenant are regenerate, saved, believers in Christ. But this understanding of Jeremiah 31 is incorrect. Please read the article, "From the Least to the Greatest", which offers an in-depth look at how Jeremiah used the phrase "from the least to the greatest" throughout his entire book.
Also, we need to recognize the great number of apostasy passages in Scripture. Here are just a few of them:
- Falling away from grace (Gal. 5:4)
- Cut off (John 15, Romans 11)
- Trampling the blood of the covenant (Hebrews 10:29)
- Sacrament curses of Israel comparison (1 Cor. 10)
- Sharing in Holy Spirt (Hebrews 6)
- Denying the who bought them (2 Peter 2:1)
Passages such as these are very difficult to explain, if 100% of New Covenant members are regenerate. But if the New Covenant includes both regenerate and unregenerate people, then these passages fit in quite nicely. Both regnerate people and unregenerate people were included in covenant with God in the Old Testament. And when the unregenerate people proved to be faithless, and they broke the covenant, God cut them off (cf. Jeremiah 11:16). Likewise, both regenerate and unregenerate people are included in covenant with God in the New Testament. And when the unregenerate people prove to be faithless, and they break the New Covenant, God cuts them off (cf. Romans 11:22b).
We can see that the Apostle Paul did not write Romans 11 in a vacuum. He was a biblical scholar, well-versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. Paul was well aware of the "olive tree" motif that shows up repeatedly throughout Scripture. God's covenant people are called "olive trees" in Hosea 14, Isaiah 17, Isaiah 24, Psalm 52, Psalm 128, and very strikingly in Jeremiah 11. Paul had these passages in mind when he wrote Romans 11. It appears that the Apostle Paul wrote Romans 11 as a New Covenant parallel of Jeremiah 11.
In the Old Testament, Jews alone were part of the covenantal olive tree. In Romans 11, Paul tells us that the Gentiles are now grafted into the same tree, right beside the Jews.
In the Old Testament, "branches" (individual people) could be "cut off" from the olive tree as judgment for unfaithfulness to God (cf. Jeremiah 11:16). Likewise in Romans 11, "branches" can be "cut off" as judgment for unfaithfulness to God (cf. Romans 11:22b).
One might object, suggesting that the olive tree in Romans 11 is a direct reference to salvation, rather than to God's covenant. But this cannot be, because salvation cannot be lost. Covenant membership, however, can be lost. Or, one might object, suggesting that the covenant spoken of in Romans 11 is not the New Covenant. But this cannot be, because Jesus was crucified and resurrected many years before Paul wrote the book of Romans, so the old covenant was already obsolete. Plus, Ephesians 2 logically ties Romans 11 together with the New Covenant passages in Hebrews 8, 10, and 12. So the covnant in Romans 11 is definitely the New Covenant. Finally, one might object, suggesting that the New covenant only contains regenerate members. But this cannot be, because numerous apostasy passages in the Bible teach otherwise. And Jeremiah 31:31-34 does not require us to believe that all New Covenant members are regenerate.
The olive tree in Romans 11 represents the New Covenant. The branches on this tree include both believers and unbelievers, regenerate and unregenerate, saved and unsaved. Those who are unbelievers will be cut off from the olive tree, as judgment for violating God's covenant with them. Believers are faithful to God's covenant, and will remain in the olive tree. On the Last Day, when Jesus judges the nations, the branches which have been cut off will be burned (cf. John 15:6). The faithful branches still abiding in the olive tree will inherit eternal life.
Article written by Joseph M. Gleason – November, 2007
Would you like to comment on this article? If so, then feel free to join the discussion here or here or here.
Want to read some excellent books on Covenant Theology? --- For a great easy-to-understand introduction, I recommend A Simple Overview of Covenant Theology by C. Matthew McMahon. --- For a terrific, detailed, exegetical look at Covenant Theology, I highly recommend The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man by Herman Witsius.
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