Romans 3:25-26 Reconsidered

Back in 2019 I posted a two-part article in which I presented what was, at that time, my understanding of Romans 3:21-26. Since that time, however, I’ve come to a different understanding of Paul’s words in verses 25-26. Thus, in this article I’ll be sharing the revised (and, I hope, more accurate) view to which I now hold concerning the meaning of these verses.

Here’s how Romans 3:21-26 reads in Young’s Literal Translation:

And now apart from law hath the righteousness of God been manifested, testified to by the law and the prophets, and the righteousness of God is through the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and upon all those believing, -- for there is no difference, for all did sin, and are come short of the glory of God – being declared righteous freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God did set forth a mercy seat, through the faith in his blood, for the showing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God – for the showing forth of His righteousness in the present time, for His being righteous, and declaring him righteous who is of the faith of Jesus.

And here’s how verses 24-26 read in the Concordant Literal New Testament:

Being justified gratuitously in His grace, through the deliverance which is in Christ Jesus (Whom God purposed for a Propitiatory shelter, through faith in His blood, for a display of His righteousness because of the passing over of the penalties of sins which occurred before in the forbearance of God), toward the display of His righteousness in the current era, for Him to be just and a Justifier of the one who is of the faith of Jesus.

The term translated “mercy seat” and “Propitiatory shelter” in v. 25 is hilasterion. The only other occurrence of this term in the Greek Scriptures is in Hebrews 9:5. In this verse, the term denotes the literal plate of pure gold that formed the lid of Israel’s “Ark of the Covenant.” The Hebrew term of which hilasterion is a translation is the term kapporeth, and is usually translated “mercy seat” in most Bibles. In addition to its use in Hebrews 9:5, the term hilasterion occurs sixteen times in the Septuagint (Ex. 25:17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22; 31:7; 35:12; 37:6, 8, 9; Lev. 16:2, 13, 14, 15, Nu 7:89; Ezek. 43:14, 17, 20; Am. 9:1). With the exception of its occurrences in Ezekiel and Amos (where it refers to a sacrificial altar), it refers to the lid of the Ark of the Covenant.

By referring to Christ as a “Propitiatory shelter” (or “mercy seat”) in v. 25, Paul was figuratively representing Christ as the “place” where (or the means through which) the sins of those who believe the evangel with which he was entrusted (the evangel of the grace of God) are taken away, and cease to be reckoned to them by God. This is in accord with Paul’s words in Eph. 1:7 (cf. Col. 1:14):

“In [Christ Jesus] we are having the deliverance through his blood, the forgiveness of offenses in accord with the riches of his grace.”

“The deliverance” of which Paul wrote – i.e., “the forgiveness of offenses” – is said to be “through his blood” because it’s through faith in Christ’s death for our sins (or “through faith in his blood”) that we receive it.

Paul went on to write that the purpose for which Christ was “set forth a mercy seat” (or “purposed for a Propitiatory shelter”) by God was “…the showing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God” (or, “because of the passing over of the penalties of sins which occurred before in the forbearance of God”). That which Paul referred to as “[God’s] righteousness” here – and which was “shown forth” or “displayed” when Christ died – is, I believe, God’s own righteous character (which I believe is evident from the expression “for His being righteous” in v. 26). This righteousness of God was referred to earlier, in Rom. 3:3-8. Here’s how these verses read in the CLNT:

For what if some disbelieve? Will not their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? May it not be coming to that! Now let God be true, yet every man a liar, even as it is written:

“That so Thou shouldst be justified in Thy sayings, And shalt be conquering when Thou art being judged.”

Now if our injustice is commending God's righteousness, what shall we declare? Not that God Who is bringing on indignation is unjust! (As a man am I saying it.) May it not be coming to that! Else how shall God be judging the world? Yet if the truth of God superabounds in my lie, for His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner, and why not say, according as we are calumniated and according as some are averring that we are saying, that "We should be doing evil that good may be coming"? -- whose judgment is fair.

Here, God’s faithfulness refers to his promises concerning Israel’s future salvation and destiny. Would the unbelief of some Israelites (the majority in Paul’s day) nullify God’s faithfulness in keeping his promises to his covenant people? That is, would their unbelief prevent God from fulfilling what he promised to the chosen nation? Paul clearly denied that this could possibly be the case. In fact, the “injustice” of the unbelievers among the nation can only serve to commend – i.e., show forth more clearly – God’s righteousness (as I’ll be arguing a little later – and as I believe the immediate context suggests – the righteousness of God to which Paul referred is God’s commitment to save his covenant people, Israel).

In Romans 9-11 Paul provides a much more expanded argument for the point briefly made in Romans 3:1-4, and demonstrates that, despite the unbelief of most Jews in his day, God will be faithful to keep his promises concerning the eonian salvation of Israel. Toward the end of Paul’s defense of God’s faithfulness, we read that, despite being “enemies” because of those to whom Paul wrote (i.e., those in the body of Christ), God’s covenant people are, “as to choice…beloved because of the fathers” (Rom. 11:28). The unbelief of the majority of Jews in Paul’s day could not nullify God’s faithfulness, because his commitment to saving Israel doesn’t depend on their faith or conduct. Instead – and as Paul goes on to make clear in verses 29-32 – it’s based on his past choice, and the related promises he made to “the fathers”:

“For un-regretted are the graces and the calling of God. For even as you once were stubborn toward God, yet now were shown mercy at their stubbornness, thus these also are now stubborn to this mercy of yours, that now they also may be shown mercy. For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all.”

Despite the fact that the majority of Israelites had abused their covenantal privileges and acted contrary to their covenantal obligations, their wickedness could not (and would not) annul God’s faithfulness to the promise which he made to Abraham – i.e., the promise that he would, by an “eonian covenant,” be God to Abraham and to his seed after him (Gen. 17:7). Instead, Israel’s unrighteousness as a nation actually served to commend the righteousness of God – his commitment to save Israel – in keeping and fulfilling the promise that he made to their forefathers. The more wicked and unbelieving the nation as a whole had become, the more God’s righteousness stands out.

In Rom. 3:5-8, Paul responds to the objection that, if the unbelief of the majority of Israelites commends God’s righteousness, then God would be unjust for bringing indignation on them. That is, if God’s commitment to save Israel (and thus keep the promise he made to the fathers) is made more apparent against the backdrop of Israel’s unbelief, why should the unbelievers within the nation be adversely judged for that which commends God’s righteousness, and which brings him glory? But of course, God is not unrighteous for bringing indignation on the unrighteous. For – as those whom Paul represented as bringing this objection would have agreed – God is going to judge the world (and, as Psalm 96:13 makes clear, God’s judgment of the world is also an expression of his faithfulness). But God couldn’t judge the world if the objection to which Paul was responding had any merit (which, again, is that God couldn’t justly bring indignation upon unrighteous Israelites if their judgment commended his righteousness and thus brought him glory). Thus, on the basis of the fact that God is going to be judging the world (and will be righteous in doing so), the objection to which Paul was responding fails.

In accord with how Paul links God’s faithfulness and commitment to saving Israel with God’s own righteousness in Romans 3:3-5, we find the righteousness of God referred to elsewhere in the Hebrew Scriptures as if it were synonymous with his faithfulness and his salvation:

Psalm 31:1

In you, O Yahweh, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me!

Psalm 40:10

I do not conceal Your righteousness within my heart; I speak of Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I do not hide Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

Psalm 51:14

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

Psalm 88:11-12

Will Your lovingkindness be recounted in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon? Will Your wonders be known in the darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

Psalm 96:13

…Yahweh comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

Psalm 143:1

Hear my prayer, O Yahweh; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

Psalm 98:1-3

Oh sing to Yahweh a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Yahweh has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Isaiah 46:13

I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off, and my salvation will not delay; I will put salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory.

Isaiah 56:1

Thus says Yahweh: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed.”

Isaiah 51:4-8

Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples. My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be for the eon, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.

Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings. For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool, but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.

The passages quoted above from Isaiah are particularly relevant to what Paul wrote in Romans 3:3-5, as they connect God’s righteousness to his promise-keeping commitment to save Israel.

Having shown that the divine righteousness of which we read in Rom. 3:25 can be understood as a reference to God’s commitment to save those to whom Paul was referring, let’s now consider why God thought it necessary to “display his righteousness” in the first place. The first reason is provided by Paul in the rest of v. 25: 

”…because of the passing over of the sins which occurred before in the forbearance of God…”

Young’s Literal Translation renders this part of v. 25 as follows: 

“…because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God…”

The Dabhar translation reads as follows: 

“…because of the remission of the failures having become before…”

The term that is translated “penalties of sins,” “sins” and “failures” is the Greek noun ἁμαρτημάτων (hamartēmatōn). This term occurs only three more times in the Greek Scriptures (https://biblehub.com/greek/strongs_265.htm). But which translation is more accurate? Is it better translated “sins” or “failures” (which are virtually synonymous in meaning), or “penalties of sins?”

Despite its attempt at a more literal translation of hamartēmatōn, I think the CLNT may actually be less accurate here. The fact that the elements of the word hamartēmatōn are, literally, “UN-MARK-EFFECT” doesn’t mean that the penalties of sins are in view here. Rather, what I believe Paul more likely had in mind here are the sinful actions to which sin leads, and which are the observable “effect” of sin (by implication, the term hamartēmatōn could also be understood as referring to the sins in which the actions result).

In support of this view, consider Christ’s words in Mark 3:28-29. The CLNT translates Christ’s words in these verses as follows:

“Verily, I am saying to you that all shall be pardoned the sons of mankind, the penalties of the sins (ἁμαρτήματα) and the blasphemies, whatsoever they should be blaspheming, yet whoever should be blaspheming against the holy spirit is having no pardon for the eon, but is liable to the eonian penalty for the sin (ἁμαρτήματος).”

The Dabhar, on the other hand, translates these verses as follows:

“Amen, I say to you: All will be remitted to the sons of men, yea, all the failures (ἁμαρτήματα) and the blasphemies, as it were, as many as they blaspheme, but the one who blasphemes toward the Holy Spirit, as it were, not has he remission till into the eon, but he will be liable of eonian failure (ἁμαρτήματος).”

Understanding the term hamartēmatōn as referring to sins/failures (or better yet, “sinful actions”) seems preferable in light of the fact that the term is coupled with the term translated “blasphemies.” Moreover, in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ words here (see Matt. 12:31-32), the term hamartia (“sin”) is used instead of hamartēmatōn. Thus, given the fact that hamartēmatōn is used elsewhere in Scripture as if it were equivalent in meaning to the term for “sins,” I believe it would be preferable to understand hamartēmatōn in Romans 3:25 to mean either “sins” or “sinful actions” (rather than “penalties of sins”).

Let’s now consider the words, ”because of the passing over of the [sinful actions] which occurred before in the forbearance of God” (or, “because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God.”). 

It was originally my understanding that the sins/sinful actions that God is said to have “passed over” in his “forbearance” referred to the sins of those who were forgiven by God prior to Christ’s death (such as the sins of Abraham, Moses and David). However, I’m no longer convinced that this is the best way to understand what Paul wrote here, and believe that there’s a good reason why Paul chose to use the word translated “passing over” here (rather than “forgiveness”).

If Paul had wanted to express the idea that the sins of which he wrote in this verse had been forgiven by God, it’s reasonable to believe that he would’ve actually used the word “forgiveness” (instead of “passing over,” which doesn’t inherently express the idea of forgiveness). Instead of communicating the idea of sins being forgiven by God, the term translated “passing over” expresses the idea that, during the time period that Paul had in view, God refrained from intervening in a certain way with regard to the “sinful acts” referred to in this verse. This understanding is confirmed by Paul’s use of the term “forbearance” (which communicates the idea that God was patiently refraining from taking a certain action in response to the sinful acts that Paul had in mind). But whose sinful acts had God, at a prior time in history, been “passing over”?

We know that, because of the unique covenant relationship between God and Israel, the people of Israel were constantly confronted with their sin and called to repentance (as all of the prophetic books of the Hebrew Scriptures make clear). That is, rather than “passing over” the sins of his covenant people, God regularly intervened by either calling Israel to repentance through the prophets he sent to them (which would often involve the threat of judgment if Israel did not repent), or by actually judging Israel for her sins. However, as a rule, God didn’t relate to the nations in this way (God’s merciful treatment of Nineveh through the prophetic ministry of Jonah is a notable exception to the general rule of how God dealt with the nations). Instead of regularly intervening as he did for Israel, God left the nations in their ignorance and rebellion, and thus “passed over” their sinful acts (this understanding is further supported by the fact that the focus of the first two chapters of Romans is on the idolatrous conduct and general sinfulness of mankind in general).

In further support of this understanding of who Paul had in mind when he referred to “the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God,” let’s consider what Paul said elsewhere when speaking to the idol-worshipping people of Lystra and Athens. In Acts 14:11-17 we read that Paul and Barnabas declared the following to the people of Lystra:

And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.”

Similarly, in Acts 17:29-31 we read that God declared to the men of Athens:

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

Here’s how verses 30-31 read in the CLNT:

“Indeed, then, condoning the times of ignorance, God is now charging mankind that all everywhere are to repent, forasmuch as He assigns a day in which He is about to be judging the inhabited earth in righteousness by the Man Whom He specifies, tendering faith to all, raising Him from among the dead–“

In light of what we read in the above passages, I submit that, when Paul used the word “before” in Romans 3:25, he was referring to what he referred to in Acts 17:30 as “the times of ignorance” which “God overlooked” (or which God “condoned”). In accord with this view, the sins/sinful acts that we’re told God “passed over” during this time can be understood as the sinful acts of the nations (who, we’re told, were being allowed by God “to walk in their own ways” – i.e., by worshipping false gods and idols instead of the one true God).

We can, therefore, understand Paul’s words in Romans 3:25 as a reference to God’s past dealings with the nations (and not his past dealings with either Israel as a nation or those forgiven by God before Christ’s death). And just as the “passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God” involved God’s allowing the nations to “walk in their own ways” (with their “own ways” being the sins/sinful acts that he passed over), so the display of God’s righteousness should also be understood as involving God’s dealings with the nations.

In the past, God was forbearing to the nations with regard to their idolatry (Acts 14:16), and refrained from intervening by providing the nations with a means of deliverance from their satanically-inspired deception. Past generations received no remedy for this problem. But by setting Christ forth ”a mercy seat, through the faith in his blood,” God has provided the nations with the remedy, and – through the apostolic ministry of Paul – has “opened to the nations a door of faith” (Acts 14:27-28; 15:3). And with salvation having been dispatched to the nations (Acts 28:28), the nations can have their eyes opened and be turned “from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God,” and thus “get a pardon of sins and an allotment among those who have been hallowed by faith that is in [Christ]” (Acts 26:17-18).[i] Moreover, because the power of the evangel through which the nations may now be saved will invariably lead to a turning away from idol-worship (Acts 14:15; 1 Cor. 12:2; 1 Thess. 1:5, 9), Paul could affirm that, ever since his ministry among the nations began, God had been “charging mankind that all everywhere are to repent.”

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[i] It’s possible that, when referring to God’s righteousness in Romans 3:25, Paul had in mind not just God’s commitment to save gentiles from their captivity to Satan (and the sinful acts of which their captivity was a manifestation), but – more specifically – God’s promise-keeping faithfulness to the nations. But is there a promise-based blessing that had been made available to the nations through the apostolic ministry of Paul (and by virtue of which God’s righteousness, or promise-keeping faithfulness, was being displayed)? Yes.

We know that, in his letter to the saints of Galatia, Paul was writing to ecclesias that belonged to “all the ecclesias of the nations” (and was not writing to those whom God considered members of his covenant people, Israel). Keeping this fact in mind, we read the following in Galatians 3:7-9, 13-14 and 27-29:

Know, consequently, that those of faith, these are sons of Abraham. Now the scripture, perceiving before that God is justifying the nations by faith, brings before an evangel to Abraham, that In you shall all the nations be blessed. So that those of faith are being blessed together with believing Abraham.

Christ reclaims us from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for our sakes, for it is written, Accursed is everyone hanging on a pole, that the blessing of Abraham may be coming to the nations in Christ Jesus, that we may be obtaining the promise of the spirit through faith.

“For whoever are baptized into Christ, put on Christ, in Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. Now if you are Christ’s, consequently you are of Abraham’s seed, enjoyers of the allotment according to the promise.”

From these passages it’s evident that the justification of the nations by faith is the fulfillment of the promise that “in [Abraham] all the nations” would “be blessed” (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:17-18). In accord with this fact, we read the following in Romans 4:16-17:

“Therefore it is of faith that it may accord with grace, for the promise to be confirmed to the entire seed, not to those of the law only, but to those also of the faith of Abraham, who is father of us all, according as it is written that, A father of many nations have I appointed you…”

By making this promise-based blessing available to the nations through the heralding of the evangel of the grace of God by Paul and his co-laborers, it could be said that God displayed his promise-keeping faithfulness through the ministry of Paul and his co-laborers (through whom we’re told that Christ was announcing light “both to the people and to the nations”; see Acts 26:23).

The Conciliation of the World

In Romans 11:11-15 we read the following:

I am saying, then, Do they not trip that they should be falling? May it not be coming to that! But in their offense is salvation to the nations, to provoke them to jealousy.

Now if their offense is the world’s riches and their discomfiture the nations’ riches, how much rather that which fills them! Now to you am I saying, to the nations, in as much as, indeed, then, I am the apostle of the nations, I am glorifying my dispensation, if somehow I should be provoking those of my flesh to jealousy and should be saving some of them. For if their casting away is the conciliation of the world, what will the taking back be if not life from among the dead?

In this passage Paul used the expressions “the world” and “the nations” interchangeably. That this is the case is further evident from the fact that Paul was careful to maintain a distinction between “the nations”/”the world” and the unbelieving majority within the nation of Israel (to whom Paul referred by the use of the words, “they,” “their,” “them” and “those of my flesh”). Paul was, in other words, contrasting those who comprise “the world”/”the nations” with the majority of those who comprised the nation of Israel in his day (some of whom Paul hoped to “be saving” by provoking those of his flesh to jealousy).

When, therefore, Paul referred to “their casting away” in v. 15, he had in mind the casting away of the majority of those who comprised the nation of Israel in his day. And when he referred to “the conciliation of the world,” he had in mind the conciliation of the nations.

Moreover, it should be emphasized that when Paul referred to “the world” and “the nations” in the above passage, he wasn’t referring to the relatively few people among the nations who are members of the body of Christ. The body of Christ consists (primarily) of people who are “of” the nations (with regard to their ethnicity), but “the nations” of which Paul wrote in the above passage are comprised of all people who aren’t Jewish. In fact, Paul elsewhere used the expression “the world” to refer to those among the nations who are outside the body of Christ (and of whom human society is primarily comprised; see, for example, 1 Cor. 2: 12; 5:9-13; 6:2; cf. Phil. 2:15; Col. 2:20).

The noun translated “conciliation” in v. 15 is katallagē. The terms from which this word is derived are the preposition katá (“down”) and the verb allássō (“to change”); hence, the elements of this word are translated as “down-change” in the CLNT Keyword Concordance.

In 1 Cor. 7:11, the verb form of this word (katallassó) is applied to what happens when a wife who is separated from her husband returns to him, to live with him again (and is thus no longer separated from him). We can therefore understand the term “conciliation” to refer to the relational change that occurs when one individual or party in a relationship ceases to be separated (in some sense) from the other. That this is how the term should be understood in Rom. 11:15 is evident from the fact that it’s contrasted with a state of affairs involving the “casting away” of the majority of Israelites. The noun translated “casting away” (apobolē) implies a relational separation of some sort.

It’s further evident that what Paul referred to as “the conciliation of the world” is a state of affairs that was made possible by “their casting away.” In other words, when Paul wrote that ”their casting away is the conciliation of the world,” the idea being communicated is that “the conciliation of the world” depends on the “casting away” of the majority of Israelites, and is a state of affairs that will continue only for as long as the “casting away” continues/remains in effect. This means that what Paul referred to as “the taking back” in v. 15 (i.e., the taking back of those “cast away”) cannot occur as long as “the conciliation of the world” continues. In other words, since “the conciliation of the world” is a state of affairs that depends on “their casting away,” it must end before “the taking back” can occur.

But what, exactly, is “the conciliation of the world?” Answer: Based on what Paul says in the immediate context, it’s evident that this state of affairs involves “salvation” (“riches”) being made available to “the nations” (collectively), apart from the mediation of the nation of Israel. And in light of what Paul goes on to write in verses 16-24, I think it’s reasonable to conclude that the “conciliation of the world” refers to a position of divine favor in which God has placed the nations, collectively.

As argued in my study, “An Analysis of Paul’s Olive Tree Parable” (https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2017/03/an-analysis-of-pauls-olive-tree-parable.html), the “cultivated olive tree” of Romans 11:16-24 represents a position of divine favor (for it is in this tree that God’s “kindness” – rather than his “severity” – is being experienced; see Rom. 11:22). The “natural boughs” that remain in the olive tree represent the chosen, believing Jewish remnant (Rom. 11:5-7), while the boughs that have been “broken out” represent the majority of Israelites (who have been “cast away” by God, and are thus experiencing God’s “severity”). The “wild olive” bough that was “grafted into the cultivated olive tree” represents the nations, collectively (who, while grafted in, are experiencing God’s kindness). And just as we read in Rom. 11:15 that “their casting away is the conciliation of the world,” so we read that the broken-out natural boughs were removed so that the wild olive bough could be grafted in (v. 19). Thus, the grafting in of the “wild olive” bough (the nations) into the “cultivated olive tree” (the position of divine favor) represents “the conciliation of the world.”

Essentially, God has brought the nations, collectively, to a place of standing before him that’s characterized by the enjoyment of his “kindness” (rather than the suffering of his “severity”). As we’ll see a little later, the conciliation of the world means that God is not responding to the offenses of the nations as he did in previous eras (and as he will do, in the future). That is, God is graciously refraining from responding to the offenses of the nations with indignation (hence God’s kindness is said to be on the nations rather than his severity). However, as Paul makes clear in Rom. 11:22-28, this present state of affairs is only temporary:

Perceive, then, the kindness and severity of God! On those, indeed, who are falling, severity, yet on you, God's kindness, if you should be persisting in the kindness: else you also will be hewn out. Now they also, if they should not be persisting in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. For if you were hewn out of an olive wild by nature, and, beside nature, are grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much rather shall these, who are in accord with nature, be grafted into their own olive tree!

For I am not willing for you to be ignorant of this secret, brethren, lest you may be passing for prudent among yourselves, that callousness, in part, on Israel has come, until the complement of the nations may be entering. And thus all Israel shall be saved, according as it is written,

Arriving out of Zion shall be the Rescuer. He will be turning away irreverence from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them Whenever I should be eliminating their sins.

As to the evangel, indeed, they are enemies because of you, yet, as to choice, they are beloved because of the fathers.

Again, it is Israel’s “casting away” (their removal from the position of divine favor) that made “the conciliation of the world” possible. Since Israel’s “casting away” (which is equivalent to what Paul referred to as “callousness, in part, on Israel has come”) will continue “until the complement of the nations may be entering” (which likely refers to the last of the gentiles entering into the body of Christ) – and since the conciliation of the world depends on the casting away of Israel – it follows that “the conciliation of the world” will continue until the body of Christ has been completed. 

We also know that, during the lifetime of the last members of the body of Christ, the snatching away of the body of Christ will occur (1 Thess. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:50-53). And when the body of Christ is removed from the earth, the “faith” by which the “wild olive” (the nations, collectively) is said to “stand” (Rom. 11:20) – and through which it is currently “persisting in the kindness” of God (v. 22) – will cease to be, and the “wild olive” bough will consequently “be hewn out” of the olive tree. Then, the kindness of God that is currently on the nations will be replaced by God’s “severity.”

The dispensation of the conciliation

Having considered the meaning of what Paul wrote in Romans 11:11-15, let’s now consider what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 and 6:1-2. In the first part of v. 18 we read the following:

“Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ…”

In this verse, the pronoun “us” includes not only those to whom Paul wrote this letter, but all who are in the body of Christ. This fact is in accord with what we read in Rom. 5:9-10, where we read the following:

Much rather, then, being now justified in His blood, we shall be saved from indignation, through Him. For if, being enemies, we were conciliated to God through the death of His Son, much rather, being conciliated, we shall be saved in His life. Yet not only so, but we are glorying also in God, through our Lord, Jesus Christ, through Whom we now obtained the conciliation.

As believers, our conciliation to God – i.e., the position of divine favor that we’ve been granted by God – is based on our justification (which is inseparably connected with our having received the holy spirit [v. 5]). It’s because our conciliation to God is based on our justification that it’s said to be “through the death [God’s] Son” (for the first element of the evangel through which we’re justified is the fact that “Christ died for our sins”).

God has conciliated believers to himself through Christ in that, having believed the evangel of our salvation, we’ve been “sealed with the holy spirit of promise…for the day of deliverance” (Eph. 1:14). Thus we read that “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the holy spirit which is being given to us” (Rom. 5:5). It is by virtue of having been given God’s spirit that we are “now justified in his blood” (Rom. 5:9). And those who have received this spirit and thus been justified are those to whom God “by no means should be reckoning sin” (Rom. 4:4-8), and who thus “may be having peace toward God, through our Lord, Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1-2).

The words “by no means” in Rom. 4:8 are, I believe, significant. For we who are in the body of Christ (who have been “justified gratuitously in God’s grace” such that, “where sin increases, grace superexceeds”), it’s impossible for us to do anything (or fail to do anything) that could result in God reckoning sin to us. The forgiveness of offenses/sins we’ve received (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 2:13-14) is permanent, and cannot be revoked (in contrast with this, we know that the forgiveness of offenses for believing Israelites outside of the body of Christ is conditional; see, for example, Matt. 6:15-16 and Mark 11:25-26). Similarly, there is nothing we can do (or fail to do) that can result in our ceasing to be justified by God (Rom. 8:1), for our justification involves being “sealed with the holy spirit of promise.”

Having considered what it means for believers to have been conciliated to God through Christ, let’s now consider what Paul went on to write in 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 and 6:1-2:

“Yet all is of God, Who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and placing in us the word of the conciliation.

For Christ, then, are we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ's sake, “Be conciliated to God!” For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may be becoming God's righteousness in Him.

Now, working together, we are also entreating you not to receive the grace of God for naught. For He is saying, ‘In a season acceptable I reply to you, And in a day of salvation I help you.’ Lo! Now is a most acceptable era! Lo! Now is a day of salvation!

As is the case with Paul’s use of the word in Romans 11:11-15, the “world” of which we read in v. 19 refers to the nations, collectively. In other words, it is the nations that God was, in Christ, “conciliating to Himself,” and “not reckoning their offenses to them.” However, Paul then states that he and his fellow ambassadors were “beseeching for Christ’s sake, ‘Be conciliated to God!’” But if “God was in Christ, conciliating the world to himself,” then how can the people of the world still be in need of being conciliated to God?

This apparent contradiction is, I believe, resolved when we understand that there is a difference between the nature of the world’s conciliation to God and the nature of the believer’s conciliation to God. Before I get into this difference, it should be emphasized that both “the conciliation of the world” and the conciliation of believers to God involves being granted a position of divine favor, and involves God’s “kindness” (rather than his “severity”) being “on” those who’ve been conciliated.

In 2 Cor. 5:19, Paul explains this position of divine favor for the world as one in which God is “not reckoning their offenses to them.” The same could be said concerning the believer (for God is not reckoning our offenses to us). To better understand what Paul meant by “not reckoning their offenses to them,” we need to understand what it would mean for God to be reckoning the offenses of the world to them. If God was reckoning the offenses of the world/nations to them right now, he would be bringing his indignation upon the world. In other words, the world would currently be going through what Paul referred to elsewhere as “the coming indignation” (1 Thess. 1:10).

So what differentiates the conciliation of believers to God and the conciliation of the world/the nations to God? Answer: The believer’s conciliation to God is based on our justification, and is thus permanent. Our offenses will never be reckoned to us by God. It is, I believe, for this reason that we’re said to have “obtained the conciliation” (Rom. 5:11). The conciliation of the believer is a blessing that, by virtue of our justification, belongs to us. Thus we read that “we shall be saved from indignation, through [Christ]” (Rom. 5:9), and that “God did not appoint us to indignation, but to the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9).

In contrast with the conciliation of the believer (which is based on our justification), the conciliation of the world is not a blessing that each individual gentile can be said to have “obtained.” For unbelievers, the conciliation is only a temporary state of affairs that they’re able to enjoy because of the conciliation of believers to God. This means that unbelievers are only able to continue enjoying this blessing because the body of Christ remains present on the earth. As long as believers are on the earth (and people are still being added to the body of Christ), God cannot bring his indignation upon the world. The conciliation of the world will, therefore, continue only until the body of Christ is snatched away (after which time God will be reckoning offenses to the world).

But how can it be the case that God isn’t reckoning offenses to those among the nations who aren’t yet justified? Answer: We know that unjustified sinners are storing up for themselves “indignation in the day of indignation and revelation of the just judgment of God” (Rom. 2:5, 8; cf. 9:22), and are “children of indignation” (Eph. 2:3) on whom “the indignation of God is coming” (Eph. 2:3; 5:6; Col. 3:6). However, God is not yet reckoning offenses to them. For if he was, he would, at this time, be judging the world. In Romans 3:5-6 we read the following:

“Now if our injustice is commending God's righteousness, what shall we declare? Not that God Who is bringing on indignation is unjust! (As a man am I saying it.) May it not be coming to that! Else how shall God be judging the world?”

Here, “judging the world” is an example of God “bringing on indignation.” When God begins judging the world and thus “bringing on indignation” (which he isn’t doing yet), he will be reckoning the offenses of the world’s inhabitants to them. In other words, for God to be reckoning offenses to the world is for him to be bringing his indignation upon the world. Those who are, at the present time, storing up for themselves “indignation in the day of indignation and revelation of the just judgment of God” will have their offenses reckoned to them during “the day of indignation” (for, again, their present conciliation to God – which involves their offenses not being reckoned to them by God – is conditional; unlike those in the body of Christ, it’s not based on their justification). 

Conclusion

The conciliation of the world is a state of affairs that involves the world being in a position of favor with God, and coincides with Israel’s “casting away” (Rom. 11:15). During this time of world-conciliation, God’s kindness (rather than his severity) is on the nations, collectively. This is in accord with what we read in Romans 11:30-32:

“For even as you [the nations] once were stubborn toward God, yet now were shown mercy at their [Israel’s] stubbornness, thus these also are now stubborn to this mercy of yours, that now they [Israel] also may be shown mercy. For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all.”

After the body of Christ has been completed (and “the complement of the nations” has thus come in), Christ – our “Rescuer out of the coming indignation” (1 Thess. 1:10) – will “extricate us out of the present wicked eon” (Gal. 1:4). This future event – i.e., the snatching away of the body of Christ – is what will bring an end to the conciliation of the world (resulting in the divine “kindness” that is presently on the nations being replaced by God’s “severity”). However, by bringing an end to the conciliation of the world, God will then be able to begin the “taking back” of his covenant people, Israel (which God will do by removing the callousness that is presently on the majority of Israelites).

Until then, God will continue showing favor to the world by withholding his indignation (and, therefore, not reckoning their offenses to them). It’s for this reason that Paul was able to declare the following in 2 Cor. 6:2: “Lo! Now is a most acceptable era! Lo! Now is a day of salvation!”