20. Who Are the Called? 

Covering Romans 9 to 12:

Suddenly we know what Paul is now doing. It was wrongly dividing the word of Truth that made us ignorant. The idea that Paul went from the POWER of the Ruling Verse of the Bible to an endorsement of the modern political state called “Israel” is spell-caster success!

In complete contrast, having established God’s Means and God’s Motive, Paul is now setting forth the WHO – God’s Opportunity. Paul is establishing the meaning of these words – Jesus being the firstborn among many brothers and sisters, that is, of His same kind, born of the same womb. Who are these? – Thus we see that it’s not Romans 9-11 as a complete sidetrack, but rather, Romans 9-12 as God setting forth WHO is the Church. – Who shares form with Jesus?

The Larger Picture. To understand Romans 9-11, we must have the larger picture of first Israel and then the Church. God had two purposes for Israel from Jacob to John the Baptist. First, God’s interactions with the descendants of Israel allowed Him to draw many individuals to Himself through faith over many centuries. Second, God used the nation as a whole as the vehicle through which He could bring Jesus, the Savior, into our world, that we might understand Him.

Do you see the problem? The nation as a whole did not connect with God through faith. Instead, the majority took two things from God’s temporary covenant through Moses into human arrogance/contempt. Possessing the law made them arrogant in self, and being chosen of God made them contemptuous of all other people.

The Inclusion of Non-Judeans. Then we have the Church. Through the AD 30’s, the Church was entirely Israelites. All of them regarded the law and knew they were God’s ethnicity, neither were issues.

The first major non-Israelite conversion was not until 41, and not in Jerusalem. Then, in 43, Paul came to Antioch, and that is when the problems started. And it wasn’t just Paul, for most of Jesus’ disciples turned to the conversion of non-Judeans during this time, as far afield as Ethiopia, Armenia, and India. But Paul’s ministry was close at hand, and thousands of people were flocking into the Christian fellowships who had never heard of Moses and who had no knowledge of the law. Thus the believing Judeans were separated into two groups, not outwardly, but inwardly, those who welcomed non-Judeans in Jesus and those who were arrogant/contemptuous.

The Offense of the Cross. Here was the problem. If an Israelite were to hear the Gospel, as those who came to Paul in Rome in Acts 28, and if they were to receive Jesus, then they would be required to consort with non-Judeans in close fellowship as equals. Actually, the biggest stumbling stone was Paul’s definition of the death of Jesus on the Cross, that all humans died inside of Him, and that God receives only those who come alive with Jesus. – “YOU were unacceptable to God, and He executed you by the most offensive way to die that there is.”

Then, some Israelites who had believed into Jesus thought that if they just got the non-Judeans to practice parts of the law, they could stomach calling them brethren. They themselves failed to keep the law, of course, thus having broken the old covenant, and so their purpose was control.

Firstborn of Many Brethren. We see, then, that Paul spent Galatians and the first part of Romans addressing the control issue, using many Scripture quotes. Then in Chapters 9-11, Paul addresses the second issue, the presence of contempt that says, “You are beneath of us because God chose us and not you.” And Paul brings in many details from Scripture for that purpose. Yet consider God’s purpose for the law, that is, to bring honesty. “Oh God, I fail to keep Your law, please save me.” These are God’s true “elect,” and thus the WORD is this. – For all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

Paul believes that he has affectively addressed the issue in just three chapters and thus goes quickly to Romans 12 as his whole point, the full meaning of “prototokos adelphois,” the firstborn of many brethren, the only PLACE of Salvation.

Always between Two. (Chapter 9) 8 That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are accounted to be the sperm [of Abraham]. • 16 So then, it is not of the one who chooses nor of the one who runs, but of God who is continuously and actively showing mercy. • 22 More than that, what if God, wanting to show His set opposition and to make known His power, then bore in much patience the vessels of opposition designed for ruin and loss, 23 so that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared out from Himself into glory?

So, the entire question is WHO! Who are the brothers and sisters of Jesus, made by His pattern, of His same Kind, born of the same womb? Who is it that will be setting creation free, that is, possessing the inheritance?

What Makes the Difference? Some are chosen and will inherit, and some are excluded and will not inherit. What makes the difference?

The crazy thing is that some who are descended from Jacob are included and some are not, yes, but also, some who are Christians are included, and some are not. The same thing marks the difference in both. What is it? And even crazier than that, present “doctrine” uses these chapters to EXCLUDE natural Judeans alive today, claiming that they are NOT to be part of the Church, and thus forcing them back into the covenant of death. The arrogance and contempt among Christians is the same as that among the Israelites, for the same reasons and with the same results.

I want to bring in the next set of verses before considering the Gospel Comments.

Non-Israelites also Called! 24 That is, those whom He has called, not only we who are Judeans, but also those out from the other ethnic families? • 25 As He says also in Hosea, “I will call those who are not My people to be ‘My people,’ and she who has not been loved I will call ‘The one who has been loved.’” 31-32 Israel, …by seeking just approval out of works and not out from faith, • stumbled over the stone of stumbling. 33 “Behold I set forth in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. The one believing upon Him will never be put to shame.”

Paul is placing Ruling Verse 1, who are those “called,” together with Faith – believe upon Him. WHO? Who is called, who is Pro-Known, who is marked by God’s boundaries? Who can claim symmorphy with Jesus? This is critical, because eating of good and evil has perverted Christian thought just as it perverted Judean thought.

The Simplicity of the Gospel. Thinking out from this larger flow of verses, now, we can see the issue. The issue is the two sides of a simple Gospel. Believe into Jesus – Love one another.

The issue is honesty. – We get this from 10:3 coming up, the propensity of so many, Judeans and non-Judeans, to fake it. Or, as God spoke through Isaiah, “Upon this one will I look, he who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at My Word.”

If I believe in Jesus inside of me, then I believe in Jesus inside of you. If I honor Jesus in me as Lord, then I receive you as Jesus to me. This is the stumbling stone and the rock of offense. Receive one another as Jesus receives us (Romans 15:7).

The Entrance of Light. Paul is reaching all the way back to Romans 3. You have never sought God in your life because you hate Him. This is the definition of every human born. As Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you” (John 15). We did not choose Jesus, for we hated Him for no reason whatsoever.

So who are the called? Who becomes one of those who is part of the Lord Jesus before they were even conceived? We know that the Spirit of God comes first, even upon our complete darkness, that is, ignorance of God (Genesis 1:2). The Spirit of God does many things for us, but one thing continually comes first. The Spirit gives light, that is honesty, a moment of honesty. “I NEED HELP!”

Always between Two. The distinction is the two minds and the two trees becoming two kinds of people. – Man looks at outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). In Romans 10, Paul places the issue as the heart. Thus a “Jewish” Christian woman said to me, “The Jews are good, they have no need of any ‘salvation.’” I also heard a Pentecostal preacher in the exact same mind rejoicing over the fact that he and his group were “chosen” because of a minor point of doctrine, while all the other millions of Houstonians who believe in Jesus were on their way to HELL! “Hooray!”

From “predestination” meaning, “who goes to heaven and who goes to hell,” to claiming some sort of difference between Israel and the Church, it’s all the same wicked hostility to and refusal of HONESTY, that is, “I NEED HELP; Jesus save me.”

Mercy. Now we can finally look at the specifics in our verses. – It is God who shows mercy. – If I, in desperation and tears, cried out, “Jesus save me,” it was only because God showed me mercy. But consider the one who does not. That one does not call on Jesus because they hate Him and don’t want any help, God does not violate their desire. Yet the Ninth Ruling Verse has established why. – God does not want to exclude them, but He waits in hope that there will be a people through whom He can Love.

Then, what is the Scriptural basis for non-Judeans being added to a believing Israel? Much, actually, beginning with Abraham being called the father of many “Gentiles.” I will call those who are not My people to be ‘My people. – This word “call” means “into the Promise and Covenant.”

Saving the Despised. Jesus is a stumbling stone and a rock of offence to all who do not want mercy. Why? Because He has the nasty habit of saving people we despise. This is the whole point of Romans 9.

Ruling Verse 1: The Ruling Verse of the Bible includes “those who are called” and “many brethren.” Because it is evident that some are called and some are not, the question of – Who? – is paramount. Who – are those called is the issue Paul is addressing. God told Abraham that he would be the father of many “Gentiles.” Hosea said that many non-Judeans are called. The distinction is NOT ethnicity, but something else.

Ruling Verse 9: God places His glory upon vessels of mercy for the sake of all. But to set creation free is to take possession of the inheritance. The issue is the inheritance. Jesus is a stumbling stone because He saves those who are despised.

Dishonesty or Honesty. (Chapter 10) • 3 Indeed, being ignorant of God’s just approval, and seeking to establish and make a stand upon their own fake rightness, they have not placed themselves under the just innocence of God. • 4 For, indeed, Christ is the completion and the perfect fulfillment of the law, resulting in everyone who believes being declared to be justly innocent.

Definition: Earlier in Romans, Paul addressed the issue of how we are declared justly innocent, by our own doing or through faith in Jesus actively saving us. Now Paul is addressing the issue of election. The issue for God is honesty of the heart. Those who present their own rightness to God are inherently dishonest, for they hate God, as Jesus said. Those who believe into Jesus are those who desperately NEED a Savior. The elect are those who always NEED Jesus.

NO Far Away Jesus. • 6 But the just innocence which is out from faith speaks in this way: “You should NOT say inside your heart ‘Who will go up into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down). 7 Or, “‘Who will go down into the place of the dead?’” (That is, to bring Christ up out from the dead).

Definition: Christ lives inside of our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17). These two statements are anti-faith and contrary to the Gospel, for they deny Jesus in our heart. One who says, “I will go to heaven when I die, and there I will see and know Jesus, that I might be with Him when He comes back,” rejects Jesus here and now. The second statement is a denial of the resurrection life of Jesus in which we walk right now (see Romans 6). Paul is zeroing in on the ONLY thing that matters to God.

Christ Jesus In Mouth and Heart. 8 But what does it say? • “The word [Christ, the Word God speaks] is near you here and now, inside of your mouth and inside of your heart.” This is the word of faith, persuasion, and confidence which we proclaim, • 9 that, if you speak the same word in your mouth [that is, the Lord Jesus], and hold confident faith and persuasion inside your heart that God raised Him out from the dead, you will be saved [rescued into God Himself, complete and whole]. • 10 For the heart persuades into just innocence; and the mouth speaks the same word, speaking Christ into salvation. • 13 For all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved [rescued into God Himself, now part of His Church].

We must add verses 15 and 17 before commenting. We can see that Romans 10 is parallel to 2 Corinthians 3, same Jesus as Word, same refusal to believe.

The Union of Faith and Word. • 15 And how shall they speak publicly, if they are not sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those proclaiming the good news of peace, of those proclaiming the good news of intrinsic and inherent goodness.” • 17 So faith is out from hearing, and hearing through the speaking of Christ.

These are the bullet point verses; however, we must draw the Gospel Comments out from all of verses 8 to 21 together. What matters is the union between Faith and Word, between hearing and speaking. Paul is drawing from two concepts of all reality the writer of Hebrews will later express better. – Sustaining all things by His power-filled Word. – The word that they heard did not benefit them, [that word] not having been mixed together in full union with the faith of those who heard (Hebrews 1:3 & 4:2).

The Issue. The issue is so clear; I don’t understand why it is still an issue. Does God lie? Or does God speak the Truth? Is Jesus as every Word God speaks the ONLY connection between God and humans in the fabric of both? Or is God impressed somehow by the fake boasting of human flesh? Does Jesus live inside our hearts through faith? Or will lying about one’s outward performance or status prevail?

Jesus Himself comes to me as every Word spoken out from God. Because the Spirit hovers over me, I already have the kindness of Jesus’ own faith, that I might receive Him as all Word fulfilled now written upon my heart. Therefore I PROCLAIM, out from faith, persuasion, and confidence the same Word, that Christ is my life, I have no other life.

Those Who Are Called. ONE THING ONLY determines who is called and who is not, who receives Mercy and who waits inside of ruin. ~ All who call upon the name of the Lord. ~ Those who need Jesus now are called. Those who do not need Jesus are not called. Those who need Jesus right now see “needing Jesus now” woven all through Romans 9-11. And those who don’t need Jesus right now see only things to argue about in Romans 9-11 and notice nothing of needing Jesus now.

Ruling Verse 7: Those who NEED Jesus now are called of God. Those who do not need Jesus will wait in ruin. Those who believe that God speaks the Truth are called. Jesus lives as every Word God speaks inside the hearts of those who are convinced that Jesus alone connects them with God. Those who call on the name of the Lord, “Jesus, save me,” please God.

Life Enters through Faith. Speak Christ: Christ Jesus is the Word inside our mouths and hearts. The Greek word Paul uses is homologia; it means “to speak the same word.” We speak the same Word that is Christ Jesus because Jesus is True, Jesus connects us with God.

Life: Christ Jesus sustains us by His power-filled Word. He comes to us as the very Seed of God that we might receive Him into ourselves (Hebrews 1:3 & 4:2). The Spirit gives us all the faith we need, but our part is to accept the weakness of our humanity in all honesty. We need Jesus. And as we receive Jesus into ourselves, we are CONCEIVED out from God. Life is knowing the Father; we speak Christ that we might know the Father through knowing Jesus Sent into us.

Ruling Verse 7: Faith receiving Jesus as all Word fulfilled is the only thing that pleases God.

All Israel Saved. (Chapter 11) 17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and • you, as branches from a wild olive tree, were grafted in among the [natural branches], you have become a fellow-partaker of the fatness coming out from the root of the olive tree. • 26 And so all Israel will be saved [connected to God through Jesus], as it is written, “Out of Zion will come the Rescuer, He will remove from Jacob the refusal of wickedness. 27 And this is My covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins and disconnection from God.

Christians today use Romans Chapter 11 as the final “stake” to “drive through the heart” of Paul’s Gospel, to eliminate it entirely by the millennium-old practice of making the “gospel” to be the opposite of the Gospel. This issue RULES our world today for evil, and so we must understand it.

The True Israel of God. Let’s create a picture of the Church in Jerusalem under the apostles, say, seven years after the Day of Pentecost while all are still together in Jerusalem. Let’s say there are now 20,000 believers in Jesus, everyone of whom is an Israelite. Picture them gathered together in one place with Peter speaking and the other disciples behind him. He declares to the crowd, “We who believe into Jesus are the True Israel of God, as declared by Moses and the prophets.” And out from the Spirit of TRUTH inside of them, the entire Church shouts in reply, “Yea and Amen!”

Non-Judeans in Israel? As Jeremiah proclaimed, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers… because they did not remain in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord…” (Hebrews 8:8-10).

God has NEVER made a covenant with “Gentiles.” And Paul NEVER imagined such a ridiculous thing. The question is NOT – “Are the Judeans included in the Church?” The question is only – “How is it that God includes non-Judeans into the Church, that is, into Israel? Over and over Paul says, “Israelites are the Church FIRST.” Only afterwards does he say, “And God then adds non-Israelites into them.” God spoke the Promise to Abraham and his Seed. I am not connected to Abraham by blood, but his SEED lives inside my heart. I am Abraham’s heir.

The Entrance of God. Arrogance and contempt are the seed of the serpent. Being the seed and heir of Abraham through faith cannot teach me to look at my Judean brethren with contempt – or vice versa. We are part of Israel through WORD. Here is that word – Genesis 17:5. “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many GENTILES.” The “ha” is the entrance of God.

Covenant: The Covenant that is Jesus is with the House of Israel. We who are non-Judeans are welcomed into that same Israel through faith in Jesus. We do not then drive the natural Judeans out by claiming they are not part of God’s Church.

The Form for God through Jesus: God has one House, former Judeans and non-Judeans  now as one together inside of Jesus (see Ephesians 2), many brethren together filled with God.

Paul’s Gospel. • 36 For coming out from Him and passing through Him and returning into Him are all things. To Him be glory into the ages.

Paul has not left the Gospel Core for one second. He is addressing a contention inside the Christian assemblies at that time. He has made a clear distinction between honesty in the heart VERSUS all the boasting and trappings of outward delusion, all of which is only the screaming exaltation of self against God. Now he is transitioning back to the REAL issue for God, which is His Form, the Church, and he does so by bringing God as He is back into Abraham and into us.

Definition: Everything that exists comes out from God every moment through Jesus’ speaking. Everything that exists dwells inside the very presence of God right now. And everything that exists RETURNS to the Father through Jesus’ ability to carry all creation back into God. Paul’s Gospel and Absolute!

Now to the Church with POWER. (Chapter 12) • 1 For this reason, I encourage you, brothers and sisters, through the favors and compassions of God, to present your bodies a living offering, devoted to God and well-pleasing, for this is your reasonable service and worship. • 2 And do not share the same outward pattern of expression with this age but be metamorphosed [share the same pattern of expression with Christ Jesus], by the renewing of your mind, into God’s desire proven, that which is intrinsically good, well-pleasing, and complete.

This is another HUGE verse. Kingdom is the larger term that includes everything coming out from Covenant, everything outward, including the return of our Devotion to the Father. Yet everything that is Kingdom goes first to the Church, that is, The Form for God through Jesus.

God’s Opportunity. I now understand Romans 12:1 in an entirely different light. Paul is going back to Romans 8:10-11 and 26-27, how the Spirit of God exists in full union with our dying bodies as the very Intercession of God, His Travail for the entrance of the Knowledge of God into all creation. This is what Paul means by “your bodies a living offering.”

We are talking about WHO. We are talking about God’s Opportunity. Will God have a highway prepared that He might enter our world? God cannot commit the “crime” of showing up in human flesh unless He once again has the opportunity to do that. This great NEED in God to “do this dastardly deed” once again is then the whole meaning of Romans 12:2.

God’s Desire Proven. “Symmorphosed with the image of His Son” is just another way to say, “God manifest in the flesh.” And “the first born among many brethren” is just another way to say Jesus now become the Church. Yet Paul knows nothing of what future Christians will call “heresy.” All he wants to do is set forth the Church as she is. – God’s desire proven is Jesus, faithful and True AS His Church, which is His body, the fulness of Christ who fills all inside of all.

In Romans 12:2 Paul is very consciously drawing from what he wrote in 2 Corinthians 3. Indeed, this is all just an expansion of that incredible chapter. Yet here Paul defines metamorphosed by its opposite, that is, share the same pattern of expression that is Christ Jesus.

For Father’s Sake. We are just like Jesus in all ways as we see Him as He is, inside our hearts and in one another’s faces. And like Jesus, we carry our brethren in our hearts to God inside bodies of weakness offered to God, for Father’s sake.

Kingdom: Kingdom is everything coming out from Covenant, including the return of our devotion to the Father. Yet Kingdom is first the Church, God’s Form through Jesus.

Ruling Verse 1: “Symmorphosed with the image of His Son” is “God manifest in the flesh.” And “the first born among many brethren” is Jesus now become His Church. We are metamorphosed, our minds are changed, by sharing the same pattern of expression with Jesus as every Word fulfilled. We are just like Jesus in all ways as we see Him as He is, inside our hearts and in one another’s faces.

Ruling Verse 9: Placing our mortal bodies inside of God as a living offering is our intercession that sets creation free. And like Jesus, we carry our brethren in our hearts to God inside bodies of weakness offered to God, for Father’s sake.

Members of One Another. • 3 I say to all among you, through the grace given to me, not to think of yourself above what is fitting to think; but to think sound thoughts, as God has allotted a measure of faith to each. • 4 For, just as we have many members in one body – yet not all the members have the same function, 5 so in the same way, even though we are many, we are still one body inside all the sphere of Christ; and specifically, members of one another.

It’s easy to identify someone who has received MERCY from God. Such a one never trusts in self but only Jesus, and never withholds that same Mercy from any other. We are the body of Christ, the form of Jesus to all heaven and earth. We are members of one another. We belong together. Our differences complement one another’s need.

Carrying All Who NEED Jesus. I see that I already wrote what is needed. We consider any present verse, however, inside the overall Flow of Gospel meaning. Verse 3 is Paul bringing into the gathering of each local Church his whole point in Romans 9-11. Think of yourself only as one who receives Mercy inside of Jesus.

The Form for God through Jesus: It’s easy to identify someone who has received MERCY from God. Such a one never trusts in self but only Jesus, and never withholds that same Mercy from any other. We are the body of Christ, the form of Jesus to all heaven and earth. We are members of one another. We belong together. Our differences complement one another’s need. Paul has one purpose in Romans 9-11, and that is to go from the Gospel Core, Romans 8:18-30, to the Church, carrying with him all who NEED Jesus.

Made for Each Other. • 6 We then possess differing expressions of grace according to the grace given to each one of us. If your grace is prophecy, then prophesy according to your direction of faith. 8 …Give in generosity; lead with zeal; show mercy with cheerfulness.

The Greek word is charismata, which I have translated as “expressions of grace.” Grace is giving, active and energeoing. Paul is describing how it is that God dwells inside of His Church, showing Himself as our expressions of grace flowing back and forth to one another. Each one of us has something of God that each of the others need. And each of the others in our local fellowships has something from God that we need. Need and Grace are absolutely made for each other, as Jesus said, “My Grace – your weakness.” Yet Paul said that Jesus also needs us!

Filled with God. Jesus needs our expressions of Grace just as we need His, for we are made by His pattern and share the same expression. “Your direction of faith” is the rule of all giving inside the Church. God honors each of us absolutely, and our faith in God-with-us determines all of our expressions of Grace. We never give by obligation, but only as being led by the Spirit.

Then Verse 8 is a description of the total exuberance of the Father – generosity, earnest zeal, cheerfulness, God as He is. But consider “show mercy with cheerfulness.” Say I don’t like you. Can’t explain it, just don’t. More than that, you have hurt me more deeply than you realize. How, then, do I carry you in my heart into God? – With cheerfulness. I carry you in MERCY with all the exuberant JOY of the God who fills me full, a Father of overflowing Abundance.

God Made Visible. Here’s the thing. As this becomes how we walk in shared life together, so God Himself is seen and known by all. Our gathering together as the Church is God made visible, God manifest in the flesh.

The Form for God through Jesus: Grace is the gift of God Himself sharing life with us. Our gathering together as the Church is God made visible as Love. That gathering together is also a living Spirit entity, with the flow of Spirit among us as this same giving that is Grace. We give to each other through faith that which the Spirit has first given to each.

The Form for God through Jesus: Grace and need are made for each other and always go together. As Jesus said, “My Grace – your need.” Each one of us has grace that others need. And each one in the local Church has grace that we need.

The Father Being Himself. • 9 Love sincerely. Abhor evil; cleave to good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love; highly regard one another in honor. 11 In diligence be neither timid nor lazy; in spirit be fervent, serving the Lord. 12 In hope, rejoice; in pressures of travail, be patient. In prayer be constant. Contribute to the needs of the saints; practice hospitality.

Paul is describing the flow of the Spirit of Grace inside Christ Community, what it looks like in our outward expressions towards one another. As we have seen, all of these expressions are the presence and nature of God our Father, His Person dwelling among us, His knowledge flowing out from our togetherness to all creation. At no point is Paul discussing sin versus not-sin. In all, there is only God-with-us, the Father just being Himself.

Learning to Love. The thing is, God did not make us to be love in ourselves; thus we do not actually know how to do such a thing. God is Love shed abroad in our hearts, as the flow of life and goodness among us. We have to be taught the practicality of what love is and does. This is what Paul is doing.

Ruling Verse 2: God alone is Love. God did not make us to Love in ourselves, but rather, to be filled with God. For this reason, God must teach us what Love, as God among us, is and does in practical expression. These practical aspects of God-Love do not come through “fleshy trying,” but through faith that God already is.

Kingdom: The Kingdom is God free to be Himself inside of His creation. These practical aspects of loving one another are the Father showing Himself to all through our togetherness.

Love Goes ever Further. • 14 Bless those who persecute you, to hunt you down. Bless, and speak well of them, and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Share the same heart-gut thinking towards one another, not as “exalted” thinking, but as walking together in lowliness of mind. Do not be “smart” towards each other.

Ruling Verse 8: The practical expression that is the Spirit of Love poured out in our hearts (see Romans 5:5) goes ever further into every difficulty in this present world. We bless, we speak God’s goodness into all, even those who hurt us. We do not speak against any.

The Form for God through Jesus: To walk with God is to walk beneath, lifting others up. To walk as God’s form is to walk in lowliness of mind, seeing each other as “better.”

How We Overcome. • 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but foresee beauty and goodness towards all others. 18 Live at peace with all others as you are able. 20 If your enemy should hunger, feed him; if he should thirst, give him drink; for in so doing, you will be heaping coals of fire upon his head. • 21 Do not be overcome under evil, but overcome evil inside of good.

Ruling Verse 1: To “foresee goodness towards all others” is the same as “synergeoing with God, making all things good.” We turn what was meant for evil into the outcome of goodness.

Ruling Verse 4: There is no “good versus evil.” Rather, all goodness, in foreseeing goodness, acts out from that goodness that is God to meet people’s needs in surprising and immediate ways. Thus that which was meant for evil is rather swallowed up by GOODNESS.

Come to Me. Paul spends three chapters discussing who are the called only because such a task requires referencing many different Scriptures as proof. Yet his drive is to arrive at the Church, the form for God through Jesus. Old Testament Israel cannot be the form for God, His dwelling place. Such a form requires Christ Jesus to be inside the heart of each member.

It goes back to the Tree of Life. Here is what Jesus says, “You search the Scriptures, but you will not come to Me. Come to Me, and you will have Life” (drawn from John and Matthew). The dividing line is very simple. Those who are called need Jesus inside themselves. Those who need Jesus inside themselves are called into the ethnicity and House of God.