How many distinctive statements does Paul make in Romans 9:4?
Paul makes eight distinctive statements in Romans 9:4. The passage is noted for this pattern, where seven represents God's number of completion and an eighth points to new beginnings or something beyond the finish. The arrangement is presented as miraculous rather than something Paul deliberately manufactured.
Les explains that Romans 9:4 contains eight distinctive statements. He connects this to the numerology of Scripture: seven is always God's number of completion, and an eighth indicates new beginnings or something that goes beyond the finish. Les emphasizes that Paul did not sit and meditate for hours trying to find seven things and then come up with an eighth. Instead, Paul penned as the Holy Spirit gave him utterance, and we can look at it and say it is miraculous. This is another instance of how intricately the whole book was put together, something man could never have dreamed up.
Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;