Who is Paul writing to in Romans 11?
Paul writes to believers in the age of grace. In Romans 11, he addresses the brethren, and in this dispensation those believers are predominantly Gentiles, although there are certainly some Jewish believers as well. He directs his teaching to the believer, emphasizing that they should not be ignorant of God's ongoing plan for Israel.
Les explains that Paul always writes to the believer, and in the age of grace those believers are predominantly Gentiles, though there are certainly some Jewish believers as well. In Romans 11, Paul is making it plain by inspiration that God is not through with the nation of Israel. Israel has been set aside for the last 1900 and some years, without temple, priesthood, sacrifice, and without a homeland until our generation, but God is not through with His covenant people. The grafting process shows Israel was removed, her branches broken off, and the Gentiles were placed over the root of father Abraham. Gentiles have had the blessing of the gospel and the opportunity for salvation, but their day is fast coming to a close because they too have been walking it underfoot, and God's grace and patience will one day soon run out. Then He will go back and pick up where He left off with Israel. Paul writes to the brethren that they should not be ignorant, and ignorance is not a lack of brain cells or intelligence but a lack of having been taught something.
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
More Questions
What mystery did Paul reveal in Romans 11:25?
In Romans 11:25 Paul reveals a mystery never before revealed in Scripture: Israel has received only a partial spiritual blindness that lasts until the fullness of the Gentiles is brought in.
Why does Paul reveal the mystery in Romans 11:25?
Paul calls this truth a mystery, meaning a secret, and he reveals it so the brethren would not be ignorant and become wise in their own conceit.