Word Pictures in the New Testament - David Cox

Word Pictures in the NT [Romans: Chapter 9].
service} (\h• latreia\). The temple service (Heb 9:1,6). {The
fathers} (\hoi pateres\). The patriarchs (Ac 3:13; 7:32).
9:5 {Of whom} (\ex h•n\). Fourth relative clause and here with
\ex\ and the ablative. {Christ} (\ho Christos\). The Messiah. {As
concerning the flesh} (\to kata sarka\). Accusative of general
reference, "as to the according to the flesh." Paul limits the
descent of Jesus from the Jews to his human side as he did in
1:3f. {Who is over all, God blessed for ever} (\ho on epi
pant•n theos eulog•tos\). A clear statement of the deity of
Christ following the remark about his humanity. This is the
natural and the obvious way of punctuating the sentence. To make
a full stop after \sarka\ (or colon) and start a new sentence for
the doxology is very abrupt and awkward. See Ac 20:28; Tit 2:13
for Paul's use of \theos\ applied to Jesus Christ.
9:6 {But it is not as though} (\ouch hoion de hoti\). Supply
\estin\ after \ouch\: "But it is not such as that," an old idiom,
here alone in N.T. {Hath come to nought} (\ekpept•ken\). Perfect
active indicative of \ekpipt•\, old verb, to fall out. {For they
are not all Israel, which are of Israel} (\ou gar pantes hoi ex
Isra•l houtoi Isra•l\). "For not all those out of Israel (the
literal Jewish nation), these are Israel (the spiritual Israel)."
This startling paradox is not a new idea with Paul. He had
already shown (Ga 3:7-9) that those of faith are the true sons
of Abraham. He has amplified that idea also in Ro 4. So he is
not making a clever dodge here to escape a difficulty. He now
shows how this was the original purpose of God to include only
those who believed. {Seed of Abraham} (\sperma Abraam\). Physical
descent here, but spiritual seed by promise in verse 8. He
quotes Ge 21:12f.
9:8 {The children of the promise} (\ta tekna t•s epaggelias\).
Not through Ishmael, but through Isaac. Only the children of the
promise are "children of God" (\tekna tou theou\) in the full
sense. He is not speaking of Christians here, but simply showing
that the privileges of the Jews were not due to their physical
descent from Abraham. Cf. Lu 3:8.
9:9 {A word of promise} (\epaggelias ho logos houtos\).
Literally, "this word is one of promise." Paul combines Ge
18:10,14 from the LXX.
9:10 {Having conceived of one} (\ex henos koit•n echousa\). By
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