Grafted In…

“After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’—
things known from long ago.
(Acts 15:16-18; Paul referring to Amos 9:11-12)

This passage reminds me how thankful I am that God in His infinite wisdom had a plan for ALL mankind to have the opportunity to be added to the kingdom. Not just for the Jews, but a pause in history so us Gentiles could be grafted in.

Paul underscores this in Roman’s 9:6: “In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”

Note that it is Abraham’s offspring, not Jacob’s offspring that Scripture identifies as the children of the promise. Abraham’s seed was not identified as Israel; Jacob’s seed was the first to be identified as Israel. The promise is given to everyone, Israelites and Gentiles alike!

The visual Paul uses is that of grafting in. I’ve heard the term but never really studied it. Graftin a tree to another is a brutal process. Know this – When the grafting process on an olive tree is started, the olive tree is cut down to almost nothing. There is basically only root stock left. Resources available about olive tree grafting tell how resilient the olive tree is, and how, after grafting, it can actually be a stronger tree and bear more fruit as a result.

I think most of us, myself included, think of grafting as a kind of genteel processed introducing one tree to another that they would grow as one. In realilty is it a much more radical process. Paul differentiates the Root from the branches, and as such, based on what little I now know about grafting, the branches are the Body of Christ, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, and Christ is the Root.

“You do not support the root, BUT THE ROOT SUPPORTS YOU.”

What happened to the branches? Romans 11:19-21 says:

“‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in. Granted. But THEY WERE BROKEN OFF BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF, and you stand BY FAITH. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.”

When an olive tree is prepped for grafting, all of the branches are cut off. After the Cross, unbelieving Israel was cut off. Those who believed then and believe now were/are grafted back in, along with believing Gentiles. All were/are grafted in by faith, and nowhere is there any indication that the wild branches become natural branches. After the Cross, one is part of the tree not because of ethnicity; one is part of the tree because of faith.

• Grafted in by Faith.
• Clothed in Christ.
• One Body in Christ.

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, according to the promise not according to flesh.

A quote from the tree-grafting article, “Yeah. It’s not a hybrid; it changes the whole identity of the tree.” Several metaphors are used to describe those in Christ being the people of God, and they cover a lot of bases, showing that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. Whether Jew, Gentile, male, female, slave or free, we are all one in Christ. Whether natural branches or wild, we all receive Life from the Root, Who is Jesus. We are living stones, carefully placed by the Master Builder, built into a spiritual house, joined together by the Chief Cornerstone.

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(DISCLAIMER: I read several sources, commentaries, devotionals, etc., when I study the bible. Some of what I write is heavily inspired by what I read, and some sections may not be all my own words. I try to distill and paraphrase but there are way too many great writers who know the depths of God’s Word more than I ever will. I try to give credit where possible, and I don’t want anyone to think that everything I write comes straight from my brain – it’s all inspired by God and others He has chosen to write through. I encourage you to look to those who have also studied and written about Scripture, while at the same time remembering they are only men, and the ONLY true standard is the Word of God – everything written by me or any other human MUST be measured against that standard.)