I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,
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Gennadius of Constantinople
AD 471
The Jews who opposed the apostles and their message said that one or another of the following propositions must be true. Either the gospel is a lie, or God is a liar…. For God promised Abraham that he would bless his offspring, but now he has shown favor to impure and foreign people, i.e., the Gentiles, instead of us. Now if your preaching is a way out of these promises, as you claim, then it is clear that God lied to our ancestors. On the other hand, if it is wrong to speak of God in this way, then you and your message are a lie. It was to answer this kind of charge that the apostle Paul wanted to work out an alternative position and demonstrate both that the message of the gospel was true and that God was not lying. .
Having shown the need [n. 97] and power [n. 381] of grace, the Apostle begins to discuss the origin of grace and ask whether it is conferred solely by God’s choice or from the merits of previous works. He raises this question because the Jews, seemingly called to God’s special protection, had fallen from grace; whereas the Gentiles, previously alienated from God, had been admitted to it. First, therefore, he discusses the election of the Gentiles; secondly, the fall of the Jews, in chapter 10 [n. 813]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he recounts the greatness of the Jews; secondly, he shows how the Gentiles have been drawn into that greatness [v. 6; n. 748]. 361 In regard to the first, he does two things: first the Apostle shows his affection for the Jewish people, lest anything he had said or was about to say against them should seem to proceed from hatred; second, he shows their dignity [v. 4; n. 742]. Concerning the first he does two things. First he confirms what ...
