Verse 7 says, “Wherefore receive one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.” This verse, when taken along with 14:3, proves that Christ’s receiving is God’s receiving. What Christ has received, God has received. Christ has received us to the glory of God. Our receiving of the believers must be according to God’s and Christ’s receiving, not according to anything else. Whomever God and Christ have received we have to receive, regardless of how much they differ from us in doctrinal concepts or religious practices. This is for the glory of God.
We need to read 15:8-11. “For I say that Christ has become a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the nations to glorify God for His mercy, as it is written, Therefore I will confess to You among the nations and I will sing praise to Your name. And again he says, Rejoice, nations, with His people. And again, Praise the Lord, all the nations, and let all the peoples praise Him.” In these verses we see that Christ is all-inclusive. Why has He become a servant of the circumcision, the Jews? He has become a servant of the Jews for the sake of the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to their fathers. However, verse 9 says that He is not only a servant for the circumcision, but “for the nations to glorify God for His mercy.” For the circumcision, the Jews, Christ is a servant for the truth of God, but for the nations He is a servant that the nations may glorify God for His mercy. Christ is all-inclusive. He is for the nations, the Gentiles, as well as for the circumcision, the Jews.
To the Jews, it is a matter of God’s truth, for God has made promises to their fathers. Christ became a servant for them to confirm all the promises God gave to their fathers. For this, God is truthful. To the Gentiles, it is a matter of God’s mercy. Christ became a servant for them to glorify God for His mercy. Christ confessed God and praised His name among the Gentiles. He asked the Gentiles to rejoice and praise God for His mercy. To the Jews, God is truthful, but to the Gentiles, God is merciful. For this we, the Gentiles, have to praise Him that He may be glorified in His mercy.
Verse 12 reveals even more of the all-inclusiveness of Christ. “And again, Isaiah says, There shall be the root of Jesse, even He Who arises to rule the nations; in Him the nations will hope.” Although Christ is the root of Jesse, the source of the fathers of the Jews, He will be the ruler of the Gentiles, and in Him the Gentiles will hope. Here we see the all-inclusiveness of Christ. He is the root of Jesse, meaning that He is the supply for the Jewish people. According to Romans 11, His being the root means that He is the source and supply for the Jews. In the future this root of Jesse will arise to rule over all the Gentile nations. Thus, He supplies the Jews and overshadows the nations. By being the root to the Jewish people and by being the overshadowing One, the ruler, over the nations, He brings together the Jews and the nations and makes them one. I believe that should be the deepest concept of the Apostle Paul in writing this portion of Romans. Christ embraces both the Jews and the Gentiles. By being the root of the Jews and the overshadowing One of the nations, Christ embraces both peoples and brings them together for one Body, for one new man, the church.
Christ is all-inclusive and all-embracing. Since Christ is such an all-embracing One, bringing together the Jews and the Gentiles, we must receive all different believers according to this Christ. Never say, “This is an American, that is a Britisher, that is a German, that is a Japanese, that is a Filipino, and that is a Korean. I cannot accept so many different people.” Consider Christ who is the root of one people and is the ruler, the overshadowing One, over another people. He is all-inclusive. In receiving the saints, we must likewise be all-embracing, receiving people from the East, West, South, and North. Whoever they are and whatever they are, we must embrace all believers together in one Body. I believe that this is what it means to receive the saints according to Christ.
In this message and in the preceding message we have covered five aspects of transformation in receiving the believers: according to God’s receiving, in the light of the judgment seat, in the principle of love, for the kingdom life, and according to Christ. We need to remember all of these points and practice them. If we receive the saints in this way, we shall receive the Lord’s blessing with hope, joy, and peace in believing. Therefore, Paul concluded this portion of Romans with the words, “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Spirit” (v. 13). In receiving the believers in the way as instructed in this section of Romans, we experience the God of endurance and encouragement and the God of hope. In the proper church life, we will be filled with all joy and peace with faith. In such a church life, we experience the power of the Holy Spirit and we abound in hope. The church life means a great deal to us. We all need to get into it and live in it.