John Calvin Commentary Romans 11:26

"and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:" — Romans 11:26 (ASV)

And so all Israel, etc. Many understand this to refer to the Jewish people, as if Paul had said that religion would again be restored among them as before. However, I extend the word Israel to all the people of God, according to this meaning: “When the Gentiles have come in, the Jews also will return from their defection to the obedience of faith; and in this way, the salvation of the whole Israel of God, which must be gathered from both, will be completed—yet in such a way that the Jews will obtain the first place, being, as it were, the first-born in God’s family.” This interpretation seems to me the most suitable, because Paul intended here to set forth the completion of the kingdom of Christ, which is by no means to be confined to the Jews but is to include the whole world.

We find the same manner of speaking in Galatians 6:16. The Israel of God is what he calls the Church, gathered alike from Jews and Gentiles; and he sets the people, thus collected from their dispersion, in opposition to the carnal children of Abraham, who had departed from his faith.

As it is written, etc. He does not confirm the whole passage by this testimony of Isaiah (Isaiah 59:20), but only one clause—that the children of Abraham will be partakers of redemption. But if one takes this view—that Christ had been promised and offered to them, but that because they rejected him, they were deprived of his grace—yet the Prophet’s words express more, even this: that there will be some remnant who, having repented, will enjoy the favor of deliverance.

Paul, however, does not quote what we read in Isaiah word for word.

Come, he says, shall a Redeemer to Sion, and to those who shall repent of iniquity in Jacob, saith the Lord (Isaiah 59:20).

But on this point, we need not be overly meticulous. We should only consider that the Apostles suitably apply to their purpose whatever proofs they adduce from the Old Testament, for their object was to point out passages, as it were with a finger, so that readers might be directed to the fountain itself.

But though in this prophecy deliverance is promised to the spiritual people of God, among whom even Gentiles are included, yet as the Jews are the first-born, what the Prophet declares must be fulfilled, especially in them. For the fact that Scripture calls all the people of God Israelites is to be ascribed to the pre-eminence of that nation, whom God had preferred to all other nations.

And then, out of regard for the ancient covenant, he expressly says that a Redeemer will come to Sion; and he adds, that he will redeem those in Jacob who will return from their transgression. By these words, God distinctly claims for himself a certain seed, so that his redemption may be effectual in his elect and peculiar nation.

And though the expression used by the Prophet, “shall come to Sion;” would have been more fitting for his purpose, yet Paul did not hesitate to follow the commonly received translation, which reads, “The Redeemer shall come forth from Mount Sion.” The case is similar for the second part, “He shall turn away iniquities from Jacob:” for Paul thought it enough to consider only this point: that as it is Christ’s peculiar office to reconcile to God an apostate and faithless people, some change was surely to be expected, so that they would not all perish together.