John Calvin Commentary Romans 9:5

"whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen." — Romans 9:5 (ASV)

Whose are the fathers, etc. It is indeed of some importance to be descended from saints and men beloved of God, since God promised the godly fathers mercy toward their children, even to a thousand generations, and especially in the words addressed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as we find in Genesis 17:4, and in other passages. It does not matter that this by itself, when separated from the fear of God and holiness of life, is vain and useless; for we find the same to have been the case regarding worship and glory, as is evident everywhere in the prophets, especially in Isaiah 1:11, Isaiah 60:1, and also in Jeremiah 7:4. But, as God dignified these things with some degree of honor when joined with attention to godliness, he justly counted them among the privileges of the Jews. They are indeed said to be the heirs of the promises for this very reason—because they descended from the fathers (Acts 3:25).

From whom, is Christ, etc. Those who apply this to the fathers, as though Paul meant only to say that Christ had descended from the fathers, have no reason to allege: for his objective was to conclude his account of the preeminence of the Jews with this praise—that Christ proceeded from them. For it was not a thing to be lightly esteemed to have been united by a natural relationship with the Redeemer of the world; if he had honored the whole human race by joining himself to us through a common nature, much more did he honor those with whom he had a closer bond of union. It must, at the same time, always be maintained that when this favor of being related by kinship is unconnected with godliness, it is so far from being an advantage that, on the contrary, it leads to a greater condemnation.

But we have here a remarkable passage—that in Christ two natures are distinguished in such a manner that they are at the same time united in the very person of Christ: for by saying that Christ had descended from the Jews, he declared his real humanity. The words according to the flesh, which are added, imply that he had something superior to flesh; and here an evident distinction seems to be made between humanity and divinity. But he finally connects both together, when he says that the Christ, who had descended from the Jews according to the flesh, is God blessed forever.

We must further observe that this ascription of praise belongs only to the true and eternal God; for he declares in another place (1 Timothy 1:17) that it is the true God alone to whom honor and glory are due. Those who break off this clause from the previous context, so that they may take away from Christ such a clear testimony to his divinity, most presumptuously attempt to introduce darkness in the midst of the clearest light.

For the words most evidently mean this: Christ, who is from the Jews according to the flesh, is God blessed forever. And I do not doubt that Paul, who had to contend fiercely with a reproach urged against him, deliberately raised his own mind to the contemplation of the eternal glory of Christ; nor did he do this so much for his own sake individually as for the purpose of encouraging others by his example to elevate their thoughts.