Some First Things, First!
This is article is probably one of the most dearest and exciting concepts to my heart that I have ever studied and written to date. And the understanding of all this was not arrived at in just a day, a month, or in a year, but over quite a lengthy period of time. When one realizes the truths that are to be seen in these typologies of the tithes, firstfruits, and firstborn, it leaves one breathless and humbled at the magnitude of God’s love and mercy for sinners. To know that the Father chose me in Christ before the foundation world is no small wonder to think about; but to REALLY comprehend and understand this truth that is clearly being illustrated for us in these three typological offerings that are listed above, is just too marvelous for words! To realize that God actually sets us apart, similar to these offerings, not only wholly of His own initiative, but as well as “holy” unto Himself as His portion, His inheritance, and His allotment from out of this great “field” of humanity, called the world, is of the most comfort to the Christian’s soul, to say the least.
And just think about this for one moment: Israel had no say-so in the matter with regards to these offerings! None! Zilch! Zip! Which should naturally lead us to believe that we too really do not have anything to say in such matters either of God choosing a people for Himself! If these types truly depict us, which they do, then one of the truths to be gleaned in all of this is that salvation and our being set apart to the Lord is truly all the work of the Lord. And when correctly contemplated and understood, we really only chose Him due to the fact that He first chose us, and ordained us that we should go and bring forth fruit (Jhn. 15:16). That no one, as Jesus said, “can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (Jhn. 6:43), is a truth that many Christians have just not yet fully come to appreciate. And just as the Israelites drew the tithes, firstfruits, and firstborn aside to be given unto the Lord according to the way He had initially prescribed and commanded, so too are we drawn by the Father to be bundled-up into Christ and presented before Him as an offering that is a sweet smelling savor and well pleasing to God.
The Psalmist affirms these words of Christ above:
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near [or “drawest,” YLT], to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! (Psm. 65:4, ESV)And it is even as the Lord has said of Paul:
…this man [Paul] is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15, Douay-Rheims Bible).The “election” mentioned above is a form of the same Greek word used in Rom. 9:11, and where Paul had no problems in saying even of himself in Gal. 1:15 that he was “set apart from birth,” just like Isaac and Jacob. For Rom. 9:11 says:
Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand.It is all by God's election and grace, from start to finish—even from birth—that He chose us unto salvation! And even before the foundation of the world was this decision to do so actually made! (Eph. 1:4; Rev. 13:8; 17:8). Similar to the election and setting apart of our very own lives by God, God determines in His choice of the tithes, firstfruits, and firstborn that they are all going to be His—and His alone! No questions asked! No ifs, ands, or buts about it! His choice (His election) in these matters has settled it once and for all.
Paul anticipated the question that naturally arises from the carnal and natural reasoning mind with regards to all of this: “What shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’ It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy” (Rom. 9:14-16). Similar to the typological offerings of the tithes, firstfruits, and firstborn, we are likewise chosen to be, spiritually speaking, the Lord's tithes, firstfruits, and firstborn by His Divine choice and prerogative. So God says to us, “Who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the Potter have the right?” (vv. 20-21). As potters with our own vessels, don’t we believe that we have "the right" to do with our own vessels that which we choose to do with them? There is no escaping the analogy here, God in similar fashion decides what to do, or not to do, with His own vessels that He has created and formed for Himself from clay. Our fickle emotions and reasonings about all of this do not even come into the equation here, just as we wouldn’t expect anyone to infringe upon our rights as a potter as well! Like us, God’s choice in the matter is based entirely upon His own prerogative; not on the whims, wishes and misgivings of others of what they feel is right or not right, what is just or unjust.
The blessed doctrine of “election” rings loud and clear through and through with regards to these three types. So let's tread cautiously with much fear and trepidation, as we venture down this path that has been mostly left untouched and an unknown mystery for many, but nevertheless is a truth that is clearly to be seen and brought forth out of God’s holy Word.
It isn’t until we realize that all of these Old Testament ceremonies of the tithe, firstfruits and firstborn are no longer things that we are to observe and do, but are something that we have actually become, that we will not in any way, shape, manner or form begin to fully appreciate the truths that are being conveyed to us here. And except for the offering up of the firstborn, for those who do not comprehend the spiritual significance behind the offering up of the tithes and firstfruits, all they are to these individuals are offerings that are still to be commanded and literally observed. And for such individuals who continue their literal observation, the apostles describe such practices as being “carnal” (Heb. 7:16; 9:10), “worldly” (Col. 2:8, 20, KJV), and religious ordinances and exercises that somehow still appeal to some in order to be pleasing to God. But as Paul puts it: “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” (Col. 2:23). They are the “weak and beggarly elements” (Gal. 4:9) that some believers have succumbed to, not embracing the body from which these “shadows” were cast. And it is a sign of “immaturity,” not of maturity; of a “weak” brother, and not of one who is strong in the faith! (cp. Heb. 5:11-14; 6:1; Rom. 14:1-3). So, whatever else these offerings might indicate to such people on a spiritual level, for them it is only secondary and of little consequence and importance to their actual practice of maintaining their literal observance.
This is a sad commentary, to say the least. But the truth that is to be realized, if one truly desires to be set free from such legalisms, is to begin to understand these things as not something that we are still to literally practice, but something that we have in all practicality become! In Christ, we have actually become the spiritual realities of all of these types and shadows. We are His holy “agrarian” tithe—His “portion” and His “allotted inheritance.” As James says, we are "a kind of firstfruits of all His creatures" (cf. Jam. 1:18). And we have all been given “firstborn” rights as sons of God by way of being in the “Firstborn” Son of God himself, Jesus Christ! (cp. Heb. 12:23). Praise be to God, for this unspeakable gift of mercy and grace to us!
It has now been many years since my wife and I last paid tithes to a local church. At that time, I swam against the overwhelming tide of those who preached and taught otherwise. I vehemently defended the tithe. To not do so was considered almost tantamount to one denying the faith. To abandon tithing, one could no longer exult in the praise of men, that wonderful recognition that comes from the Church leadership and others when they know that you are one of their finest tithers. And they do so by parading you in front of the congregation, by having you stand up, or by having you raise your hands so all the other members can feel guilty for not having done the same. With such recognition comes great pride in yourself, along with positions of authority. But to be honest—such individuals have already received their reward! (Mat. 6:1-4). Truly, like most, I had a zeal to tithe; but it was a zeal that wasn't according to knowledge.
So one day my wife and I took a gigantic leap of faith—one of the most seemingly death-defying leaps of faith that we had ever taken—and actually “proving” the Lord that what He had said unto Israel through Malachi the prophet, was indeed not what He is commanding of His Church to do today; and this has indeed turned out, and “proven” to be many times over, just the case. I can honestly say that we have been blessed beyond measure, press down, shaken together and running over with God’s abundant blessings. We are no less blessed today, having not tithed, than we were when we were faithfully tithing. And I don’t mean tithing just a few dollars a year, but several thousand dollars a year—year after year after year!
Today, we truly have enough, and even more than enough! Not that we weren’t blessed back then, but we have not seen any diminishing or lack of God’s blessing over our lives since that time—but actually an increase! Truly, the devourer has not devoured our crops. God has rained on us bountifully since then over the years—year after year after year. Truly, we are not under the “curse” of the law of Moses for not tithing! That law—with its “curse” for disobedience—was for natural Israel, and for natural Israel alone! We really do not know what freedom is until we live in the freedoms for which Christ has truly made us free from! Like the Sabbath, firstfruits, and many other Old Testament ceremonial laws, we no longer have to observe the literal ceremony of the tithe—we are God’s tithe! We no longer offer the firstfruits and our firstborn—we are them! And we no longer observe the outward literal ceremony of the Sabbath—for that rest is now realized in Christ where we have ceased from our own works and have now entered into His rest for us. So, with that said, let us go on to perfection!
Illustrations From the Past
Now the epistle to the Hebrews declares:
They [the priests] serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain” (Heb. 8:5, NLT).Likewise, Colossians affirms:
Now even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service, and its sanctuary, a sanctuary of this world. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the first, wherein were the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the Holy place. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holy of holies; having a golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was a golden pot holding the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy-seat; of which things we cannot now speak severally….which is a parable [Grk. parabole] for the time now present; according to which are offered both gifts and sacrifices that cannot, as touching the conscience, make the worshipper perfect, being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation….It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:…For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things [or “not the realities,” NIV]. (Heb. 9:1-5, 9-10, 23-24; 10:1a, ERV).
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body [i.e., the substance] is Christ’s (Col. 2:17, ERV).God’s Word Translation says: “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body [that casts the shadow] belongs to Christ.” (brackets theirs)
The question naturally arises: “What does all of this above have to do with the typology of the tithe, firstfruits, and firstborn? The answer, quite honestly, is: “Volumes!” The stark reality is that what the book of Hebrews really reveals to us is that everything that pertained, or had to do within or around the Tabernacle of Moses, was indeed a “parable” for the time now present—EVERYTHING! Somehow and in someway every offering, every sacrifice, every ceremony, every building and institution, was a "story" pointing to some type of spiritual truth and reality that is to understood with regards to Christ and His Church. Not just about Christ, mind you, but about Christ and His Church. For it is with regards to the temple structure of old that even Peter says, “And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God” (1Pet. 1:5, NLT). And Paul likewise affirms: “Consequently, you are…members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself as the Chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).
The tabernacle, temple, ceremonies and sacrifices were all about the offerings and the offerers; about the sacrificial representative (Christ), and those being represented by Him; nothing more, and nothing less! All the types and shadows were all about the Father’s love for His children, and many of them at that! Everything worked to that end, and to that end alone! And now that “the reality,” and the “body” which cast those “shadows” is here, all of those “copies” of our now present heavenly and spiritual realities have disappeared—never to repeated again! NEVER! Anyone who teaches and says otherwise is teaching you false doctrine and is a false prophet and teacher! Such self-proclaimed teachers and prophets have “twisted” the Scriptures to say what God is no longer saying. And He has proven this to be true for almost 2,000 years now. Such things are now “finished,” and will no longer be allowed by God to be rebuilt again. And to make it obligatory to rebuild what Christ has destroyed is to deem ourselves, in the words of Paul, “transgressors” (Gal. 2:18). In other words, by our actions of acting like Jews, rather than like Christians, and keeping many of those Old Testament ceremonies and ordinances, we are basically saying we are transgressing God's Law for not doing so. That is what Peter was doing by disassociating himself from those Gentiles while eating. He was declaring himself to be a "transgressor" for his non-compliance, the very thing that we are no longer obligated to do. We are free from all of those laws with their curses, and that includes the law of the tithe, firstfruits and firstborn with also their attending curses for disobedience. This is God’s final Word on the matter: Who can build, unless the Lord builds the house? As even the Psalmist proclaimed, “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (127:1). God’s Word Translation says, “If the LORD does not build the house, it is useless for the builders to work on it.” And The Bible in Basic English reads: “If the Lord is not helping the builders, then the building of a house is to no purpose.” Job likewise affirmed, “Truly, there is no building up of what is [or has been] pulled down by Him; when a man is shut up by Him, no one may let him loose” (12:14, BBE). Simply put, those Old Testament institutions are never to be reinstated again! God rent the veil of that old carnal temple, and He has no further interest in repairing it! That former “house,” with all of its literal attending sacrifices (including the tithes, firstfruits, and firstborn), has been “abandoned” (Mat. 23:38, ISV) by Christ once-and-for-all for the true and spiritual realities that are realized in Him.
History Lessons From the Past
When God told Israel through the prophet Jeremiah that they were to be taken captive for 70 years by the Babylonians, and that desolations would overtake the city, there were those who stubbornly and arrogantly refused to believe it, and who were eventually killed (Jer. 27)! The “time to build” or “hold the fort” so-to-speak, had come to an end. For the time then being, it was to be “the Alamo’s” last stand. Similarly, the “time to build” such things in our day has “come to an end,” only this time it is for good! And any who try to build it will only be met with further and continued resistance. All history, since Jerusalem’s fall in 70 AD, has attested to this fact.
In 66 A.D., after the Roman procurator Florus provoked the Jews through a variety of activities that ranged from stealing silver from the Temple, to desecrating the vestments of the High Priest, the Jewish Zealots back in those days started a revolt. The Jews were initially met with success, routing the Roman armies in Jerusalem; but the Romans returned with a vengeance and with a larger force. The Jews had hoped to hold off the Romans in a fortified Jerusalem, but there began to be a domestic battle within in which the Zealots murdered all Jewish leaders who refused to go along with their rebellion. The Romans laid siege to the city provoking a widespread famine, and in the year 70 A.D. they overwhelmed the remaining defenders and utterly destroyed the Second Temple which had just been completed. Some of the Zealots escaped, and made their last stand at what we now know today as, "Masada."
Similarly, another rebellion arose in 132 A.D., this time under the leadership of Simeon Bar-Kokhba. It took nearly three years for the Romans to pacify the rebellion. And when they had finally accomplished it, roughly 600,000 Jews were left dead (including their leader Bar-Kokhba), leaving the area of Judea in utter devastation.
Even the Islamic conquest of Palestine, which began in 633 AD, was the beginning of a 1,300-year span during which more than ten different empires, governments and dynasties were to rule in the Holy Land prior to the British occupation after World War I. In 638 AD, the Jews in Palestine assisted the Muslim forces in defeating the Persians who had reneged on an agreement to protect them and allow them to resettle in Jerusalem. And as a reward for their assistance, the Muslims permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem and to guard the Temple Mount. Muslim rights on the Temple Mount, the site of the present-day Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque, have not been infringed upon to this day; and the holy places are now under the supervision of the Muslim Waqf (or trust).
The next important phase in the history of Jerusalem, was the conquest of the Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Turkish sultan at that time became responsible for Jerusalem. The Holy Land was important to the Turks only as a source of revenue; and consequently, like many of their predecessors, they allowed Palestine to languish. They also began to impose oppressive taxes upon the Jews.
Neglect and oppression gradually took their toll on the Jewish community, and the population declined to a total of no more than 7,000 by the end of the seventeenth century. It wasn’t until another fledgling Zionist movement out of Russia, that was formed by the converted Turkic Khazars to Judaism in Eastern Europe (and that motivated other Jews, in name only, to return to Palestine), that the first modern Jewish settlement was established in Petah Tikvah in 1878, about 40 miles northwest of Jerusalem and several miles east of Tel Aviv. From this small fledgling group of converted Turkic Khazars to Judaism is what is now known today as modern day Israel. Clearly, they are not anything like the Israel of the past. There are no genealogical records and no Jews of pure-blood descent—with the bulk of the nation being made up of either Ashkenazim (Khazars) or Sephardim (Spanish-mixed) Jews. And the 1973 Encyclopedia Britannica has even gone on record to say with regards to the Jews as a race: “The Jews as a Race: The findings of physical anthropology show that, contrary to popular view, there is no Jewish race” (vol 12, p. 1054).
Although the Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, Israel, for now, has left the Mount under the control of Muslim religious authorities. And rest assured, the Jews will not be allowed by the Muslims to go any further with this Mount for the preservation of their own mosque at the Dome of the Rock—and, this time, neither will God, as He has already clearly demonstrated with the coming of His true temple not made with men's hands! And whatever God may be sovereignly allowing to transpire today in Palestine, it is not for the purpose of rebuilding literal stone temples or reinstating the Levitical priesthood with all of the attending sacrifices. If the Jews attempt to do so again, they will only be met with even further resistance. And what has been “initially met with success,” as with those Jews mentioned above in 66 AD, will in the end only be met with a “larger force” and with greater “vengeance” from the entire Muslim community—which is seen even to this day. It is a “vengeance” no less from God that their house would be left “abandoned,” just as it was predicted upon the ancient kingdoms of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Grecians and the Romans who were found "wanting," only to become like "chaff on a threshing floor which the the wind drives away without leaving a trace" (Dan. 3:35) And the Rock (Christ) that smote that image, "has become a great mountain that now fills the whole earth" (ibid). And while the nations or countries of Greece, Rome, and Israel still remain to this day only in name, their people as such have been swept away without leaving a trace. Their former glory has been removed from them, never to be realized again. And as noted earlier, there are no longer any so-called "Jews" today who are of pure-blood; they are a mixed-breed. When God said of these former nations that He would "not leave a trace," clearly He meant that they would no longer be the people that they formerly were. Israel's former glory-days as a theocracy under God are over with; and their genealogies have been "left without a trace" by Divine design.
Those today who do not have a healthy biblical view of God’s sovereign control over all of this, will only see such resistance by the Muslim community as a reason for others today to also resist with just as much vigor and force, fighting back even more so. But in the end, such people will only be met with “further” desolations from God. It is not “the time to build,” but to tear down that which is built. God will see to it that the words of His greater Prophet, Christ, will remain fulfilled: “Your house is left unto you abandoned” (lit. trans.). The days of natural Israel’s nationhood as in days gone by are, to put it mildly in the words of Christ: “Finished!” Such a plan and purpose of God is never to rise again. And since God is both the architect and builder of such things to begin with regards to the Tabernacle of Moses and The Temple of Solomon, the Jews cannot build what God has now destroyed—indeed "abandoned"! They no longer have the full-backing and support of His government. Many people don’t bother to think about all of this too deeply when contemplating all of these things, that the Jews were only allowed to build the natural, physical Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon in the past because it was God’s will back then for them to do so. But it is now Christ’s body and temple made without hands that God is building, and who is the very image from which those “shadows” were cast; for “in Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph. 2:21). But so much for history lessons. Let us now move on to what God wants to say to us with regards to these marvelous ceremonies of the tithe, firstfruits, and firstborn!
The Necessity for the “Copies”
Now the author of Hebrews has said that these “copies” were all a “parable.” So, what is a “parable” anyway? When God (or Jesus) uses them with regards to the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon, with all their attending sacrifices and ceremonies, they are natural illustrations (or stories) that are used to convey a spiritual reality or truth. Many of the different Bible translations translate this Greek word for “parable“ here, with the words: “symbol,” “figure,” “example,” “image,” or “simile.” And there is no getting around the fact that all of this served as an “illustration,” or “parable,” right down to the very tent pegs and ropes that were used to “anchor” the tent of meeting so that it would not be driven with the winds, or fall down, even as Christ is also said in Hebrews to be an anchor to our souls, making us both firm and secure (Heb. 6:19). And God reminds us of such ideas that are to be understood in this Old Testament type, when Isaiah also declares:
Look upon Zion, the city of our festivals; your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful abode, a tent that will not be moved; its stakes will never be pulled up, nor any of its ropes broken (33:20).When one begins to start reading in the Scriptures about “people” being the Lord’s “portion” and “inheritance” (which we will come to see in just a moment), what Old Testament ceremony should immediately come to mind that illustrates something becoming someone’s “allotted portion” or “inheritance” instead of land? It is that which the Lord said would be the Levites holy “portion” or “inheritance”—which was His tithe! And which is now a spiritual tithe! Yes, that’s right, a “spiritual” tithe! And I say “spiritual,” because that is what all of these things typified, something “spiritual.” And after now having read all of the above, wouldn't you have to agree? They were literally observed back then, only to be “spiritually” discerned and applied today. Paul no less did this with the manna, the rock that the water came out of, and even the water itself: “They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (1Cor. 10:3-4). Jesus and His apostles were not afraid to use such wordplays with regards to these literal objects and events of the past. They did it over and over again (cp. Jhn. 16:26; Rom. 12:1; 1Cor. 2:13; Gal. 4:24; 1Pet. 2:5; Rev. 5:8b; 11:8; 19:8, et al). And while not every Old Testament type and shadow is interpreted for us in every detail by the New Testament authors, there are enough examples given to us by them to lay a sold foundation, establish a biblical precedent, and even provide for us a springboard for understanding and interpreting most, if not all of, the other types and shadows. The “tithe” is no exception! As we have seen above, even the “tent,” “stakes,” and “ropes” of the tabernacle of Moses had spiritual meaning for us, as depicted above by Isaiah the prophet. And it is through a further study of the law and the Old Testament prophets that we begin to have a picture formed for us on how we are to understand the spiritual meaning behind the tithe. As we can readily see, there isn’t anything specifically said to us about stakes or ropes in the New Testament, but a "spiritual" understanding and meaning of these things can no less be ascertained by a further reading and contemplation of what the law and the prophets have to say to us. It's called: comparing Scripture with Scripture. Paul said that they are, "Words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words," and that, "the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are FOOLISHNESS to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1Cor. 2:13-14). Notice that Paul says they are "spiritually" discerned and not "naturally" discerned." A "natural" thinking and reasoning person will just not understand any of this. They will always come away thinking things in a natural sense, rather than in a spiritual sense. For example, if I were to tell you that unless you eat my body and drink my blood you cannot have any fellowship with me, what would you "naturally" think? This is the dilemma that many of us are facing today when reading God's Word, we are more earthly minded than spiritually minded about things. A lot of these things are plainly explained to us by God, but more often than not, they aren't. But it is by having our minds "exercised" to discern things spiritually that we truly begin to see things in a way that we never saw them before. The offerings of the firstborn and firstfruits have been "plainly" explained to us in the New Testament, but it is the offering of the tithe that most of us have been left befuddled and dumbfounded about, not really "seeing" what this offering is truly all about. And, "naturally," most of us have just thought that of it as something that is still to be literally observed and practiced today. But, Oh contraire!
Now, Num. 18:20-21, 24, 26, and 28-29 reads:
The Lord said to Aaron, “You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites. I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting....I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them: “They will have no inheritance among the Israelites”....Speak to the Levites and say to them: “When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering. In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you” (Num. 18:20-21, 24, 26, 28-29; cp. Deut. 26:13-14).As we can very well see, along with the Lord himself being the Levites “portion” and “inheritance,” the agrarian “tithe” from the agriculture of the field (an important detail to note here) was also allotted to them as their “portion” and “inheritance.” And we will see in a moment, that we also are the Lord’s holy “agrarian tithe,” “portion” and “inheritance” from out of “the field” (or the world), in addition to also being called “His firstfruits” and “His firstborn.” Truly, these truths are a marvel to behold!
Even the name “Israel,” the “twelve tribes,” “Jerusalem,” “Zion,” the “temple,” the “holy mountain,” etc., are all applied to Christ and His Church in the New Testament. Nothing is “sacred,” so-to-speak, in which it did not give way and apply in some way, shape, manner or form to the spiritual realities that are to be found in our Redeemer and in His Church! Even the fact that Paul saw an elect community of spiritual Israelites within that natural community of Israelites in Romans 9:6, should speak volumes to us about such a “spiritual” understanding of these things, as well as in the fact that Paul saw the antitypical New Jerusalem that is born from above in the type or figure of the natural Jerusalem that is of the earth and now in bondage with her children (Gal. 4:24-31). And this wasn't just some “private interpretation” or revelation of Paul's either. And if Paul hadn't said any of this, we would no doubt have those in the Church today who would say of us that such an idea is absolutely fallacious, and even accuse us of "spiritualizing" things. But all such understanding was deeply rooted and embedded in the wording and phraseology of the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. And Jesus had got His disciples thinking in ways that they had never thought of before.
As I said before, all of the typologies in the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon are very striking indeed in depicting all the spiritual realities that are to be found in Christ and in His spiritual people called “Israel,”[1] the Church (His “ekklesia” or “called-out ones”), made up of both Jews and Gentiles. And the bloodless sacrifices and offerings, that had to do specifically with such an ideology of God’s chosen people that were to be set apart as holy specifically by Him as His inheritance and possession, were those of the tithes, the firstfruits, and the firstborn. Typically speaking, such “portions” denoted as strictly belonging to to the Lord, are first illustrated or alluded to for us in these Mosaic ceremonial rites; and not too soon thereafter they begin to resurface as ideas and concepts with regards to God’s “people” in the book of Exodus, in Isaiah, and in Jeremiah. Even the “firstlings” of Abel, the “burnt offerings” of Noah, Job, and Abraham—as well as the “circumcision” of Abraham—all served as illustrations in seed form for the time then present, though at the time most of them may not have fully realized what they were typifying. And in Gal. 4:21-31, Paul goes so far as to demonstrate for us how that the lives of Sarah and Hagar even served as an allegory (or a figure) of the spiritual realities that were to come in both natural Jerusalem of the earth (which is akin to natural Israel) and spiritual Jerusalem from above (which is akin to spiritual Israel made up of all "children of promise" from both Jews and Gentiles in Rom. 9:8 and Gal. 4:28). And I don't think any of us could have "seen" that one coming, if not for the personal revelation given to Paul from the Lord.
Now, in the book of Exodus, God for the very first time likens Israel to His “firstborn”:
Then say to Pharaoh, “This is what the LORD says: Israel is My firstborn son” (Ex. 4:22).In Isaiah, God again for the first time denotes a remnant of His “people” as a “tenth” (or a “tithe”):
But a tenth part shall still be therein, and it shall return and be eaten; as the terebinth and as the oak whose trunk [remaineth] after the felling: the holy seed shall be the trunk [or stump] thereof (Isa. 6:13, Darby Bible Trans.; second words in brackets mine).[2]Similarly, in Jeremiah, God for the first time likens Israel to His “firstfruits”:
Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the LORD (2:3, ESV).And so, not only was natural Israel’s name carried over into the New Testament and spiritualized by Paul as an “Israel within Israel,” made up of both Jews and Gentiles, but so also were the analogies of the “firstfruits” and “firstborn” carried over into the New Testament and applied to this same assembly (Rom. 16:5; 1Cor. 16:15; Ja. 1:18; Heb. 12:23). Therefore, it should only stand to reason that even the concept of the “tenth” or the “tithe” when first used by God as depicting a “portion” and “inheritance,” and even a “people” from Israel in Isaiah above, should similarly be carried over to be understood of His “holy portion” and “inheritance” in the New Testament from out of the “stump” or “root of Jesse” which is Christ.
This idea of God’s holy and elect people being the Lord’s holy "tithe," "portion," and "inheritance" (as similarly noted for the Levites), just naturally and logically follows. As with the Levitical priesthood, the Lord’s own personal inheritance is not to be physical land, but the “holy tithe” from or of the land. As the “firstfruits” and “tithe” of the fields were presented to the Old Testament priests, so too the “firstfruits” and the “tithe” from out of all the fields of the world are gathered by us as God’s priests—even as the old song proclaims: “We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.” And to understand all of this as referring to God's chosen people, we first have to understand the concept of such “remnants” or “portions” that belong strictly to God as solely according to His sovereign choice, because this is really what these offerings are illustrating to us.
A Remnant or Portion Belonging to God
The concept of a “remnant” or “portion” belonging to God is no novel idea in the Scriptures. From the very beginning, there was to be a “seed” of the woman that would be at odds with the “seed” of the Serpent; and we see this being played out in history, starting with Seth and Cain. But the concept of a “remnant” set apart as holy to the Lord could not be more clearly explained to us than in the writings of Paul. This is not only seen in the sole call of Abraham from among all the other Gentiles in the world, but it is also clearly portrayed by Paul in the calling and setting aside of Abraham’s son Isaac; and then in Isaac’s son, Jacob. The setting apart of individuals unto the Lord to fulfill His plans and purposes is not a choice that men make, but is at the sole discretion and choice of God to set apart those whom He has deemed to be set apart as “holy” for Himself. No matter how much Abraham and Sarah tried to get in the way and establish their own seed, God overruled all of that to make sure that “the holy seed” that was to be His would be set apart according to His word, and His "word of promise" alone, even to the point of bringing Abraham and Sarah to the place of being so old and impotent that they were not even able to produce a child of their own initiative anymore. As such, Isaac became a child “of promise” based solely upon the prerogative of God, and not on the prerogative of man. Like those Old Testament offerings of the tithes, firstfruits, and firstborn, man has no say-so in the matter of being chosen and separated by God unto Himself. And in light of this fact, we can better appreciate and understand the words of Paul concerning our own election by God: “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise” (4:28). This is also why Paul could say in Gal. 1:15, “God who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace…” And again, Jeremiah’s, Christ’s, and even John the Baptist’s own births are a testament to this fact. Of a truth, it is in fact the testimony of all of us who are called by God and who were written in His book of life even before the foundation of the world (cp. Rev. 17:8; 21:27). But many of God’s saints just don’t realize this about themselves yet. The choice that all of us should one day be set apart and believe in God was made by God long before any of us we were ever born, and as said before, even before the very foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4; Rev. 17:8). Even the faith to believe is God's gift to us (Eph. 2:8; Php. 1:29; Heb. 12:2; 2Pet. 1:1; 1Jhn. 5:1[3]). So when God says in the Old Testament that the tithes, the firstfruits, and the firstborn all belonged to Him with no one having any say-so in the matter, this is exactly what He is illustrating to us in all of this. These offerings no less typified that we, just like those offerings, are all for Him and for Him alone—according to His choice alone! Oh, how marvelous; oh, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me.
And Paul doesn’t just stop there with Isaac to prove this point. He then moves on to the next child “of promise” in the choice of Jacob over Esau. Paul says, “And not only so; but Rebecca also having conceived by one, even by our father Isaac—for the children being not yet born, neither having done anything good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of Him that calleth, it was said unto her, 'The elder shall serve the younger.' Even as it is written, 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated'….So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that hath mercy” (Rom. 9:10-13), ERV). The apostle John in a similar manner reiterates what Paul says here, when he also says, “which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (Jhn. 1:13, ERV).
Although nations did indeed come from these individuals, clearly, this is not the point that Paul is belaboring over here. Paul had just started out in chapter 8 talking about all of “us” as individuals (v. 31), who in the greater context of Romans from both Jews and Gentiles, God “foreknew” (v. 29) and “elected” (v. 33), and then Paul explains to us what he means by this “foreknowledge” and “election” in God’s "individual" choices of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (and even of Christ Himself, to do what Christ was destined to become and do as Peter says in 1Pet. 1:20, using the same Gk. word for “foreknew” that is correctly translated as such in the NASB). And therefore Paul concludes all of this in Romans chapter eleven, by stating that God has not cast off such people (such “elect” people who are “His people”) whom He, “foreknew” (11:2). Do you see that? It can't be anymore clearer to us. And in verse 4, Paul reiterates this principle of God's sovereign "election" in affirming that even out of natural Jews in the days of Elijah, God said, “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand,” and that, “at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace” (11:5-6). Here, in chapter eleven, Paul doesn't just have in mind those whom God elects out of natural Jews to the exclusion of the Gentiles; in the greater context of these chapters, and in all of Paul’s epistles (including all those of the other apostles), it is all about those who are “children of promise” just like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And it is Peter who also affirms that we, the Church, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, are all a “chosen [lit., elect] offspring” (1Pet. 2:9), which is the adjectival form of the same Greek noun used above in Rom. 9:11 for the “election” of Isaac and Jacob. In Acts 9:15, the noun is again used concerning God’s election of Paul, where God says, “this man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My name” (Douay-Rheims Bible). If this isn’t a good illustration of who elects (or chooses) who, then I don’t know what is! And, clearly, it is all of us whom God chooses, not just Israel—and not even Israel as a nation here. In Rom. 11:5, Paul prefaces this statement of his about a “remnant chosen by grace,” with the words “even so” (Grk., kai outos), which means, “in this manner” or “in this way,” just as it is used in verses 26, 31 and 6:11. Paul is saying that the present or current “remnant” of Jews that God is saving in our day, are saved in the same manner that “the remnant” in the past was always saved, with Paul using those in Elijah’s day as an example of God reserving unto Himself 7,000 from among those Jews. And it is all by God’s “choice,” “grace,” “mercy,” “election,” “love,” and “foreknowledge”; “not of works” (Rom. 9:12) and “not…of man’s desire, will, or effort” (v. 16); and not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles as previously stated in Paul’s entire discourse. And Paul also adds that we have all been initially given over to disobedience, in order that God might have mercy upon all of us whom He has decided to have mercy upon (Rom. 11:30-32), so that none of us will have any reason to boast in ourselves.
In backing up a little bit before Romans chapter 11, Paul reiterates this concept of a “remnant” from out of both Jews and Gentiles, by saying first of the Gentiles:
As he [God] says in Hosea: “I will call them ‘My people’ who are not My people; and I will call her ‘My loved one’ who is not My loved one,” and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’” Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.” It is just as Isaiah said previously: “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah” (Rom. 9:25-29).If we are honest with the Scripture here, we can very well see that Paul isn’t just talking about saved “Jews” here in chapter nine; and he isn’t even just talking about natural Israelites, per se, either. It is all about God’s elect remnant (or "children of promise") from out of both Jews and Gentiles whom God “foreknew” before the foundation of the world. And we are not talking here about the false view of God’s "foreknowledge" being understood here as just “foresight” (as something pagan palm readers, fortune tellers, star gazers, and prognosticators do). For clearly, the same Greek word used here for “foreknew” (as mentioned earlier in 1Pet. 1:20 of Christ being "foreknown" before the creation of the world), can only be understood of God having “foreknown” before the foundation of the world what He would indeed do through the Son, and not just something he “foresaw” Him doing in the future. For Christ was right there with the Father before the creation of the world, planning the redemption of mankind with the Father before the need ever arose. Rev. 13:8 likewise says that Christ “was slain before the foundation of the world.” A proper biblical understanding of the "foreknowledge" of God here in Romans, is seen in the words of God through Isaiah: “The former things I declared of old; they went out from My mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass” (48:3, ESV). Again, the Lord announces, “Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—a leader from a distant land to come and do My bidding. I have said what I would do, and I will do it” (46:10-11, NLT).
Even with regards to Christ being spit on, lied about, beaten, slapped, scourged, and crucified by Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Gentile soldiers, and the people of Israel, Peter says, “they did what Your power and will decided beforehand should happen” (Acts 4:28). It was not just what God “foresaw” would happen. Like Isaiah had said, what God plans, that He acts upon to personally fulfill right down to the very actions of those who are the main characters in His plans (see Arthur Pink's, The Sovereignty of God, for further insight into in all of this.
The Lord describes all of this mentioned above very clearly for us in the words of Isaiah:
Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of My anger, in whose hand is the club of My wrath! I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger Me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. But this is not what he intends, this is not what he has in mind; his purpose is to destroy, to put an end to many nations (vv. 5-7).The Scriptures are replete with such examples of this biblical “foreknowledge” of God. What God plans in the past, He acts upon to fulfill in the future. This is the Sovereign, omnipotent God of the Bible; not the impotent man-made God of one’s own carnal imaginations.
Now before moving on, one more final thought to illustrate this idea of a “remnant” or “portion” being set apart by God, is found in the words of Ezekiel:
Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair. When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair with fire inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword. But take a few strands of hair and tuck them away in the folds of your garment. Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to the whole house of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says….A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword….Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the Lord. But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations. Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them (5:1-5, 12; 6:7-10).This is no different than what God told Elijah, “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Some of these “few strands of hair” that God “spared” and set apart as holy for Himself by His grace and mercy in Ezekiel’s day, are those whom He “reserves” for Himself in both Elijah’s day, and even “at the present time,” as Paul has also so succinctly pointed out to us.
The passage in Isaiah 6:13 is quite remarkable in linking the concept of “the tithe” with a remnant of people. There is no mistaking God’s usage of the term here, although in this particular incident the “tithe” is most likely being represented here as a portion who were left in Israel after the Babylonian captivity, and whom God refines to bring forth even a smaller remnant out of, similar to the analogy above of the few strands of hair that were to remain in the folds of Ezekiel’s garment. Amidst the desolation from the Babylonians, a very small portion of the people of Israel were actually preserved by God from being destroyed. In 2Ki. 24:14 and 25:12, we are told that “the captain of the guard [of the Babylonians] left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen” (NAS). This remnant, or we could say, “a tenth,” deserted to Egypt, “for they were afraid of the Chaldeans” (25:26). Part of this remnant was also scattered to Moab, Edom, and among the Ammonites (Jer. 40:2; 42). After this flight to Egypt, they return to Judea, together with those who were scattered in Moab and the nearby regions (40:11-12). This remnant is what Isaiah refers to in the Darby Bible Translation of Isa. 6:13 with the words: “it shall return”; and they will “be eaten” or “laid waste” (NIV), with this most likely meaning that this remnant shall go through more judgments and punishments due to continued disobedience (Jer. 43:1-13) and thus be felled like a great oak tree. The KJV refers to leaves being cast, but according to Barnes Notes, this is not in the original and the idea seems to be that of a tree which has been cut down. But though cut down, there would still be some life remaining in its stump, or root; and that from this “stump,” or “root,” the “holy seed” through new shoots and branches would come forth. Could this be a picture of the tenth given to the Levites, who in turn were to give a tenth to Aaron and his sons? And what is also interesting about the tithe given to the Levites, in Lev. 27:33, is that the people were not to pick out the good from the bad, whereas in the tithe given to Aaron and his sons the Levites were to “present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you” (Num. 18:29). This analogy is remarkably similar to Isaiah’s tithe and the holy seed who were to come from it; and is also similar to the few strands of hair that were to remain in the folds of Ezekiel’s garment. God always seems to do the greatest things with the least amount. It is a concept to be repeated over and over again in the Bible.
God again describes this idea of one-tenth of the Israelites remaining in the land in Amos 5:3: “For thus says the Lord GOD: 'The city that went out a thousand shall have a hundred left, and that which went out a hundred shall have ten left to the house of Israel.'” (ESV). We should not expect this to have been fulfilled literally to-the-letter, with exactly 100 out of 1,000 left or 10 out of 100 left. The Lord is again using language that He is so familiar with to describe a portion or remnant of people from the rest. Some are spared, while most are not. And the same holds true for Christ's sheep in all the world, as opposed to all the goats. Again, it is worth repeating from Isaiah mentioned earlier, "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality”; for “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah” (Isaiah 10:22-23 and 1:9).
Albert Barnes notes here on Amos 5:3 above: "Out of all that multitude, one tithe alone was to be preserved, 'dedicated to God,' that remnant which God always promised to reserve." (Barne's Notes). And John Calvin likewise remarks: "The Prophet now expresses more clearly what he had before said, — that the kingdom would perish and yet so that the Lord would preserve some remnants….We hence see that some hope of mercy was given to God's chosen people, and that in the meantime destruction was denounced on the whole nation. We have already seen that their wickedness was past hope; it was therefore necessary to announce to them the sentence of final ruin; but it was so done, as not to drive to despair the faithful few, who remained hid among the multitude." (Calvin's Commentaries).
You know the saying, “Four months between planting and harvest.” But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, “One plants and another harvests.” And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest. (NLT)Five times in the literal Greek Interlinear, in verses 35-38, Jesus mentions the “reaper” or “harvester,” using the Greek word formed from the stem “therizo,” which simply means: “to reap or harvest.” Once, in v. 36, He uses the Greek phrase “sunagei karpown,” translated in the NLT: “the fruit they harvest,” or literally, “he gathers fruit.” And, clearly, the “fruit” that is being “gathered” here are "people" for Christ, and for which the New Living Translation above has captured the sense of. Similarly this harvest is depicted elsewhere, as we all fully know, as the “wheat” harvest in Mat. 13:24ff.
Paul has likewise said, “I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest (Gk., karpown, lit., “fruit”) among you, as well as among the rest of the Gentiles” (Rom. 1:13, ESV). And in Php. 1:22, Paul again says, “But if to live in the flesh—if this shall bring fruit [Gk., karpown] from my work, then what I shall choose I know not” (ASV). Here Paul seems to clearly have in mind a harvest of converts to Christ, and not just to see the fruit of the Spirit manifested in a believer's life, as most commentators seem to affirm of these passages.
So in all of these verses above, what else could Jesus and His apostles be referring to other than to all of those Old Testament types and shadows concerning the harvesting of the firstfruits and the tithes from the fields? There is nothing else left in the Old Testament for them to draw their analogies from! All of the feasts, festivals, offerings and holy days were prophetic illustrations (or parables) “for the time then present” for us today. But now that the body which cast those shadows has arrived, there is no longer any need for those shadows to be observed; they have vanished, being dispelled in the light of His glory and grace concerning Christ and His chosen people, or sheep. (Click here for part 2)
Footnotes:
[1] See my article: Jesus and His People are Israel for more on this spiritual concept and idea.
[2] There are a variety of translations with regards to the translation of some of the particulars of this verse, and the Amplified Bible incorporates them all in its translation, which reads: "And though a tenth [of the people] remain in the land, it will be for their destruction [eaten up and burned] like a terebinth tree or like an oak whose stump and substance remain when they are felled or have cast their leaves. The holy seed [the elect remnant] is the stump and substance [of Israel]." No one doubts that the "tenth" and the "stump" ("trunk" or "substance" in some translations) are a remnant of God's people from the Israelites. Reformed baptist pastor John Gill pretty much speaks for the rest, when he says of this verse in Isaiah: "the words are to be understood of a few persons, a remnant, according to the election of grace, that should be called, and saved amidst all the blindness, darkness, and destruction that should come upon that people; and may be illustrated by the words of the apostle in Romans 11:5; and these chosen, called, and saved ones, are the 'tenth,' that is, the Lord's tenth, as the words may be rendered. To this sense the Targum agrees, 'and there shall be left in it righteous persons, one out of ten.'" (Gill's Bible Exposition). It cannot be said of all Israel that they were "the holy seed"; therefore the "holy seed" can be none other, as the Targum says, "righteous persons."
[3] In the Greek, being “born of God” precedes the actual believing that Jesus is the Christ here. The same Greek construction is found also in 2:29, “everyone who does righteousness, has been born of God;” and also in 4:7, “everyone who loves, has been born of God.”
As far as Eph. 2:8 is concerned, Paul says that everything that had to do with our salvation “is the gift of God.” Someone may try to argue that the phrase “this is not from yourselves” refers only to the salvation, and not to the faith. But the Greek demonstrative pronoun touto, “this,” in “this not from yourselves,” and even the phrase “it is the gift of God,” are both in the nominative singular neuter form. And the basic rule of thumb is to look for a singular neuter noun in the immediate context as the antecedent to the demonstrative pronoun “this.” “Faith” is a genitive singular feminine noun; “saved” is a perfect passive participle verb, nominative, plural masculine; and “grace” is a dative singular feminine noun. As one can see, there are no “singular neuter nouns.” In fact, the word “saved” isn’t even a noun, but a verb, so the demonstrative pronoun cannot even by the slightest stretch of the imagination refer to just the word “saved” alone.
Now it is a common ploy for those who do not want to believe that faith also is a gift from God, to point out that since the word “faith” is feminine and “this” is neuter, then this demonstrative pronoun cannot be referring to faith as a gift from God. And yet this same person would have to admit that grace is a gift from God. But this word “grace” is feminine as well, so, if they were to consistently follow through with their same logic and reasoning, they would also have to conclude that grace is no more a gift than faith is. And so as one can very well see, such an argument only refutes itself, backfiring upon themselves. For them to rule out “faith” as a gift from God, they would also have to rule out “grace” as a gift from God, an action that Paul says elsewhere in Scripture is indeed a free gift from God (Rom. 3:24; 4:4; 5:15; 1Cor. 2:12; Eph. 3:7), and so they try to attach “this” to “having been saved.” But as we have seen, this won’t do either, because “saved” is a verb and not a noun.
The noted Greek scholar, A. T. Robertson, says with regarding this verse that “in general” the demonstrative “agrees with its substantive in gender and number,”[a] but then he departs from this rule because his theology will not allow him to believe that our faith to believe is a gift from God, as he also asserts: “Grace is God’s part, faith ours.”[b] So we see here how one cannot trust a Greek expositor entirely just because he is a Greek expositor, but must adhere more closely to the rules of grammar that correctly guide and lead us.
And so then, to what does the demonstrative pronoun “this” refer to? Most likely to faith, since Paul already said we are saved BY GRACE. It would be redundant for Paul to repeat this idea for salvation in the same verse, when he just got through letting us know that being saved is not of ourselves, but indeed by grace.
Another argument presented of what the demonstrative pronoun "this" is referring to is: All of the aforementioned in that verse. The entire phrase can be the antecedent to the pronoun "this." As James White has said: “It is good Greek grammar to use a neuter pronoun to ‘wrap up’ a phrase or a series of thoughts into a single whole.”[c] If this is the case, then Paul left it “neuter” because he didn’t want his statement to refer to only one of these ideas, but to all of them. It includes the whole package: salvation, grace, and faith. It is the entire process of salvation—which includes the faith to believe. As such, all of these things are included as the “the gift of God.” And this would not be the first time in Scripture where faith to believe for salvation (or for anything else for that matter) is seen as something given to us by God (cp. Acts 3:16; Php. 1:29; 2Pet. 1:1; Heb. 12:2). Such an idea of this entire work being “all of God” is affirmed throughout this entire context in chapter 2 of Ephesians. In verse one, we “were dead,” and then we are “made alive” (v. 5). On the heels of this we were “raised up” from that death (v. 6), and in verse 10 we are said to be “God’s workmanship” (lit., God made) after Paul had just said that the whole process was “not by works so that no one can boast” (v. 9). Dead people cannot save themselves, reach out for grace—let alone exercise faith! So where is such boasting? Not here! Even the faith to exercise our several ministries are all said to be by faith (Rom. 12:3-8; 1Cor. 12:6-11). Truly, what do we have that we have not received? We owe our entire being, our natural gifts, our spiritual life, and our entire ministry all to God, and to God alone!
[a] A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research, p. 704.
[b] Word Pictures in the New Testament, vol. 4, p. 525.
[c] White, James R. The Potter’s Freedom. Amityville, NY: Calvary Press, p. 296.
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