Romans 9:1-5
(1) I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
(2) That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
(3) For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
(4) Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
(5) Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
By repetition in positive and negative terms (internally attested by the witness of his own conscience [cf. comments on 2:15] in the presence of the Holy Spirit) Paul affirmed his deep anguish of heart over the rejection of the gospel by the vast majority of Jews. His desire for their salvation was so strong that he was at the point of wishing (imperf. tense, I could wish) that he were cursed and cut off from Christ for his kinsmen, the Israelites.
Paul then listed seven spiritual privileges which belonged to the people of Israel as God’s chosen nation: the adoption as sons (cf. Ex. 4:22), the divine glory (cf. Ex. 16:10; 24:17; 40:34; 1 Kings 8:11), the covenants (Gen. 15:18; 2 Sam. 7:12-16; Jer. 31:31-34), the receiving of the Law (Deut. 5:1-22), the temple worship (latreia, “sacred service,” which may also include service in the tabernacle), and the promises (esp. of the coming Messiah). Also the Israelites were in the line of promise from its beginning in the patriarchs (cf. Matt. 1:1-16; Rom. 1:3) to its fulfillment in the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. This is a clear affirmation of the deity of Messiah. Some take these words as a separate sentence (see niv marg.), but the NIV text seems preferable.
Excerpt from:
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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