Romans 12:1-2 - Present Your Body

CHAPTER 12
12:1-2 - Present your body
12:3-5 - Delusions of Grandeur
12:6-8 - Gifts
12:9-15 - Playing Well With Others
12:16-21 - No Revenge

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1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
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Living and Holy Sacrifice

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V. 1 - “Therefore” - It naturally follows: Based on the vast riches that are ours in Christ... (Rom. 11:33) Based on that all things are from Him, and through Him, and to Him... (Rom. 11:36)

And,

“by the mercies of God” - Everything you are now, everything you will be, are yours because God is merciful. His mercy does not cancel out His judgement, nor His wrath. The penalty of sin is still death (and always will be death). God in His mercy and wisdom has taken that penalty on Himself for you and me. He died for all. We do not have to die the second death. The judgement was executed on Christ Jesus. By His mercy, His righteous judgement is satisfied. He has done for us what we could not.

“Present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice” - Most sacrifices required an animal, that had to be killed and placed on the altar. There was no ‘partial commitment’ on the part of the animal sacrificed. Plus the animal had to be pure and unblemished. The animal did not volunteer.

We are called to volunteer ourselves to Jesus. We are ‘bond-slaves’. Just as the animal sacrificed was to be pure and unblemished, we too are to come to Jesus in the same way. Do not offer your service to Jesus if you have unconfessed sin in your life. John says in his letter, “If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:8-10)  

FORGIVING all our sins, and CLEANSING us of all unrighteousness means we can be holy offerings to Jesus.

“Which is your spiritual service of worship” - Worshipping Jesus is to be in spirit and in truth (See: John 4:23). Presenting yourself is the worship; it is the service. We tend to think of physical activity, Meals on Wheels, mission trips, etc, as service.
Indeed they are. They are manifestations of your faith. The works are meaningless (with respect to salvation and eternity) if you have not believed and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

We are stubborn and stiff-necked people, and seek to be in control of all things in our lives. Our spiritual service of worship is to daily surrender to Jesus.

V. 2 - “do not be conformed to this world” - The opposite of presenting your bodies as living and holy sacrifices. The world is opposed to the ways of the Lord. “because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16) Jesus came to save the world, but the world has rejected Him. The natural state of people, often led and deceived by Satan, is to reject God’s call. “He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize him.” (John 1:10) “Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

One of the reasons God instructed the Israelites to get rid of all the Canaanites was He knew the Jews would be corrupted, polluted, conformed to the evil ways of those nations. In 2nd Corinthians Paul says, “Do not become partners with those who do not believe, for what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship does light have with darkness? And what agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer share in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Cor. 6:14-15) See Note 1 and 2 (below)

“be transformed by the renewing of your mind” - This is not done by dint of effort, your personal effort. The Holy Spirit is in you when you accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The renewing comes by surrendering your will to Him. (See: Titus 3:5,6; John 3:3-8; Ezek. 11:19, 36:26) You cannot cling to the old ways of doing things and expect to experience spiritual renewal. Supposedly, Albert Einstein said, “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” (See note 3 below) We do not find God by living according to the world, but living according to His mercy and Holy Spirit.

“so that you may prove what the will of God is” - We usually think of the word “prove” as testing and verifying the truth of a piece of information or theory. We run tests to see if a theory is valid. We lay out facts and reasons to determine is they are true. The ‘prove’ here is closer to discerning what God’s will is for us. God’s will is true and correct - we are often ignorant of what He has planned for us. We need to find out what He wants for us, and then do it. (See: Phil. 2:12)

The Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us so we can “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” (Col. 1:10) Just as you cannot renew your mind by clinging to your sinful ways, you cannot discern God’s will for your life by practicing worldly ways.

“that which is good and acceptable and perfect” - If God is good, His ways is good for you. If God is perfect, HIs will is perfect for you. Our ‘job’ is to find out what God has planned for us. Talk with Him. Read the Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you.

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Note 1: some think this is warning Christians against marrying non-believers. I am not sure about that.
Note 2: Paul recommends that a believer is not to divorce a non-believer - assuming married before accepting Christ - so the believer might win the spouse to Christ through godly behavior. 
Note 3: several sources attributed this to ‘anonymous’

Romans 11:33-36 - Wisdom, Knowledge, All Things

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!
34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR?
35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN?
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

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Who Knows God’s Mind?

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This reads like a hymn of praise, and could have been used in the early church.

V. 33 - “depths of the riches both of wisdom and knowledge of God!” - Overwhelmed with amazement! God’s way of forgiving our sins, and establishing a relationship with us is beyond imagination. God knows we need to be saved - we cannot work our way to perfection. God knows that if the means of salvation is not provided, there will be people who claim unfairness. They will claim ‘privilege’ or ‘lack of privilege’ as the reason they are not saved - “It’s unfair”! The absolute fairness of God displays His wisdom. Sacrificing Himself in order to save all is amazing! We have all heard of a person sacrificing himself in order to save another person - The United States’ Medal of Honor is often awarded posthumously to such a person. We know of stories - e.g., “Tale of Two Cities” - where a person gives his life for another. None of these save everyone. None of these saves anyone for eternity.

“How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” - How do you argue with God on this? What holes can you punch in HIs wisdom and method of saving us? You don’t like the sacrificial system in the Old Testament? How would you demonstrate mercy? How would you show that forgiveness is not earned, but accepted as a gift? How would you show a build up of pride in people will be inevitable if they work their way into God’s mercy? (You know that people will brag about how they worked and were saved. They shun you because you worked and failed.)

V. 34 - “Who has known the mind of the Lord...” - Quoted from Isa. 40:13ff. We can not understand God and how He thinks, anymore than we can know how the universe began (KNOW absolutely, not theorize based on partial ex post facto observation.) We can see what He has done. We can believe He has done it. We have no rational basis for challenging His plans or His methods. His ways are higher than our ways (Isa. 55:9). We can not understand all He does anymore than a kindergartner understands quantum physics.

V. 35 - “Who has first given to Him...” - Quoted from Job 35:7, 41:11. What have you taught God, for Him to recite back to you, that you might grade and correct His progress in learning? Have you taught Him how to build a planet from nothing? Have you showed Him how to create gravity to hold the moon or satellites in their orbits? Did you teach Him how to work sunlight and chlorophyll in plants? Did you design the reproductive process, and then share it with Him so the world could be populated?

V. 36 - “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” - All things. Enough said.

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Rom 11:25-32 - Israel - for our sake

25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery--so that you will not be wise in your own estimation--that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;
26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."
27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."
28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;
29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,
31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.
32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
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The Calling of God

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V. 25 - “I do not want you... to be uninformed of this mystery” - What mystery? There are a couple of answers that fit. First, that salvation is by God’s grace and mercy through Jesus Christ our Lord. Second, the Gentiles were added to the family tree of God, even as some Jews were being lopped off because of their rebellion.

The mystery is revealed in the last half of this verse - “a partial hardening has happened to Israel...” Because Israel hardened themselves to the message of salvation from God, the way was opened up for us, the Gentiles. Not all of Israel rejected Jesus. Does this mean if the Jews had not rejected Jesus as Messiah, the Gentiles would have been ‘shut out”? No. The Gospel came to the Gentiles in spite of the Jews, rather than directly through them. The promise is the whole world would be blessed - that is, both Jews AND Gentiles.

“so that you will not be wise in your own estimation” - Don’t think that you are better than others - any others - because salvation has come to you.

V. 26-27 - “so all Israel will be saved” - The salvation of the Gentiles through faith - which has come to them because of the recalcitrance of Israel - will also come to the Jews. This does not mean after all of the Gentiles are saved, then all of the Israelites will be saved. In verse 25, above, we see the phrase “until the fullness”, which is also used in Gal. 4:4. The idea is that when God determined the time was right, He sent His Son to save the world. Jesus came to the Jews, being a descendant of David, and now the time is right for the Gentiles to be offered salvation directly. Before Christ came, the salvation path appeared to be through the Jewish faith and practices. Now it is offered to all. Paul is a evangelist called to preach to the Gentiles. (See: Acts 9:15-16, et. al.)

I am not sure that “all Israel” means that every Israelite will be saved. In several places in the NT, it is noted that salvation is offered to all, but only many will actually be saved - a remnant, so to speak. All Israel has the gospel message. The offer of salvation is made clearly to all Jews. All could accept Christ and be saved. In reality, most will not; neither will most Gentiles

The quotation is from Isa. 59:20-21; 29:7. God has promised holiness to His people. He has promised to take away their sins, take away their guilt, take away their shame. All of this is through Jesus Christ our Lord.

V. 28 - “from the standpoint of the gospel” - It all depends how you want to look at it... Because they rebelled against God - in essence became enemies of God - the gospel has come directly to you.

“From the standpoint of God’s choice” - However, God chose Abraham and his descendants for the promise. Their rebellion notwithstanding, God did not, nor does not rescind His promise. (See: Num. 23:19; Deut. 7:5; Josh. 23:14; 2 Sam. 7:25; Acts 7:17; Gal. 3:17, 18)

V. 29 - “for the gifts and the calling” - There is no substantive difference between “gifts” and “calling”. Both are given by the Lord to us, not because we have earned them, but by His grace. Once given, they are not recalled by God. We did not choose God to bless us. (Deut. 30:19; Josh. 24:15) We can choose to accept and give thanks for His gift. (Psa. 65:4; Isa 14:1; John 15:16; Jam. 2:5) God does not withdraw His offer to us, because we reject it. He waits patiently for us to repent and turn to Him.

V. 30 - “you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy” - (See: Col. 1:21-22; Eph. 2:3-4, 12) “But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us... For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:8, 10)

V. 31 - “they also may now be shown mercy.” - Not that Jews were not previously shown mercy. Paul’s hopes the Jews will see Gentiles are receiving mercy and eternal life, and want the same for themselves. The mercy and grace is already there, but is not efficacious because the Jews are stubborn. God does not force us to be blessed.

V. 32 - “God has shut up all in disobedience” - No one can say, “I am not, nor have been, disobedient!” All of us, everyone, fall far short of the glory of God (See: Rom. 3:23). God is sinless perfection, holy and righteous. We most definitely are not. It is a gap we cannot span, cannot cross.

“so that He may show mercy to all.” - Logically, if all are failures then all need mercy. If there was some way for us to earn our way into God’s presence, then there would be some who would do it. Others would not. How would you know if your efforts were sufficient? There is no way to know, until it is too late. When standing in front of God our Father in the final judgement, some would claim, “It’s not fair! I tried really hard! They got lucky breaks I didn’t get! If I had known, I would have tried harder.” There are as many excuses as there are people.

All need God’s mercy and grace - no exceptions. No one can claim they deserve salvation because of their own efforts. Everyone is dead in sin. God’s mercy is offered freely to all - no exceptions. Everyone has the same “lucky break” - Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior has paid the price.

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Rom. 11:22-24 - Kindness and Severity of God

22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?
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God Will Welcome Them Back!

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V. 22 - “Behold then the kindness and severity of God” - It depends on your point of view. If you reject God’s offer of salvation in Jesus, you may think God is being too harsh. If you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and His forgiveness of your sin, you know His kindness and mercy. You’ve received what you do not deserve - eternal life, peace with God, freedom from sin and guilt, and victory over death (you will be with Him forever!). See: “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not see life, but God's wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)

V. 23 - “And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in” - Salvation is offered to the Jews, in spite of their rejection. If they can overcome their pride and disbelief God will save them just as He has done for us. We can only be saved by faith in Jesus. The Jews can only be saved by faith in Jesus.

V. 24 - “ For if you… were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree” - The picture painted here is you Gentiles were ‘wild’, outside the boundaries of the farm or orchard, not bearing edible fruit. God took you wild branches, adding you to His precious tree of life. You now have life eternal. You can know God, be with Him, be friends with Him, be part of His family! If God can do that for you (Note He did do that!) thin of what He will do for the Jews. 

“how much more” - God pruned them from His family. He can graft them back in. Gentiles are not part of His chosen family, and are added at His grace. We are welcomed into the family. The Jews are welcomed back. See: Luke 15:11-32. The parable of the prodigal son fits here. They rejected and then came back. They are lost but are now found. There is much rejoicing for those who were lost are are now saved! There is also rejoicing over those of us who were in the wilderness, “wild branches” as it were, when we have heard the message and come to Christ as Savior! The OT prophets foresaw that Gentiles would be added to God’s’ family.

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Rom 11:16-21 - Cut-off vs. Grafted

16 If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,
18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."
20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;
21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.
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Do Not Be Arrogant!

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V. 16 - “if the root is holy, the branches are too” - Two analogies here: dough and branches. If you take a lump of dough from a batch (“piece”) it will have the same characteristics. When I bake sourdough bread, the levain (a.k.a. sourdough starter) is mixed throughly in the flour and then allowed to bulk ferment. I separate the bulk into two loaves and allow them to proof before baking. Both loaves have all the same characteristics as the main piece of dough. If the starter has gone bad, then the loaves will be bad.

The branches of a grape vine, or an apple tree or olive, or a rose bush are fed from the root. If the root is healthy, the branches can be healthy also. Sometimes hybrid roses are grafted to a more hardy rose root stock. (This may be true for grapes or olives also.) The analogy begins to break down in that the hybrid rose maintains its qualities - the “Betty Boop” or the “April in Paris” grafted roses do not change to the root stock, but are maintained healthy.

V. 17 - “some of the branches were broken off” - Paul is describing a pruning process. One of the ways to get a plant to produce good and plentiful fruit is to cut off non-producing branches. For example, non-determinant tomato plants will grow and grow, producing luxurious foliage. The tomato plant will have better tomatoes if some of these branches are removed so the nutrients are concentrated. God said in Isa. 18:5 He will remove the unproductive branches and tend to the productive branches to bear much fruit.

“you... were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree” - A people, who were not originally His people, will be His people. God will take a branch from a “wild olive” - i.e., Gentiles - and add them to His family tree. We were lost, producing no good fruit. Those who were not His people have been given a new heart, a new nature, and being fed by the Holy root - the power of the Holy Spirit - will be able to produce good fruit.
This is where the analogy doesn’t quite fit - valuable olive, grape or rose branches are grafted to a hardy root stock - whereas we “wild ones” are reborn, given new spirits and new bodies fed by the power of God. We are “partakers of the rich root”. We do not produce good fruit on our own, but only by the grace of God. We are given a new nature, given to us because we accept and believe Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and that new nature receives life from God through the Holy Spirit.  

V. 18 - “do not be arrogant toward the branches” - This reminds me of the first “Star Wars” movie. Luke and Han Solo are shooting at tie fighters, and Luke gets exited because he hit one. Han says, “Don’t get cocky kid!” You might ask, “From where would this arrogance come?” The answer is human pride. The Jews, (especially the Sadducees and Pharisees) were extremely proud of their Jewish heritage - they were ‘clean’ and the Gentile sinners were the ‘unwashed’. Christians are not any better than that. Too often, we get to believing that our salvation makes us better than others - non-beleivers. “Look at me! Look at what I’ve done!” We so easily ‘forget’ that it is by God’s mercy that we have been changed, and that not of ourselves. And if you have been a Christian for a significant period of your life, it is too easy feel superior to the faults of newbies. We chuff through our lips and think, “Well, I never… I am glad I am not like them.” By grace you have been saved, and by grace you grow in Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who works in you to bring your closer in your relationship with the Lord. It is Christ the Lord who makes it possible for me to follow and act in His teachings. 

“the root supports you.” - It is not your doing that brings salvation. It is by God’s grace, and the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He did this, not you. “But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)

V. 19 - “You will say then“ - Continuing with the ‘don’t be arrogant’ theme: you may be tempted to think you are something special because you replaced the Jews. After all, they were rejected and pruned away from the righteous root, and you were added on.

V. 20 - “Quite right” - In that the Jews rejected Jesus, and those people are rejected by God. They are not saved as a result of their unbelief. Neither shall you be saved if you reject Jesus as Lord and Savior.

“you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear” - See Luke 7:50; Eph. 2:8-9. The only reason you can stand and face God at judgment time is that Christ Jesus intercedes for you, claiming you as His own. He has paid the price - God’s justice is satisfied. Be wary of being conceited about your privileged position.
Too much of our life is infected with irrational fears - agoraphobia, speaking in public, spiders, invasion by outer space aliens, pandemics, ghosts. I think the "fear" is based on a healthy respect for the Lord, and that you might fail in your relationship with Him. “Fear” that your attitude will get between you and your relationship with God. Discipline is not spared because you are a child of God now. See: Heb. 12:9-11; Rev. 3:19. If you do not know Jesus as Lord, and have not accepted Him as your savior, you indeed have reason to truly fear facing Him at eternity - you will be lost. If you are a child of God, then the fear is that you might fail Him in your relationship with Him.

V. 21 - “God did not spare the natural branches” - The Israelites are God’s chosen people. Read Exodus through Malachi. Did God spare them discipline and punishment for their rebellion? What was 38 years wandering through the desert if not discipline? The book of Judges shows a cycle of rebellion, punishment, repentance and salvation. The ten northern tribes were severely disciplined for their rebellion, their pride and arrogance - to the point that only God knows where their descendants are located. Babylon and Rome were also used by God to discipline the Jews.

 

Rom 11:13-15 - Ministry to Gentiles

13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
14 if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.
15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

Their Rejection becomes our Reconciliation

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V. 13 - “But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles.” - Paul acknowledges that explaining the failure of the Jews to heed the Lord may not carry deep significance for the Gentiles. The Gentiles do not have the centuries of history to which to refer. But that’s okay, because his mission is to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. (See: Acts 9:15-16; 15:1-22) The Gentiles are to know and understand: it is not by birth that they are saved, but by re-birth. It is not by works that salvation is attained, it is by faith in Jesus Christ. It is not what you know. It is who - Jesus Christ the Son of God - you know!

V. 14 - “If somehow I might ... save some of them.” - Paul knows his ministry, his mission - and he’s going to work it. He is dedicating his life to that mission (magnifying) in order that some Jews will note that a devout Jew has accepted Christ and so follow him to find the Lord.

V. 15 - “what will their acceptance be” - How exciting is this: Jews won to Christ through his ministry to the Gentiles. Life, eternal life in lieu of death, eternal death. What could be better than his fellow countrymen coming to Jesus!

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Rom 11:11-12 - Jews’ transgression brought salvation

11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.
12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

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Gentiles Benefitted from the Jews’ Mistake!

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V. 11 - “They did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be!“ - So, the Jews stubborn hearts led them to reject Jesus as Messiah. They were spiritually blind and deaf, their good fortune caused them to rely on their perception of that good fortune. They were special, but could not see that it was because of God’s grace they were so. Paul is praying that rejection is not permanent or final. He prays this is a temporary setback.

"Salvation has come to the Gentiles” - Salvation comes to the world through Jesus Christ. See John 3:16-17 - “For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.”  The rejection by the Jews does not change God’s ultimate plan! (See: Acts 13:46) The difference is in the execution of the plan, not the end result. God’s mercy and grace is not a function of Jewish religion, but is offered to all who will believe in His Son.

“To make them jealous” - It was prophesied in Hosea that people who were not God’s people would be called God’s people. God was warning both the Northern and Southern nations of Israel. There would come a time when His grace was going to be offered to people who appeared to be rejected or ignored by God. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were chosen by God to have a special relationship with Him. All others were ‘the nations”, kind of a faceless mass of humanity. There would come a time when that would change. We Gentiles are no longer faceless or forgotten - we, too, are now Children of God. (See: 1 John 3:1-2)
Perhaps, if the Jews are paying attention, they will want to share in the grace offered to the Gentiles. Not a jealousy that causes resentment towards the Gentiles because of the grace, but a desire to know the abundant life promised by God.

V. 12 - “If their transgression is riches for the world ...” - The whole world is directly blessed, not tangentially, because Jesus is available to all who listen. Salvation is offered to we Gentiles by the preaching of the Gospel to us. No longer a carom off a side cushion - salvation does not come from the Jews, but from God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit spoken to our hearts and minds. All the riches of God is offered to us through faith in Jesus Christ.

“How much more will their fulfillment be!” - The Jews rejected Christ and the world is blessed by salvation offered to all and is efficacious to all who believe. This can be looked at in a couple of ways, so:

1. The world will be blessed even more when the Jews come to belief in Christ.
2. The blessing for the Jews will cause for even more celebration. The riches realized by the Jews will be even more wonderful because they overcame their stubbornness and bias.

I am not sure how anything can be better than having all the riches of God be ours through Christ - what could be better than being with Jesus and the Father, face-to-face, embraced in love for eternity?

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