CORPORATE ELECTION IN ROMANS 9: A REPLY TO THOMAS SCHREINER

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Jun 2006 by Abasciano, Brian J

3. The validity of distinguishing between individuals and groups in Rom 9:30-10:21. Schreiner argues that Paul undeniably refers to individuals as well as corporate Israel in Rom 9:30-10:21 and that it is inappropriate to distinguish between individuals and the groups of which they are part because what is true of the collective is necessarily true of its individual members.38 But once again, he argues against the view that Paul speaks "only of corporate groups in Romans 9-11 and is not referring to individuals."39 Hence, he appears to believe that he merely needs to show that individuals are part of the issues Paul discusses in order to refute the idea of corporate election. However, we have seen that this sort of argument does not apply to the concept of corporate election that is inherent in the biblical tradition, which nonetheless militates against the traditional Calvinist concept of individual election.

It is important to recognize that Paul is not speaking directly about election in Rom 9:30-10:21. Nevertheless, it is true that his discussion does bear in some measure on the ground of the corporate election (Rom 9:30-10:4) and the means by which individuals become part of the elect group (Rom 10:5-13)-faith. Even so, pointing out that Paul talks about individuals exercising faith in no way contradicts the idea of corporate election. As we have seen, the concept always included individuals within its scope without concentrating election on the individual. Indeed, I would argue that Rom 9:1-9 in the context of Romans contends that faith was always the means for the individual to truly possess the blessings of the corporate divine election. Moreover, such a role for faith is to be expected in a doctrine of election articulated on this side of the cross, which finds the corporate election of Israel to have come to its fulfillment in Christ, the true seed of Abraham and the covenant representative of God's people.

Schreiner's own attempt to relate Paul's corporate language to its unavoidable implications for individuals shows that the corporate facet of the issues Paul addresses takes precedence over-but does not exclude-the individual facet. He observes that Paul speaks of Israel as a corporate entity failing to attain the righteousness of God but that this does not apply to every individual Israelite. Yet this appears to contradict his own points that Paul speaks equally of the group and the individual and that whatever is true of the group must also be true of the individual in the same way. He seems to be saying that Paul speaks generally, but that what Paul says must apply at the individual level. I agree. But to say that Paul speaks generally (in such a way that does not apply to every individual) is to concede that Paul does not speak equally of the group and individuals, but that his focus is on the group even though what he says surely applies to individuals. This is actually a different aspect of corporate thinking and terminology than we find in the case of election, in which one's membership in the group determines one's situation. But both of these aspects of corporate thought emanate from the priority of the group in the synchronie perspective of the writer.40