Commentary on romans 11-293
Romans: A Theological and Pastoral Commentary.
Origen of Alexandria's "Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans" is the oldest extant commentary on Romans (ca Rom – Cf. 2 Cor See also...
Romans 11:29
For the gifts and calling of God
By "gifts" are meant, not the gifts of nature and providence, as life, health, strength, riches, and honour, which God sometimes gives, and repents of, and takes away; as he repented that he had made man upon earth, and Saul king of Israel; which must be understood by an "anthropopathy", after the manner of men, and that not of a change of the counsel of his mind, but of the course of his providence: nor do gifts here design external gifts of grace, or such gifts of the Spirit, which qualify men for ministerial work, for public service in the church; for these may be taken away, as the "parable" of the "talents" shows, ( Matthew 25:29 ) ; see ( 1 Corinthians 13:8 ) ; but the special and spiritual gifts of God's free grace, which relate to the spiritual and eternal welfare of the souls of men, even that, grace which was given to God's elect in Christ before the world was, and all those spiritual blessings wherewith t