Oba 1:18 And There Shall Not Be Any Remaining of the House of Esau

[Study Aired September 18, 2024]

Oba 1:18  And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

Oba 1:18  And the house^H1004of Jacob^H3290 shall be^H1961 a fire,^H784 and the house^H1004 of Joseph^H3130 a flame,^H3852 and the house^H1004 of Esau^H6215 for stubble,^H7179 and they shall kindle^{H1814 (H8804 Qal)} in them, and devour^{H398 (H8804 Qal)} them; and there shall not^H3808 be^H1961 any remaining^H8300 of the house^H1004 of Esau;^H6215 for^H3588 the LORD^H3068 hath spoken^{H1696 (H8765 Piel)} it.

H1004 – Bayith, house, dwelling habitation, shelter or abode, place, receptacle, home, household, family, family of descendants, household affairs, inwards, temple, on the inside, within, probably from a primitive root H1129, Banah, to build, rebuild, establish, cause to continue, build a house (ie, establish a family), to be built/rebuilt, established 

H3290 – Ya`akob, Jacob = heel holder or supplanter, from a primitive root H6117, Aqab, to supplant, circumvent, take by the heel, follow at the heel, assail insidiously, overreach, overreach, attack at the heel, hold back

H1961 – Hayah, to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out, to happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come into being, to arise, appear, come, become like, to be instituted, be established, be in existence, abide, remain, continue, to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated, to accompany, be with, be done, be brought about, be finished, be gone, a primitive root

H784 – Esh, fire, flames, supernatural fire, altar-fire, God’s anger, a primitive word

H1004 – see above

H3130 – Yosafe, Joseph = Jehovah has added, future(?) of a primitive root H3254, Yasaph, to add, increase, do again, join, join oneself to, be joined, be added to, cause to add, increase, do more

H3852 – Lehabah, flame, tip of weapon, point, head of spear, from H3851, Lahab, flame, blade, of flashing point of spear or blade of sword, from an unused root meaning to gleam 

H1004 – see above

H6215 – Esav, hairy, apparently a form of a primitive root H6213, Asah, to do, fashion, accomplish, make, work, produce, to deal with, act, act with effect, effect, prepare, attend to, put in order, observe, celebrate, acquire, appoint, ordain, institute, bring about, use, spend, pass, be done, be made, be produced, be offered, be observed, be used, be made, to press, squeeze

H7179 – Kash, stubble, chaff, from a primitive root H7197, Kashash, to gather, assemble, collect, gather stubble or sticks, to gather together, gather oneself together

H1814 – Dalaq, (Qal) to burn, hotly pursue, a primitive root

H398 – Akal, (Qal) to eat, devour, consume, slay, destroy, a primitive root

H3808 – Lo, not, no, nothing, without, before (of time), a primitive particle

H1961 – see above

H8300 – Sariyd, survivor, remnant, that which is left, from a primitive root H8277, Sarad, to escape, survive (Used once in OT)

H1004 – see above

H6215 – see above

H3588 – Kee, that, for, because, when, as/for though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since, yea, indeed, if, though, that if, for if, indeed if, but if/rather, except that, only, nevertheless, that is, for though, forasmuch as, for therefore, a primitive particle

H3068 – Yehovah, Jehovah = the existing one, the proper name of the one true God, unpronounced except with the vowel pointings of 0136 (not found in E-sword) from a primitive root H1961, Hayah, to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out, occur, take place, come about, come into being, become, arise, appear, come, become, become like, be instituted, be established, be in existence, abide, remain, continue, stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated, accompany, be with, occur, come to pass, be done, be brought about, be done, be finished, be gone

H1696 – Dabar, (Piel) to speak, promise, a primitive root

The book of Obadiah parallels a fundamental theme of the Bible: there are two spiritual men in scripture, the old man and the new man. 

Eph 4:22  That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23  And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24  And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

It is important to remember both Jacob and Esau are twin brothers, both born of the freewoman (Rebecca). Both were anointed, but the elder brother was the “rejected anointed.” Their story is a story of election, not of works:

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither (Jacob nor Esau) having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

Applied inwardly, judgment is now on the house of God, and our God is a consuming fire, so much so that there “shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau.” The “rejected anointed” shall be “rejected.”

The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, typifies the work of Christ in our lives. In this sense, fire has a positive application. In other words, fiery trials are good for us.

Deu 4:24  For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire,  even a jealous God.

Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

Rev 19:12  His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13  And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

The function of “fire” is to work a good work in our lives, to try our faith. The Greek word used for “try” is G1381 dokimazo meaning ‘to approve, discern and to test.’

1Pe 1:7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried (G1381) with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

The consuming fire of God’s word searches out the hidden things:

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Oba 1:3  The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee..

Oba 1:6  How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!

Oba 1:8  Shall I not in that day, saith the LORD, even destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of Esau?

The wise men of Edom symbolize our proud heart, and as the gospel of Jesus Christ is revealed to us, we as ambassadors of Jesus Christ have Christ shining in our hearts to reform our old ways and thoughts.

2Co 4:2  But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
2Co 4:4  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
2Co 4:6  For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

As ambassadors of Jesus Christ, the elect of Christ, he gives us the knowledge of the glory of God and considers us his friends, revealing all things he has heard of his father.

Jhn 15:14  Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Jhn 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

It is only if we remain faithful and overcome to the end, that we will be considered “overcomers.”

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Those who overcome are chosen according to election. In other words, it is not because of works, but of Him that calleth. This doesn’t absolve us from continuing our walk and continuing to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. If anything it inspires to continue to seek the scriptures daily to learn more about Christ and his Father. This is so we can know Christ, or rather be known of him.

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God,

Rom 9:11  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
Rom 9:12  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Those new to the faith may ask, “How can a God of Love hate? How can a loving God plainly state He hates Esau?”

Here is the answer Paul gives in the very next verse:

Rom 9:14  What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16  So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

Reformation is a process, and that which is sown in dishonour (our old man, Esau), our carnal mind must fall away.

Rom 9:21  Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Jhn 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease.
Jhn 3:31  He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.

1Co 15:43  It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

The house of Esau (the old man) is signified, in type, by Abishag.

1Ki 1:1  Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat.
1Ki 1:2  Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat.
1Ki 1:3  So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag (H49) a Shunammite, and brought her to the king

The Hebrew word Abishag (H49) is formed from two Hebrew words, father (H1 ab) and error (H7686 shaga) meaning father of error. Hitchock’s Bible Names has the name Abishag meaning “ignorance of the father”.

While the damsel, Abishag, cherished the king, even ministered to the King, scripture reveals the King knew her not. Therefore, Abishag in type, represents the rejected anointed.

1Ki 1:4  And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not.

Christ also made reference to this concept of “knew her not.” Many will say they have ministered, and done wonderful works, but Christ (the King) will say to them I never knew you:

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, even though it may be “sought carefully with tears”:

Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Even though Abishag cherished the king, the King knew her not.

Here is how important knowing the King is:

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

On the other hand, Esther is a more appropriate symbol that foreshadows the bride of Christ, because scripture states the King loved her above all women.

Est 2:17  And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.

In summary, Jesus Christ is our one, true saviour, and has chosen to complete His workmanship in us, His chosen (His elect). As He increases in us, our old man decreases. There shall not be remaining anything of the house of Esau (our old man) because flesh and blood (the carnal mind, our proud heart) cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Esau is that stubble being burnt up, and because our God is a consuming fire he will be faithful to complete His workmanship in our lives.

Oba 1:18  And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.

Audio Links

Make Your Calling And Election Sure – Part 2

by Mike Vinson

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence [G4704, spoudazo] to make your calling and election sure:for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Introduction

In our concluding study we will take Peter’s admonition step by step and apply it to our walk “to make [our] calling and election sure”. In doing so we will note that these words are addressed only “to them who have obtained like precious faith with us…” and that this “precious faith… grace, and peace” comes only through “the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, [and] through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord”. What that tells us is that “the knowledge of God and Christ are essential to our salvation. We must “know… God and Jesus Christ”:

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

The reason I mention that is for the same reason Peter mentions it. Peter and all of the apostles of Christ were acutely aware of the truth of these words of our Lord:

Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen [to “know… God, and Jesus Christ”.

Peter explains that our grace and peace is multiplied to us “through our knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord”. He tells us that our grace and peace accords with His divine power by which God gives to us “all things that pertain to life and godliness”, and by that gift of “all things that pertain to life and godliness”, we are also given “great and precious promises” which in turn give us access to “the divine nature”, which “divine nature” delivers us from “the corruption that is in [this] world through lust”. It simply is not natural to resist “the corruption that is in the world through lust”

It is our own lust, our own desires, especially our desire to please men rather than God, which robs us of our salvation in this age. The salvation produced by the lake of fire is certain to all men:

Joh 9:22  These words spake his parents [the parents of the man who was born blind, and was healed by Jesus], because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10  Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.

But the great honor of being in the “blessed and holy… first resurrection” is given to very few of mankind. It is given only to those few who are not asleep and slothful, but are awake and diligent, and who endure to the end, the fires of our judgment in this age, while we are yet in these vessels of clay:

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial [“the seven last plagues”, Rev 15:8] which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed [at the first resurrection, Rev 20:6], ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

Rev 15:8  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

It is very instructive for us to know that the word translated as “give diligence” in 2Pe 1:10 is the very same Greek word translated as “study” in this verse of 2 Timothy:

2Ti 2:15  Study [G4704, spoudazo -“give diligence”, 2Pe 1:10] to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2Ti 2:16  But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
2Ti 2:17  And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
2Ti 2:18  Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
2Ti 2:20  But in a great house [“You are the temple of God”, 1Co 3:16] there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
2Ti 2:21  If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.

Here in 2 Timothy 2 we have another promise. We are told that “if [we] purge [ourselves] from… vessels of… wood and earth… [we] shall be… prepared unto every good work”, which accords with our promise in 2 Peter 2:

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence [G4704, spoudazo] to make your calling and election sure:for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

The source of our faith

Peter begins by informing us that his calling and our calling is only exists because we have “obtained like precious faith”. Where do we get this “precious faith”?

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Our faith “is a gift of  God”, and it is “not of ourselves”.

Where do we obtain ‘grace’?

2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

We are blessed not only to know that we are given God’s favor, His ‘karis’, His ‘grace’, but we are also blessed to know what being given that favor entails:

Tit 2:11  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

The Greek word from which the English word ‘teaching’ comes is ‘paideuo’ and it means ‘to chasten’, as in this verse of scripture:

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [Greek, paideuo], and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

“Every son” who [God] receives is graced with His chastening and scourging. This places much more meaning upon this statement of scripture:

Rom 5:20  Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

God’s chastening and scourging are given freely, and they will always overpower the pulls of sin and death upon us, simply because God has declared it to be so:

1Co 15:22  For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Again, our grace and our faith, and the peace of mind He has given to us, are all “the gift of God [and] not of ourselves”. They come to us “through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord”.

2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

Everything that pertains to life and godliness comes to us through knowing God and His Son, and through knowing that they have called us to glory and to a life of virtue, and not a life of turning the grace of God into lasciviousness:

2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Jud 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. [Don’t speak of the fear of God, and never use the word ‘punish’; use much smoother words]

Those who are given to “know God and His Son” will recognize “the voice of a stranger” when they hear a voice that tells us that Biblical commandments and Biblical phrases are much too harsh. For example, the scriptures teach us to use corporal punishment upon our physical children:

Pro 19:18  Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

Pro 23:13  Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
Pro 23:14  Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

That is God’s own method of operation with mankind:

Psa 89:32  Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

Whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges:

Pro 13:24  He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

But this is the spirit God has placed in many of those who have “crept in unawares…”

Isa 30:8  Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Isa 30:9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isa 30:10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

When “Jesus of Nazareth” hears such smooth words, this is what He tells all who come to Him “speak[ing] deceits [and such] smooth things”:

Mar 8:33  But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Mar 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
Mar 8:36  For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mar 8:37  Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mar 8:38  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

How we are “partakers of the divine nature

I have been asked, “Why would anyone want to reign over others?” The question is posed to suggest that anyone who wants to rule and reign with Christ during the thousand years is a vain sort of person who simply wants to “lord it over the Lord’s flock”. But that is not why Christ wants to reign over this world at all. Christ, and all in whom He dwells, wants to reign over this world for the good they will be given to do at that time. They will rule over all of God’s enemies with a rod of iron, and when their reign is completed, they will be used by God to destroy corruption and death. Those are only few of the “great and precious promises we are given in Christ, and it is “by these” that we are made “partakers of the divine nature”, which always has and always will dominate and rule the carnal, lust-filled and  rebellious mind of the flesh and of the realm of darkness.

2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

It was by “the exceeding great and precious promises” given to Christ that He was able to “despise the shame” of the cross. Christ esteemed the shame of the cross to be nothing compared to the glory into which He knew He would inherit by being faithful to His Father’s plan and His purpose:

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

If Christ is in us, and if we have “the same mind”, we too, will consider the sufferings of this present life to be unworthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed within us:

Rom 8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Rom 8:19  For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

“The creature” means all mankind, and just as you and I have waited for the appearing of Christ in our lives, all mankind is awaiting the resurrection of “the Christ… the Lord and His Christ… His body”. That is “the earnest expectation of the creature”.

Being made “partakers of the divine nature” delivers us from the corruption that is in the world because “All that is in the world”, all the corruption that is in this world, comes through these three types of lust:

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Now we come to a principle that will help to simplify every admonition given in scripture:

2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence [Greek G4710, spoude], add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence [G4704: spoudazo] to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

These words are not suggestions which we can just take or leave. We must add virtue to our faith or our faith is dead faith with no virtuous works. We cannot have virtuous works if we have no knowledge of the mind and commandments of God. When we have the knowledge of God and His Son, we will add temperance and control of the beast which we are to that knowledge because we want to be “as He is”.

Temperance and self-control are the foundation of patience with all mankind who we know are nothing more or less than tools in the hand of a sovereign God. Living a life that truly believes that God is working “all things after the counsel of His own will” gives us the power to be patient with all men, because we know we are really just being patient with what God is working in all men. The patience of Christ in us can produce nothing short of a Godly, Christ-like life which is a life of kindness toward all men and a life filled with the unconditional agape, love which is what Christ is:

1Jn 4:8  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

And we are right back to the fact that love is obedience to the God we call our Lord:

1Jn 5:2  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

It is Christ Himself who poses this question:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

2 Peter 1:1-10 are “the things which [Christ] says”, via His Father’s spirit, and if we are given to listen diligently to these words, we will “study [Greek: ‘spudazo‘, be diligent] to show ourselves approved unto God…”

2Ti 2:15  Study [Greek: spoudazo, be diligent] to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Here is what Christ tells us about those who are diligent to obey Him and to apply every word of 2 Peter 1:1-10:

Luk 6:47  Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48  He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
Luk 6:49  But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Peter repeats the message of the parable of the house built on a rock or on the sand with these words:

2Pe 1:8  For if these things [these sayings of Christ] be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence [G4704: spoudazo] to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Conclusion

I will close with a few verses which I hope will give you hope and remind you who you are and therefore remind you how you should “behave yourself in the house of God”:

Ezr 7:23  Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

Heb 12:15  Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
Heb 12:16  Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
Heb 12:17  For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
Heb 12:18  For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
Heb 12:19  And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
Heb 12:20  (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
Heb 12:21  And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
Heb 12:22  But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
Heb 12:23  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
Heb 12:24  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Heb 12:25  See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Heb 12:26  Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Heb 12:27  And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
Heb 12:28  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
Heb 12:29  For our God is a consuming fire.

Jud 1:24  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25  To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

Who are you, and what is the body of Christ? You and I must know who we are or we cannot make our calling and election sure, and I am telling you that you will be challenged concerning who you are just as the adversary challenged Christ saying “If you be the Son of God…” This is who we all are, if Christ is living His life within us:

1Ti 3:15  But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Audio Links

Make Your Calling And Election Sure – Part 1

by Mike Vinson

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 
2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence [G4704, spoudazo] to make your calling and election sure:for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Introduction

God has created an adversary to oppose Himself and to oppose His elect. God is good at what He does, so His adversary is the very best adversary that can be imagined. This is what we are told about the adversary with whom we are dealing:

Rev 12:9  And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Rev 12:10  And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

The accuser of our brothers accuses them before our God day and night. So our adversary perseveres and is persistent in doing his job. He will not miss an opportunity “day and night” to find any fault in anything we do, and he will convince us to believe his accusations against us before we even hear the matter. He will have us to ignore every admonition we are given to ‘seek a multitude of counselors… go to him, between you and him alone… search out the matter diligently and do not make any conclusions until you have done so’.

Pro 11:14  Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Pro 15:22  Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Pro 24:6  For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

All of these admonitions go out the door when we are given over to the mind of the adversary. Our “multitude of counselors” are suddenly transformed into a multitude of deceivers because we have been given over to a lying spirit, which convinces us that people we have known and trusted and who have given us wise admonitions and wise counsel are all being led astray by an evil spirit, and we say “God has appointed me to show all of my counselors their grievous sins, before I have even gone to them to hear why they are acting and teaching as they do”. When this spirit of the adversary has be given dominion over us, that is when we begin to despise these words of our Lord:

Mat 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
Mat 18:16  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
Mat 18:17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
Mat 18:18  Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be [Greek, ‘shall have been’] bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Mat 18:19  Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

All of this is out the door when our adversary is given to blind us from the protection against his devices which obedience to these words will give us. In the place of that safety we become accusers of our brothers as instruments in the hand of our father the devil, and this is what we do:

Isa 29:21  That make a man an offender for a word, and lay a snare for him that reproveth in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of nought.

‘No good deed goes unpunished’ by our adversary. If we “reprove in the gate” those who need reproof, then the adversary makes certain that our own sinful past will be used to nullify our good reproof in our own gate, and within our own body. That is his job, and he perseveres and persists in doing it.

On the other hand, we are given instructions concerning how we must overcome every effort of the adversary to take us away from the body of Christ and to convince us that we will be of greater service to God if we go out from among those who we ourselves have proven to be the body of Christ:

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
1Jn 2:18  Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1Jn 2:19  They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
1Jn 2:20  But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
1Jn 2:21  I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

“They went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us”, tells us that these are those who refuse to ‘go to their brother, and if that brother does not hear them then they are instructed to take with them another brother or two, and if he refuses to hear them, then tell it to the church’. These are those who will not then “tell it to the church”, and they will not hear the church and will not even contemplate treating a heretic as a heathen man and a publican. They will gladly do just that to those who do seek a multitude of counselors and who obey Matthew 18:15-21, but they will not stand up to those who call Christ “Lord, Lord”, but will not do the things He says to do. “The pride of life”, the inability to confess that pride and destroy it from within, causes them to continue on in their “pride of life”.

“You know all things” means that we are granted to do the things Christ tells us to do. It means that we know that we must never, ever ‘lean to our own understanding’, and we must never ever place ourselves above the body of Christ and our multitude of counselors. I have posed the question on many occasions, “Why do we mention that we are never to lean to our own understanding, and we are to always depend upon our “multitude of counselors” if we are going to give in to a lying spirit which is telling us that the body of Christ, is not worthy of being our multitude of counselors? If the whole body of Christ is saying something we do not believe, is it not possibly time to “make search and ask diligently” concerning the matter that is within our own gates in accord with our Lord’s instructions in Mat 18?”

Deu 13:12  If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,
Deu 13:13  Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
Deu 13:14  Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;
Deu 13:15  Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword.

This is what we must do to “win [our] brother”. Anything short of our Lord’s words amounts to a false doctrine which must be denied by the body of Christ. The body of Christ is “Jesus of Nazareth”, and with “that which every joint supplies” that body is edified and is built up in obedience to what He says:

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Eph 4:16  From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. [obedience, 1Jo 5:2-3].

When a spirit comes to us and tells us that everyone to whom we have deferred as our leaders, and who have proven themselves to be incorruptible in dealing with the doctrine of Christ, has overnight become a liar and a false prophet, then we need to “enquire, and make search” of those we suspect, by “go[ing] to him, between you and him alone”, before drawing any conclusions. We know what the adversary wants to do, and what he really wants is to sow discord among those in the body of Christ, and to accuse our brothers of failing to do what Christ has told us to do. When we fail to do what our Lord has told us to do, we are taken and snared by the devices of the adversary, which we are to be aware of at all times.

2Co 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Satan is a worthy adversary, but you and I can make our calling and election sure by never failing to inquire, making search, and by always finding out the facts before we “go to [our] brother, between [us] and him alone” before we “tell it to the church”.

This is why we are to do so:

Pro 18:13  He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.

First going to a brother or a sister personally and privately deals with the devices of the adversary and helps us to make our calling and election sure. It is not easy to do that, but it is a ‘pill’ which will immunize us from the discord which the adversary so desires to sow among us:

Pro 6:16  These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18  An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

“A proud look, a lying tongue, [and] a false witness” are all part of being a lying or simply a deceived instrument of the adversary, who accuses our brothers day and night before our God, and he does that through those who fail to apply our Lord’s words, which keep us from being infected with the diseases of Egypt, which are nothing less than the diseases of Babylon.

Exo 15:26  And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

We will conclude our study today with a familiar verse of scripture, which, if we give heed to its admonitions, we will go a long way toward “mak[ing our] calling and elections sure”.

Here is what we are plainly advised will help us to “receive a full reward”

2Jn 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. [“Make (our) calling and election sure”]
2Jn 1:9  Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
2Jn 1:10  If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
2Jn 1:11  For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

The way we are called to walk is a narrow way which this world cannot receive and will not obey. Those who will not “go to [their] brother between him and [them] alone” before they take with them one or two others, and before telling it to the church, are not bring obedient to Christ, and will not be rewarded with the peace of mind that comes with an obedient spirit. But those who “do the things [Christ] tells us to do” will reap the peaceable fruit of righteousness, and will be given “a full reward”.

Tomorrow we will go step by step into everything which Peter tells us will secure our calling and our election, and, Lord willing, we will be see our Lord just a little bit more clearly and will be transformed into that same image from glory to glory:

2Co 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit [these very words] of the Lord.

2Pe 1:1  Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2Pe 1:2  Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
2Pe 1:3  According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4  Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2Pe 1:5  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
2Pe 1:6  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
2Pe 1:7  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
2Pe 1:8  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2Pe 1:9  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his       old sins.
2Pe 1:10  Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence [G4704, spoudazo] to make your calling and election sure:for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Mike,

I been looking at this verse you always quote.

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

I have been chewing on it for days. Physically and spiritually, this verse is the cup of the Lord we elect are to suffer as Christ did. That is why we are Christ’s christ. We are to suffer in our flesh for his body’s sake. Jesus was first of the FIRST FRUIT. Paul went through the same as Jesus did. Paul suffered from being beaten and persecuted.

Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

This is when God is making us a vessel of honor. The elect are to fill up the afflictions of Christ in our flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church. Christ is being crucified within us.

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that hence forth we should not serve sin.

Jesus is taking on the sins of the world. The church within us is His working, which works in us mightily and this qualfies us to be saviors. As he is, so are we in this world.

Oba 1:21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.

Yours in Christ,
R____

You got it, R____!

We have been sent by Christ to do just exactly what His Father sent Him to do – to save this world.

Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

God sent Christ into the world “that the world through Him might be saved”. So what is it Christ has sent us to accomplish?

Joh 20:21 Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

There it is! Christ has sent us into this world “As His Father has sent Him… that the world through Him might be saved.”

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

So who are we if Christ is in us? Let’s let Jesus of Nazareth answer that question:

Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.

There it is again. You and I are called by Christ and are sent by Christ, even if we are His least brothers, to be persecuted by this world, and in so doing to “fill up in our bodies that which is behind of the afflictions of the Christ” who Saul of Tarsus was persecuting.
So “the afflictions of the Christ are not yet filled up because you and I are “Jesus of Nazareth” and as such those afflictions will not be completely filled up until the day we draw our last breath in these clay vessels. There will not be a day when we are not hated of this world if Christ is in us:

Mat 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Joh 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

We are both Christ’s sons and His brothers, and as such we too, are “hated of all men for [ His] name’s sake.
It is my prayer that you and I never “become weary in well doing” and in “filling up in our bodies what is behind of the afflictions of the Christ for His body’s sake which is the church”.

Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Php 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Your brother in His sufferings,
Mike

Hello Mike,
Thank you for the email clarifications.
I have a question about the teaching of the “sinners and hypocrites in Zion”. As part of that study, you had written:

Rom 11:31 Even so have these [ all in unbelief] also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
Rom 11:32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

It is “through your mercy that they [“all { those} in unbelief”] also may obtain mercy,” not eternal torment in literal flames of literal fire. That ‘fire’ symbolizes the fiery, purifying word of God. But who has that Word? It is only in the mouths of God’s elect.
And had attributed that ultimate salvation to all those in unbelief. But as I study the entire chapter carefully, I see that Paul seems to be talking about the natural olive tree, the Jews, and not about all men. This entire chapter seems to be written exclusively about the descendants of Abraham who did not believe, who instead rejected Jesus (Joh 8 as one chapter of many).
Could I have missed something in the plain reading of the text?

Blessings and thank you,
J____

Hi J____,
You refer to a paper I wrote which deals with “sinners and hypocrites in Zion” and note that Rom 11 is speaking of Abraham’s descendants. Then you ask:

And [ you] have attributed that ultimate salvation to all those in unbelief. But as I study the entire chapter carefully, I see that Paul seems to be talking about the natural olive tree, the Jews, and not about all men. This entire chapter seems to be written exclusively about the descendants of Abraham who did not believe, who instead rejected Jesus (Joh 8 as one chapter of many).
Could I have missed something in the plain reading of the text?

No, you have not missed anything “in the plain reading of the text” but you have missed the spiritual message of the text. Here is that message, from this same apostle:

Gal 3:29  And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

… and this…

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7  Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Gal 4:28  Now we, brethren [ Gentile Galatians], as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

In other words the “natural olive tree” has now become those who are in Christ, instead of Abraham’s natural physical descendants.
In Paul’s day physical Israel was God’s saints, the church out of which Christ and His disciples had been cast. It is right here in Rom 11:

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
Rom 11:8  (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Rom 11:9  And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them:
Rom 11:10  Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.
Rom 11:11  I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

I hope this helps you to see that “the election” of verse 7 and “the Gentiles” of verse 11 are those who are the “in Christ… seed of Abraham… [ who] as Isaac was are the children of promise”, through whose mercy “all in unbelief may obtain mercy” in verse 31. “The election” of verse seven is the key to understanding that ‘the seed of Abraham who do not believe,” as you put it, are just as spiritual as the election who are “counted for the seed”.

Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these [ are] not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

This principle applies even to believers in Christ. If they believe on Him and call themselves Abraham’s seed because they believe in Christ and still do not obey and “continue in His Word”, then they are not really believers at all. So it is with being “Abraham’s seed”.

Joh 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, [ then] are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Joh 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
Joh 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
Joh 8:39  They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Joh 8:40  But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

“I know you are Abraham’s seed… If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” You see, even Christ was showing us what is meant by being Abraham’s seed and Abraham’s descendants. The apostle Paul is telling us in Rom 11 that our faith, as Abraham’s true “children of promise,” will be the true “in Christ children of Abraham”, who will be used of God to show mercy on “all who are in unbelief.”

Gal 3:29  And if ye [ Gentile Galatians] be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

So you have seen the “plain reading” of Rom 11, but you have missed the spiritual message of that chapter:

Rom 11:7  What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded

The message of this chapter and all of Paul’s letters, is that being Israel, being Abraham’s seed and being a Jew, no longer has anything to do with physical descent.

Gal 6:15  Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do– submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life!
Gal 6:16  All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God— his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them! (MSG)

It is God’s “election [ who] have obtained what Israel sought for”. It is that ‘Israel’ who has been given  to be “counted as the true seed of Abraham”, and it is they who will “show mercy to all unbelievers”. Paul calls this “comparing spiritual with spiritual”, and he tells us that this is how the holy spirit now teaches us.

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
1Co 2:13  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
1Co 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spiri t of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

I hope this is all of some help to you. If it is still unclear, then please let me know.
Your brother in Christ,
Mike