What is the meaning of Romans 9:11? Yet before the twins were born Paul reaches back to Genesis 25:21-23, where God speaks to Rebekah while Jacob and Esau are still in the womb. By highlighting that moment “before the twins were born,” he shows that God’s choice was made before any human influence could enter the picture. • Genesis 25:23: “Two nations are in your womb… the older shall serve the younger.” • Psalm 139:15-16 reminds us that God knows every life “when as yet there was none of them.” • Jeremiah 1:5 echoes the point: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.” These passages stress that God’s purposes begin long before human action, underscoring His intimate, sovereign involvement in every life. Or had done anything good or bad The phrase drives home that the divine choice was not conditioned on moral performance. • 2 Timothy 1:9: God “saved us… not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace.” • Titus 3:5: “He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we had done.” • Ephesians 2:8-9: “It is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” By placing “good or bad” before birth, Paul rules out any notion that God looked ahead to their deeds. Election rests on God’s decision alone, removing grounds for pride and highlighting sheer grace. In order that God’s plan of election might stand Here Paul states the purpose: God acts this way so His elective plan remains firm, unaltered by human merit or effort. • Romans 8:29-30 shows the unbreakable chain: “those He foreknew… He also glorified.” • Ephesians 1:4-5, 11: “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.” • Malachi 1:2-3, quoted later in Romans 9:13, illustrates that God’s choice of Jacob over Esau was rooted in His own loving purpose. The verb “stand” signals permanence; God’s sovereign plan is steady, unaffected by changing human circumstances. What He decrees, He completes (Philippians 1:6). summary Romans 9:11 teaches that God’s choice of Jacob over Esau was made before birth, without reference to their future deeds, so that His sovereign, gracious plan of election would remain entirely His work. The verse magnifies divine initiative, eliminates human boasting, and assures believers that their salvation rests on God’s steadfast purpose, not on fluctuating human performance. |
    |