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Question 6

Paul calls Gentile Christians “debtors” to Jewish believers because they shared in Israel’s spiritual riches (Scriptures, prophets, Jesus, apostles); how does that framing confront modern attitudes toward the Old Testament, toward Jewish roots, and toward any sense of Gentile superiority in the church?

Another way to ask: Paul says Gentile believers “owe” Jewish believers because they received spiritual riches through Israel. How does that challenge how we view the Old Testament, the Jewish roots of the faith, and any pride Gentiles might have in the church?

Direct Answer Bercot’s teaching frames Gentile believers as recipients of Jewish spiritual riches, which should humble Gentiles and push back against any superiority or dismissiveness toward Jewish roots and the Old Testament. If Gentiles have shared in Jewish “spiritual things,” they owe gratitude and practical care, not arrogance.

Support from Transcript:

Paul says Gentiles are “their debtors,” because “if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty… is to minister to them in material things.”
Bercot connects it to Romans 11 imagery: Gentiles were “grafted onto the cultivated olive tree” and “participated in the fatness of that tree.”
Reasons given: “Jews had written the entire Old Testament,” “the prophets were all Jews,” “Jesus had come… as a Jew,” and “Paul and the 12 apostles were all Jews.”
He adds: “More than likely, Jews had even planted the church in Rome.”
Origen’s conclusion: therefore Gentiles “had a duty to minister to the Jews with their material possessions.”

Discussion Follow-ups How should gratitude for Jewish spiritual heritage shape how Christians read and value the Old Testament? Are there ways modern church culture subtly forgets its “debtor” status?

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