Romans 5:11 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And not only so— These words join this verse to the third. The Apostle in the second verse says, "We, the Gentiles who believe, glory in thehopes of an eternal, splendid state of bliss." In Romans 5:3 he adds, "And not only so, but our afflictions are to us matter of glorying:" which he proves in the seven following verses; and then, returning to his subject, adds, "And not only so, but we glory in God also as our God, being reconciled to him in Jesus Christ:" and thus he shews that the convert Gentiles had whereof to glory, as well as the Jews, and were not inferior to them, though they had not circumcision and the law, wherein the Jews gloried so much, but with no ground, in comparison of what the Gentiles had to glory in, by faith in Jesus Christ now under the Gospel. The verse may be paraphrased; "It is true, we Gentiles could not formerly glory in God, as our God; that was the privilege of the Jews, who alone, of all the nations, owned him for their King and God, and were his people in covenant with him. All the rest of the kingdoms of the earth had taken other lords, and given themselves up to false gods to serve and worship them; and so were in a state of war with the true God, the God of Israel: but now we being reconciled by Jesus Christ, whom we have received and owned for our Lord, and therebybeing returned into his kingdom, and to our ancient allegiance, we can truly glory in Godas our God; which the Jews cannot do, who have refused to receive Jesus his eternal Son for their Lord, whom God hath appointed Lord over all things." As our translators have rendered the Greek verb καταλλασσω, by reconcile in the foregoing verse and in all other places, and the Greek word καταλλαγη, in all other places, by reconciliation; it should certainly have been so rendered here.