<p>9:3 <em>For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh- </em>One of the (many) agonies of Paul's soul was that he felt that his brethren did not appreciate the depth of love which he had for them. Israel certainly didn't; and he loved them to the same extent as Moses did, willing, at least in theory, to give his <em>eternal salvation</em> so that they might be saved (Rom. 9:3). The more (Gk. 'the more-and-more-abundantly') he loved Corinth, the less they realized his love, and the more they turned away from him (2 Cor. 2:4; 12:15); and he so earnestly wished (Gk.) that the believers in Colosse and Laodicea appreciated how much he spiritually cared for them (Col. 2:1). <br />&quot;I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh&quot; was the spirit of Moses, in being willing to give his own physical and eternal life for the salvation of Israel (Ex. 32:30-32). Paul is here rising up to imitate Moses at perhaps his finest hour- willing, at least in principle, to give up his eternal life for the sake of Israel's salvation. The extent of Paul's love for natural Israel does not come out that strongly in the Acts and epistles; but this allusion to Moses says it all. The RVmg. renders Rom. 9:3: &ldquo;I could pray&hellip;&rdquo;, more clearly alluding to Moses&rsquo; prayer that the people might enter and he be rejected. Yet Paul perceived that God would not accept a substitute offering like that; and hence he says he <em>could </em>pray like this. In essence, he had risen to the same level. Likewise he wrote in 1 Thess. 2:8 RV that he was &ldquo;well pleased i.e. theoretically willing to impart unto, you not the gospel of God only, but our own souls, because ye were dear unto us&rdquo;. He perceived the difference between mere imparting of the Gospel in preaching, and being willing to give ones&rsquo; soul, ones salvation, because of a heart that bleeds for others. No wonder Paul was such a convincing preacher, with such love behind his words.</p><p>Paul was willing in theory to give up his salvation for them, even though he knew that in actual fact this is not the basis on which God works. He emphasizes that he is not using mere words: &quot;I say the truth in Christ, I lie not note the double emphasis, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit&quot; (Rom. 9:1-3). The Holy Spirit confirmed that what he felt in his conscience for them was in fact valid; this really was the level of devotion Paul reached for a nation who systematically worked for his extermination, and even more painfully, for the infiltration and destruction of his lifetime's work. The Jewish infiltrators had indirectly had their effect on Corinth, who mocked and denigrated the Paul who would have laid down his life for them. And yet time and again he calls them his brethren, he sees them as an innocent Eve in Eden, about to be beguiled by the snake of the Jewish infiltrators; he sees them as a chaste virgin. But remember how they denigrated him, in the cruellest ways. Yet his love for them was surpassing. If indeed Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, his experience with the Corinthians prepared him for this momentous statement to the Romans about Israel.</p>