[af_vet_1981]

Righteous Gentiles are grafted onto Israel, and remain, if they continue in His goodness.”

Though close, that’s not quite correct

The grafting described by the Apostle to the Gentiles is that righteous Gentiles are grafted onto the olive tree, among the natural branches, not onto the root itself. With the natural branches, they partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree.

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office: If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

Romans, Catholic chapter eleven, Protestant verses thirteen to twenty four,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James

[unlearner]

“The grafting described by the Apostle to the Gentiles is that righteous Gentiles are grafted onto the olive tree, among the natural branches, not onto the root itself. With the natural branches, they partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree.”

What Paul is describing is atypical. While this may have been done sometimes in the real world as a way to get natural olive branches to produce more fruit, the usual grafting was of natural branches from a cultivated olive tree into a wild olive tree. Why? Because olive trees take time to grow, and years to bear fruit.

But if you take a wild olive tree and transplant new olive tree shoots, the “fatness” of the wild, more mature olive tree will supply it with the nutrition it needs to bear fruit sooner.

Paul was writing this to Roman believers who were a unique group. This was the one city where a local church was established without any apostles directly doing so. Jewish converts to Christ who believed in Acts 2 went back to their homes in Rome and began meeting as a church. They won Gentile converts. Later, the emperor expelled all Jews from Rome, including the Christian Jews.

So the Roman church was, probably at the time of Paul’s writing, made up of Gentile Christians that had not been subject directly to the teaching of apostles. Some had become proud and began to believe they were superior to the Jewish believers. Paul uses language to demonstrate the interdependence of believers. Gentiles have a great privilege to become partakers of the “commonwealth” of Israel. God is using the salvation of Gentiles to provoke Jews to jealousy, to return to faithfulness to God by way of repentance and belief on Christ.

All analogies break down. I am not meaning to contradict your point other than to emphasize that Gentile believers are grafted into Christ. Our connection is directly with Him. We do not become Jews. It might be proper to say we are God’s Heavenly chosen people, the Israel of Heaven or Israel of God. But this includes all followers of Christ, Jews and Gentiles. The bottom line here is that we do not have access to Christ by becoming Jewish. We have access to the privileges enjoyed by Israel through our relationship with Christ.