“For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”
For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. — The warning is stark and unadorned: natural branches (hoi kata physin) of the cultivated olive tree were removed; grafted-in wild branches have no claim to security based on their alienness. Divine justice operates impartially.
Church Fathers on Romans 11:21
“For if God spared not the natural branches,” and then he does not say, neither will He spare you, but “take heed, lest He also spare not you.” So paring (ὑ ποτεμνόμενος) away the distasteful from his statement, representing the believer as in the struggle, he at once draws the others to him, and humbles these also.
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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