If
the verse were to end with a separate doxology, the word “blessed” would
typically come first: “Blessed be the God of all . . .” Moreover, doxologies in
Paul tend to refer to someone who has been mentioned earlier, in this case Christ;
as “the God” is not mentioned until the end of the verse, it would be awkward
to read it as referring to someone other than Christ. Moreover, if the doxology
is not addressed to Christ, the participle, “being” (ων), is redundant. Finally, the words “according
to the flesh” seem to require a parallel; usually in Paul the contrast would be
“according to the Spirit,” though there are places where flesh is contrasted
with “theos” (e.g. 1 Cor 1:29). Overall, then it seems probable that in Romans
9:5, Paul called Christ God (ο θεος), though it is the only such passage. (John
Behr, Formation of Christian Theology, 2 vols. [Crestwood, N.Y.: St
Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2001], 1:59)
