The Israel of God

Who is the Israel of God?

Genesis chapters 11-25 record the story of Abraham. God called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, gave him a land promise and made a covenant with him.

• His name changed to Abraham: God promised Abraham would be exceedingly fruitful, make kings and nations. God established His covenant with Abraham and his seed (Gen.17:5-9)
• He will be blessed: I will bless them that bless thee, and curse those who curse thee. (Gen.12:3) Blessed be Abram of the Most High God (Gen.14:19).
• His descendants will receive Canaan for an everlasting possession if they keep the covenant (Gen.17:8-9)
• His offspring will be like the stars of heaven (Gen.15:5, 22:17)
• He will be the father of many nations (Gen.17:4,5)

These promises are passed down to Isaac and Jacob. Jacob’s name is changed to Israel. His 12 sons multiply and prosper in Egypt. Years later, they are enslaved by a “Pharaoh who knew not Joseph” (Ex.1:8). After 430 years (Ex.12:40), God remembers the covenant (Ex.2:4) and leads them out of Egypt into the land He promised their fathers. They occupied the land for about 1600 years, in various states of faithfulness to the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants until Messiah.

“In the fullness of time” God brought forth His Son (Gal.4:4) Jesus Christ, “The Seed of Abraham” (Heb.2:16). He ushers in The New Covenant (Matt.26:28). This covenant is an everlasting blood covenant, far superior to the first covenant which couldn’t remove sin. Heb.8:9 says the new covenant is better than the original covenant that God made “As He led the Israelites out of Egypt by the hand because they didn’t continue in the covenant”. Heb.8:13 tells us the old covenant is now obsolete.

Paul tells us that the “seed promises” were talking about Jesus the whole time; “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He didn’t say to seeds (many), but one; And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Gal.3:16).

The ‘blessings of Abraham’ promise is passed down to the church. “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise” (Gal.3:29).

The father of many nations promise is found in the church as well; “I beheld a multitude no man could number from every nation, kindred, people and tongue” (Rev.7:9).

Prophesied beforehand by Jeremiah in 31:31, “The day is coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah”.

The promise to Abraham for physical descendants was never and end in itself. The land promise was never an end in itself. They were parts of a much larger story. The law was meant to protect, preserve and maintain the body soul and spirit of the children of Israel until they brought forth Messiah. They were blessed, protected, given guidance and instruction. To them were committed to Oracles of God (Rom.3:2), and through the fathers, in the flesh, Christ came (Rom.9:5). But Paul wrote, circumcision only profits if you keep the law (Rom.2:25). And they did intentionally murder The Son of God by the cruelest method of death in history (Acts2:23, 2:36, 3:15, 4:10, 10:38-39, 1Th.2:15).

God’s plan was always the church, not Israel. Jesus said, “I will build My Church” (Mt.16:18).

God’s plan was always the world, not Canaan. “For God so loved the world” Jn.3:16; “Go into all the world and preach the gospel” Mk.16:15; “I am the light of the world” Jn.8:12; “When the gospel is preached to the whole world, then the end will come” Mt.24:14.

God’s plan was always one family, not two. “To make in Himself of twain ONE new man” Eph.2:15. “There is neither Jew nor Greek” Rom.1:6, 10:12. Gal.3:28, Col.3:11. One holy root Rom.11:16.

Old Covenant Truth vs. New Covenant Truth

Who are Abrahams’s children?

• John8:38 If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the things Abraham did.
• Matt.3:9 God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
• Gal.3:7 They which are of faith are the children of Abraham.
• Rom.9:8 Abraham is the father of all who believe.

(see also Rom.4:9-25)

Who is Abraham’s Seed?

• Gal.3:16 The promises were to Abraham and his seed, which is Christ.
• Gal.3:29 If you belong to Christ then are you Abraham’s seed.

(see also Rom.4:16, 9:6-8, Heb.2:16)

Who are the circumcision?

• Phil.3:3 We are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit.
• Gal.6:13-15 In Christ neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mean anything.

(see also Rom.2:25-29)

Who is the Israel of God?

• Rom.9:6-9 For they are not all Israel which are of Israel, that is the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are.
• Gal.6:12-16 Peace and mercy on those who walk by this rule the Israel of God.

(see also Rom.4:1-25, 9:27-29)

Who is the commonwealth of Israel?

• Eph.2:11-22 Formerly you were…excluded from the commonwealth of Israel...but now in Christ Jesus…you have been brought near by the blood of Christ who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier…to create in Himself one new man…reconciling both to God through the cross…therefore both have access to God through one spirit. So now you are fellow citizens and members of God’s house.

Who are the chosen people?

• 1Pet.2:9 You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
• Eph.1:4-11 He chose us and predestined us to be adopted as sons.
• John 15:16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you

(see also Matt.21:33-46, Acts1:6-8, Rom.9:31-32, 10:3, 11:7, 2Cor.3:14)

What about the Temple?

• 1Cor.3:16-17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?
• 1Cor.6:19 Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.
• Eph.2:20-22 We are a holy temple in the Lord to become a dwelling for God.

What about the Law?

• Rom.4:14 If those who live by the law are heirs, faith has no value.
• Gal.2:21 If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.
• Gal.3:13-24 The promise came to Abraham 430 years before the law. So the law can’t void the promises made earlier. The law was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

What about the Inheritance?

• 1Pet.1:3-4We have an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and unfading.
• Col.1:12-13 …The Father…qualified you to share in the inheritance.
• Rom.8:16-17 The Spirit testifies we are children…and if children then heirs.

(see also Eph.1:11, Heb.9:15, Rev.21:7)

What about the Old Covenant?

• Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John.
• Rom.10:4 Christ abolished the law.
• Eph.2:15 Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
• Heb.7:11-12 With the change in the priesthood there must be a change in the law.
• Heb.8:8-13 I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel…by calling this covenant new, He has made the first one obsolete and ready to vanish away.

(see also Rom.8:3, Col.2:14, Gal.3:6-29)

Can Old Covenant promises in the New Covenant age still be in effect?

Many commentators feel that the old covenant is still in effect because the promises to Israel concerning their natural inheritance were never completely fulfilled. However, a brief look through the Bible will show that, in fact, all that God had promised natural Israel has been delivered.

God’s land promises: To Abraham; Gen.12:7, 13:15, 15:18 To Isaac; Gen.26:3, 28:4

Fulfilled: Joshua 21:43-45 “And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He swore to give unto their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt therein”. Joshua 23:14 the testimony of Joshua; All God has promised, He has given. 1Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the Lord that has given rest unto His people Israel, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word which He promised. Nehemiah 9:7-8 God made a covenant with Abraham to give him the land of Canaan and has performed His words.

Rebuilding the Temple prophecies

All the biblical directives for building or rebuilding temples were given prior to the last Jewish return to Palestine. Ezra and Nehemiah give the account of the final return to rebuild the walls and the temple. Haggai and Zechariah were their contemporaries. They were the last prophets to speak concerning a natural temple. Malachi was the last of the old covenant prophets. He was the last prophetic voice and had nothing to say about a future temple.

Amos’ prophecy (9:11) about “raising up the tabernacle of David” and building it “as in the days of old” is often cited as a future temple prediction. David’s tent tabernacle was unique in Israel’s history in that for a short time the Ark of the Covenant (the presence of God) was placed in the center of the tent and Jehovah was worshipped 24 hours a day with songs and instruments. In Acts 15:13-18, after hearing how God is moving among the gentiles, James claims that this ‘raising up’ prophecy is fulfilled by the church.

Daniel’s prophecy about the 70 weeks seems to indicate after the destruction of the temple in 70AD there will never be another temple. Verse 27 reads “it shall be desolate, even until the consummation”.

Dangers of believing in a special dispensation for the Jews

1. You shift their only true hope of eternal salvation through Messiah to a false hope based on obedience to an obsolete system.
2. You pervert the plain teaching of Jesus and the Apostles found in the New Testament. A gospel that leaves out a nation is a false gospel
3. You corrupt the overall plan of God and the very tenor of scripture.
4. You minimize the effects of the death burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ by offering an alternative (false) way of salvation.
5. You negate the change of covenants at calvary.
6. You negate the change of priesthoods.
7. You leave the hope of eternal life to the whim of unbelievers.
8. You distort the perspective of present-day Palestinian Jews

I will be their God, they will be My people: The same phrase that God uses toward Jews, He uses toward Christians. There is no difference in the destiny of Jews who believe in Jesus, and gentiles who believe in Jesus.

Gen.17:7-8 I will establish my covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee…and I will be their God.

Exodus 29:45 I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.

Jer.24:7 I will give them a heart to know Me that I am the Lord, and they shall be My people, and I will be their God: For they shall return to me with their whole heart.

Jer.31:33 This shall be the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days…I will put My law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts; and will be their God.

Jer.32:38 And they shall be my people and I will be their God.

Ezk.11:20…and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 34:24, 37:23,27

Zech.8:8…they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

2Cor.6:16…ye are the temple of the living God; As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

Heb.8:10 (quoting Jer.31:31) …I will put My laws into their minds and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to Me a people.

Rev.21:3…Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.

There is no possible way to separate who God is calling “His people”. The children of Israel do not have a destiny separate from the church. If they did, how is it that the church can apply all the promises of the old covenant (as seen above)?

Both Jews and gentiles are under sin Rom.1:14. God made of the twain, ONE NEW MAN. Now both have access by ONE Spirit unto the Father Eph.2:15-18. There is only one holy root Rom.11:16. To both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God 1Cor.1:24. God gathers in one, all things in Christ, in heaven and earth Eph.1:10. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life and NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT BY HIM. John14:6.