For any believer seeking to understand their Identity in Christ it is necessary to have a clear understanding of who Israel is and how that identity has changed with the fulfillment of the Old Covenant and the ratifying of the New.
Misunderstanding who the Israel of God is will affect our understanding of messianic prophecy and our identity in Christ.
Are ethnic Jews still God’s chosen people?
Are Jews who reject Christ still going to Heaven?
What did Paul mean when he said in Romans 11:26 “all Israel will be saved?”
It all starts with Abraham’s covenant
The promise to Abraham and his seed involved several key components: a great nation, abundant descendants (like the stars of the sky and sand of the seashore), a promised land, and the assurance that through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. The promise also includes a future for his seed to possess their enemies’ gates, and it is often interpreted in both a physical and spiritual sense, with Jesus seen as the ultimate fulfillment of the spiritual blessing for all nations.
Key elements of the covenant:
- A great nation: God promised to make Abraham into a great and mighty nation.
- Many descendants: Abraham’s descendants would be countless, like the stars of the heavens and the sand on the seashore.
- The promised land: Abraham’s descendants would be given a specific and vast territory.
- Blessing to all nations: A central part of the promise was that through Abraham, all families on earth would be blessed.
- Blessing and protection: God promised to bless those who bless Abraham and curse those who curse him.
Fulfillment of the covenant:
- Physical fulfillment:
The promise was fulfilled literally for the physical nation of Israel, which received the land and became a great nation with numerous descendants.
- Spiritual fulfillment:
The New Testament teaches that the promise of blessing to all nations is spiritually fulfilled through Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham, in whom all who have faith are blessed.
Galatians 3:16-18 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
vs. 26-29 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
This passage makes it clear that Abraham’s seed and heir is identified by being a believer in Christ. It is only the children of promise that qualify for Abraham’s inheritance, and it is faith alone that qualifies a person as a seed of Abraham. The Children of the flesh are identified as ethnic Jews who are born from Abraham’s loins but refuse to believe in the promise of Christ. Just because one is born from the loins of Abraham does not mean he is a true Jew.
John 8:37-44 “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. 40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Jesus said if you don’t love me, God is NOT your Father. Has that changed? Jesus is telling them that their works reveal their nature, and their nature reveals their father, not their bloodline.
Galatians 3:7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
Again, regardless of bloodline, any Jew who does not believe that Christ is the son of the living God is not considered Abraham’s seed. A Jew who is born in the bloodline of Isaac and does not believe in Christ is no better than a son of Hagar, a son of the flesh.
What is a Jew?
Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Once the New Covenant was fully ratified, being born an Israelite, of Jewish blood, does not make you a Jew, nor does it make you God’s chosen people. Christ is the chosen seed to whom the promises of Abraham apply. It is only in Him that we find salvation. The promise of God was to Abraham and his seed, meaning, to Abraham and to Christ. If you are Christ’s, then YOU are Abraham’s seed and YOU are heir to the promise. If you are not Christ’s, then you are not an heir to the promises of Abraham nor the promises of the New Covenant.
Romana 9:6-7 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
Pay close attention to this passage. “They are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are Abraham’s seed.”
This scripture tells us, just because one is born an Israelite, a physical descendant of Abraham, does not make them an Israelite or a true child of God.
“In Isaac, your seed shall be called.” (In the Child of Promise)
Isaac was the physical child of promise that the spiritual child of promise (Jesus) would come through.
Ephesians 2:14-16 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
This passage speaks of Christ breaking down the “dividing wall of hostility” between Jew and Gentile, creating “one new person in place of the two,” forming one body in Christ. This is a unified people in Christ, which supersedes former ethnic distinctions, and replaces the Old Covenant that Christ fulfilled, and then becomes the spiritual fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.
Jesus fulfilled the covenant that the Jews are still actively trying to keep. They reject Jesus as God’s answer and their messiah. Jesus put to death the enmity, and the Jews strive to keep the enmity alive. They, like all unbelievers, are cut off.
In Christ, all covenants with man have been, or are being fulfilled as we speak.
Is God done with Israel? NO!
Romans 11:1-2a I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.
God didn’t cast away Israel; He loved them so much that He fulfilled the Old Covenant made with Israel, and then made a New Covenant based on faith, not works.
He didn’t cast away his people; He made a new and living way available to Jews and Gentiles alike that only requires faith, not the keeping of the Law.
It’s not that He rejected the Jews; instead, He favored them by fulfilling the covenant obligations that Israel was unable to fulfill themselves, and then offered them a New Covenant that is the fulfillment of God’s original promise to the Jews through Abraham’s Covenant.
God didn’t reject Israel; He showed them extreme favor by fulfilling their covenant obligations and then He changed the definition of an Israelite. Now, an Israelite is one who is born of the Spirit, of the incorruptible seed of Christ, not of a bloodline.
Romans 11: 17-18 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
Vs. 20-21 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
Vs. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
In this passage, we see that God did not spare the natural branches (Israel), but in verse 23, we are reassured that all the Jews have to do is believe, and they will be grafted back in.
The parable of the wicked vinedressers.
Matt 21: 33-41b“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. 34 Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. 35 And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. 37 Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38 But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” 41 They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.” 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
45 Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.
In this parable, the symbolism couldn’t be clearer. It is obvious that the landowner represents God, the vinedressers are Israel, and the landowner’s son is Jesus.
What happens to the vinedressers after they kill the Son? Verse 41 says that the owner (God) will destroy them and verse 43 says that the kingdom will be taken from them (Israel) and given to another nation bearing the fruits of the kingdom. We know that the vinedressers are Israel because is verse 45 the Israelite religious leaders who keep the law knew he was talking about them.
The ”other nation” in verse 43 refers to the Church, a royal priesthood, A Holy nation.
Galatians 4:21-31 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written:
“Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.”
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.
Paul explains the spiritual symbolism of Hagar and Sarah, and physical and spiritual Jerusalem, and the difference between being born of the flesh and born of the promise.
The bondwoman must be cast out for the children of promise to receive their inheritance. Could this be a reason that the church hasn’t walked in the fullness of God’s promises? Does the church need to quit coddling Israel and start earnestly interceding for her salvation?
NOTE: Abraham’s descendants fall into two categories: The children of the flesh, and the children of promise. The children of the bondwoman are children of Ishmael, children born of the flesh. All those who are currently rejecting Christ and insisting on living by the law are no better than the children of Hagar. They are considered fake Jews, Ishmaelites, regardless of whether they are physical descendants of Isaac. The children of promise are all those that believe in the Seed, Christ.
Spiritually speaking, all ethnic Jews who reject Christ are aligning themselves with the children of Hagar and Earthly Jerusalem, not the children of promise and the Heavenly Jerusalem.
This passage tells us that modern-day Jerusalem, which is in bondage with her children, is seen as Ishmaelites, and they have no part in the inheritance with the free children, which is the Church.
Galatians 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
All those who try to keep the law are estranged from Christ and have fallen from grace. This applies to all people including Jews.
Romans 4:13-17 13 For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 15 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
(NOTE:) Verse 13 says that the promise was not to be fulfilled in his natural seed, but THROUGH “the righteousness of faith”. The Jews who insist on living by the Law, insist on living in transgression. Verse 14 says plainly that if the unbelieving Jews become heirs, then our faith in Jesus is made void and the promise made of no effect.
16 Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
The Centurion Encounter
Matthew 8:10-13 When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! 11 And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.
In this passage, we see Jesus commending the great faith of the centurion, while at the same time rebuking all of Israel. He then adds that many from the East and West, meaning Gentiles will come and sit down in the Kingdom while they (the sons of the kingdom) will be cast into outer darkness. It is important to note that Jesus was not speaking in parables; He was speaking literally.
Earthly Jerusalem is now seen as Sodom, and Egypt
Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
Isaiah 3:8-9 For Jerusalem stumbled, And Judah is fallen, Because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of His glory. 9 The look on their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; They do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.
Physical Jerusalem is now, spiritually speaking, no better than Sodom and Egypt. God has placed the unbelieving Jews and the current city of Jerusalem in the same category as Sodom and Egypt.
Understand the symbolism:
- Sodom: This comparison points to Jerusalem’s sexual immorality and sinfulness.
- Egypt: This comparison signifies a state of spiritual slavery and hostility toward God, much like ancient Israel’s experience in Egypt.
- Physical vs. Symbolic: The text makes it clear this is a spiritual and symbolic name, but it points to the physical city of Jerusalem as the specific location. The phrase “where also their Lord was crucified” is a clear geographical marker for Jerusalem.
We really need to ask ourselves some questions:
How has the Church been affected by the wrong belief that the ethnic Jews are still God’s chosen people?
How does it affect you personally?
Does it affect your understanding of the Bible as a whole?
Does it affect our interpretation of prophecy?
What about eschatology?
How can the Gentiles make the ethnic Jews jealous if they treat them as equals or even superiors?
Why is this not being preached and made clear?
JESUS IS COMING!
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This is a good example of biblical confession. This type of confession sets you in agreement with His work and His plan for your life. This will produce the fruit of righteousness and holiness in your life.
