Have Christians been Added to Israel?

2nd Semester / Week 6

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In order to cling tightly to dispensationalism’s separation of the Church and Israel, a great many passages of Scripture have to either be ignored or altered, such as:

“…the STRANGERS [foreigners] who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you AS NATIVE-BORN among the children of ISRAEL; they shall HAVE AN INHERITANCE WITH YOU among the tribes of ISRAEL,” (Ezekiel 47:22).

“…at that time you were without Christ, being aliens [foreigners] from the commonwealth of ISRAEL and strangers from the covenants of promise… BUT NOW in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made BOTH ONE,” (Ephesians 2:12-14).

“That the Gentiles should be fellow HEIRS, of the SAME body,” (Ephesians 3:6).

“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,” (Galatians 3:16).

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile…for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus,” (Galatians 3:28).

“ONE will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ And NAME HIMSELF by the name of ISRAEL,” (Isaiah 44:5).

Granted, it must be admitted that the vast majority of the New Testament’s usage of the name “Israel” clearly refers only to the physical Israel of the flesh. The natural branches. However, as we learned in our very first study, rather than everything only being in black and white and simple to understand through utilizing extreme literalism, we’re instead told that Scripture sometimes has to be “spiritually discerned.” Yet while using our spiritual discernment, we must be careful to not go beyond what was intended, and it would be a huge red flag if we thought we’d found something new that no one else had ever noticed. Fortunately however, it’s always been obvious, even to the Early Church theologians, that Christians now have a connection to Israel. It was quite easily “spiritually discerned” that we’re the “spiritual Israel.” Remember what we’ve seen from Justin Martyr in the second century who declared to Trypho (who was a Jew) that the true descendants of Abraham are Christians, and we’re now the true “spiritual Israel.” Yet it wasn’t merely just “spiritual discernment” that caused the Early Church to realize the connection, because the Bible teaches that only those who have the “faith” of Abraham are his true descendants, and we’ll continue studying more proof of the connection between Christians and Israel. It’s always been obvious that somehow we have a connection to Israel, even though the Bible truly did use the name “Israel” to primarily refer only to the physical Israel of the flesh.

Because dispensationalism found something radically new, it was a major red flag for the theologians of that day, which was why it was rejected and fought against. Its separation of the Church and Israel was entirely new and radically different than every other view. Similar to what’s taught in Matthew 3:10, “even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees, and every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down,” truly, even today, God has laid the axe upon certain specific false aspects of dispensationalism, and is ready to cut them down.

The “Church” was started by Jews. The disciples were Jews. The first 3,000 Christians were Jews. Remember “to the Jew first, then the Gentile,” (Romans 1:16). After the 490 years of Daniel 9 had been completed, only then were Gentiles able to be ADDED to that Jewish foundation. The “Church” is now made up of believing Jews and Gentiles. In God’s eyes there isn’t a separate “Jewish Church” and “Gentile Church” with different destinations, but rather, we all share the exact same foundation and look forward to the same promises. Yet the key pillar of dispensationalism is the total separation of “Israel” and the “Church,” and is THE primary distinction that makes someone a dispensationalist. Again, the chief, foundational identifier of a dispensationalist is someone who attempts to separate Jews from Gentiles, and to divide what Jesus Christ has brought together by His blood that was shed on the cross. However, according to Romans 11:11, our job, after being blessed with salvation, is to humbly and fearfully provoke the natural branches to jealousy so that they too can be saved by being grafted back onto our “olive tree” which is “Israel” (and remember, we learned in Jeremiah 11:16-17 that the “olive tree” symbolizes “Israel”). Also, because of verses like Romans 15:12, Revelation 5:5 and 22:16, many believe that Jesus is the “Root” of the “olive tree,” therefore, it’s now impossible to be on our olive tree of Israel if you aren’t attached to Jesus.

Dispensationalism has attempted to wipe out 1,800 years of commentaries which had taught that through Christ, believing Gentiles are brought “into” the promises made to Israel. It had always been taught that through Christ we are ADDED to Israel. That had been the well established, orthodox view. We don’t “replace” Israel, but instead are “added” to the true, saved, Remnant Israel. Yet the result of dispensationalism is that it minimizes the body of Christ (the Church), and essentially relegates us to being step children and not full heirs of all of the promises.

Believing Jews and Gentiles are the body of Christ by placing our faith in the promised Redeemer, just as salvation was given to the Old Testament Remnant through faith in the promised Redeemer. It’s always been about faith, and in God’s eyes being a descendant of Abraham is exclusively based upon faith, per Galatians 3:7. We are now in the New Covenant, and the primary difference between Old Testament and New Testament believers is that in the New Covenant, the Elect/Remnant/Church are permanently indwelled with the Holy Spirit, unlike the Old Covenant Elect/Remnant who were never blessed with the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

“The New Testament Scriptures teach that the “Church” is a New Covenant reality that FULFILLS Old Covenant Israel by virtue of union with Israel’s Messiah. In the New Covenant age, Gentiles are included within the Israel of God,” (Blake White, God’s Chosen People, page 2).

The way this is described is important because this isn’t “replacement theology,” which has been a derogatory term used by dispensationalists to dismiss any other view of Israel than their own. Since Romans 9:27 declares, “Though the number of the sons of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, only the REMNANT will be saved,” then our system could possibly be thought of as “Remnant” Theology. Or it could possibly be viewed as “Fulfillment” Theology because, “All of God’s promises have been FULFILLED in Christ,” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Yet perhaps the best and most appropriate way to describe our theological system would be this: since Jesus Christ brought about the “New Covenant” by His blood shed on the cross, and starting on Pentecost He has been pouring out His Holy Spirit upon us which is the glory of the “New Covenant,” Hebrews 8 teaches that the Old Covenant has been made “obsolete” and replaced by the “New Covenant,” and 2 Corinthians 3:6 tells us that we are already ministers of the “New Covenant,” therefore, our theology should probably be thought of as NEW COVENANT THEOLOGY. While we still study and recognize the importance of the Old Testament, our primary focus should be on our current covenant which we’re told is the “more glorious” NEW COVENANT.

A good analogy looking into the change “Israel” made from the Old to New Covenant would be like a cocoon to butterfly relationship, which isn’t replacement but rather a new phase of existence. Still the same substance, but the physical form has changed shape and has now found its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus. It’s all about Jesus, and our theology should be Christ-centered.

“The topic of ‘Israel’ is important and worth discussing because not only is it a great test case for whether someone lets Scripture determine their theology (rather than imposing a theological system onto Scripture), but also because a large percentage of the New Testament is concerned with the unity of Jews and Gentiles… If a theological system separates Israel from Gentiles rather than unites them, then that theological system is at odds with the New Testament Gospel, and is in need of having its theological presuppositions being re-examined in the light of Scripture,” (Blake White, God’s Chosen People, page 6-7).

Steve Gregg declared, “The true ‘replacement theology’ that deserves that term is dispensationalism. Because for 1,800 years, the church taught that Christ is the fulfillment of the promises of Israel. And dispensationalism came along and said, no, natural Israel in the last days is the fulfillment of the promises God made to Israel. So Christ, in their system, has been replaced with a nation. A nation that isn’t even a believing nation. They’re not godly. They’re a secular nation. And even if they turned to God in terms of the Old Covenant, they’re too late. There’s a New Covenant now. To be God’s people, one must follow God in his present covenant, not the defunct covenant. So, dispensationalism is the ‘replacement theology.’”

As was just stated, even though they try to apply that name to us, dispensationalism is actually the “replacement theology,” because it attempts to replace the Church of believing Jews and Gentiles with a future nation of Israel whose membership is based upon their DNA, rather than their connection to Jesus. However, we learned last week that the real “mystery” taught by Paul in Ephesians is, “that the Gentiles should be fellow HEIRS, of the SAME body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,” (Ephesians 3:6). This describes the mystery itself, that believing Jews and Gentiles are joined together into one “body of Christ,” and therefore no longer separated before God as such. Because we’re connected to the King of Israel, Gentiles are now “partakers of His promise in Christ.”

But what promise? We’re “partakers of His promise” made to Israel through Abraham. Look again at Galatians 3:

“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’,” (Galatians 3:16).

The truth of this “mystery” is that Gentiles are now full partakers of His promise which is no longer a privilege reserved only for the believing Jewish person. According to Galatians 3:29, the promises given to Israel are given to those who believe in Jesus, and Jesus is the direct recipient because He is the one and only Seed to whom the promises were made (per Galatians 3:16). Jesus is actually the True, Faithful and Victorious Israel (more of this eye-opening concept will be discussed next week when we study Jesus’s recapitulation of Old Testament Israel).

The people belonging to Jesus are the renewed and restored Israel. Gentiles come “into” Israel. We’ve been grafted in. The restoration of Israel is accomplished by rebuilding the tent of David that had fallen, and this has been done with the Remnant of Jews and Gentiles, according to Acts 15. That passage shows us that the tent of David is the house that Jesus began building at His first Advent:

“Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written:

 ‘After this I will return and will rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will set it up; so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who are called by My name…

 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God,” (Acts 15:14-19).

That was the decision made by the Jerusalem Council that had realized that God’s already fulfilled prophecy had predicted that the rebuilding of the tabernacle would include Gentiles. We know it’s fulfilled rather than a prophecy about the future because the book of Amos was likely written between 760 and 753 BC and foretold the Babylonian captivity and destruction of Jerusalem. That’s why the prophet predicted that “after” that destruction, God would return and rebuild His tabernacle (and remember that “tabernacle” means “dwelling place of God”). Here are two passages describing that rebuilt tabernacle:

“Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy TEMPLE in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a DWELLING PLACE OF GOD in the Spirit,” (Ephesians 2:20-22).

Notice that it specifically said that building is now the “dwelling place of God,” which is the literal definition of “tabernacle.” Also:

“…you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual TEMPLE. What’s more, you are His holy priests. Through the mediation of Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God,” (1 Peter 2:5).

We’ve seen that everyone in Israel must be in a Covenant with God, and anyone who breaks that Covenant can be “cut off” from Israel, so we mustn’t be “haughty” and we must “continue in His goodness,” but for those who submit to Jesus as King and follow His New Covenant, could they be separated from His people known as “Israel?” Here’s “Good News” from Isaiah for the people who maintain their Covenant relationship with God:

“Let NOT the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’,” (Isaiah 56:3).

It’s truly “Good News” to learn that believing, faithful foreigners (Gentiles) have been added to Israel, and as long as we keep Israel’s Covenant we won’t be “cut off” from Israel just for merely having been foreigners. And remember:

“…at that time you were without Christ, being aliens [foreigners] from the commonwealth of ISRAEL… BUT NOW in Christ Jesus… He… has made both ONE,” (Ephesians 2:12-14).

According to that passage, foreigners (Gentiles) and “Israel” have been joined together through Christ. Added to “Israel.” Look again at the big picture from verses 11-19:

“…you, once Gentiles in the flesh… aliens from the commonwealth of ISRAEL… But now in Christ Jesus… He… has made both one… Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens…”

We’re now “fellow citizens” of “Israel.” One of the topics of that passage was the “commonwealth of Israel.” As Gentiles, we had previously been alienated from “Israel,” but now in Jesus we’re no longer “strangers and foreigners,” but “fellow citizens” of “Israel.” Added to “Israel,” not merely just “brought near,” but rather:

“…you are all ONE in Jesus Christ,” (Galatians 3:28).

Again, we’re “fellow citizens” and made “one” with the Israel of Jesus Christ, also called “the Israel of God,” per Galatians 6:16. Lastly, among the many promises of salvation and “Good News” to Gentiles found in Isaiah, we should also highlight this again:

“One will say, ‘I am the Lord’s’; Another will call himself by the name of Jacob; Another will write with his hand, ‘The Lord’s,’ And NAME HIMSELF by the name of ISRAEL,” (Isaiah 44:5).

The preceding verse tells us exactly when that was to happen:

“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty… I will pour My Spirit,”

That was initiated at the baptism of THE seed, Jesus (Galatians 3:16), and then given to all believers starting on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit began to be poured out to all believers. The implications of that passage are huge!!! It shows that someone else was going to be given the name of “Israel.” We’re going to truly understand who “Israel” really is, and who it is who can name himself by the name Israel, and we’re going to continue to see that it isn’t based upon mere DNA.

According to Isaiah 44:5, after the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, through Jesus, all who are redeemed can name themselves by the name of “Israel” by the fact that we belong to Jesus, because, as we’ll continue to see, JESUS CHRIST is the True, Faithful and Victorious Israel, and we are His people, the Israel of God!