3rd Semester / Week 2
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The following introductory discussion draws from Kingdom Through Covenant by Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Their work helps establish the biblical-theological foundation for understanding Isaiah’s “Servant” and how His identity relates to Israel, the Abrahamic promises, and ultimately Jesus Christ.
Gentry and Wellum begin by showing that Isaiah’s Servant Songs must be read in light of the Abrahamic covenant. The promise to Abraham was never limited to one ethnic people in isolation, but always had the nations in view:
“The First Servant Song is devoted to the theme of the consolation of Israel and of the nations (Isaiah 40:1 through 42:17). The Abrahamic covenant undergirds this introductory section. At the heart of the covenant with Abraham is the promise that blessing will come to the entire world through Abraham and his family, Israel.”
As Gentry and Wellum explain, the identity of the Servant has been debated for centuries, partly because Isaiah often reveals his subjects progressively. Isaiah may begin by introducing a topic in an indirect or mysterious way and then provide additional details until the identity becomes clear. For example, in Isaiah 21, the prophet initially speaks of “the wilderness by the sea,” only later revealing that he is speaking about Babylon (Isaiah 21:9). Isaiah follows a similar pattern with the Servant, beginning with Israel but gradually revealing the faithful representative who fulfills Israel’s calling.
This matters because Israel was called to be the instrument of blessing to the nations, yet Israel herself needed redemption. She could not bring consolation to the nations until she had first been restored by God. Gentry and Wellum therefore note that Israel was under covenant curse and had become “part of the problem and not part of the solution.” This raises the central tension in Isaiah’s Servant passages:
“The servant, however, seems to be deaf and disobedient in Isaiah 42:18-19. This contradicts the picture of the servant in 42:1-9 and especially in 50:4-11. Israel as a servant is in dire need herself, not just of rescue from exile and all that that entails but also of a full resolution of the problem of a broken covenant relationship (e.g., 43:22-28). Idolatry and social injustice are endemic in Israel. This is the dilemma: How can God keep his promises to Abraham when Israel has completely failed as “the servant” of the Lord?”
In other words, Israel was called to mediate blessing to the nations, yet Israel herself had fallen into covenant failure and needed restoration. If the Servant is simply the nation of Israel, then Isaiah appears to present Israel as restoring herself. But that cannot solve the problem, because Israel is the one in need of rescue.
The tension becomes even clearer in Isaiah 49. There the Servant is again called “Israel,” yet His mission is to restore Israel:
“At the beginning of this Second Song, in 49:3, we hear again the affirmation that Israel is the servant, as in 41:8. Yet in 49:5-6, the servant’s task is to bring the nation back. This is a return from exile, both physically and spiritually, as described earlier. How can the servant be both the nation and the deliverer of the nation?”
That is the key question. How can the Servant both be Israel and restore Israel? Gentry and Wellum answer that Isaiah is preparing us to see the Servant as the coming Davidic King who represents the nation:
“There is only one possible solution that resolves this conundrum fairly, and Isaiah has prepared us for this in the first part of his work: the Servant must be the future king described earlier (eg., Isaiah 11: 1-10). As an individual, the king can say, “I am Israel.” The king can represent the nation as a whole, yet he can be distinguished from Israel.”
That representative idea may feel unfamiliar to modern Americans, since we do not live under a monarchy and are not accustomed to thinking of a king as embodying his people. But in the biblical world, the king could stand for the nation, fight on behalf of the nation, and even bear the nation’s identity in a representative sense. This is why the Servant can be called “Israel” while also being distinguished from Israel according to the flesh as the One who restores and delivers her.
This is the crucial biblical-theological point: the Servant embodies Israel’s identity and calling, yet He is distinguished from the nation of Israel that failed in its covenant calling as the faithful One who fulfills what Israel failed to accomplish. He bears Israel’s identity and fulfills Israel’s calling, but He also comes to rescue His people from their failure. That is why the Servant cannot be reduced merely to the nation itself:
“The main problem with the standard Jewish interpretation of identifying the Servant as the nation is that the nation of Israel is neither in the text nor in history able to rescue itself, let alone atone for its own sins. What clinches the argument for the Servant being an individual is the fact that in Isaiah 49:6 the Servant delivers the nation and that in Isaiah 53 the detail is so rich that it could not be anyone but an individual.”
In other words, Isaiah presents the Servant as both Israel’s representative and Israel’s deliverer. He embodies the nation, yet He rescues the nation. He bears the name and calling of Israel, yet He succeeds where Israel failed. This prepares us to see why the New Testament identifies Jesus not merely as Israel’s Messiah, but as the true Israel—the faithful Servant, Son, Seed, and King in whom the promises to Abraham reach their fulfillment.
Having established Isaiah’s Servant as both Israel’s representative and Israel’s deliverer, we can now see how the New Testament reveals Him to be Jesus Christ, the representative King of Israel. Nathanael recognized His royal identity when he boldly declared:
“Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49).
Nathanael didn’t speak of Jesus merely as a religious teacher, but as Israel’s King. And if Jesus is the King of Israel, then we must understand Him as the representative head of His people. He isn’t only Israel’s Messiah; He is the One who embodies Israel’s calling, fulfills Israel’s mission, and reigns over Israel as her true King.
This representative principle will also matter later when we study Daniel and Revelation. In prophetic language, a king may represent his kingdom, his people, his office, or the larger ruling power embodied in him. That truth is already clear in Christ, the true King of Israel, and it will help us later as we study kings, kingdoms, beasts, horns, and ruling powers.
This same representative pattern is also seen in the Christ-centered foreshadowing of David’s battle with Goliath. As was pointed out in the movie American Gospel: Christ Alone, it’s sometimes taught that we can be like David and defeat the giants in our life. However, as that movie correctly demonstrates, theologians have documented that isn’t the point of the story at all, and is even a false and misleading interpretation. The Old Testament is full of “types and shadows” which point to Christ. The account of David and Goliath is Christocentric (Christ-centered). In it, David represents Christ and is a foreshadowing of Christ defeating sin and death for us. In the story of David and Goliath, we’re the hopelessly scared “Israelites” completely unable to conquer our foe which is sin and death, and we thankfully rejoice when our representative King conquers them for us. We merely trust, follow and obey the Commands of our King as He leads and guides us with His Holy Spirit.
As it turns out, the original “Israel” was also a “type and shadow” which had pointed to the ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.
The biblical pattern is not simply “Israel equals the Church,” but rather: Israel is fulfilled in Christ, the representative head of the nation, and the Church belongs to Israel only through union with Christ. Jesus is the “telos” of Israel, and we’ve seen in Galatians 3:28 that we’re all “one” in Jesus, we’ve been connected to Jesus who is the true “branch” and true “vine,” and many other passages also teach that we’re “in Christ.” Simply put, Israel reaches its fulfillment in Christ, and those united to Him share in that identity.
All of that is an important distinction, because we’re not connected to the name “Israel” without going through King Jesus. Also, remember that Romans 9:6-8 taught there are two different Israels, and as seen in the olive tree of Romans 11, those without Jesus have been “cut off” from the true Israel and are now merely the Israel of the flesh. The significance of that distinction, that we’re not connected to the true Israel without being connected to King Jesus, is something we’ll examine next semester, because throughout Church history some incorrect presuppositions had been made by those who assumed the Church is the same as the mostly unregenerate Old Covenant nation of Israel and would therefore supposedly contain both believers and unbelievers inside the Covenant community. However, that view minimizes the true saving power of the New Covenant which provides a fully regenerate, Spirit-filled community.
Stephen Wellum, Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, put our relationship to Israel and Jesus this way: “we must think of the Israel-church relationship Christologically. The church is not directly the “new Israel” or her replacement. Rather, in Christ Jesus, the church is God’s new creation, comprised of believing Jews and Gentiles, because Jesus is the last Adam and true Israel, the faithful seed of Abraham who inherits the promises by his work (Gal. 3:16; Eph. 2:11-22). Thus, in union with Christ, the church is God’s new covenant people in continuity with the elect in all ages, but different from [national] Israel in its nature and structure. Now, in Christ, both believing ethnic Jews and Gentiles stand equally together and inherit all of God’s promises in him (Gal. 3:26-4:7). And, furthermore, the relationship between Christ and his people is inseparable. For this reason, the church receives all of God’s promises in Christ.”
Wellum is not saying that the Church is unrelated to Israel or that God has abandoned His covenant purposes. Rather, he is emphasizing that the New Covenant people of God are not simply a continuation of the Old Covenant national structure, which included both believing and unbelieving members. The Church is different in “nature and structure” because it is united to Christ, the true Israel and faithful Seed of Abraham.
Jesus is now King over His fully redeemed and fully regenerate (born again) spiritual Kingdom of Israel. The “more glorious” aspect of New Covenant Israel is that every member of this covenant community is empowered by the living Holy Spirit who dwells within us. The guidance we receive from the Holy Spirit is part of what makes the New Covenant “more glorious” than the “obsolete” Old Covenant, as Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 3.
This Christ-centered understanding of Israel is further confirmed in Matthew 2:6 which reveals that Jesus is the promised “ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.” Since Jesus is the Shepherd-King of His people, this fits perfectly with the larger biblical pattern we have been tracing: those who belong to Christ belong to the restored people of Israel under their true King. The New Covenant was established at the First Advent and was first proclaimed to national Israel. The earliest converts in Acts 2 emerged from the Jewish covenant community gathered in Jerusalem, and the New Covenant church therefore had a distinctly Jewish foundation. Yet Israel was never defined by physical descent alone. From the beginning, Israel included a “mixed multitude,” and foreigners could be incorporated into the covenant community and counted among God’s people. Even the genealogy of Jesus reminds us that Gentiles were graciously woven into the story of Israel. The same covenantal pattern remains, but now in its fulfilled New Covenant form: God’s people are defined by belonging to Him through His appointed representative, Jesus Christ.
Throughout the centuries, this pattern has continued as many from national Israel have remained part of the true Israel of God by being united to King Jesus. And just as Old Covenant Israel included those who were added into the covenant community, the New Covenant gathers people from every nation into God’s people through faith in Christ. Unfortunately, many who belonged to Israel according to the flesh are not part of the New Covenant and have been “cut off,” just as had taken place within Old Covenant Israel. They have been cut off because they are not united to Jesus as their New Covenant King. The pattern has always centered on covenant relationship with God: some are added through faith, while others are cut off because of unbelief.
And now, within New Covenant Israel, as foretold in Jeremiah 31:33–34, everyone truly belonging to this covenant community personally knows the Lord, has His Law written upon their hearts, and is guided by His “more glorious” Holy Spirit who works within His people. The New Testament presents this not as a promise reserved exclusively for a future age, as some have been taught, but as a present reality established through Jesus Christ, who inaugurated the New Covenant at His first coming. In Hebrews 8, the author explicitly applies Jeremiah’s New Covenant promise to Christ and His people, showing that this inward transformation is not merely a future hope but a present reality for those who belong to Him, and this is one of the defining characteristics that distinguishes the New Covenant community from the Old Covenant nation.
Finally, we come to one of the most debated passages regarding the identity of Israel: Galatians 6:16, which specifically mentions “the Israel of God.” Before examining this phrase, however, we must first consider Paul’s emphasis on the “new creation,” the very concept mentioned in the preceding verse of Galatians 6:15.
This same “new creation” reality appears throughout Paul’s writings. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes:
“Therefore, from now on, WE REGARD NO ONE ACCORDING TO THE FLESH… Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17).
With this understanding of the “new creation” in mind, that our identity is no longer determined by outward, fleshly distinctions, notice how Paul similarly concludes his letter to the Galatians:
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a NEW CREATION. And as many as walk according to THIS RULE, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the ISRAEL OF GOD,” (Galatians 6:15-16).
When we consider these passages together, we see that the “rule” Paul calls believers to follow is the recognition that, in Christ, they are a “new creation,” and that descent according to the flesh no longer determines our standing among God’s people. Therefore, we should “regard no one according to the flesh.” It is significant that Paul introduces “the Israel of God” only after establishing this new creation reality of rejecting fleshly distinctions.
Throughout Galatians, Paul had emphasized our unity in Christ and refuted our need to participate in Jewish customs such as physical circumcision which had merely been a “type and shadow” which pointed to the ultimate circumcision of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Paul went to great lengths to tear down the dividing wall which had been between Jews and Gentiles, and instead revealed that Christians are the true “seed of Abraham” who are the “heirs” who receive “the promises.” Therefore, it would be quite shocking and out of place for the final words to the Galatians to suddenly and radically revert back to highlighting a particular group, rather than for them to “regard no one according to the flesh.” If Paul were to conclude by suddenly distinguishing between Jews and Gentiles within the church, that would undercut his consistent message throughout this epistle and also specifically undercut the “rule” that had been laid down in the preceding verse. Because such a conclusion would contradict Paul’s entire preceding argument, it appears that Paul ended the letter by staying the course: in Christ, circumcision and uncircumcision do not define covenant identity; the new creation does. Those who belong to this new creation people are the true “Israel of God.”
If Paul had instead closed his letter by suddenly addressing the Israel of the flesh, then it would open up a reason for Gentiles to become circumcised in order to become a Jewish proselyte who kept all of their practices. We know that can’t be the case because in Philippians 3:3 Paul revealed that believers are the true circumcision, therefore, logically, since we’ve been told that we’re the true circumcision and the true descendants of Abraham who receive the promises in Christ, and since Christ is the true Israel and is our representative King, then we are part of His “Israel of God.” The most natural reading is that “the Israel of God” is the same group that follows the rule of the new creation: believers in Christ.
As we have just seen, the most decisive factor in understanding “the Israel of God” is the context of the entire epistle in which the phrase appears. Thomas Schreiner, Associate Dean at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Professor of New Testament Interpretation, wisely pointed out regarding Galatians 6:16, “It is unlikely that the dispute can be resolved on the basis of grammar alone.”
However, grammar is still important, and there is one specific word that deserves attention: the Greek conjunction καί (kai). This common word is usually translated as “and,” but depending on its context it can also carry related meanings such as “also” or “even.” The question in Galatians 6:16 is whether καί introduces a separate group (“and the Israel of God”) or whether it functions appositionally, meaning that the phrase that follows identifies or further explains the group already mentioned.
An appositional use of καί is not only possible, but many scholars have argued that it best fits Paul’s overall argument in Galatians. This is because interpretations that contribute the least new information while remaining consistent with the context are generally preferred. As C. W. Cowan explains, “To say that Paul intends the phrase to mean all believers, Jew and Gentile, is consistent with the letter and adds the least new information to the context. Therefore, an appositional usage of kai in 6:16 seems quite defensible” (Context is Everything: ‘The Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16; SBJT 14, no. 3 (2010).
To conclude looking at “the Israel of God” in Galatians 6:16, here’s a quote from Ligonier Ministries, “With the transformation of the Law comes the transformation of the believing community. Those who walk by ‘this rule,’ those who walk by the truth of the new creation, receive the peace and mercy of the Lord (v. 16). This peace and mercy is also for ‘the Israel of God,’ which in the original Greek refers to the same group that walks by the rule of the new creation. Calvin explains that Israel here refers to all Christians, whether Jew or Gentile. Paul ‘gives the appellation of the Israel of God to those who he formerly denominated the children of Abraham by faith, (Gal. 3:29) and thus includes all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles.’ The Church, made up of Jew and Gentile, will inherit all the promises made to Israel, for the Church fulfills God’s purpose for Israel.”
Finally, as we conclude our study of the question “Who is Israel,” we can confidently say that Scripture reveals Jesus as the true Israel who embodies and fulfills everything Israel was called to be. He is the prophesied “Servant” of the Lord, the faithful One who succeeds where Israel failed, and this Servant is directly called “Israel” (Isaiah 41:8; 49:3). Furthermore, Matthew 2:15 reveals that Jesus fulfills Hosea 11:1, where God called Israel His son and declared, “Out of Egypt I called My son.” By applying this passage to Jesus, Matthew reveals Him as the faithful Son who embodies true Israel, recapitulates Israel’s story, and fulfills perfectly what Israel was called to be, succeeding where the nation according to the flesh failed.
As the King of Israel, Jesus is the representative of His people, and we have been made “one” in Him in order to receive the promises that belong first and foremost to Him as the true Seed of Abraham, yet are graciously shared with all who are “in Christ” (Galatians 3:16, 28–29). As we learned in our previous study, centuries worth of commentary on Isaiah 44:5 has recognized that believers should consider it an honor to apply the name of “Israel” to ourselves because Jesus is the “telos” of the name “Israel.” Therefore, those who are united to Christ share in the identity and inheritance fulfilled in Him.
We’ve likewise been called the “Israel of God,” per Galatians 6:16, and according to 1 Peter 2:9-10, we as Christians are now a “nation” and are THE “chosen” people of God. Furthermore, in carrying out one of the primary functions of a King, Jesus has not only led His army to battle, but has actually already fought and won the ultimate battle for His nation, just like the foreshadowing we were given when David fought Goliath as the anointed representative King of the nation of Israel.
Jesus represents His people and is the King of His people, the King of the “Israel of God,” the worldwide spiritual nation under the King that now reigns over His Kingdom. And as Matthew 28:18 and Hebrews 2:7-8 affirm, “ALL” authority in Heaven and on earth has already been given to Jesus, because He is our representative, victorious King of Israel!!!
