Israel and the Church

It is not merely the case that Israel is never used in the New Testament as a synonym for the Church. The opposite is actually true. There are various passages where Israel denotes Jews who have actually rejected Jesus and therefore cannot be considered as members of His Church.

Let us look a just a few passages in Romans 11:

"What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded" (Romans 11:7, NKJV).

It is obvious here that Israel is used to describe those who have not believed in Jesus the Messiah, and are therefore not part of the Chruch. In the same chapter Paul says about Israel:

"I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealously, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them" (Romans 11:11 - 14).

Throughout these verses Paul maintains a consistent contrast between Israelites who have rejected Jesus and Gentiles who have received salvation through faith in Him. So, far from Israel being a name for Gentile believers, Paul uses the name to distinguish them from Gentile believers!

"For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in you own opnion, that blindness in part had happened to Israel until the fullness (full number) of the Gentiles has come in" (Romans 11:25).

Being a Jew

Paul said: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 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" (Romans 2:28. 29. emphasis added).

When Paul says "whose praise is not from men," he is playing on the Hebrew meaning of the name "Jew," which is taken from the name of the tribe of Judah, meaning "praise" or "thanksgiving." When Leah gave birth to her fourth son she called him Judah saying, "I will praise the Lord." The meaning of Judah or Jew, then, is "praise." So Paul says if you are a real Jew, your praise should come from God and not men. Paul was saying it is not enough to be a Jew outwardly. A true Jew must have the inner condition of heart that earns him or her the praise of God.

Being Israel or Israelites

Let us now turn to the words "Israel" or "Israelites" as used in the New Testament.

Paul said: "For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called,' 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: 'At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.'" (Romans 9:6 - 9).

Here Paul explains that to be physically descended from Israel - that is, from Jacob - is not sufficient. To qualify for God's promised blessings, a person must also demonstrate the same faith that characterized Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; otherwise, he or she is not really entitled to the name "Israel."

Let us bear in mind that Paul is not extending the use of "Israel" to include all believers, irrespective of national origin. On the contrary, he is restricting its use to include only those descendants of Israel who are in the faith of the Messiah. It is an error to suggest that in this passage Paul describes all believers as Israel.

In other places in Romans 9, Paul uses "Israel" in the normal sense of all who are descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Paul said: "For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen" (Romans 9:3 - 5, emphasis added).

Here Paul calls "Israelites" those who have actually rejected the Messiah. Nevertheless he calls them countrymen. Furthermore, Paul wishes he would take their place of unbelief and rejection by God. It is obvious that Paul is here using the name "Israel" or "Israelite" to describe all those descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, whether they are believers or unbelievers. This is the normal use throughout the New Testament.

The Israel of God

Paul said: "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" (Gal. 6:15, 16, emphasis added).

Here again Paul uses "Israel" in a restricted sense. He is talking about two kinds of people. On one hand are those who, without a background in circumcision or Judaism, have experience the new birth and are walking in the new creation. On the other hand are Israelites by natural descent who have remained in the faith that was the mark of their ancestors and through that faith have embraced Jesus as Messiah, thus entering into the New Covenant. The latter Paul calls "the Israel of God." What really matters, Paul is saying, is not some religious rite but a creative act of God in the heart generated by the New Covenant.

There is an important reason why Paul makes the distinction between believers from Gentile and Jewish backgrounds. Gentiles, on one hand, had become Christianss by a single supernatual transformation that had taken place in their hearts. They had no previous background of knowledge of the one true God. For Jews, on the other hand, their faith in the Messiah was the culmination of a historical process which was initiated at the Exodus from Egypt and then developed over many centuries through the ministry of God-appointed rulers, prophets and priests.

The spiritual condition of the Gentile world in the time of the New Testament could be compared to a field which had been left in the natural wild condition, without undergoing in any process of cultivation. For a Gentile to come to Christ represented a direct intervention of God in an individual life which had not undergone any historical process of preparation.

The Jewish people on the other hand, were a field that had been carefully cultivated over many centuries. For this reason, during the period of His ministry that was confined to Israel, Jesus said to His disciples: "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored, others have labored, and you hae entered into their labors" (John 4:38).

The disciples were reaping in a field that had been cultivated over many centuries by a long succession of God's servants.

The terminology that Paul uses in Gal. 6:15, 16 bring out this distinction between the backgrounds of Gentile and Jewish believers. For both alike, there was a personal encounter with the Messiah that transformed their lives. For Gentiles, this was a direct intervention of God, without any previous historical process of preparation. But for Jews the encounter was the culmination of a historical process that had been going on for many centuries. It was appropriate, therefore, to describe them not just as "Israel," but as "the Israel of God." Their faith in the Messiah represented the fulfillment of the purpose of which God had brought Israel into being.

The Church

This analysis of the use of "Israel" in the New Testament would not be complete without a similar brief analysis of the way in which the New Testament uses the word "Church." A "Church" is not a physical structure of wood or brick or stone. In the Greek text of the New Testament, the word usualy translated "Church" is "ekklesia." This denotes "a company of people called out for a special purpose." The closest English word would be "assembly." According to the usage of the New Testament, the "Church" is "an assembly of people called out" from the present world order to serve Jesus Christ and to be prepared by Him to become the collective instrument of the goverment which He will establish in the next age.

The Body of Christ

Paul said: "He put all things under His feet, and gave Him ato be head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all" (Eph. 1:22, 23, emphasis added).

Seen in the light that the Church is the Body of Christ, it is not an organization but an organism. Each member of this Body in directly related by personal faith to Christ, as its Head, and through Him to all the other members.

Over the centuries, however, this concept has been so corrupted and distorted that the Church, as it is known today, bears little or no resemblances to the original model established in the New Testament. Many of those who consider themselves as members of today's Church have no living, personal relationship with Christ, and are often at enmity with other professing Christians. Only a small minority of those who are currently called Christians are members of the Church which is described in the New Testament.

In the midst of all this confusion, however, the true Church is still here on earth.

Paul said: "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His,' and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity'" (2 Tim. 2:19).

The Church so defined, has two distinguishing characteristics:

1. God, and God alone, knows all those who are truly His.

2. Everyone who claims to be a member of this Church is required to demonstrate it by a life of practical righteousness and holiness.

For most Jewish people, this New Testament picure of the Church has no reality. They think of the Church as a large institution, on the same order as a political party or an ethnic society, which for many centuries has been the main instrument and propagator of anti-Semitism. Thus the confusion produced by Satan concerning the identity of Israel is exceeded only by the confusion he has produced concerning the identity of the Church.

God's Choice

Israel and the Church, as correctly interpreted, have one vitally important element in common: each of them is the product of what theologians term "divine election." More simply stated, this means "God's Choice."

Much of the controversy concerning Israel revolves around this issue of God's choice. If there is anything the natural mind of unregenerate man does not like, it is the revelation that God has chosen certain people. We can usually tolerate it so long as we believe we are the poeple God has chosen. Our problem comes when God says He has chosen people we would not have chosen!

Jacob and Esau

Paul offers a historical example of election from the Old Testament - the birth of Jacob and Esau (read Romans 9:10 - 18).

Both twins were conceived by the same father, but before they were born God declared His attitude toward each of them. Paul says God did this to demonstrate that the decisive issue in a person's destiny is not what he does, but God's choice. This has never been an easy doctrine for the carnal mind of man to conceive.

Before both brothers ever came out of the womb, without reference to anything they had done, God declared His choice - the older to serve the younger which was contrary to the accepted cultural rules of the day. Clearly God's choice was not based on Jacob's character or good deeds, since he had not even been born. On the other hand, any goodness that subsequently came out of Jacob's life was the fruit of God's choice.

God's mercy, compassion and grace

Mercy and compassion come from God's sovereign decision. Unfortunately, however, the truth of God's sovereignty is hardly ever mentioned in the contemporary Church. We could define God's sovereignty by saying God does what He wants, when He wants, the way He wants. He asks no one's permission.

Paul said: "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy" (Romans 9:16).

All our effort and all our good works are not sufficient. We are totally dependent on God's mercy, which He Himself freely dispenses as He chooses. God, by His own sovereign decision either grants or withholds mercy in the life of every person. We always need to remember that God does not own mercy to any of us. If He never offered mercy to a single one of us, He would still be perfectly just.

When God offers His mercy, He lays down certain simple conditions that He requiers us to meet. These are stated in the message of the Gospel. The fact that we have met His conditions for mercy, however, by no means indicates that we have earned it. By definition, neither mercy or grace can ever be earned.

Election and the Church

We have seen that in the Old Testament God's dealings with Israel are the expression of His sovereign decision not made on the basis of works. In partcular, the apostle Paul emphasizes that God rejected Esau and chose Jacob while they were still in the womb, in order to demonstrate that the basis of His dealings with nations is His own sovereign choice. Gentile Christians sometimes have dificulty in accepting this principle, especially when emphasis is placed on God's choice of the Jews.

Nevertheless, a careful analysis of the New Testament reveals that exactly the same principle applies in Gentile Chrsitians. In fact, it applies to all believers, irrespective of national or racial background. Every true believer in Jesus Christ has been divinely elected (chosen). Otherwise, he would not and could not be a believer.

Some sections of the Church do not recognize this. Those sections of the Church that do recognize it are often regarded with suspicion. This may be due partly to the fact that while these believers have embraced an important truth, they have sometimes emphasized it to the point where they have ignored other equally important truths. In this way they have carried one particular truth in unbiblical extremes.

We are Christians not because we chose God but beacuse God chose us. In much contemporary teachings, we are left with the feeling that salvation depends entirely on our making the right decision, when actually this is secondary. Salvation depends on the decision God has already made. Any decision we make is merely a response to the decision which God has already made. Furthermore, He made that decision before He created the world.

The principle of divine election, in other words, which we have seen applied to Israel, applies just as much to the Church. God has no other principle. He never endorses or blesses any decision or program which He Himself has not initiated. Many Christians would be less insecure if they realized that their lives are products of a plan that was conceived in eternity before creation ever took place.

There are a number of New Testament Scriptures which, taken together, unfold this priciple of divine election:

1. Jesus said: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you" (John 15:16).

The apostles had not become followers of Jesus because they made the right choice. It was not they, but Jesus, who made the choice. This principle applies to all believers whom God calls into His service.

2. Paul said: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom he called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified" (Romans 8:29, 30, emphasis added).

The above passage contains a succession of verbs in the past tense: foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified. They mark out the only route that leads to God's glory. The first two stages - foreknew and predestined - occurred in eternity before time began.

The whole process had its origin in God's foreknowledge. From eternity He forekew each one of us. On the basis of this He predestined us - that is, He planned the course that our lives should take.

God seems to say, "I knew you before creation took place. My choice and My calling are based on My knowledge of you. I know better than you yourself what I can make of you, and I have arranged the course of your life accordingly."

People may react in different ways to this revelation from God's Word. My own response is the very opposite of pride or presumption. I have an awesome sense of my personal resposibility. My greatest concern is to fulfill the plan God worked out for me in eternity. I begin to identify with the words of Jesus: "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work" (John 4:34).

On the other hand, my sense of responsibility is balanced by the wonderful assurance of what Paul said: "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:24).

The outcome is an acknowledgment of moment-by-moment dependence on God's all-sufficient grace.

To those who are held by a sense of their own inadequacy, I would like to offer a word of encouragement - "Look away from yourself and your own ability, a trust yourself to God's omnipotence."

David, the psalmist said: "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass" (Psalm 37:5).