The church is part of Israel

This sounds strange at first. Isn’t the Church greater than Israel? Or is the Church replacing Israel? Or will Israel make a comeback at the end of time, apart from the church? Each of these questions assumes a controversy that, on closer inspection, does not actually exist.

The mystery of the Gentiles

In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes: “that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

The “mystery” here is not some hidden secret but an almost unbelievable act of God: the Gentiles now share with Israel the same heritage, the same body, and the same promises. They are united in Christ, which is itself a fulfillment of Isaiah.

Jesus is the New Covenant, and in him both Jews and Gentiles together make up end-time Israel. That began when Jesus died on the cross, and it will be completed when he returns. Crucially, this end-time Israel is not defined as a nation but by belonging to Jesus.

Many of the terms the Old Testament uses for Israel are now applied to the Church — which is not a separate entity replacing Israel, but the new Israel itself, encompassing both ethnic Israel that believes in Jesus and the Gentiles who believe in him. In fact, the covenant with Israel was only an intermediary step between Abraham and the Church.

Beloved of the Lord

“Beloved of the Lord” is a term God uses for the tribe of Benjamin, and it resurfaces even when he speaks of Israel breaking the covenant.

We find the same term again when Paul tells the Thessalonians that they are chosen. Interestingly, he also uses the word “ekklesia” here — the same term the Old Testament uses for Israel gathering together to worship God.

In the letter to the Romans, Paul cites how the prophet Hosea calls Israel God's beloved, and applies that same designation, now fulfilled, to the Gentiles.

God’s son

Israel is repeatedly called God’s son throughout the Old Testament:

• as the first-born son when God calls for the Exodus,
• in the instructions on how the people are to treat themselves,
• when Israel had forgotten that God was their father,
• as confirmation of how God cares for His children,
• when Israel is promised a future as God's grown children,
• when God recalls the Exodus,
• when Israel's tribe Ephraim is called first-born,
• and spoken of as the first-born among David's line.

The church, in turn, is called God’s son, just as Jesus is God’s Son — we are all His brothers because we have all been adopted by Him. Just as Jesus is Abraham's seed, so are we. We are children of the promise, like Isaac, and Jerusalem is our mother.

We are, in short, also called the descendants of Israel.

Circumcision

Circumcision, too, goes back to Abraham. Paul states that a Jew who is only circumcised “outwardly” but not in his heart is not a Jew, a point he later confirms by showing that true circumcision is only possible in Christ.

The temple

Another point of identification is the temple, which was the place where Israel had fellowship with God. We are that temple now, and should take care over how we live as a result. That temple is built on Jesus as its foundation.

Bride of God

In the Old Testament, Israel is called the bride of God, even in times of unfaithfulness — a reality God has Hosea illustrate by marrying an unfaithful woman.

The church, too, is called a bride, and the marriage to Christ is compared to the marriage between a man and a woman.

In Revelation, the bride of Christ is the church, which includes elements of both the church (apostles) and Israel (tribes).

Kingdom of priests

Israel is called a kingdom of priests, a title applied directly to the church in Peter, in the introduction to Revelation, and again later in the worship of Christ.

God’s vineyard

God applies the image of the vineyard to Israel, describing it at times as mistreated and at other times as flourishing. Jesus picks up this same image to show Israel's failure and hand the vineyard to others who bear fruit, an image Paul then applies to the church.

Olive tree

Israel is also pictured as an olive tree — for instance, in reference to the northern kingdom, as a reminder when they broke the covenant, and when God calls Israel to restoration.

The image can apply to individuals in Israel or to leaders, such as a judge in Israel, King David, or Joshua and Zerubbabel.

The New Testament extends the image outward: the Gentiles are described as becoming part of the olive tree, and the church is identified with the two olive trees from the prophet Zechariah, an identification developed further in the context of the two witnesses.

Treasured possession of God

Consider Titus: “Who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

God calls Israel His very own treasured possession, because he chose Israel to be pure, so that Israel would follow His commandments.

The phrase “eager to do what is good” is a call for Israel to be obedient to God, and “redeemed from all wickedness” echoes the Psalms, where Israel is promised redemption from all wickedness.

The ministry

Isaiah 49 is fulfilled in the church, as the table below traces phrase by phrase (bold marks the “light to the Gentiles” theme, italic marks the language of Israel/the nations, and bold italic marks the single phrase where both themes converge):

Pouring out of the Spirit

You may already know that the prophecy of Joel about the outpouring of the Spirit is fulfilled at Pentecost. But look closer at the context, and an important point emerges.

Joel’s prophecy describes the restoration of Israel starting from verse 18 onward, and especially the verse right after that, which refers explicitly to Israel. What’s more, the outpouring of the Spirit was promised only to Israel and to the servant — never to the nations directly.

The outpouring was to take place in the last days, a phrase used in exactly that sense only in Isaiah, where it describes the nations streaming to Jerusalem. The nations listed at Pentecost are a smaller version of the scattered list from the Tower of Babel, showing that what happens here is meant to apply to all nations.

That is confirmed when Cornelius and his household receive the Holy Spirit — an event so astonishing that no one raised any objection to Peter entering a Gentile house.

Acts 2, in other words, is the fulfillment of Acts 1 (being filled with the Holy Spirit), and Acts 1:8 is itself a fulfillment of Isaiah:

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