Israel and the Church are One

Israel and the Church are One

***The Church is the continuation and extension of the nation of Israel. The Church does not REPLACE Israel. We are one body in Christ now, not at a future time. This is problematic for Dispensationalism. We live together and go to Heaven together with God; not at separate times. ***

·         Romans 2:28-29-²⁸ For NO ONE IS A JEW who is MERELY ONE OUTWARDLY, nor is circumcision outward and physical. ²⁹ But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, BY THE SPIRIT, NOT BY THE LETTER. His praise is not from man but from God.

·  Romans 4:9-17-⁹ Is this blessing then only for the circumcised (JEWS), or also for the uncircumcised (GENTILES)? For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. ¹⁰ How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. ¹¹ He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of ALL who believe without being circumcised(GENTILES/ EXTERNAL CIRCUMCISION), so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, ¹² and to make him the father of the circumcised (SPIRTUAL CIRCUMCISION) who are not merely circumcised (EXTERNAL CIRCUMCISION) but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised (SPIRTUAL CIRCUMCISION).¹³ For the promise to Abraham and his offspring(Not Plural-Isaac, but ultimately Jesus) that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law (JEWS) but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us ALL, ¹⁷ as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

·         Ephesians 2:11-22-¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands(JEWS/EXTERNALCIRCUMSION)— ¹² remember that you were AT THAT TIME separated from Christ, ALIENATED from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having NO HOPE and WITHOUT God in the world.¹³ But NOW in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself ONE new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in ONE BODY through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷ And he came and preached peace to you who were far off(GENTILES) and peace to those who were near (JEWS). ¹⁸ For through him we both have access in ONE Spirit to the Father.¹⁹ So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²² In him YOU also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

·         Ephesians 3:3 -³ ….how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.

·         Ephesians 3:5-6-⁵ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has NOW been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.⁶ This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

·         Ephesians 4:3-7-³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is ONE BODY and ONE SPIRIT—just as you were called to the ONE HOPE that belongs to your call— ⁵ ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, ⁶ONE God and Father of ALL, who is over ALL and through ALL and in ALL. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

·         Galatians 3:7-9-⁷ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture (OLD TESTAMENT), foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall ALL the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are BLESSED ALONG WITH Abraham, the man of faith.

·         Galatians 3:13-14- ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

·         Galatians 3:16- ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. IT DOES NOT say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to ONE, “And to your offspring,” WHO IS CHRIST.

·         Galatians 3:26-28- for in Christ Jesus you are ALL sons of God, through faith.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 no male and female, for YOU ARE ALL ONE in Christ Jesus.

·         Galatians 5:6 ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcisioncounts for anything, but only faith working through love.

·         Galatians 6:15-16-¹⁵ For neither circumcision COUNTS FOR ANYTHING, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. ¹⁶ And as for ALL who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

·         1 Peter 2:9- ⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

·         John 8:33-44-³³ They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. ³⁵ The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ³⁸ I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”³⁹ They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,⁴⁰ but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. ⁴¹ You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” ⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. ⁴³ Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

·         Revelation 3:9 -⁹ Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satanwho say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them (JEWS) come and bow down before your (GENTILES) feet, and they will learn that I have loved you(GENTILES).

·         Isaiah 60:14 -¹⁴ The sons (GENTILES) of those who afflicted you (JEWS) shall come bending low to you (JEWS),and all who despised you shall bow down at your feet; they shall call you the City of the Lord,the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

·         Isaiah 49:23 -²³ Kings shall be your foster fathers(GENTILES),and their queens your nursing mothers(GENTILES).With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you (JEWS),and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord;those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.

·         Isaiah 45:14¹⁴ Thus says the Lord:“The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,and the Sabeans, men of stature,shall come over to you and be yours;they shall follow you;they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.They will plead with you, saying: ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other, no god besides him.’”

·         Romans 9:6-9- ⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not ALL who are descended from Israel (ETHNIC) belong to Israel (SPIRITUAL), ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is NOT the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. ⁹ For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.”

·         Romans 11:12-26-¹² Now if their (JEWS) trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! ¹³ Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry ¹⁴ in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? ¹⁶ If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.¹⁷ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot (GENTILES), were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree (CHRIST), ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. ¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ That is true. They (JEWS) were broken off because of their unbelief, but you (GENTILES) stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches (JEWS), neither will he spare you (GENTILES). ²² Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.²³ And even they (JEWS), if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.²⁵ Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. ²⁶ And in this way ALL Israel (SPIRITUAL ISRAEL/ELECT) will be saved, as it is written,“The Deliverer will come from Zion,
 he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

·         Romans 12:5 ⁵ so we, though many, are ONE body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

·         1 Corinthians 10:17 ¹⁷ Because there is ONE bread, we who are many are ONE body, for we all partake of the ONE bread.

·         Philippians 3:2-3- ² Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. ³ For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put NO confidence in the flesh

·         Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:8-12 and 13- ⁸ For he finds fault with them when he says:“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord,when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel (GENTILES-OT Context) and with the house of Judah,⁹ not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.¹¹ And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.¹² For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”¹³ In speaking of a new covenant, HE MAKES THEFIRST ONE OBSOLETE. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is READY TO VANISH AWAY.

·         2 Corinthians 1:20-22 ²⁰ For ALL the promises of Godfind their Yes in him (JESUS). That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. ²¹ And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, ²² and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.