Is The Church The Israel Of God?

We live in very interesting times in the unfolding of God's prophetic program for the end.

Couple of years ago, we received a word from the Lord that the big question many of his people will be asking in an endtime is: What is the difference between the old and new testament, between the old & new covenant, between Israel & the church. 

On the heels of the recent Israeli war, there has been an unprecedented focus and concern of christendom on Israel, many have taken to write or speak on Israel. 

I've seen writeups about Israel within the past two weeks more than i have in the past two decades, and the shocking revelation is that the assertions i've seen many make about Israel, reveals how so little is truly known of the church and what the church is.   

The inability on the part of many to rightly divide the word of the truth of scriptures concerning Israel, her place in bible prophecy, the earthly promises that belong to her, her earthly eternal destiny & inheritance etc. speaks volumes of the failure of many to rightly discern the body of Christ (the ecclesia) as distinguished from the nation of Israel. 

Many confound the church with Israel, even to the point of claiming that the church is the new Israel and that the Israel of old is not God's choicest people on the earth, but the church. Some assert that the believer in Christ is the true Jew.

There are portions of scriptures they readily quote to back their unfounded assertions & hasty conclusions, which only highlight how so little such scriptures have been rightly and contextually understood.

Who Is The Israel Of God?

For lack of contextual understanding of Galatians 6:16, many assert that the Israel of God mentioned by Paul in this verse is the church. 

When we have a piecemeal/cherry picking attitude to scriptures, there are many things written that we can never grasp/understand, till we patiently read to see the context. 

Galatians 6

15-17.

For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision; but new creation.

And as many as shall walk by this rule, peace upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

For the rest let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the brands of the Lord Jesus. 

The rule is that in Christ circumcision or uncircumcision means nothing & does not count, but a new creation. This of course refers to physical circumcision made with hands. 

Paul in his epistles often referred to the Jews as the circumcision and gentiles as the uncircumcision,  (Please See Galatians 2:7-8 & Ephesians 2:11).  

To say that in Christ neither circumcision or uncircumcision is anything, is thus like saying in Christ whether you're a Jew or a gentile means nothing/does not count, just as earlier said in Galatians 3:27-28. 

The constitution/making of the one new man in Christ is that in which God has declared & bestowed peace upon all; peace upon him that is nigh(the Jews) & upon him that is afar off(Gentiles who were estranged from the covenants of promise & aliens from the commonwealth of Israel (Please read Ephesians 2:11-17). 

When Paul in Galatians 6:16 speaks of peace & mercy upon as many as shall walk by the rule of the new creation/one new man in Christ, and upon the Israel of God, he is in essence saying peace & mercy upon as many that walk by this rule(the Gentiles/nations who are many/more in number) & upon the Israel of God(Jews by natural birth/of the stock of Israel who are remnants according to the election of grace).

It is peace upon them that are afar off & upon them that are near. 

The church/body of Christ is constituted mainly of gentiles(saints from the nations) & this handful of the stock of Isreal whom Paul in Romans 11:5 refers to as remnants according to the election of grace. 

In vs 7 of the same Romans 11 Paul declares: "What Israel seeks for, that he has not obtained; but the election has obtained, and the rest have been blinded".

For unbelief, Israel as a nation did not obtain though the seed(Christ) sprang from Israel, but the election(remnants according to the election of grace) who are also Israelites, have obtained and the rest have been blinded. This election is the Israel of God. 

The Israel of God in Galatians 6:16 thus is not a reference to the church of God but speaks of the physical descendants of Abraham who are remnants according to the election of grace and thus come into the faith and reality of the body of Christ with the gentiles who are also brought in by One Spirit. 

All the early apostles & disciples of Jewish descent including Paul himself who wrote the epistle to the Galatians, are the Israel of God, whom earlier in Galatians 2:15-16, he described as Jews by nature who have now transited from Judaism into the faith of Christ, seeing/knowing "that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ". 

Till the present day there remains this remnant, people of Jewish descent who come into the faith of christianity. 

Upon these remnants of the stock of Israel who are nigh and come into the faith of Christ & walk by the rule of the new creation in Christ, peace upon them and upon as many of the gentiles afar off who will come into the faith of Christ & walk by the same rule, peace upon them(they need not be troubled to become circumcised like the Jews).  

It is thus peace upon both the uncircumcision(gentiles) & the circumcision(Jews/Israel of God) who come to the faith of Christ, where circumcision or uncircumcision does not avail anything but a new creation. 

The Israel of God(remnants of Israel) who transit to the faith of Christ need not be troubled to continue keeping the law of commandments as much as the gentiles who come into the faith of Christ need not be troubled to begin to keep the Jewish law of commandments, it is thus peace to all for in Christ there is a new rule...the one new man(a new creation). 

By faith in Christ, both Jews and Gentiles, are born into the reality of a superior circumcision, which is not made with hands; a spiritual circumcision which is the cutting off/removal of the body of the flesh. 

See Colossians 2:11. 

In the reality of the new creation and this spiritual circumcision which is the circumcision of Christ, we all who are in the faith of Christ(both Jews & Gentiles) bear the marks/brands of Christ like the apostle said, and need not that any man should trouble us with carnal ordinances contained in the law of commandments. 

As Philippians 3:3 puts it all who believe in Christ are the circumsion which worships God in the Spirit with absolutely no confidence in the flesh. 

It is absolutely wrong for anyone to assert or think that Jesus came to establish a new Jewish race, new Israel or heavenly Jewish race, as there is no such thing in the scriptures. 

In the church of Christ, there is neither Jew nor gentile; no race, tribe or colour but a new creation - the one new man.