To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 13:43:34 -0500
Subject: [HF] Bible Study HF083 - The Mystery of Israel and the Church
Hebraics,
In the study to follow we will look at some of the mystery
surrounding Israel and the Church. The study is too broad to limit it
to a single study. It allows for various thoughts. What I would like to
see is follow-up discussions where the subject at hand can be
covered more in depth.
We will be able to discuss any distinctions to be made between
Israel and the Church. We will be able to discuss whether the
Church itself can be considered Israel, or a part of Israel, or even a
different Israel. We will be able to discuss issues like the lost tribes.
I don't want to place any limits on the discussion, except as follows:
The bottom line is two-fold. First, the study must remain within the
boundaries of the Scriptures. And, secondly, since this study is too
broad to be contained to a single setting, I may offer additional
studies if they are called for. But I hope the discussions will cover
things well enough.
That being said, there is one other thing to be stressed --- As an
educational forum, we expect all discussion to be conducted with
consideration to others. This is a serious issue for HF. Serious
means that the fastest way to become moderated on the forum, or
to be banned, is to began treating others in a disrespectful manner.
So, feel free to exchange thoughts and ask questions. Remember
that there are no dumb questions. Simply let all communication be
conducted with an open attitude of learning together.
This is Bible Study HF083 - The Mystery of Israel and the Church.
When it comes to the mystery of Israel and the Church we must
begin with new covenant language. God spoke through the
prophet, saying, "'Behold days are coming,' declares the Lord,
'when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with
the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their
fathers in the day I took them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant
which they broke, although I was a husband to them,' declares the
Lord." (Jer
31:31,32)
This is the first mention of a new covenant in the Scriptures. Here
is where we must begin. Several things stand out:
(1) The One who makes the 'new' covenant is God, that is, the Lord
Himself.
(2) The covenant is made with the house of Israel and the house of
Judah.
(3) It is to be a 'new' covenant, not a 'renewed' covenant. It is to be
a covenant NOT LIKE the covenant given at Sinai. (All caps are for
emphasis only. I'm not shouting.)
(4) The new covenant will replace the former covenant.
(5) The former covenant was a covenant of marriage; "I was a
husband to them." The new covenant is also a marriage covenant.
Yet the new covenant is with Israel and Judah, but will expand into
all the nations.
With this background from the prophets, we can now come to the
next place the term 'new covenant' is used in the Bible. This brings
us to the upper room. Let's see if we can make something of the
scene.
In the upper room are twelve apostles. Who are these men?
According to the Lord they are representative of the twelve tribes of
Israel. But they cannot be representative of the natural nation of
Israel. Israel as a natural nation already has her own government in
place. None of that government body is in the upper room.
Jesus says to these men, "This cup which is poured out for you is
the new covenant in My blood." (Luke
22:20) What we need to
understand here is that the same One who spoke through Jeremiah
concerning the new covenant, is the same One who is now
speaking to the apostles.
Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the old
covenant will be replaced by the new covenant. It won't be like the
covenant of Sinai, because the new covenant is designed for a
heavenly people. But the only One who has the right to replace the
former covenant is the One who brought into being the first
covenant.
And this is where we get our first hint that the new covenant people
of God can be seen as 'spiritual' Israel, while the Christ-rejecting
natural nation will be seen as 'Israel after the flesh.' In this case
there is a distinguishing between a 'nation' of Israel, and the Israel
of Jesus, or the spiritual Israel.
But this is also were we have to be careful about how we use the
term Israel. The context will most always determine how Israel is
being used. Before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in
70 A.D., the term 'Israel' was generally used with regard to the
nation itself.
Then there is another matter. The prophet of old that that God's
new people would be given a new name. Thus we have the name
Christian. Christian speaks of our Messiah connection, and of our
having a heavenly anointing. We are the anointed people of the
Lord.
Paul said, "I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say. Is not
the
cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is
not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since
there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all
partake of the one bread."
Then the apostle adds, "Look at the nation Israel; are not those
who
eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?" Paul is speaking of how the
Passover lamb had to be sacrificed on the one altar at the temple
before it could be taken to the homes. In doing this he uses a term
that shows there is a natural Israel and a spiritual Israel.
The term 'the nation Israel' is 'ton Israel kata sarx' which literally
translates as 'the Israel after the flesh.' Here is how various
translations render 'ton Israel kata sarx':
"The natural people of Israel." (NJB)
"Israel after the flesh." (NKJ)
"The nation of Israel." (NLT)
"The people of Israel." (NRS)
"Israel according to the flesh." (YLT)
To say that the Church completely replaces the nation of Israel is
not allowed by the Scriptures. But to say that the Church can in a
sense be regarded as Israel after the Spirit, is allowable. The
problem with making the Church to be Israel in every sense of the
word, is that the Bible clearly teaches that there will be a literal
nation called 'Israel' at the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The apostles understood the issue of the natural nation being
restored to a covenant relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.
After the Lord had presented Himself to them over a period of 40
days, they had one final question to ask. (Keep in mind that He had
been speaking to them for 40 days of the things that pertained the
kingdom of God.)
Their question was, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring
the
kingdom to Israel?" It is without question that Jesus had taught
them concerning Israel after the flesh, in that the nation as a
people group would one day have the kingdom restored. For this to
happen, the nation would have to reappear on the scene. His
answer was simple; "It is not for you to know times or epochs which
the Father as fixed by His own authority." (Cf. Acts
1:1-8)
Now let's come to the Scripture portion that seems to be a struggle
area for so many. One of my dear brothers asked that I spend a
little more time on the issue of 'so all Israel will be saved.'
Paul calls the 'all Israel saved' a mystery. But he does not mistake
'all Israel' here for the church. Listen carefully to how the apostle
explains the mystery:
"For I do not want you, brethren [Christian believers], to be
uninformed of this mystery --- so that you will not be wise in your
own estimation --- that a partial hardening has happened to Israel
[after the flesh] until the fullness of the Gentiles [nations of the
world] has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is
written...." (Cf. Romans
11:25-26)
What Israel is Paul talking about? The background for this is the
nation of Israel that was in existence at the time. In verse
7, he
says, "What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but
those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened."
Some think that 'all Israel' refers to the Church itself. But we have
to keep in mind that Paul is dealing with prophetic history. The
point Paul makes is coming from the prophets of old. In addition to
this, by this time there had been many prophecies going forth that
the nation was about to be destroyed. According to Josephus and
to Talmudic sources, certain prophets were going through
Jerusalem, declaring her destruction. These are likely Christian
prophets.
So what is Paul's point? Again, he is speaking into prophetic history
to come. The prophets of old said that Israel would be re-gathered
after a second dispersion, that the land would again be called
Israel, and that the Messiah would come to the people. This is the
mystery Paul is calling attention to.
He continues with, "The deliverer will come from Zion, He will
remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them,
when I take away their sins." (Rom
11:26,27)
This can be taken to mean that the Church represents Israel, while
the Jews represent Judah. We can discuss that at some point. But
for now let's stay with the second coming of Jesus.
The deliverer coming from Zion is the second coming of Jesus. But
what does God mean by, 'This is My covenant WITH THEM, when
I take away THEIR sins."? This reflects back on Zechariah
12,
where the Lord says, "I will pour out on the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will
LOOK ON ME whom they (through their fathers) have pierced; and
they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they
will weep bitterly over Him [Jesus] like the bitter weeping over a
firstborn."
Can you imagine the actual moment this takes place? Can you
vision the whole nation of Israel, and I am speaking of the 'now'
nation at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, when all hope
is gone, and their cries ascend to heaven, which results in the Lord
making His appearance? It is in this moment in redemptive history
that He takes away their sins. Will it happen? Just look at the
middle east and you will see redemption history in the making.
Now, if you will place this event beside a number of the prophetic
writings, the picture becomes clearer. Listen to the following:
"I [Jesus] will go away and return to My place UNTIL they
acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their affliction they will
earnestly seek Me." (Hosea
5:15)
"Come, let us [Israel after the flesh] return to the Lord. For He
has
torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will
bandage us. He will REVIVE us after two days; He will raise us up
on the third day. So let us know, LET US PRESS ON TO KNOW
THE LORD, His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will
come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth."
(Hosea
6:1-3: The two days refer to the church age as we know it.
The third day is the beginning of the millennium, following the
afflictions of Israel.)
There are too many prophecies and too little time to explain them
all. The point is that Christian history and Jewish history cannot be
separated. One day we will be one people. This also tells us why
Christians continue to have a love for the Jewish peoples. Could it
be because of the love of God that is poured out in our hearts, and
God's love for them is very real.
Did not Paul say, "From the standpoint of the gospel they are
enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice,
they are beloved for the sake of the fathers."? (Rom
11:28)
So, what is the mystery of the Church? The church can be
reckoned as spiritual Israel, although the term Israel in Scripture
most often refers to a nation group. Why can the Church be
considered Israel after the Spirit? It is because the new covenant
was made with only one people group. It was made with Israel and
Judah. For this reason alone any person that is born into the
kingdom of Christ, who by the way, is the King of Israel, can be
said to be a partaker of spiritual Israel. Yet that is not the name that
God set aside for new covenant believers. (We can discuss this if
there is an interest.)
This is not simply a thing of replacement theology. Replacement
theology says that the church with all her political doings is Israel.
This is certainly not true. Jesus said that His kingdom was not of
this world. Paul made this quite clear in saying that in Christ there
is neither Jew nor Greek.
To try and cover all the aspects of the mystery of Israel and the
Church would over-burden the study. I've given us a starting place.
The study is open for now --- Feel free to make contributions.
The Lord bless you,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)