Thursday: Spiritual Israel
Whatever the mistakes and failings of ancient Israel, the Lord was not finished with the plan of creating a faithful people to serve Him. In fact, the Old Testament looked forward to a time when the Lord would create a spiritual Israel, a faithful body of believers, Jews and Gentiles, who would carry on the work of preaching the gospel to the world. Welcome to the early church.
Read Galatians 3:26-29.
1. What promise is Paul talking about in verse 29?
“I Am the Way” Image © Ain Vares from GoodSalt.com
2. What is the key element that makes a person an heir to these promises? (Gal: 3:26)
3. Why is Paul breaking down distinctions of gender, nationality, and social status?
4. What does it mean to be “one in Christ”?
5. Read Romans 4:16-17. How do these verses help us understand what Paul is saying in Galatians 3:26-29?
As a son of Abraham, Christ became, in a special sense, heir to the covenant promises. By baptism we acquire kinship to Christ and through Him acquire the right to participate in the promises made to Abraham. Thus, all that God promised Abraham is found in Christ, and the promises become ours, not because of nationality, race, or gender but through grace, which God bestows upon us through faith.
“The gift to Abraham and his seed included not merely the land of Canaan, but the whole earth. So says the apostle, ‘The promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.’ Romans 4:13. And the Bible plainly teaches that the promises made to Abraham are to be fulfilled through Christ. … [Believers become] heirs to ‘an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away’ [1 Peter 1:4] — the earth freed from the curse of sin.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 170. This promise will be fulfilled literally when the saints live on the new earth forever and ever with Christ (Dan: 7:27).
(26)
Paul's message to the Galatians is directed to the Judaisers, who wanted early Christians to become Jewish. Paul is trying to get the message across that there is no room for elitism in Christian thinking. For about 1500 years the Israelites had interpreted the covenants, selfishly omitting the responsibility of sharing. We are elitist by nature. If we have some privilege we typically want to use it for profit, social capital, control or whatever raises our standing in society.
As a teacher, I had to fight the urge that I knew more than my students and therefore should be looked up to and listened to. It took me a long time to realise that was not the way to encourage learning. Likewise, as Christians, we easily fall into the trap of elitism. And if you doubt that ask some of your secular friends what they think about Christians.
The label "Spiritual Israel" is about grace, but grace is something that has to be shared in order to be effective. It cannot be hoarded. Sharing grace is a lot more than shouting, "God is good! All the time!" If the extent of our spiritual living is a few hours of self-congratulatory worship on Sabbath, we have lost the meaning of grace and the only thing we have inherited from the Jews is their spiritual selfishness.
Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity to be in as spiritual Israel. By the grace of Jesus Christ through our faith. Truly how bad we are, how sinner I am but the love of God remains to everyone. As long as we accept the clothes of Christ Jesus and walk with Him,abandoned our old bad ways we will be heir of Abraham .
Everyday I asks the Lord to let me be a productive one before His eyes & to praise Him in every steps I made. Still, I am a sinner but I don't want to. Then ,again I asks the Lord for forgiveness. These time of covid everywhere, hundreds of programs thru social media shows spiritual uplifting that helps us to keep in touch with the Lord. Don't forget to put in our hearts the faith of Abraham so we can be his heirs that God promised him an abundant and eternal life.
What does it mean to be saved? To be made righteous?
I found that reading another translation can be enlightening. These verses below are from the New Living Translation.
To be saved means we have been made right in the sight of God and our friendship with God has been restored, and our character changed to be like His, this what it means to be part of spiritual Israel.
Rom 4:23-25
23And when God counted him as righteous, it wasn’t just for Abraham’s benefit. It was recorded 24for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
Rom 5:1,2,5,10,11
1Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory (character).
5For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
10For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. Psalm 40:8
Spiritual Israel
1. Save by grace- it is through the acceptance of Jesus and the indwelling of him in our lives that we experience eternal life which begins on this earth. The baptism Paul is speaking about, to me is not the physical but spiritual baptism. That emersion of the Holy Ghost in ones' life. We, humans, Christians are powerless without the spiritual baptism of the Holy Ghost. Before then we are all in all for self or for our immediate family, love ones, or congregation or our lookalike. When, He, the Holy Ghost is come says Jesus, He will guide us into all truth because he speaks not of Himself. Do we take glory for oneself?
Do we boast in being spiritual Israelites? But what makes us spiritual Israelites? Did we also got this one wrong? Jesus said he had no favorite but all who do his will is acceptable by him.
It just occurred to me that just as Jesus was conceived of the Spirit, so are we when we are born again. Christ was the son of Abraham both through flesh and the Spirit. But the seed comes from the male. Jesus was not conceived through the seed of a man.
He had the lineage of Abraham both through Mary and Joseph. But Joseph in a way adopted Him. Adoption is a way that we become sons and daughters of God and heirs to promise.
What do you think about that?
When Jesus told the woman at the well, "the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth", He was not teaching anything new. Israel has always been about how one worships God, and Jacob's name was changed when he obtained that experience of worshiping in spirit and in truth through "the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith"(1 John 5:4).
Israel has never been about profession only, but has always been about the experience that comes by the power of the Spirit of God " unto salvation to every one that believeth...for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.(Zech 4:6, Rom 1:16,17).
Humans place vital importance on race, economic status, color, education, gender and other differences between us.
We often forget we all are children of Adam. We choose the way Abraham chose or we choose the way of Cain.
There is a unity among faithful believers in Christ that acknowledges our uniqueness. The same differences that cause contention, cruelty and separation in those who reject Christ, glorify God among believers.
These same differences that the world uses to divide are used to further the work of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
In Christ we are whole. In Him we are family, unified to do His will. In Christ we reflect Who God is to those who don’t know or understand Him.
Reading Gal.26:-29KJV, several thoughts came to mind regarding Spiritual Israel:
For background, Paul sent this letter to the faithful living in Galatia - Jews, the physical seed of Abraham. Paul’s letter addresses issues related to Jewish laws causing confusion among the members of the churches in Galatia.
He needed to help them understand that, as faithful believers, justification was no longer by Jewish Law but by 'faith through Grace' - the Faith of Jesus. Gal.2:16KJV: ”Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the Law:” for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
This distinction – the Faith of Jesus –, in contrast to the ‘works of the Law’, was to help them understand that faith, governing the life in the spiritual kingdom of God, had replaced the former. He wanted them to understand that being the physical seed of Abraham also included the spiritual blessing of the Covenant – Abrahams faith in the God he believed would give them the Messiah to lead them out of spiritual bondage.
Paul’s letter attempts to help the Jews to see in Jesus the fulfillment of their spiritual inheritance. Jesus was their Messiah, the Son of God and the Son of Man. Even though Christ Jesus declined to be their physical king, He was the fulfillment of the faith of Abraham in the God who promised them to live in His spiritual kingdom – the ‘Faith of Christ’.
All those who believe in the Faith of Christ – His Gospel – are one in Christ; they are the brotherhood of believers living in His spiritual kingdom which does not have borders, does not distinguish between Jew or Gentil, free or bond, old or young; all live in this spiritual kingdom by Faith.
Rom.4:13-16 - ”For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all.
Brigitte,
You said:
He needed to help them understand that, as faithful believers, justification was no longer by Jewish Law but by 'faith through Grace' - the Faith of Jesus.
Are you saying that you believe that the Israelites were justified by the Law or that they had misinterpreted the LORD's Covenant of Grace to be one of works?
Hi Shirley - Thank you for asking me to clarify my statement. Hindsight is 20/20. Realizing the religious leadership of the Jewish Sanhedrin caused Christ to be crucified for the perceived threat to usurp (or end) their control of administering their authority through the Law of works, I would say – yes, the religious leadership led Israel to believe that justifiction came by/through keeping the laws.
The religious leadership institutionalized the old Covenant and so transformed it into the 'Law of works', apointing themselves to be its administrators; becoming its overseers and judges of everything related to this, their religion of 'works', adding more and more laws to it to justify the need for more and more control over their religious subjects.
This was not God's intention when He made His Covenant with Israel; this was the bastardization of His Covenant. God knew that He would make a final Covenant that would show clearly and unmistakenly the justification by Faith only.
The religious leaders failed in teaching to love God with all their heart and instead instituted the strict adherence to the 'works' of the law; so establishing themselves to be the 'power brokers' of their religion - judge, jury, and executioner.
Yes, regrettably, the leadership of Israel as well as so many followers of Christ's Faith today, still misinterpret the Lord's Covenant of Grace by/through Faith to be 'couched' in works! In many scholars' hearts and mind, this issue is still not settled.
I know this topic to be one of Christ's most important teachings of His faith-based religion, if not the most important one, needing to be fully understood by all believers to free themselves from any type of religious manipulation and oppression.
Paul's statement recorded in Gal.2:16KJV is one of the most explicit, precise revelations to help us understand this now clearly taught principle of man's justification by the Faith of Christ Jesus.
Christ, the Son of God became man to be the living example of His Faith-teachings, His Gospel message, inviting all to follow His example and live His faith and sowith live in the Father's heavenly kingdom as the brotherhood of believers.
I think the largest threat to The Remnant Church is apathy and conformity. Apathy is warned about in Revelation Chapter 3
.....conformity is illustrated repeatedly by the nation of Israel in conforming to the customs of the nations which surrounded them. Seventh-Day Adventists are challenged to conform everyday by a world which is increasingly hostile to The Holy Spirit and The Gospel of The LORD Jesus Christ. Spiritual apathy develops as narcissism becomes more prevalent. Only by Worship of The LORD and becoming a Disciple of The LORD Jesus Christ can any individual become conformed to The LORD.
I would suggest that only the Remnant are able to escape these pitfalls of unbelief. Unbelief is not a characteristic of the Remnant. Remnant is an experience, not a denomination.