Has the Church replaced Israel in the Purposes of God?
We continue with a rebuttal of replacement theology
We suggested last time that the disobedience of Israel cannot invalidate a covenant that was unconditional. But it might be suggested that God
is sovereign and it is His covenant and He can do as He wishes. No, He cannot!
Everything in Scripture declares that God cannot do anything that is illegal,
under-handed or unrighteous. And to take this line of reasoning to its logical
conclusion, how is it that those that say the Church is now the beneficiary of
these Covenants, cling firmly to the idea that there are no conditions placed
on the Church for remaining the beneficiary? If the Lord could put aside Israel for
disobedience, how is it that the Church remains inviolable. Even a cursory
glance at Church history would suggest that the Church should have been put
aside, just as Israel
was, and the benefits passed on to another group. No, the confidence we have is
that God is omniscient, that is, He is all wise, He sees the end from the
beginning. He is also immutable; He is unchanging, unchangeable and unchanged.
This surely includes the sense that He does not change His mind. “The
word of the Lord endures forever.”
(1 Pet. 1:25) The
very chapter (Jeremiah 31) which includes the foundational text for the New
Covenant declares that God loves Israel with an everlasting love.
There is no way in which they will not enjoy future blessing from His hand. It
is our confidence that what He has promised He will perform that leads us to
believe that we are in possession of eternal life. If it is or becomes
conditional at any time, then few of us will see heaven.
Conclusion
The texts currently used to support
replacement theology fail at each point. Israel is never said to be
permanently rejected by God. The titles ‘Israel’ and ‘Jew’ are never used of
Gentile believers. Old Testament language can be applied to the Church without
the Church becoming Israel.
Believing Gentiles can become ‘sons’ of Abraham without becoming Jews.
Spiritual equality between Jew and Gentile does not mean that there will not be
a functional distinction between Jews and Gentiles in the future. Access to the
New Covenant by the Church does not annul a future eschatological fulfillment
with Israel.
Does it matter which doctrine is
correct? Of course it does. At stake here is the character of God – is He
trustworthy? Can we rely on His
promises? There are three unconditional covenants for Israel to
delight in - the Abrahamic, the Davidic and the New Covenant. If He has set
aside the Jewish nation then He has broken His word.
Moreover, the great doctrines of the
Bible are inter-connected. To be in error in one area will impact on other main
streams of truth. For example the Lord
is pleased to be known as the “God of Israel”,
the “God of Abraham”,
as well as the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”
(Exod. 3.6), a title which was confirmed and quoted by Jesus in Matthew 22.32.
Are these titles now to be jettisoned because we have de-Judaized the
covenantal God of the T’nach?
Then there is the doctrine of the
Messiah Himself, better known as ‘Christology’. Supercessionism has, to a
degree, reduced our appreciation of the Jewishness of Jesus. We do not give
sufficient importance to the nation and history that produced the Savior of the
world. We do not draw extra light from understanding His Jewish background, for
He was born of a Jewish virgin, had a Davidic lineage and taught as a
travelling Rabbi.
The greatest impact, it would
appear, is on ‘eschatology’, that is the doctrine of the end times. Since,
under replacement teaching the Jewish nation has been set aside, there can be
no expectation of their restoration. Under supercessionism there will be no
return of the nation to their land, no future Temple and no Jewish evangelists on a mission
to the Gentiles. This view of future events will require a manipulation of all
the Scriptures that deal with the rapture of the Church, the period of
tribulation, the return of Christ, the Millennial kingdom and judgments to
come.
Those who hold a supercessionist
outlook must find the Old Testament a very uncomfortable book, for it makes it
clear that it is impossible for the Jewish nation to be separated from God, for
they are “inscribed on the palms of (His)
hands” (Isaiah 49.16). As long as He occupies the throne of heaven, the
position of the Jewish nation must remain secure, and the Church can remain
confident in their covenant keeping God. Because He will keep His covenant
promises to Israel,
we can be assured that our future in His care is safe, because that is the
blanket of blessing under which we rest.
More Next Time:
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