The Messiah & the Covenants of Israel (Continued)

The Church and the Abrahamic Covenant

Let us compare and contrast Israel and the Church

This comparison is needed because Abraham is the father of the Hebrew race, and also considered to be Father of the faithful.[1] First the differences:

(i)                       Israel’s future blessings are situated on earth, whereas the Church’s future blessings are situated in heaven. In His wisdom God provides a place for Israel on earth. Designated under the Abrahamic Covenant, they will fully occupy the Promised Land during the millennial reign of the Messiah, and even when there is a new heaven and a new earth; Israel’s distant future will still be on earth, that is, the new earth that John saw.

In contrast, God provides a heavenly future for the Church. It is true that there will be duties on earth for the Church during the millennial reign of Christ but her citizenship is in heaven, and that will be her home when the heavens are recreated. The first difference then is this: Israel’s future is tied to earth, whereas the Church’s future is tied to heaven.

(ii)                     While Abraham is set forward in Scripture as Father to Israel and also Father of the faithful, it is significant that his seed is described under two figures.  The dust of the earth (Gen.13.16), and the stars of heaven (Gen.15.5) surely reflecting that every provision for the nation of Israel is terrestrial, even to the degree of inheriting a homeland on the renewed earth; whereas the provisions for the Church are mainly celestial.

The two posterities of the Abrahamic covenant are given by Paul, “Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.” (Rom. 4:16)

(iii)          Israelites become what they are by physical birth. They are members of the Hebrew race if their parents were Hebrews, or at least one parent. It is automatic. Paul suggested he could have boasted of his lineage for he was a ‘Hebrew of Hebrews’, that is, both his mother and father were Hebrews. There is even a suggestion that all four grandparents were also Hebrews. The point is that it is natural generation; they are each one begotten of human parents.

Christians become what they are by spiritual birth. They are ‘born of God’ and are therefore His legitimate offspring. A Jew is a child of Abraham, but a Christian (whether Jew or Gentile) is a child of God.

(i)                      This means that Abraham is the head of the Jewish race. They are Abraham’s children whereas Christ is the head of the Church. They are God’s children.

(ii)                    God has made several covenants with the nation of Israel, and He will yet make another covenant, the New Covenant with them,[2] which will replace the Mosaic Covenant. However, the benefits of the New Covenant are currently enjoyed by the Church. The blessings of the New Covenant are future for Israel, but present for the Church.

(vii)         Israel is a nation, and fits in among the nations of the world. The Church is not a nation, indeed is made up of people from all nations,[3] including Israel, and has no citizenship here, “for our citizenship is in heaven”. (Phil. 3:20) The members of the Church are considered pilgrims and strangers on the earth.

(viii)        In the purposes of God, Israel was appointed to be a witness to the one and only true God. They were to demonstrate that “righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a reproach to any people”, (Prov. 14:34) and by it exercise an influence over the nations of the earth. They should have been a light to the Gentiles, long before the Messiah was born.

The Psalmist captured this aspect exactly. (Ps.67.1-7)“God be merciful to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us, Selah That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, And govern the nations on earth. Selah Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You. Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us, And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.” (Psalm 67:1-7)

This will be accomplished in a coming age; nevertheless historically there was very little missionary undertaking. The rules of separation were so enforced that generally Gentiles were disparaged as the ‘uncircumcised’. Mostly Israel faced inward toward the tabernacle or temple and nearly all her prayers were of the ‘bless me and mine’ category.

In contra-distinction to this, immediately upon her formation, the Church was constituted a foreign missionary society. It is true that it took some divine intervention to give it momentum; nevertheless, we are indebted to the early Church for the Biblical pattern of missionary evangelism, a pattern that has been taken up many times. The Church recognizes her obligation to evangelize the people of the earth in each generation.

(ix)                   To Israel God is known by His primary titles, but not as the Father of the individual Israelite. In distinction to this, the Christian is actually begotten of God and has every right to address Him as Father.

(x)                     To Israel, Christ is Messiah, Immanuel, and King with all that those titles imply. To the Church, Christ is Savior, Lord, Bridegroom, and Head. Jesus is King of Israel but Lord of the Church. He is not King of the Church.

More comparisons next time:

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[1] These comparisons are based on those included in Lewis Sperry Chafer’s Systematic Theology  (1993). Originally published: Dallas, Tex. : Dallas Seminary Press, 1947-1948. (4:47). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.

[2] The timing of the Covenant is suggested by Rom.11.26,27

[3] Rev.5.9