Who is the Israel of God in the New Covenant?

Summary. The Israel of God (Galatians 6:16) is not fleshly, national biblical Israel, but rather all believers in Jesus, both Jew and Gentile (Galatians 3:6-9, 25-29)―along with a remnant of Godly believers of old (Romans 11:5)―melded into one body (Ephesians 2:15-16). Jesus fulfilled all of the promises to Old Covenant Israel (Matthew 5:17; Luke 1:67-79; 24:44-47; Acts 2:29-32; 13:32-34; Romans 1:1-4; 15:8-9; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Galatians 3:16).

“Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Romans 9:5-8). The kingdom extends beyond faithful Israelites to include Gentiles (Luke 2:32; Acts 9:15; 11:1, 18; Romans 11:11-32). This is not “replacement theology,” but rather “inclusion theology.” The true replacement theology is from C. I. Scofield who said that the church will end in failure and be replaced by national Israel. Here are supporting passages:

Genesis 12:3. So many have misquoted this passage. God said to Abram, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” God was not talking to Israel, He was talking to Abram before he became the father of Ishmael, Isaac and 6 other sons by his third wife Keturah. And Jesus never told his disciples He would bless those who blessed Israel and curse those who cursed Israel.

Galatians 6:14-16. In the context of the rest of Galatians (3:15-29; etc.), Paul refers to the “ISRAEL OF GOD” as those who walk according to the Spirit—by faith in Jesus Christ (and specifically not by works of the Jewish Old Covenant ceremonial law, including circumcision).

Galatians 3:6-9, 25-29. Heirs to the promise, i.e. the true sons of Abraham, come from faith in Christ, not physical descent. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female―for every believer is united in Christ.

Galatians 4:21-31; Hebrews 12:22-29. Physical Jerusalem, that is, the old covenant, is cast out making way for the New Spiritual Jerusalem (“the Jerusalem above”)—the new children of the promise, thus the church.

Matthew 3:7-11. John the Baptist tells the Pharisees and Sadducees not to count on their physical descent. Indeed, they are about to be cut down in the wrath about to come (AD 70).

Matthew 21:18-19. Jesus curses the fig tree, an Old Testament symbol for Old Covenant Israel (Jeremiah 24; Hosea 9:10; Luke 13:6-9), and the fig tree withered away forever.

Matthew 21:33-45. Parable of the Tenants. Jesus tells the Jews that the kingdom is being taken away from them and given to another group, obviously the church. (cf. Isaiah 65:15)

Matthew 22:1-4. The Parable of the Wedding Feast. It was obviously the Jews who were invited to the wedding, but their refusal to accept Christ as Messiah would lead to their demise—“destroyed those murderers and burned their city.” (Matthew 23, the next chapter, details why the Jews were the object of Jesus’ wrath. Not only were they exceedingly sinful, but also refused to accept Him as Savior.)

John 1:12-13. The children of God are believers, and not by blood.

John 8:31-47. Jesus explains to the Jews of his day that they are not truly offspring of Abraham, but rather are offspring of the devil.

John 18:36. Jesus said that his kingdom is not of this world. That declaration alone eliminates modern Israel as belonging to God’s kingdom.

Romans 2:28-29. “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not the letter.”

Romans 9:5-8. Paul taught that not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel (“FOR THEY ARE NOT ALL ISRAEL WHO ARE ISRAEL”), and not all are children of Abraham. It is not the children of the flesh (i.e. their ethnicity) who are children of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:16.)

Romans 11:5, 11-32. Israel is all Christ-believing Jews and Gentiles. Jews who reject Christ are broken branches (11:19-21). Gentiles are grafted in by faith in the Hebrew Messiah, along with a remnant of faithful Jews (11:5). “All Israel will be saved” (v. 26) does not mean all genetic Jews will be saved, which would be nonsense and contrary to everything taught in the New Testament. Further, a genetic link of modern Jews to Abraham cannot be verified anyway.

Ephesians 2:11-3:13. Gentiles are no longer aliens but are fellow citizens in a new dwelling place, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (cf. Revelation 21:14).

Ephesians 2:15-16. Jews and Gentiles became “one new man in place of two,” thus “one body.”

Philippians 3:3. The church is the real “circumcision.” Circumcision is the special sign of God’s covenant with Abraham and Israel (Genesis 17:10, 13), so the Christian church has become God’s covenantal people.

Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:6. The first century Christians were already in the kingdom, which is the church.

Colossians 2:6-3:17. Paul explains in this passage that physical circumcision had been replaced by spiritual circumcision, thus spiritual Israel—believers being made spiritually alive IN CHRIST. (See also Philippians 3:3).

Hebrews 8:5-13. The Old Covenant was being replaced by a New Covenant as predicted in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 31:31-34; etc.)

Hebrews 9:22, Leviticus 17:11. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. The Jewish practice of sacrifices for sin ended when the temple was destroyed in AD 70 (and did not begin anew in 1948). This is adequate evidence in itself that the modern state of Israel is not biblical Israel.

1 Peter 2:4-10. The new chosen race is the Christian church (building motif).

1 John 2:23; 2 John 9. Anyone who denies Christ does not have God. (That would exclude non-believing Jews  from the kingdom.)

Revelation 2:9; 3:9. There are those who say they are Jews, but are really are a “synagogue of Satan.”

Revelation 19:7, 21:2, 9-27. The New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ, the church—which is built on the foundation of the apostles (ref. Ephesians 2:20).

Conclusions. This is about the changing of the covenants. Israel’s covenant with God was contingent on obedience (Deuteronomy 28-32)! Throughout the Bible, Israel’s relationship with God is portrayed as a marriage (Isaiah 54:5; 62:4; Jeremiah 2:2; 3:14, 20; 31:31-34; Ezekiel 16:8, 32, 38; Hosea 2:2, 7, 16; Malachi 2:14). Whenever Israel was unfaithful, she is characterized as a harlot or adulterer (Deuteronomy 31:16-18; Isaiah 1:21; Jeremiah 2:20; 3:6-9; Ezekiel 6:8-9; 16:15, 26, 28; Hosea 1:2; 6:10; 9:1).

The central theme of Revelation is a story of two women—the harlot Babylon who is judged/divorced (Revelation 17:1, 5, 15; 18:9, 21; 19:2) and God’s new bride the New Jerusalem (Revelation 19:7; 21:2, 9). The faithless harlot Babylon is the “great city” (Revelation 18:10) and is identified as Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8, “the city where the Lord was slain”)―thus apostate Old Covenant Israel. The new bride is the Christian church, the wife of the Lamb, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12; 19:7; 21:2, 9-27). Compare to the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22:1-14, as well as such passages as John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:25-27.

The notion that Israel is separate from the church, and that Israel will re-emerge as pre-eminent among nations as dispensationalists think, is not supported by the texts. Modern day Israel has no legitimate claim to be God’s children since modern Jews cannot trace their lineage to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by DNA or any other method. It’s not about land, but rather about relationship and Christianity throughout the whole world. Modern day Israel is not a Godly nation, and certainly not a Christian nation. The reason for America’s relationship with Israel is because Israel is the only democracy in the region. It’s about politics and has nothing to do with religion or Bible prophecy.

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See also, “Were God’s Promises to Israel Forever?” and “What Is the Kingdom of Heaven?“