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Enjoying God Blog

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I was recently asked by a member at Bridgeway if I believe in what is called “replacement” theology. Although this is a massively complex subject, I tried to provide a brief answer. Here it is.

All biblical interpreters recognize that there is development between the Old Testament and the New. Some say the Old Testament is the seed to which the New Testament provides the flower. Others speak of the relationship as one of symbol to substance, or type to anti-type. The point being that we must strive to understand the progress in redemptive history. And when I look at the relationship between Israel and the Church I see something similar to the relationship between the caterpillar and the butterfly.

The butterfly doesn’t replace the caterpillar. The butterfly IS the caterpillar in a more developed and consummate form. The butterfly is what God intended the caterpillar to become. Likewise, the church doesn’t replace Israel. The church IS Israel as God always intended it to be. Let me explain that further.

I believe that what we see in the NT isn’t the replacement of Israel but an expanded definition of who Israel is. During the time of the old testament one was an Israelite (primarily) because one was a physical, biological descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One’s ethnicity was the deciding factor. But with the coming of Christ and the extension of the gospel to the Gentiles, the meaning of what constitutes a “true Jew” has undergone revision, or perhaps a better word would be expansion. Not one believing Jewish person has been replaced. Not one believing Jewish person has been set aside or lost their promised inheritance.

Rather, God now says that a true Jew is one who is circumcised in heart and not just in one’s physical body (Rom. 2:28-29). The key passage is Galatians 3:16-18 and 3:25-29. There Paul says that the promises were made “to Abraham and to his offspring” (v. 16). I prefer the translation “seed” instead of “offspring” but the point is the same either way. In other words, when God gave the promises to Abraham and his seed in Genesis 12-17 it appeared he had in mind Abraham and all his physical progeny. But later we learn that it was limited to the progeny of Isaac and not Ishmael. Then we learn that it had narrowed down even further to be the progeny of Jacob and not Esau. When we get to the NT, Paul says it has been narrowed down even further, to but one Jewish person, Jesus. Here is what Paul says:

“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring/seed. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings/seeds,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (v. 16).

Wow! Paul is saying that God’s ultimate meaning in the Abrahamic covenant was that all the promises would be fulfilled in only “one” of Abraham’s physical seed/progeny . . . Jesus Christ! But just when you feel led to conclude that it’s impossibly narrow, Paul opens it up and says:

“for in Christ Jesus you are ALL sons of God, through faith. . . And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (i.e., the promise made to Abraham) (v. 28, 29).

So, the only relevant question now isn’t whose blood is in your veins (physically speaking) but whose faith is in your heart (spiritually speaking). If you have faith in Jesus and thus are “in” him then you become the seed of Abraham that will inherit the promises! That means being an ethnic Jew or Gentile doesn’t matter when it comes to who inherits the promised blessings. What matters, the only thing that matters, is whether or not you are in Christ by faith.

So, a true “seed” of Abraham or a “true Jew” isn’t a matter of physical descent but of spiritual new birth. No one has been replaced. All ethnic Jews who are in Christ by faith are the seed of Abraham and no less so is it true of all ethnic Gentiles who are in Christ by faith.

This is why Paul said in Ephesians 2:11ff. that believing Gentiles are now equal members of the “commonwealth of Israel” (2:12) and are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (2:19).

One more text from Ephesians will prove helpful. Paul says that in Christ the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile has been torn down and that he “has made us both one” (Eph. 2:14). Again, he has created “in himself one new man in place of the two” (Eph. 2:15). This “one new man” is the Church of Jesus Christ in which are believing Jews and believing Gentiles, co-heirs of the promises made to the old testament patriarchs.

The old covenant into which God entered with the physical descendants of Abraham was designed to be temporary until the coming of the Messiah and the New Covenant. This is the consistent message of the book of Hebrews. Now, anyone of any ethnicity has equal status as heirs of God’s promises so long as they believe in Jesus.

Whether or not God will save the last generation of living ethnic Jews just before the second coming of Christ is a matter of debate. I hope that is true! Who could possibly protest? But there are texts on both sides of the issue and God-honoring, Bible-believing Christians end up with differing answers. But regardless of one’s conclusion on that matter, I still believe that whoever gets saved, whether now, during the course of church history, or later when Christ returns, all will be members of the one body of Christ, the Church, equal in their inheritance of all that God has promised.

So I don’t believe that God’s saving work among ethnic Jews means that he will reconstitute the old covenant theocracy of Israel. I believe that all believing ethnic Jews, together with all believing ethnic Gentiles, will together constitute the Elect, the Church of Jesus Christ, the one “holy nation” that is in covenant with God (1 Peter 2:9). And because they are all in him, the true seed of Abraham, they are all likewise the seed of Abraham and thus heirs of the promise.

I don’t believe in replacement theology. I believe in inclusion theology: Gentiles have now been included in the commonwealth of Israel and are as much “true Jews” as are believing ethnic Jews. It isn’t replacement, but fulfillment, just as the butterfly fulfills and completes what God intended when he first made a caterpillar.

 

8 Comments

The article says: "During the time of the old testament one was an Israelite (primarily) because one was a physical, biological descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."
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I think this is an important point. On the one hand, yes, God had unconditional covenantal love even for wicked and unfaithful ethnic Israel (Ez.36:16-22). Ethnicity was the key characteristic. But there's a tension. On the other hand, God always recognized a faithful Israel within ethnic Israel. There were always, in a sense, two Israels - an earthly and a spiritual, with corresponding earthly and heavenly inheritances.
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But then the article then rejects any continuing covenantal category for ethnic Jews who do not become "True Jews" through faith. It tries to explain this by saying, "Not one believing Jewish person has been set aside or lost their promised inheritance."
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But in light of what we just read, that's not really true. While it is "Inclusion Theology" in the sense described, it's also very much Disownment Theology with regard to national ethnic Israel. This is what many see as unbiblical. This theology *does* strip ethnic Israel of its physical earthly inheritance during this present age - an inheritance that it (undeservedly) did enjoy in the OT, as we just said.
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I don't believe Scripture allows for such a neat and un-nuanced conclusion. Rather, I contend faithful Israel has expanded amazingly, but covenantal ethnic Israel remains. To be explicit - the NT teaches *clearly* that no one is reconciled to God spiritually and eternally apart from Jesus - and this should be our deepest desire for everyone. In this regard, there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile. Nonetheless, the NT does not teach disownment from physical blessing and inheritance such as land. Rather in the NT we see see the same as in the OT: There are two Israels - an earthly and a spiritual; Jews who love Jesus are the overlap.
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What is the evidence? In the NT, God is displeased that ethnic Israelites are faithless (Rom. 10:1-4), but they remain covenantally beloved nonetheless, with their gifts, call, promises, and covenants intact - present tense (Rom. 9:4; Rom. 11:28-29). Shockingly Romans 11 says these "enemies of the gospel" remain "irrevocably elect" as covenantal national ethnic Israel. There is "much value in every way" to being Jewish (Rom. 3:1-2). And throughout the NT, we continue to see distinctions based on ethnicity. Paul circumcises Timothy but not Titus. Paul enters the Temple and makes sacrifices with Jews, not Gentiles, who were not allowed. Paul and James planned that Temple visit, rooted in Mosaic Law, specifically to dispel the idea that God is erasing the distinction between Jew and Gentile (Acts 21). Paul says and shows that the gospel is to go "to the Jew first", then to the Gentile. And if Jesus were on earth, he could not perform a priestly function in the Jerusalem temple because he is not from the ethnic tribe prescribed (Heb. 7:14,8:4).
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It might be shocking that God would maintain promises, gifts, and physical inheritance to a faithless group who helped crucify his Son. It means that we, the Church, have a sibling-Israel that God has covenantally bound himself to in a different way. But this is not such a bizarre concept. Don't we have the category of Common Grace, where God's is constantly pouring a certain kind of grace even onto people who hate him, while only believers enjoy Saving Grace? And doesn't Scripture use the phrase "Children of God" sometimes about believers in spiritual sense (John 1:12), but also about non-believers in a different physical sense (Acts 17:29). The same seems true of "Israel".

Abel, Enoch, Noah.
I preached this two weeks ago from Hebrews 11: 4-7. Yes they are. Some basic notes.
Hebrews 11., speaks about our real home. The present physical world is only temporary, and is not our real home. Our home is where God dwells.
11v 13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
They SOUGHT A HOMELAND A HEAVENLY ONE (11 v 16) that real world where God dwells- AND GOD is pleased with them AND commends them and tells us to learn from them. They are only pilgrims and strangers in this present world, They see GOD as THEIR DWELLING PLACE.
Even before Abraham there were people of real faith – LIVES CONTROLLED by a belief in the THE FUTURE OF A LIFE WITH GOD,

We see that in ABEL – Gen 4, with ENOCH -Gen 5 and Gen 6 -NOAH.

Genesis was written by MOSES. Jesus said Moses wrote about Him.......
In those books we see Jesus figuratively, by types, anti -types, shadows, patterns, echoes metaphors, symbols, themes that reverberate throughout the whole Bible. They all point to Him and fulfilment by and through Jesus.
In ABEL we see the commencement of the Christian Life of faith
In ENOCH we have the continuation of Christian life of faith
In NOAH the completion, the climax of Christian Life of faith

ALL THIS ONLY VISIBLE THROUGH EYES OF FAITH.
ABEL – offered a BETTER SACRIFICE, than brother Cain. A sacrifice that is commended by God, a right sacrifice. The only one acceptable to God. It was made BY FAITH (v4)
ABEL believed God’s word passed down to him and made a right sacrifice, did what was right. With an animal sacrifice, the first born of the flock with the fat. Echoes here of the Jesus Lamb of God, first born of a New Humanity in Him. This sacrifice represents substitute life for a life.
Abel is therefore commended by God, and declared him righteous, just as we are declared righteous in Christ
CAIN didn’t do what was right, God told him he hadn’t done the right thing in his offering, giving an opportunity to make the correct offering. And if he didn’t, sin was crouching at his door to devour, to overtake, him. That is the sin of ignoring God’s word and the sacrifice He requires.
“ABEL STILL SPEAKS”.
“YOU CAN ONLY COME TO GOD, GODS WAY-BY A SACRIFICE TO COVER YOUR SINS, A LIFE FOR A LIFE, BY THE SACRIFICIAL DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN LAMB OF GOD. YOU CAN ONLY COME TO GOD THROUGH THE CROSS OF CHRIST. God will not accept any other sacrifice to put us right with Himself.
ABEL believed God’s word passed down to him and made a right sacrifice, did what was right. With an animal sacrifice, the first born of the flock with the fat. Echoes here of the Jesus Lamb of God, first born of a New Humanity in Him. This sacrifice represents substitute life for a life.
Abel is therefore commended by God, and declared him righteous, just as we are declared righteous in Christ
CAIN didn’t do what was right, God told him he hadn’t done the right thing in his offering, giving an opportunity to make the correct offering. And if he didn’t, sin was crouching at his door to devour, to overtake, him. That is the sin of ignoring God’s word and the sacrifice He requires.
“ABEL STILL SPEAKS”.
“YOU CAN ONLY COME TO GOD, GODS WAY-BY A SACRIFICE TO COVER YOUR SINS, A LIFE FOR A LIFE, BY THE SACRIFICIAL DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN LAMB OF GOD. YOU CAN ONLY COME TO GOD THROUGH THE CROSS OF CHRIST. God will not accept any other sacrifice to put us right with Himself.
Hebrews 11 shows faith always depends on, is based on God’s word.
ENOCH (11v5,6
Enoch is taken up so he should not see death. He pleases God, is commended by God, walks with God.
This goes back to Genesis 5 . Enoch walked with God. This is an echo of God walking in the Garden looking for Adam. We can not walk with God without him first looking for us. Enoch searched for God and His reward. His REWARD is God himself, his Presence.
He had has appetite for the things of God, for God himself, and a life of devotion to Him.
But he lives in times of great darkness and Godlessness.
In creation, God spoke 7 times and saw that it was good ending with it was very good.
In Contrast Enoch was the 7th generation from Adam.
Each generation ended with “And he died. and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died for 7 generations. The consequence of sin of Adam and Eve are being played out
Until Enoch,. Enoch didn’t die, Taken up by God brought to God.
So the refrain of 7 “and it was good” is in stark contrast to refrain and he died, and he died 7 times.
There are echoes here of Enoch being rescued by God into God’s 7th day rest. Brought into God’s Presence through resurrection power into eternity with God.
It also points forward to Christ’s victory over sin and death, His death to end all death and His resurrection ours, raised in Christ in resurrection power.
Enoch is saved, rescued from sin and death – a recurring theme in scripture as (Hebrews 2:9-10)
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because ofthe suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. (Hebrews 2:9-10)
Enoch is only one in Generations in times darker than we can imagine the only one not to taste death.
Enoch speaks that we live for God by living with Him. We are here for Communion, fellowship, friendship with HIM.. Not because we are useful to Him. WE ARE MADE FOR HIMSELF
At the heart of the Christian life is companionship with God. Calling daily on our Father, following closely with Jesus and walking in step with the Spirit. Our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. It is fellowship with the Holy Trinity.
Our devotion to God our walk with Him now continues into eternity.
When we are OLD and INFIRM, when we are not always conscious of a walk with God, the sense of it goes, we don’t feel God is near, and we might worry that God has left us . But God promises to hold us fast when we are clinging on by our finger tips. The sign he holds onto us is when we cling on to Him. There is nowhere else to go.
We may feel isolated, alone in work, in the family, in hostile culture, in society But when we are in the minority of one, we are in the majority with the One living a life in Him.
We may feel alone, but if God is for us who can be against us.
ONWARDS AND UPWARDS -NOAH (Gen 6) Dark, dark times. If we think our lives are fraught, Noah lives in times when God has had enough of the wickedness of all of humanity everywhere, it is so Godless’
(6v5) The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord.”
Faith comes by hearing, warned by God about things not yet seen Faith takes God’s word seriously, unlike the world.
Believes what is said, believes God
Faith is active does what is required
There is going to be a flood but it doesn’t come for 100 years.
Noah is mocked. Ark built in the middle of a dessert.
God says there is going to be a judgement and the whole world is destroyed BUT NOAH AND FAMILY ARE SAVED, RESCUED
there is judgement AND salvation.
God’s word, the Bible tells us, JESUS WILL RETURN AND THE LIVING AND THE DEAD WILL BE JUDGED.
FOR THOSE WHO DON’T BELIEVE IT’LL JUST BE HELL, terrifying
BUT FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN HIM THERE ARE GLORIOUS PROMISES
Or we are going to die first, and there will be judgement and salvation, in and through Jesus.
Salvation will be the marvellous presence of God and Sharing God’s Glory., at HOME WITH HIM Listen to this
the stunning, superb, doctrine of glorification
We will be like Christ, when He appears. We will appear with Him in Glory’
The eternal weight of glory awaits us. Jesus gives us the Glory the Father has given Him.
We will be “partakers of the divine nature”
So we look to the past, to live in the present, but like believers of Old trusting God’s word, we live, look for, by eyes of faith in Gods Word for the future return of Jesus, his salvation, through judgement, and we live backwards, in the present, from our promised, guaranteed, future Glory in the Presence of God, guaranteed in the past by Jesus
May we ALL SEE JESUS- AMEN

Greg P, important point for sure. I agree with you on that.

The problem is not so much calling the church "Israel" (though I disagree with your assertion that Romans 2:28-29 teaches that idea).

The big problem is the enormous mass of OT promises to Abraham's physical descendants - the believing ones among them, anyway (Romans 9:6) - that are, under your theology, indeed "replaced" by something else, at best.

What do you do with Genesis 15:7-21, where the land itself (and not the descendants, which Abraham believed according to 15:6) is the direct subject of the actual Abrahamic Covenant itself? What do you do with Jeremiah 31:31-34's promises to Israel and Judah specifically (the New Covenant promises of a new heart with the law written on it are definitely spread to Gentiles as well, but that doesn't eliminate the *promise* made to Israel here)? What do you do with the combined land/heart promise of Ezekiel 36:22-28, where God says that his reputation among the nations won't be restored until Israel is 1) regenerated and 2) living in their own, promised land? The prophets are full of this kind of thing - I trust you know this.

To say that Christ fulfills all the promises doesn't mean that they simply are fulfilled in his person; it means that they are fulfilled by his work, which includes not only his death and resurrection, but also his second coming to establish the promised Davidic Kingdom according to the countless, irrevocable details of the Old Testament.

Praise God that Gentiles are included in "God's people"; are the "descendants of Abraham" according to the promise; and are co-heirs with believing Jews and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ through the gospel! It is true that all believers are partakers of the New Covenant blessings of a new heart, God's law in our heart by the indwelling Spirit of God, and the forgiveness of sins by Christ's blood. But that doesn't rule out specific things promised to Israel by the God who cannot lie or change his mind.

Thank you, Dam! You’ve made a confusing discussion so much easier. My Pastor believes in Replacement Theology, and although I disagree, I couldn’t articulate why. Now I can, with your help!

Sam, thanks for this. I too appreciate your use of the butterfly-caterpillar analogy. That analogy certainly works when describing the "repopulating of Israel" from the OT to the NT, that is, from old covenant to new covenant. Interestingly, there's a hint (shadow) of that analogy in the era from Joshua through Judges. In that era, it could be said that God defines "the Israel of God" in such a way that it includes Gentiles who walk in the footsteps of Abraham's faith (e.g., Rahab and Ruth), while it excludes Israelites whose hearts are like the Canaanites (e.g., Achan and those who apostatized under the judges).

I amen this entire thing. Expanded definition! This is a refreshing way to think of God's plan and how both testaments tell one story.

The butterfly doesn’t replace the caterpillar. The butterfly IS the caterpillar in a more developed and consummate form.

Amen, Sam. Great illustration. One main tree with some natural branches and some grafted in.

Should we understand Abel, Enoch, Noah, and other pre-Abraham believers as included as spiritual family members, as well?

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