God’s Great Distinction (Are Christians “Spiritual Jews?”)
Just recently, I was discussing the Bible’s teaching on Israel and the Church. To my surprise, my conversation partner declared, “After all, we Christians are spiritual Jews.”
This was not my first time hearing this statement. In fact, it is a belief held by many Christians. But like so many other pithy phrases, a lot of people assume the statement is true just because it is often repeated and sounds good.
But does Scripture teach that Gentile believers become spiritual Jews upon belief in Jesus?
This belief has been taught through much of church history and is prevalent in some seminaries and churches in our day.
A number of passages have been used to teach that Gentile believers are now spiritual Jews. My goal here is to address two commonly misunderstood passages by examining them in their context.
1. The first passage to address is Romans 9:6-7.
But it is not as though the Word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants. On the contrary, your offspring will be traced through Isaac.
Some teach from the above passage there exists a “new” or “spiritual” Israel since Gentile believers are called Abraham’s descendants.
However, just being a descendant of Abraham does not make someone Jewish, in a spiritual or physical sense. This can be seen in the very verse that is often used to say otherwise: “Your offspring will be traced through Isaac.” God is very clear it is only the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who are Jewish (Genesis 21:12; 28:13-15; Romans 9:13). And if a person is not Jewish, they are by default Gentile.
Being Jewish or Gentile, just like being male or female, has no bearing on God’s love for a person or His desire they be saved. God loves the world and desires everyone to be saved (John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9).
When someone believes being a spiritual descendant of Abraham means being a spiritual Jew, another fallacy often follows: Israel must then consist of all people who believe in Jesus (i.e., Abraham’s spiritual descendants).
But this cannot be what Paul is teaching or we will have a problem with Genesis 21 (referenced above) and the logical law of non-contradiction. In Romans 11, Paul writes that much of present-day Israel remains in unbelief (Romans 9:31-32; 11:25-29). Paul even teaches that present-day Israel is experiencing a “partial hardening” (Romans 11:25). This cannot be talking about believers. Would anyone argue that believers are currently experiencing a partial hardening when it comes to their salvation?
Gentile believers cannot be spiritual Israel in belief
while at the same time be Israel in unbelief.
Being in belief and unbelief at the same moment is impossible.
So, what is Paul teaching in Romans 9:6-7?
In this passage Paul is teaching a “true” Jewish person is one who believes in Israel’s Messiah, Jesus. In Romans 9:8-13, Paul provides a full explanation of what he means in verses 6-7. By reading beyond the immediate context of verses 6-7, one can clearly see Paul is not expanding his definition of Jewishness to mean believing Gentiles are now considered Jewish or a “new Israel.”
Rather, Paul is narrowing his definition of a “true Jew.” He differentiates between a Jewish person who belongs to Israel only by physical decent and one who belongs to Israel by physical decent and believes in the Messiah.
To help illustrate Paul’s point, I’ll provide an example. Let’s say Sam and I are graduates of Taylor University. Our school’s team name is the Trojans. I am a big fan of Taylor’s football program. I attend every home game, possess school memorabilia, and visit campus regularly. I am proud to be identified as a Trojan.
When I ask if Sam is going to the next football game, he tells me he has other plans. In fact, Sam says he has not been to campus in a decade. Sam’s lack of interest in the football program and his absence from campus tells me he is not a “true” Trojan fan.
By this reasoning, I’ve narrowed the circle of what it takes to be considered a genuine Trojan. In my estimation, just graduating from Taylor does not make Sam a “true” Trojan. Like Paul, I’ve narrowed the circle.
A true Israelite, according to Paul, is a Jewish person who believes in the Jewish Messiah, Paul’s Messiah. Yet, Paul still refers to unbelieving Israel as Israel (Romans 11:1-10). Therefore, Paul is not teaching that Gentiles are now spiritual Jews or that the Church comprises a new Israel. In all of Paul’s writings throughout Scripture, Gentiles remain Gentiles and Jews remain Jews, regardless of their beliefs.
2. The second often-misunderstood passage is Galatians 3:27-29.
For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed,[1] heirs according to the promise.
I have heard some say, “There is no Jew or Greek in Christ,” in an attempt to argue that Jewish people no longer have an ethnic identity once they come to faith. It is then wrongly concluded that the Church is a “new Israel.”
The New Testament uses the word “Israel” 73 times. Not once does it mean the Church. Instead, it always refers to either national, ethnic Israel or Jewish believers.[2]
So what is Galatians 3:27-29 teaching?
In context, Paul is teaching that each person, regardless of ethnicity, gender, or whether they are enslaved, must come to God through faith in Messiah. Whatever our differences in background, everyone must approach God the same way: believing in Messiah’s atoning sacrifice in our place.
Upon trusting in the Messiah, do women stop being women? Do Asians stop being Asian? Of course not! In the same way, Jewish people do not stop being Jewish and Gentiles do not stop being Gentiles. We continue to enjoy and celebrate our God-given differences.
These distinctions within humanity, including whether one is Jewish or Gentile, are created by God to bring glory to Him. The same concept is true about Israel and the Church. The New Testament always makes a distinction[3] between the two and so should we!
Just like the distinctions between male and female, the distinctiveness of Israel and the Church ultimately brings more glory to God. So, the next time you hear someone teaching that “Christians are spiritual Jews,” please remind them of God’s great distinction.
Written by Levi Hazen, LIFE Executive Director
Footnotes:
[1] The term “seed” is not limited to physical offspring. In Romans 4:9-12 Paul makes the case that Abraham was justified by faith (Genesis 15:6) before he was circumcised (Genesis 17), “so that he might be the father of all who believe.” This means Gentile believers may equally own Abraham as our spiritual father – but it doesn’t make us “spiritual Jews.”
[2] Michael J. Vlach, Has the Church Replaced Israel? (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), 199.
[3] See for example 1 Corinthians 10:32 and Ephesians 2:11-22. Jewish and Gentile believers are united in Messiah’s body, the church, but retain their ethnic distinctives.