God called Israel "the seed of Abraham." (Isa. 41:8) .
But, Paul wrote that Abraham's seed does not refer to "many," but to "one, ... which is Christ." (Gal. 3:16)
In about 800 B.C., the Lord spoke through the prophet Hosea, saying, "When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." (Hos. 11:1)
Around 800 years following Hosea's prophecy, "Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king." (Mat. 2:1).
Since Herod felt threatened by this new child king, he sent soldiers that "slew all the children that were in Bethlehem." (v.16).
Joseph was warned of the coming crisis in beforehand.
"The angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word." (v.13).
So his family left and "departed into Egypt." (v.14).
Matthew states that baby Jesus stayed in Egypt "until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son." (v.15).
Here Matthew is quoting Hos. 11:1, which initially referred to the nation of Israel coming out of Egypt, yet now he states it is "fulfilled" in Jesus Christ.
Once following the healing a group of people, Jesus humbly "charged them that they should not make him known: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias [Greek for Isaiah] the prophet, saying, Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets." (Mat.12:16-19).
This time Matthew is quoting Isa. 42:1-3, a passage that originally applied to "Israel, ... my servant." (Isa. 41:8) .
And Matthew again informs us it is "fulfilled" in Jesus Christ.
Paul also followed the concept of applying statements initially made about the nation of Israel to Christ.
God names Israel "my firstborn" in Exo. 4:22.
But Paul indicates it was Christ who is "the firstborn of every creature." Col. 1:15.
The book of Matthew reveals that Christ actually replays the history of ancient Israel, and overcame where they had not.
Notice the following amazing parallels between the history of ancient Israel and of Jesus Christ:
In the Old Testament, a man named Joseph had dreams and went into Egypt to keep his family alive (Gen. 45:5).
In the New Testament we see another Joseph, who also had dreams and then went to Egypt to keep his family (Mat. 2:13).
When the young nation of Israel came out of Egypt, God called that nation "my son" in Exo. 4:22.
When the baby Jesus came out of Egypt, God said, "Out of Egypt have I called my son." (Mat. 2:15).
When Israel left Egypt, the people went through the Red Sea. Paul states they were "baptized unto Moses ... in the sea." (1 Cor. 10:2).
Jesus too was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness," and immediately following God called Him, "my beloved Son" (Mat. 3:15-17).
After the Israelites passed through the Red Sea, they spent 40 years in the wilderness.
Following His baptism, Jesus was "led up of the Spirit into the wilderness" for 40 days (Mat.4:1, 2).
After the end of their 40-year wilderness wandering, Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy.
After the end of Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness, He resisted the devils temptations by quoting three Scriptures; all found in Deuteronomy.
In Psa. 80:8, God refers to Israel as a "vine" that He brought "out of Egypt."
Still, Christ later tells us, "I am the true vine." John 15:1.
In the Old Testament, the name "Israel" first applied to only one man, which was Jacob.
It stood for Jacob's spiritual victory over sin.
Likewise, in the beginning of the New Testament we discover that Jesus Christ is the new Israel who came "out of Egypt." He is the one victorious Man who overcame all sin.
A New Nation
Remember that the name "Israel" not only referred to Jacob, but also to his descendants, who became Israel. The same principle is seen in the New Testament.
For example, the Lord had told the ancient Israelites, "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." Exo. 19:6. In the New Testament, Peter applies these exact words to the church: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people." 1 Pet. 2:9.
Likewise, right after Paul's statement in Galatians chp. 3 about Jesus being "the seed," he then told his Gentile converts [a Gentile is any person who is not of the Jewish faith], "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Gal. 3:29).
Thus in the New Testament, the name Israel not only applies to Jesus Christ, but also to those who are born in Christ-His church.
In other words, all true Christians are now God's spiritual Israel.
According to the New Testament, there are now two Israels. One group is composed of literal Israelites "according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:3, 4).
The other is "spiritual Israel," composed of Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote, "They are not all Israel, which are of Israel." (Rom. 9:6).
That is, not all are part of God's spiritual Israel who are of the literal nation of Israel.
Paul continued, "That is, They which are the children of the flesh [physical descendants of Abraham], these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." (Rom. 9:8) .
The children of the flesh are only natural descendants of Abraham, but the children of the promise are counted as the true seed.
Today any person-Jew or Gentile-can become a part of this spiritual nation of Israel through faith in Jesus Christ.
God Looks on the Heart
Just as there are two Israels, there are also two kinds of Jews: (1) Jews who are only natural descendants of Abraham, and (2) Jews in the Spirit who believe in Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote, "Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest on the law, and makest thy boast of God. ... For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. Therefore if the uncircumcision [Gentiles] keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? ... For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. 2:17, 25, 26, 28, 29).
Did you catch that? Someone who is "called a Jew" because he is a physical descendant of Abraham, and yet who lives as a lawbreaker, "is not a Jew."
His "circumcision is made uncircumcision." Thus to God, he is a Gentile.
And a believing Gentile, who through faith keeps "the righteousness of the law," his uncircumcision is counted for circumcision.
Thus to God, he is a Jew.
John the Baptist paved the way for this principle when he warned the Jews not to trust their literal ancestry for salvation. "Bring forth therefore fruits meet [worthy] for repentance: And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham." (Mat.3:8,9).
Later Jesus echoed this same principle in a showdown with the religious leaders. "They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham." "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." (John 8:39, 44).
Paul wrote, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." (Gal. 3:7).
"For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." (Phil. 3:3).
Thus, according to Paul, a real Jew in the sight of God is anybody-Jew or Gentile-who has personal faith in Jesus Christ!
Peter told a room full of Gentile converts, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." (Acts 10:34, 35).
All Israel Saved?
We all know that we are saved under the new covenant, right? Notice the wording of the new covenant: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah." (Jer. 31:31).
And in the book of Hebrews, Paul expands on this concept: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. ... For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Heb. 8:8, 10-12).
The new covenant is made "with the house of Israel".
God never makes a salvation covenant with Gentiles.
In fact, nowhere in Scripture do you find any saving covenant made with anyone but Israelites.
So if you want to be saved, you must be born again, as a spiritual Jew.
This is not to say that all Christians must now be circumcised and sacrifice lambs, but we must have the spiritual equivalent of these things-Jesus, the Lamb of God, and circumcision of the heart.
God does not have one method of salvation for Jews and a different brand for non-Jews.
Everyone is saved the same way under the same program.
By grace through faith.
Paul used the analogy of an olive tree to explain that all Gentiles who are saved are grafted into the stock of Israel.
"And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root [supports] thee." (Rom. 11:17, 18) .
The Christian religion is based on a Jewish manual called the Bible. (In light of this fact, it is extremely difficult to understand how any real Christian could be anti-Semitic.) Christianity is not a new religion, but rather the completion of the Jewish faith.
With this truth in mind, we can now better understand what Paul meant when he said, "And so all Israel shall be saved." (Rom. 11:26).
Some have taken this verse to mean that God will ultimately save all literal Jews.
If this were true, it would contradict every principle of God's dealings with humans throughout history and Scripture.
God is not a racist. In Jesus' eyes, "There is neither Jew nor Greek." (Gal. 3:28) .
We are saved based on choices we make regarding God's provision, not on national status or physical citizenship.
But if when Paul says that "all Israel will be saved" he is speaking of spiritual Israel, and if we understand that we become a "true Jew" only by a choice, then it all makes sense.
