Page 19 - Why Israel?

WHY ISRAEL 13
THE CHURCH AND ISRAEL TODAY
In the Bible, over the course of many centuries, Israel is called the apple of God’s eye, His elect [chosen], His servant, His child, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession. Sadly, over the centuries some have argued that God’s covenant with the Jews does not endure. They ask: isn’t the church also called a “people for God’s own possession” in 1 Peter 2:9? They claim: the Jews had their chance and failed and now God’s chosen refers to the church.
This conclusion is not only false, it is also destructive.
The Bible is clear that God’s plan for the world includes the church, yet He still is, still was, and will always be, deeply connected to Israel. Let’s examine the Apostle Paul’s reasoning in Romans 9-11.
“Saint Paul” by James Tissot.
Paul expresses a deep love for the Jewish people in Romans 9. He cares fervently for his “brethren, [his] kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ accord- ing to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen” (vv. 4-5).
Thus, Paul identifies adoption into God’s family, the Shekinah glory, the covenants in the Torah, the Temple, the promises, the patriarchs, and even Jesus Christ as belonging
to and springing from the Jewish people! Once again, we must take Jesus’ words to heart: “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).
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