Israel, the Church and Promises of God (Class 04)

Hey everyone. It's good to see the faithful few here this evening as we continue on through our study of the Israel the church and the promises of God and we are tonight in class four. In a moment I'll give a brief reminder of what we have learned so far but before we do that I want to begin with a word of prayer so let's pray.

The Abrahamic Promises and Their Fulfillment in Christ

Father I thank you for your word and tonight as we examine the promises you made to Abram the the promise of bringing together Jews and Gentiles as one covenant people and how those things are fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ Lord I thank you that we have the blessing of knowing that while these things are debated and they're hotly discussed in many areas of theology and many denominations of Christianity Lord that there are some very basic principal things that we all agree on and I hope tonight that we can see those things and where there is disagreement Lord to do so graciously.

Father I thank you for brother Mike who's taught so well the last few weeks and has laid the foundation for much of what we're going to say tonight and I just pray that you'll continue to bless our church with a desire to know your word and to see your name glorified your word exalted and your people edified we pray that in Jesus name and for his sake amen.

Well we are in class four which means we are to the top of the hill beginning next week we'll start heading down the bottom of the hill to get through our eight classes of this term and a reminder for those of you who are wanting to go through for a certificate you have your syllabus and if you have any questions about what is required for this class in regard to the notebook or to the reading please consult your syllabus and for the final if you have a question about how to write the paper especially if some of you maybe haven't written papers since you were in college or high school and you just want questions about formatting and things like that please come and see me I'm happy to help with that to help you do the best very best job that you can.

In class number one we looked at four theological systems or four systems for understanding biblical continuity. Can someone tell me one of those four what was one of the four that we looked at in class one?

Dispensationalism. Dispensationalism is marked by distinction distinguishing between Israel and the church. What's another one? New covenant fulfillment. That's the last one that's the one I would say we are closest to as a church body and that one is marked by fulfillment.

Each one of them is marked by something. What's another one? I know you know for a Mike brother. Supersessionism. Supersessionism means to supersede right? The church replaces Israel and that's the idea the word there is replacement the key word for that one and then what's the last one?

Yes yeah yeah it's reformed covenant theology or what because there's different types of covenant theology we would say classic covenant theology we could also refer to different forms of that but the the one that we're looking at is classic covenant reform theology or covenant theology and it is marked by the word continuity so the four different systems that we have looked at all look at the relationship between the Israel and the church.

Dispensationalism sees a distinction. Supersessionism sees it as a replacement. Covenant theology sees it as a continuation two administrations of the same covenant and a new covenant fulfillment theology basically says it is a fulfillment promise and fulfillment type and shadow gives way to the substance.

In class two brother Mike looked at the prophetic foundations of the Old Testament that pointed to Christ and then in last week's class he looked at the explicit fulfillment of Old Testament passages in the New Testament so tonight we're going to be looking at the extension of Israel's promises to all nations through Christ and our question that we want to answer tonight our main question is were the promises to Israel meant only for Israel or were they always intended to be for all the nations.

Were the promises made to Israel only intended for Israel or were they always intended to extend to all the nations. Well as I said that question I was asking was was the main question of the class I'm welcome your answer I'm just saying this is what we're going to try to discover through this class is the answer were the promises for them only or were the promises ultimately fulfilled through all the nations.

What were you going to say.

In the Lord shall all the seed of Israel be justified in the Lord. And then you have the end of Galatians, I don't know if it's 29 or 28 or the end of Galatians 3, I don't know if it's 29 or 28.

Well we're going to be looking at Galatians 3 tonight but go ahead.

No no just what Paul says usually don't. If you are in Christ you are Abraham's seed and here's according to the promise. So I would answer that question yes but I mean I guess yeah. There are certain promises that are made to Israel.

Yes but how the ultimate fulfillment of those promises comes about. This is a thought for tonight as we think about answering this question God's promises to Israel find their ultimate fulfillment in Christ.

This is part of the overarching point of the class. Right. Is that all the promises of God find their yes and amen in him and everyone who is united by faith to Christ whether they are Jew or Gentile shares in those promises.

So we have the promises that were made they have been fulfilled in Christ and we share in the fulfillment of them because we are united to him by faith and a simple framework. And this is something I think would be helpful is if we look at the promises of God to Israel ultimately are fulfilled in Christ and through Christ now are to the nations as all of the nations are united to him.

And we can say we are united to him ontologically from the foundation of the world and united to him experientially by faith. But it's being united to Christ that we experience these promises. Does that make sense.

Simple enough. Okay all right. So the way of kind of thinking of it it would be thinking of it as the difference between a blueprint and a building. A blueprint and a building. A blueprint is not a failed building.

If Mike is a painting contractor but you work with contractors all the time and you see blueprints all the time. I'm sure you see schematics. And when we were working on the church building and removing the wall we had to pull out the old blueprints of the church.

If you look at a blueprint you wouldn't say well this is this is not a building therefore it failed. You would say this is a you wouldn't say that's a fair no. Because the blueprint served its purpose its purpose was to point toward the greater thing which is the building.

And in that case if Israel was in fact not the final thing but that which pointed to the final thing it still has a purpose it still has meaning. But it's not its ultimate meaning is not the final structure or the final thing.

And so the idea of blueprint versus building we see Israel and is the fulfillment of Israel in in Christ and in his those who are united to him it points to it anticipates the the new covenant and the new covenant people.

Israel was the shadow or the pattern and Christ is the substance and the fulfillment. So tonight we're going to look at four different aspects of this promise and fulfillment reality and how this promise is to all the nations.

The Promise to Abraham Always Included the Nations

The first we're going to look at is the promise to Abraham always included the nation. So if you're if you're making an outline the promise to Abraham always included the nations. So that's point number one and we're going to come back to these and walk through them and look at scripture.

But that's that's our first main overarching point. Second point for tonight is that Christ makes Jews and Gentiles one covenant people. So I'm just going to say Christ now I want to be clear about point number two.

I'm not saying all Jews and Gentiles become one covenant people because I'm saying that in Christ Jews and Gentiles together become one covenant people. I don't want you to think this is some type of a universalistic understanding because the way that was word I looked at I said well I don't want you to hear what I'm saying and misunderstand.

Number three Israel's covenant identity is applied to Christ's people. That's it. That's a really interesting one we're going to look at that Israel's covenant identity is applied is applied to Christ's people.

And lastly number four the promises are fulfilled because they ultimately belong to Christ. Forgive my handwriting at that angle it's a little awkward but hopefully you can read that. So let's begin by opening our Bibles to Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis chapter 12 we have the Abrahamic promise the call of Abram at this point still referred to as Abram not yet Abraham and he is given a specific call from God a promise from God and a blessing from God in these passages it says in Genesis 12 beginning at verse 1.

Now the Lord said to Abram go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you and I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.

Stop right there. Is it true that God has fulfilled this promise to Abraham in a way that is completely unique to him. Is there anyone in history outside of the Lord Jesus Christ that we would say more people have applied their connection of their faith history to then the person of Abraham.

The three largest monotheistic religions in the world all consider themselves to be Abrahamic religions that being Christianity Judaism and Islam. And so when he says I'm going to make your name great there is a tremendous reality of that.

Now some of us may say well it's not great that people attribute belief in Abraham but don't really believe in Abraham's God. And that's true. We say that of Muslims and even of modern Orthodox Jews. But there is no doubt that God fulfilled the promise that Abraham's name would be made great among the nations.

Very few people in all of human history boast such fidelity to them as does the person of Abraham and the exaltation of his name. But then we get to verse 3 and we see the finality of this blessing from God this promise from God.

And he says this I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you all the families. That's the ESV's version. What does the NAS say. Mike does it say nations says families.

Okay. All the families of the earth shall be blessed. I think the King James says nations. If anybody doesn't say all the families. Okay. Well forgive me King James himself I'll give him a call. Now it is in this last clause that we find the relevant portion for our study tonight because in this last clause it literally says in you speaking of in Abraham all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

This is the very first time we are introduced to this promise of God to this man named Abram. And from this point of the book on it's all about Abram and his descendants Abraham Isaac Jacob and the twelve tribes of Jacob which leads us to the Exodus as they go into Egypt and then are brought out of Egypt by Moses.

The whole rest of the Pentateuch the whole rest of the first five books of the Bible are about this man and his family. He is the central character. The main focus of what's going on in his family is the main focus.

In fact if you break Genesis into two parts the first 11 chapters are what we call primordial or not primordial primitive history or history about creation and all those things leading up to the time of Abraham.

And then from chapter 12 on we call that patriarchal history. It's primitive history and then patriarchal history. And so this is the focus of the book. And this section here where it's talking about his promise this is this is the first time we see this this communication with God to this individual.

And he makes these promises. But he doesn't say in this promise that this promise is going to be only for Abram but rather he says there is going to be a blessing that is a is connected to this promise that is going to be for everyone that there is a blessing in Abram that is going to apply to what I would say is the nations or all the families of the earth.

Paul’s Gospel Interpretation of the Abrahamic Promise

Now when the Apostle Paul interprets this passage for us he says that in this promise is the gospel the Apostle Paul says in the book of Galatians. And it's an interesting phrase that Paul uses. Paul says that the scripture preached the gospel to Abram.

Anybody want to take a stab at why. That's weird. And I may just be thinking weird because I have a weird brain so this may just be my my strange brain. Well maybe I think you're thinking like after anthropomorphic but I think the what I'm kind of thinking about it again.

I'm weird. So you if you if y 'all want to just that's okay. He says the scripture preach the gospel of Abraham. That's what Paul says. There was a scripture Abram. The scripture doesn't come until the time of Moses hundreds of years after Abraham.

And yet the point Paul is making is how do we know this story. We know the story from the scripture. So Paul is saying when when this promise is written down by Moses several hundred years after this when the scripture is written down the scripture that's being written down here this promise given to Abram was a promise of the gospel.

And the scripture is preaching the gospel. And this same message that was given to Abram which was the gospel is now preached to all of us. It's the gospel. You say how is it the gospel. Is it the gospel the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Well it is in its fullness. But we can walk back into the Old Testament and we see the gospel in seed form. I think Mike has already alluded to this. I listened to both lessons but forgive me if I'm wrong.

Didn't you mention the proto-evangelium the first giving of the gospel Genesis 315. Genesis 315 doesn't say specifically that Jesus Christ is going to come live a perfect life die substitutionary death death burial resurrection.

Right. It didn't say that. What it says is that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent or bruise the head of the serpent. Right. But what do we say about that passage. We say this is a promise.

This is a promise that the gospel the good news is that Satan is not going to have the final word his his bringing of sin into the world by tempting Eve and her giving the fruit to Adam. That's not going to be the final story.

That's not going to be the end. There's a good news that's going along with the bad news. And this good news begins there in Genesis and it's here too. That's Paul's point. The good news is here. And the good news is not just for Abram and it's not just for Abram's descendants but it's for all the families of the earth.

This good news this gospel message is for all the families of the earth or if you will all the nations of the earth. So turn with me to Galatians 3. Let's read how Paul interprets this passage now Galatians 3.

We will not read the whole thing but I do want to. I want to read a good substantial section of it if we could. The the focus of chapter 3 of Galatians is the question of are we justified by faith or by works of the law.

And so Paul begins in chapter 3 verse 1 he says. Oh foolish Galatians who has bewitched you. It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or hearing with faith.

Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit. Are you now being perfected by the flesh. Did you suffer so many things in vain. If indeed it was in vain. Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you.

Do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith. Just as Abraham believed God it was counted to him as righteousness. Paul does this same thing in Romans 4. He uses Abram or Abraham as the prototype for justification by faith.

He says how is Abraham justified. He believed God. It was counted righteous because he believed the promise of God. If you will. He believed the gospel. He believed the good news. That is how Abraham was justified.

So when Paul is making his argument and I think Galatians and Romans are both making a very similar argument and that is the argument that we are justified by faith and not by works. He uses Abram as the prototype of that promise.

But then he says this know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. That was the passage you cited earlier. Right Richard. Or was it later because he says it again. Yeah. If you if you're taking notes I really think a good place to take it would be to write Galatians 3 7 because again here here what it says it says no.

Then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. It says it in it says it in seven seven two nine. Yeah it says seven. No. Then it is those of faith there were sons of Abraham and the scripture for saying that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying in you shall the nations be blessed.

That's where we were just at in Genesis 3. And then he says it again 9. So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham the man of faith. So it's 7 through 9. If again if you're taking notes that would probably be better just just put the whole thing in there.

So we have at the very beginning of the Bible Genesis chapter 12 we have this promise given to Abram and it is a promise I'm going to bless those who bless you and those who curse you. I'm going to curse and in you all the nations will be blessed.

That's the the Abrahamic promise includes a blessing to all the nations. Paul comes here now and he says okay so how does someone participate in this blessing. How does how do the families of the earth participate in this blessing.

They have faith. But how how do they have it in what do they have faith. Well he says in this book not in this passage but in this book it is faith in Christ is how someone participates in this blessing.

It is by trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. And when he says those of faith are the sons of Abraham he's very specifically not talking about just faith in general. He's talking about faith in Jesus Christ.

And he's giving us a very powerful promise here or a very powerful reminder of the promise that all of the blessings that God has promised to Abraham or rather not all I mean let me clarify because he didn't say that specifically he says the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12 3 is specifically fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now there are some other passages. If you look down at verse 14 we're still in Galatians 3 it says. Actually look at verse 13 it says Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

For it is written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. So that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith. So again looking at verse 14 in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham comes to the Gentiles.

That's the point that I'm making the point is the promise was given to Abraham. It is now through Christ Jesus that that blessing comes to the Gentiles. Notice he's specifically referring to the Gentiles here so that we understand.

He's saying this is not for Abraham's physical descendants only. This is not a Jewish promise. It's going to the Gentiles. And how is it going to the Gentiles. It is going to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ.

In Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised spirit through faith. Now jump down. I know I'm jumping around. It's just there's a lot in this chapter specifically.

They'll look at verse 16. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. This is where Paul gets a little interesting with how he's reconciling what he understands and what I believe. Obviously the Holy Spirit is inspired here as the promise that Abraham was given.

It says the promise were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say into offsprings referring to many but referring to the one and to your offspring who is Christ. So that's a that's actually very interesting interpretation by the Apostle Paul.

Now I believe the interpretation is correct. It's inspired by the Holy Spirit. I believe the Apostle Paul is correct here. But he is limiting the actual blessings of Abraham to specifically his seed who is Jesus Christ.

But that doesn't mean that Jesus is the only one that experiences those blessings. But he's saying in that that the blessings to Abraham come to the seed. How does how does anyone else experience those blessings through union with the seed.

The union with the seed. It is through Christ that we experience those blessings. Christ is the offspring. Christ is the seed. Christ is the promise. And the one who the promise was referring to. Now I know we're jumping down forgive me because we could walk through every verse.

But if you go down to verse 26 it says this. For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek.

There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. You are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's then you are Abraham's offspring heirs according to the promise. The promise doesn't move Abraham to the Israel to the church.

Instead it moves Abraham to Christ to everyone united in Christ. Let me say that again the promise doesn't move Abraham to Israel to the church. It goes Abraham to Christ and everyone united to Christ.

That's that's the point. Does that makes it. I need to draw that. Or did that make sense. Okay everybody. Okay. And this is where this is where the whole idea of replacement and all that stuff it's Christ.

He is the fulfillment of the promise. He is the one through whom the nations will be blessed. And it is through union with him that that blessing comes. So what is it that makes someone an heir of Abraham's promise.

Faith in Jesus Christ. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees in John chapter 8. He told him if you were truly the sons of Abraham you would what you believe in me you would believe in me. They were not believing in him.

Therefore they were demonstrating that even though they had Abraham's blood in their veins they didn't have Abraham's faith in their heart. And therefore they were not participating in this promise. That comes by faith.

And looking back again at Galatians I think it's very important because in verse 27 it says. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ I put on Christ there's neither Jew nor Greek. Now oftentimes when we see this neither Jew nor Greek neither slave nor free another male or female you're all one in Christ Jesus.

A lot of people want to focus on the male and female part because that you know there's a lot of debate about that. And you know whether or not that means that women can be pastors. A lot of a lot of people who argue for women pastors actually cite Galatians chapter 3 because they say well in Christ there's neither male nor female.

He is not saying that in Christ there are no physical distinctions. He's not saying that men aren't men anymore and women aren't many women anymore. And there's no distinctions in the church for men and women or anything like that.

But what he is saying is that these distinctions are not what bring about our union with God in our relationship with God. He says in Christ Jesus there's not male nor female. There's neither slave nor free.

There's neither Jew nor Greek. And the one that really matters in this context is not the male or female or the slave or free. He's using those as also true. But the one that matters here is whether you were Jew or Greek or we would say a Gentile because this was the distinction that the concern the whole book of Galatians is written about this concern.

The whole book of Galatians is written about people who were in this camp who were saying that the only way for the people in this camp to be saved was to join this camp first. I mean it's an oversimplification.

But they were the Judaizers were saying that before you could truly be one united with Christ you had to first undergo circumcision and be united to Israel. You had to be united to become a Jew essentially.

And Paul saying no in Christ. That's not the way it is in Christ. We're all one and that leads us to our second point. Christ makes Jews and Gentiles one covenant people. I want to make sure I don't go off on a tangent but this is where I have a my biggest struggle with my dispensational brothers and I love my dispensational brothers.

Christ Makes Jews and Gentiles One Covenant People

And I was I was you know what I call raised and reared in it. I was in a seminary that taught it and the godly men taught it to me. So I'm not in any way diminishing their godliness or their fidelity to Christ or to the scriptures.

But when we maintain a hard distinction between Israel and the church we end up with two covenant people. You have an old covenant people and a new covenant people. And you said but wait a minute don't the old covenant people become part of the new covenant.

Well that leads to its own problems. You have some that would say that Gentiles are not made part of the new covenant that the new covenant is only for and there are those who believe that. I'm not saying that is the typical dispensational view but I I've been in different scenarios and different conversations.

There are those did I mention mid-acts dispensationalism. Have I ever mentioned that mid-acts dispensationalism. That's that's the term that's used. It's popular in some independent fundamental churches and and it teaches that up until the middle of the book of Acts everything before that was for the Jews so all the Gospels and up until the middle of Acts is everything is for the Jews.

After Paul comes along he's the Apostle to the Gentiles and only what Paul writes is for us. And now you have what's called mid-acts dispensationalism which means there's literally two people of God.

You have the people before and that's the mid-acts people that and that's who Peter is the Apostle to and Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles and you have a divided people and you literally end up with two covenant people.

This creates I did a whole show about this a few years ago there was a guy who would come out of that kind of teaching and I had him on my show and talked about him and I had some people who believe it who really came after me over.

They said no. They did like for instance they'll say like the words of Jesus the preaching of Jesus. None of it really applies to us because that was for the Jews not for us. Paul's message was to us not the message of Jesus.

Again this is not typical dispensationalism. If anybody anybody out there in internet land don't send me an email and tell me this is not what most dispensationalists believe. I know but depending on where you put that distinction because that's what defines dispensationalism is a distinction between Israel and the church depending on how hard you hold that distinction is what creates my biggest issue with the system.

Because when you get away from one covenant people in Christ that is made up of Jews and Gentiles I think you've eliminated the beauty of what Christ came to do and I want to show you that beauty right now.

If you have your Bible turn over to Ephesians chapter 2. Most of us are very familiar with Ephesians 2 but a lot of times our familiarity ends at verse 10 because we love Ephesians 2 8 through 10. For by grace are you saved through faith.

And that not of yourself. It is the gift of God not of works lest any man should boast for where his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. That's great. That's wonderful. I used to have a bracelet that I wore that literally said Ephesians 2 8 on it because Ephesians 2 8 is a verse that I think is so important for understanding the gospel.

For by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of yourself. But Ephesians 2 doesn't end at verse 10. Ephesians 2 goes on to verse 11. And if you hear the verse what Ephesians 2 says at verse 11 about what God has done through Christ to bring two people together.

Not just to bring us together with God but to take two people the Jews and Gentiles and bring them together as one covenant people in Christ it is a beautiful picture of that work of Christ that he did.

Let's read it together and you'll see what I'm talking about. Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh called the uncircumcision. Now who called on the uncircumcision the Jews that's what they were.

They were the uncircumcised. And now what David called uncircumcised Philistine right you that you called the uncircumcised by what is called the circumcision which is made in the flesh by hands. Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ alienated from the Commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenant of promise having no hope and without God in the world.

By the way that's everybody who's outside of Christ. He says that's what you were. But now make it bad to shout that beautiful phrase. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace who has made us both one both one. And has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two so making peace and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross thereby killing the hostility.

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one spirit to the father. We both have that Jews and Gentiles have access through one spirit to the father so that you are no longer strangers and aliens.

But you are fellow citizens and saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the Lord in him.

You also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Guys y 'all are going to hear some of this again because in a couple weeks whenever I get there I'm going to preach about how Jesus said that he has sheep that are not of this fold and he's going to he must bring them in also.

And there's going to be one flock one Shepherd not two people of God. There is not two people of God. There's one people of God. And however you understand continuity and discontinuity. How. Whether you understand it by the Reformed view of the administrative change but one covenant which I think is too too much continuity.

Or you see the super sessionism the church replaces which I think sees too much discontinuity. Either way you end up and you have to end up with one people of God. That's how the promise to Abraham goes to the nations through Christ is that we become one people in him.

And this is why again I stress this is my biggest issue with those who would say no you still have two people. You still have to do. No. You can't have two people. Not anymore not anymore. There's one people of God.

And we're not defined by this anymore. This is not us all of this. We are in Christ whether they be Jew or Gentile. We are not defined here or here. We're defined here. That is how we are defined. Okay.

Israel’s Covenant Identity Applied to Christ’s People

So this leads us the very last thing we just read actually leads us to our third point. Because we just read in verse 22 in him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

The image of the new covenant believer is what do we become as compared to the Old Covenant. What is the what in the Old Covenant says our bodies are now the temple. Right. Why. Because the Holy Spirit does what he comes and dwells within us.

Where did the Holy Spirit dwell under the Old Covenant. He dwelled in the tabernacle. Right. He or. And then the temple when we moved from the from the mobile tabernacle to the the fixed temple. But now we are being built up as that temple.

We are the ones in whom the Holy Spirit comes to reside again. Remember blueprint building. Right. Promise fulfillment picture reality shadow substance. This is where we're at so and this is really cool in first Peter.

So if you want to jump I know we're doing a lot of jumping around in first Peter which is in chapter 2 we actually see Peter does something very interesting in this. In this section we're going to look at verses 9 and 10.