Written by Erwin Redinger
Some people preach two gospels, one for the Jews and one for. The Gentiles. They believe the Jews. are the chosen people of God and. Therefore must be handled differently from the Gentiles. When a Jew gets converted to Christ, they put him on a pedestal, and one gets the impression that they stand in awe before such a one; whereas, when a Gentile gets converted he just becomes an ordinary believer
in Christ.
Some of the Jewish believers help this understanding along when they call themselves Messianic Jews and not Christians.
By doing this they don’t identify with their fellow believers who come from a Gentile background, but they separate themselves as something apart from the Church.
This is a sad state of affairs.
Already there’s so much confusion
in the world as to who and what the
Church is, and this only adds to the confusion. It so happens that all the New Testament writers were Jews, with the exception of maybe Luke, who could have been Greek.
All these New Testament writers brought the truth of the Gospel, namely, that in Christ there is no difference. Anyone declaring that there is a difference, is contradicting what the whole of the New Testament is about. When one makes
a sharp and distinct difference between the Church and the Jews, one moves from a wrong premise, and one is bound to get lost and be tied up in all kinds of speculations and conjectures.
1. To say that Israel was before the Church is to have misunderstood the mystery of God. (Rom. 16:25,
26; Eph. 1: 9, 10; Eph. 3:9, 10; Col.
1:20-26; Col. 2:1-4; Col. 4:3; 1 Tim.
3:9; 1 Tim. 3:16.)
2. When God called Abraham He had the Church in mind. (Gen.
12:4; Gen. 17:5; Gen. 18:18; Gen.
22:18; Gen. 26:4; Gen. 28:14.)
3. Even the prophets of old longed to see and look into the mystery of God, the Church, for they only saw glimpses of it here and there. (Matt. 13:16-17.)
4. There is no Jew or Gentile in Christ. (Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 7:19; Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:14-21; Eph. 3:6; Eph. 4:4-16; Jn. 17:20-21; Rom. 2:28-29; Eph. 2:11; Rom. 9:6-8; Rom. 9:24-26, 1 Cor. 1:22-24,
Acts 10:34-35; Heb. 11:39-40; Heb. 12:22-29; Rev. 2:9; Rev. 3:9; Rev. 3:21-25.)
5. The Church is the fullness of Him who fills all and in all him.
(Eph. 1:23.)
6. And the Church was in God’s heart before the foundation of the world, and was meant for His Son.
(Matt. 13:35; Matt. 25:34; Jn. 17:24; Eph. 1:4; Heb. 4:3; Heb. 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20, Rev. 13:8; Rev. 17:8.)
There is therefore no room for a
“replacement theology,” like some people teach, that the Church has replaced Israel. What God had in mind all the time is coming to pass, and will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The twelve names of the Patriarch’s on the gates represent
Israel and the names of the twelve apostles on the foundation stone represent the Church.
So the whole thing will be what Christ said it will be, namely, one fold and one Shepherd, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, and how powerfully and convincingly these things are stated in the Bible.
In Christ
1. There is neither Jew nor Gentile.
(Gal. 3:28; Jn. 17:21-23; Col. 3:1.)
2. Apart from Christ there is no
salvation, whether you lived in the Old Testament times or the New
Testament times. The efficacy of His work on the cross reaches right back to Adam (Acts 4: 12). We must get this clear, the Law saves no one (Rom. 2:16; Rom.3:20; Titus 3:9.)
3. Holding on to genealogies and statutes of the Law hinders one from knowing Christ. (Phil. 3:7-9.)
4. God broke down the middle wall of partition, so let us not to build it up again. (Eph. 2:4.)
5. We are chosen all of us, before the foundation of the world and that includes Abraham and his descendants. (Eph. 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20; Rev.17:8.)
6. To say the word “saint” in Paul’s letters refers to the Christians and then, in Revelation it suddenly refers to the Jews only, is saying the Bible is not consistent.
7. My question is, if Israel is set apart from the Church, what are they then? If someone ventures to say they are the kingdom of God, then I venture to ask, “Is the kingdom of God not part of the Church, and is the Church not part of the
kingdom of God?” Jesus preached the kingdom. He said to Nicodemus, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.” So you need to be born again to be part of the kingdom, and you
need to be born again to be part of the Church. And that applies to both Jews and Gentiles. (Rom 2:28-29; Rom. 3:9; Rom 4:16; Rom 9:6-8; Rom. 9:24-33; Rom. 10:12-13.)
Some people preach two gospels, one for the Jews and one for. The Gentiles. They believe the Jews. are the chosen people of God and. Therefore must be handled differently from the Gentiles. When a Jew gets converted to Christ, they put him on a pedestal, and one gets the impression that they stand in awe before such a one; whereas, when a Gentile gets converted he just becomes an ordinary believer
in Christ.
Some of the Jewish believers help this understanding along when they call themselves Messianic Jews and not Christians.
By doing this they don’t identify with their fellow believers who come from a Gentile background, but they separate themselves as something apart from the Church.
This is a sad state of affairs.
Already there’s so much confusion
in the world as to who and what the
Church is, and this only adds to the confusion. It so happens that all the New Testament writers were Jews, with the exception of maybe Luke, who could have been Greek.
All these New Testament writers brought the truth of the Gospel, namely, that in Christ there is no difference. Anyone declaring that there is a difference, is contradicting what the whole of the New Testament is about. When one makes
a sharp and distinct difference between the Church and the Jews, one moves from a wrong premise, and one is bound to get lost and be tied up in all kinds of speculations and conjectures.
1. To say that Israel was before the Church is to have misunderstood the mystery of God. (Rom. 16:25,
26; Eph. 1: 9, 10; Eph. 3:9, 10; Col.
1:20-26; Col. 2:1-4; Col. 4:3; 1 Tim.
3:9; 1 Tim. 3:16.)
2. When God called Abraham He had the Church in mind. (Gen.
12:4; Gen. 17:5; Gen. 18:18; Gen.
22:18; Gen. 26:4; Gen. 28:14.)
3. Even the prophets of old longed to see and look into the mystery of God, the Church, for they only saw glimpses of it here and there. (Matt. 13:16-17.)
4. There is no Jew or Gentile in Christ. (Rom. 10:12; 1 Cor. 7:19; Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:14-21; Eph. 3:6; Eph. 4:4-16; Jn. 17:20-21; Rom. 2:28-29; Eph. 2:11; Rom. 9:6-8; Rom. 9:24-26, 1 Cor. 1:22-24,
Acts 10:34-35; Heb. 11:39-40; Heb. 12:22-29; Rev. 2:9; Rev. 3:9; Rev. 3:21-25.)
5. The Church is the fullness of Him who fills all and in all him.
(Eph. 1:23.)
6. And the Church was in God’s heart before the foundation of the world, and was meant for His Son.
(Matt. 13:35; Matt. 25:34; Jn. 17:24; Eph. 1:4; Heb. 4:3; Heb. 9:26; 1 Peter 1:20, Rev. 13:8; Rev. 17:8.)
There is therefore no room for a
“replacement theology,” like some people teach, that the Church has replaced Israel. What God had in mind all the time is coming to pass, and will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The twelve names of the Patriarch’s on the gates represent
Israel and the names of the twelve apostles on the foundation stone represent the Church.
So the whole thing will be what Christ said it will be, namely, one fold and one Shepherd, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, and how powerfully and convincingly these things are stated in the Bible.
In Christ
1. There is neither Jew nor Gentile.
(Gal. 3:28; Jn. 17:21-23; Col. 3:1.)
2. Apart from Christ there is no
salvation, whether you lived in the Old Testament times or the New
Testament times. The efficacy of His work on the cross reaches right back to Adam (Acts 4: 12). We must get this clear, the Law saves no one (Rom. 2:16; Rom.3:20; Titus 3:9.)
3. Holding on to genealogies and statutes of the Law hinders one from knowing Christ. (Phil. 3:7-9.)
4. God broke down the middle wall of partition, so let us not to build it up again. (Eph. 2:4.)
5. We are chosen all of us, before the foundation of the world and that includes Abraham and his descendants. (Eph. 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20; Rev.17:8.)
6. To say the word “saint” in Paul’s letters refers to the Christians and then, in Revelation it suddenly refers to the Jews only, is saying the Bible is not consistent.
7. My question is, if Israel is set apart from the Church, what are they then? If someone ventures to say they are the kingdom of God, then I venture to ask, “Is the kingdom of God not part of the Church, and is the Church not part of the
kingdom of God?” Jesus preached the kingdom. He said to Nicodemus, “Unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God.” So you need to be born again to be part of the kingdom, and you
need to be born again to be part of the Church. And that applies to both Jews and Gentiles. (Rom 2:28-29; Rom. 3:9; Rom 4:16; Rom 9:6-8; Rom. 9:24-33; Rom. 10:12-13.)