Israel vs. The Body of Christ (pt.1)

One of the fundamental tenets of right division is understanding and maintaining the difference between Israel and the Church which is the Body of Christ. Our last three studies on the main division (prophecy vs. mystery), the twofold purpose of God (heaven and earth), and two ministries of Christ (earthly and heavenly) clearly prove this difference. In this study and the next, we are going to take a very basic overview of Israel and the Body of Christ.

ISRAEL

I. Purpose
As we saw in our study of the twofold purpose of God, Israel is God’s agent to establish His kingdom on the earth (Ex. 19:5-6). The nations will come to worship God through their ministry (Isa. 2:1-5; Matt. 28:19-20). God spoke about this purpose through His prophets since the world began (Lk. 1:70; Acts 3:21).

II. Origin
When Adam fell he lost his dominion on the earth. God immediately promised a Savior who would redeem what Adam ruined (Gen. 3:15). As God progressively revealed His plan, it became more and more specific (Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David, a virgin). Abraham is the father of the Hebrew people. There are a number of passages in the Bible that review Israel’s history, and they all begin with Abraham.

God took just 11 chapters to cover the first 2,000 years of human history (Gen. 1-11) and 39 books (Gen.12-Malachi) to cover the next 1,600 years. He took just 2 chapters in Genesis to tell us about creation, but 39 chapters to tell us all about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel, 12 tribes). The books of Exodus through Malachi are all about the nation that sprang forth from Abraham. The children of Israel became a nation when God redeemed them out of Egypt. Gentiles are only dealt with in their relation to Israel.

In Rom. 1:18-32 we find the Divine commentary on the history of mankind leading up to the call of Abraham. God gave up on the Gentile world at the Tower of Babel. In light of the events of Gen. 1-11, the covenant that God made with Abraham sets forth God’s plan and purpose for using a nation of His own creation to reconcile the EARTH back to Himself (Gen. 12:1-3).

III. Program

God deals with Israel by covenants. The covenants do not pertain to the Body of Christ (Rom. 9:1-5; Eph. 2:11-13). We are saved by the blood of the NT. There is a difference between a covenant and a testament. A covenant is basically an agreement or contract between men, or between men and God. It is usually based on certain conditions agreed upon. But sometimes, as between God and man, it is unconditional. God’s covenants with man originate with Him and are given in relation to the earth.

What are Israel’s covenants?
1) Abrahamic (Gen. 15:18) - everlasting
2) Law (Ex. 24:3-8; 34:27-28) - temporary
3) Land (Deut. 29:1) - temporary
4) Davidic (2 Sam. 7:12-17; 23:1-5) – everlasting
5) New (Jer. 31:31-32) - everlasting

The covenants build upon each other, the Abrahamic Covenant being foundational.

IV. Destiny

Israel failed. They rejected the Father throughout the OT, the Son in the Gospels, and the Holy Ghost in Acts. They fell when they stoned Stephen. They were diminished via a transition that is recorded in the book of Acts. They are now set aside in blindness. Individual Jews can be saved, but they are saved the same way as Gentiles and are baptized into one Body. When this age ends with the rapture, God will resume His dealings with Israel and fulfill all the prophecies and promises concerning them (reign on earth forever). We did NOT replace Israel. We are NOT spiritual Israel (Jer. 31:35-37; Rom. 11:25-29).

Two Ministries of Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ is foundational and central to all that God does, but there is a difference between His earthly ministry to Israel and the nations and His heavenly ministry to the Body of Christ.

Romans 15

8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 

16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
17  I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 

It’s imperative to understand that the earthly ministry of Christ was one of CONFIRMATION (to confirm what was already promised to the Jewish fathers) and not INAUGURATION (to reveal His secret purpose). Israel is God’s earthly people, and He promised them a land and world-wide kingdom over the nations. Christ plainly said that He was “not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). It wasn’t that He didn’t care about the Gentiles, but that according to His prophetic plan the Gentiles were to be blessed through Israel’s RISE and glory.

In this present age, as revealed through Paul’s ministry, the Gentiles are blessed through the FALL and diminishing of Israel (Rom. 11:12) and believing Jews and Gentiles are baptized by one Spirit into one spiritual body wherein there are no earthly distinctions (Gal. 3:27-28). Paul’s ministry was actually the ministry of Christ from heaven and concerns things that were kept secret since the world began (Rom. 16:25; Col. 1:21-29).

In order to follow Christ in this age, we must follow Paul as His appointed pattern (1 Tim. 1:16) and spokesman (1 Cor. 4:16-17; 11:1). God used him to write 13 epistles by inspiration to the Body of Christ. These epistles are “wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim. 6:3). He wrote “commandments of the Lord” (1 Cor. 14:37), for Christ was speaking through him (2 Cor. 13:3). Therefore, when we follow Paul we are following Christ.

Earthly	Heavenly
Prophecy (Lk. 24:27, 44)	Mystery (Eph. 3:4)
Confirmation (Rom. 15:8)	Inauguration (Acts 26:16)
Primary Scriptures – Four Gospels	Exclusive Scriptures – Paul’s Epistles
Christ is the King of Israel (Jn. 1:49)	Christ is the Head of one Body (Eph. 1:22-23)
Dispensation of Law (Matt. 5:17)	Dispensation of Grace (Eph. 3:1-13)
Gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 4:23)	Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:24)
Difference Jew and Gentile (Matt. 15:21-28)	No Difference Jew and Gentile (Gal. 3:28)
Sent 12 to Israel (Matt. 10:5-6)	Sent Paul to the Gentiles (Rom. 11:13)
Signs Abound (Jn. 20:30-31)	Signs Ceased (1 Cor. 13:8-13)
Kingdom Commission (Mk. 16:15-18)	Grace Commission (2 Cor. 5:18-20)
Second Coming (Matt. 24:29-31)	Secret Coming (1 Cor. 15:51-52)

The Twofold Purpose of God

The main division in the word of God is between prophecy concerning Israel and her kingdom (spoken by the prophets since the world began, Acts 3:21) and the mystery of the Body of Christ (kept secret since the world began, Rom. 16:25). This main division reveals the twofold purpose of God. 

Perhaps a better way to say it is that God has one great purpose that will be fulfilled through a twofold plan for the ages. God’s one great purpose is to be glorified through the Lord Jesus Christ. The twofold plan through which He will accomplish this is implied in the very first verse of the Bible. God will be glorified in heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1). As the most high God, the Lord is the possessor of heaven and earth (Gen. 14:19, 22). There has been a rebellion in both, but Christ will reconcile all things in heaven and earth back to God (Matt. 28:18). The twofold plan concerns how God will reconcile the governments of both heaven and earth back to Himself (Col. 1:16-20). Israel is His vehicle to reconcile the government on the earth. The Body of Christ is His vehicle to reconcile the government in heavenly places.

From Gen. 1 until Paul’s ministry, God’s revelation concerned His plan for the earth. One of the spiritual blessings we have as members of the Body of Christ is that God has made known to us the mystery of His will concerning heaven (Eph. 1:8-12, note the words "purposed" v.9 and "purpose" v.11). The mystery of the Body of Christ was no afterthought or plan B! It was His "eternal purpose" that He kept hid in Himself until He revealed it through Paul (Eph. 3:11). It is a demonstration of His great wisdom (Eph. 1:8; 3:10; 1 Cor. 2:7).

Anti-dispensational preachers accuse us of teaching that God failed in trying to establish His kingdom through Israel. They claim Christ came to establish a spiritual kingdom and that His promises to Israel are fulfilled spiritually in the church. Those that spiritualize the plain words of scripture tell spiritual lies. Israel failed, not God! He knew they would fall, and He planned that through their fall He would reconcile the world to Himself (Rom. 11:11-15, 32-36). 

Some think the dispensation of the fulness of times (Eph. 1:10) refers to the kingdom age. I believe it is the eternal state after the creation of a new heaven and earth when the full purpose of what God revealed in time finally comes to fruition. Verse 10 summarizes the goal of God’s twofold purpose. Christ is central in all that God is doing. There is one family of God (Eph. 3:14-15), but there will be a distinction throughout eternity between the things in heaven and earth. Notice that the things in heaven and earth will all be gathered together "in Christ." All the redeemed are in Christ. A person can only be “in Adam” or “in Christ” (1 Cor. 15:22). Christ is the foundation and center of both programs (“chief corner stone” Eph. 2:20; 1 Pet. 2:6). So, the fact people were in Christ before Paul (Rom. 16:7) does not prove the Body of Christ began before his ministry. What makes the Body of Christ distinct is that it is neither Jew nor Gentile, but one new man.  

1)     God’s purpose for heaven concerns the church which is the Body of Christ. We are His heavenly people (Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:1-4). The Body was planned BEFORE foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4) but kept secret since the world began until it was revealed through the apostle Paul (Rom. 16:25). To understand this program, we must study Paul’s epistles because that is where it is revealed (2 Tim. 1:8-13). We have been predestinated to be glorified with Christ and reign with Him eternally in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1).

2)     God’s purpose for the earth concerns the nation of Israel (Isa. 14:24-27). By Gen. 11 (the first 11 chapters cover 2,500 years), God gave up on the Gentile world (Rom. 1:18-32) and chose Abraham. He made an everlasting covenant to make of him a great nation and to give him and his seed a special land (Gen. 12). Israel is to be a light to the other nations. God also made an everlasting covenant with David concerning his throne and kingdom (2 Sam. 7). Christ will reign on the earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem over the whole world (Ex. 19:5-6; Jer. 23:5-6). This was prophesied FROM foundation of world (Matt. 25:34); it was spoken by the prophets since the world began. The rest of scripture concerns this program. Israel will reign with Christ on earth over the nations.

In keeping the Body of Christ a secret, God was especially keeping it a secret from Satan (1 Cor. 2:6-8). God ordained it "before the world" (v.7), but kept it secret from the "princes of this world." The rebellion against God's government began before He created Adam (and I personally believe that the creation of man was in response to that challenge and rebellion, Ps. 8:2). Satan and the angels that followed him operate primarily in heaven (Eph. 2:2; 6:12; Rev. 12:8). The heavens are not clean in God's sight (Job 15:15). That is why God did not say the firmament of heaven was good (Gen. 1:8). When God created Adam, He commissioned him to "subdue" the earth (Gen. 1:28) which basically means to conquer. He said that before the fall, so we know that He was not referring subduing wild plants and animals. There must have been enemies already in existence.

From Genesis 1 (v.2) up until the ministry of Paul, God's revelation concerned His purpose for reconciling the earth, and so that was Satan's focus. Satan usurped Adam’s dominion on the earth and became both the prince and god of this world. In having Christ crucified, Satan thought that he had defeated or at least hindered that purpose. What he didn't know was that "by the cross" (Eph. 2:16) God would form a new group of believers with the purpose of giving us the high privilege of reigning with Him in the heavenly places. We will replace Satan and his angels when they are finally cast out of heaven. This was His purpose ever since the rebellion of Lucifer that took place BEFORE the foundation of the world, but He had to keep it a secret until Satan deceived himself by crucifying Christ.

Prophecy vs. Mystery

When it comes to rightly dividing the word of truth, it is imperative that we first of all identify the main division in the scriptures. Once we do that, the details in understanding God’s word will start falling into place as we study the with the main division in mind.

Most would say that the main division in the Bible is between the Old and New Testaments. You will hear preachers and teachers say things like, “The Old Testament was for the Jews and the New Testament is for the Church.” Technically, the Old Testament did not begin with Genesis but about 2,500 years later in Exodus, and the New Testament did not begin with Matthew 1 (Heb. 9:15-18). Israel will be saved by the blood of the NT (Matt. 26:28). When the Jews are gathered out of the nations into their land and kingdom they will be a NT church (Ezek. 11:17).

Another serious blunder is to suppose there is only one church in the Bible. A church is simply a called-out assembly. Israel was a “church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38), and the “little flock” of Jews that followed the Messiah was also a church (Matt. 18:17; Acts 2:47). There is a prophesied kingdom church (Matt. 16:18; Ps. 22:22; Heb. 2:12). The church which is the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23) is a spiritual organism that is neither Jew nor Gentile but one new man (Eph. 2:14-16). It was a mystery hid in God and first revealed through the apostle Paul (Eph. 3:1-13).

God dispensing the mystery through Paul (with accompanying mysteries) fulfilled the word of God (Col. 1:25-26). The rest of scripture revolves around one main theme: the King and His Kingdom. That is why it was not until Paul wrote his last epistle by inspiration that we are told to rightly divide the word of truth.

The most important division in the Bible is between prophecy (SPOKEN since the world began) and mystery (SECRET since the world began). A mystery in the Bible is not something we can’t know, but a divine secret that we cannot know until God reveals it (there are also mysteries of the kingdom related to prophecy). 

Consider the stark contrast between prophecy concerning Israel and the mystery of the Body of Christ.

 

The Prophetic Kingdom Program of Israel (Lk. 1:67-75; Acts 3:17-24)

1)     Concerns a KINGDOM; a political ORGANIZATION (Dan. 2:44)

2)     The kingdom to be established ON EARTH (Jer. 23:5, Matt. 6:10)

3)     The kingdom PROPHESIED since the world began (Lk. 1:67-75)

4)     Israel to be given SUPREMACY over the nations (Isa. 61:6)

5)     The Gentiles blessed through Israel’s RISE AND INSTRUMENTALITY (Zech. 8:13, 23)

6)     Prophecy mainly concerns NATIONS (Isa. 2:4)

7)     Prophecy concerns blessings, both MATERIAL and spiritual, on EARTH (Isa. 11:1-9)

8)     Christ comes to His people, Israel, ON EARTH (Rev. 1:7)

9)     Justification is by a man’s faith and it must be a faith that WORKS (Jam. 2:24)

10)  The proclamation of the prophetic program committed particularly to the TWELVE apostles (Matt. 19:28; Acts 1:6-8)

The Mystery Program of the Body of Christ (Rom. 16:25-26)

1)     Concerns a BODY; a spiritual ORGANISM (1Cor. 12:12-13)

2)     The Body given a position in HEAVENLY places (Eph. 2:5-6)

3)     The Body was chosen in Christ before the world began, but kept SECRET since the world began (Eph. 1:4, 3:9)

4)     Jew and Gentile placed on the SAME LEVEL before God (Rom. 10:12, 11:32), baptized into ONE body (Gal. 3:27-28)

5)     The Gentiles blessed through Israel’s FALL AND DIMINISHING (Rom. 11:11-12, 15)

6)     The mystery concerns INDIVIDUALS (2 Cor. 5:17)

7)     The mystery concerns all SPIRITUAL blessings in HEAVENLY places (Eph. 1:3)

8)     Christ comes for His body, the Church, meeting them IN THE AIR (1 Thess. 4:17)

9)     Justification is by the faith of Christ (Galatians 2:16) and is received through faith WITHOUT WORKS (Rom. 3:28; 4:5)

10)  The proclamation of the mystery committed particularly to PAUL (Col. 1:24-27)

Dispensational Truth

God does not change in His person, principles, or promises (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8), but He certainly does change in His dealings with man. If you don’t understand that, the Bible will be a confusing book to you. We cannot possibly obey everything in the Bible. 

Consider the basic issue of what we are to eat:

1. Adam (Gen. 1:29) = no meat

2. Noah (about 1500 years later, Gen. 9:3-4) = meat without blood

3. Moses (about 1000 years later, Lev. 11:46-47) = clean meats

4. Paul (over 1500 years later, 1 Tim. 4:1-5) = nothing is to be refused

We must distinguish moral truth and dispensational truth. There are moral principles that never change. For example, murder is wrong in every dispensation. The sabbath day is an example of dispensational truth. God gave Israel sabbaths to observe, not the Body of Christ (Col. 2:16). Paul reaffirmed 9 of the 10 commandments (Rom. 13:8-10).

All scripture is profitable for us (2 Tim. 3:16) but we will not gain the profit that God has for us in His word unless we study it His way (2 Tim. 2:15). It is fitting that we find these two great statements in the last book that was written. 

I. Mandate – What we are to do - STUDY

II. Motive – Why we are to do it - to shew thyself approved unto God

III. Method – How we are to do it - rightly dividing the word of truth

All the Bible is the word of truth, but we must recognize and consistently maintain the divisions that God put in His word if we are going to understand it. What was truth for Israel under the law may not be truth for the Body of Christ under grace. This is the dispensational approach to Bible study. The context of 2 Tim. 2:15 interprets what it means to rightly divide the word of truth (vs.15-18). Hymenaeus and Philetus did not deny the truth of resurrection, they failed to rightly divide it. 

All Bible students divide the Bible to some extent, but most do not rightly divide it. We must be careful not to invent our own divisions (e.g. Acts 28 position) or ignore the ones that God placed in His word (e.g. Acts 2 position). 

There has always been at attack on dispensationalism. Many simply do not understand the matter which is proven by how they misrepresent it when they attack it (Prov. 18:13). We believe the WHOLE Bible. We are not chopping it up and trying to get rid of any part of it. We are not exalting Paul, but simply acknowledging that God chose him to be the pattern and spokesman for this present age of grace (1 Cor. 11:1; 1 Tim. 1:16). It is not about Paul as a man, but what Christ revealed through him for us (Eph. 3:1-13). 

A “dispensation” (1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 1:10; 3:2; Col. 1:25) is basically a dealing out, distribution, or dispensing of something. It is an administration. Dispensations are not periods of time. Ages are periods of time, but dispensations operate within ages. 

A dispensation is marked by five things:

1. Divine revelation (clear changes in God’s dealings with men)

2. Human spokesman (e.g. Moses for the Law and Paul for the Mystery)

3. Human responsibility to the revelation (testing)

4. Human failure (every dispensation ends in apostasy except last one)

5. Divine judgment (no remedy for apostasy)

Twofold division: 

1. Prophecy (Acts 3:21, Israel, earth)

2. Mystery (Rom. 16:25, Body, heaven)

Threefold division (Eph. 2:11-13, 7): 

1. Time past (Genesis thru Acts)

2. But now (Romans thru Philemon)

3. Ages to come (Hebrews thru Revelation)

In the Bible, seven is God's number of perfection, and eight is the number of a new beginning. I believe there are seven dispensations in human history and that the eighth and final dispensation (of which there will be no end) is the "dispensation of the fulness of times" (Eph. 1:10). That is when God’s purposes as revealed in the times of human history will have finally come to their fulness. 

1)     Innocence (Gen. 1-3)

2)     Conscience (Gen. 4-8) 

3)     Human Government (Gen. 9-11) 

4)     Promise (Gen. 12-Ex. 19) 

5)     Law (Ex. 20-Acts 8, transition) 

6)     Mystery (Rom.-Phile.) 

7)     Kingdom (Heb.-Rev.) 

Paradise

The word "paradise" appears just three times in the Bible, and in each reference we find it in a different location.

1. Time Past (Lk. 23:43) - In the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40) 

2. But Now (2 Cor. 12:4) - Above the earth in the third heaven 

3. Ages to Come (Rev. 2:7) - On the earth 

Understandest Thou What Thou Readest?

That was the question that Phillip asked the Ethiopian eunuch as he sat in his chariot reading from the book of Isaiah (see Acts 8:26-40). The eunuch responded, "How can I, except some man should guide me?" He didn't know if the prophecy in Isaiah 53 was about the prophet himself, or some other man. He didn't have the spiritual understanding to see it was about Christ because he was yet to receive the Holy Spirit. He needed a spiritual man to show him Christ in the scriptures. 

It is not my point in this post to expound the passage. I realize that it concerns the kingdom program of Israel. By the way, what was the eunuch reading that would make him ask about water baptism (v.36)? I believe the answer is found in Isaiah 52:15. I just want to draw an application in regard to understanding the Bible.

There are many people who read the Bible but do not understand it. How important is it to have understanding? It is a "wellspring of life unto him that hath it" (Prov. 16:22). We cannot "walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God" without "spiritual understanding" (Col. 1:9-10).  

Understanding comes from receiving the spiritual light of God's word (Ps. 119:130). We need the Spirit of God to illuminate our understanding to the spiritual truth of God's word. We cannot know the things of God without the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:6-16). The Bible is God's word, so we need Him to open our understanding to His truth (Lk. 24:45). 

The first step to understanding the Bible is salvation. The Spirit of God dwells in every believer (Rom. 8:9). We are brought out of darkness into God's light the moment we believe the gospel (Acts 26:18; Eph. 5:8). Sadly, most are blinded to the gospel of the grace of God because they have only heard counterfeit gospels (2 Cor. 4:3-4; 11:4) that pervert the message by adding works (Gal. 1:6-12). They must hear the gospel light that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day (1 Cor. 15:3-4). We are saved by grace the moment we believe the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16).   

The saved can still be in the dark when it comes to certain truth in the word of God. Traditions of men blind people to the truth of God's word. Paul prayed for believers to have the eyes of their understanding enlightened that they might know what is the hope of His calling (Eph. 1:15-18). Sadly, the majority of professing Christians today do not know the truth about our blessed hope (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

The Spirit of God will help us understand the word of God as we sincerely believe it, and study it His way (2 Tim. 2:15). We must depend upon the Spirit of God if we are going to be serious students of the scripture. As we believe and walk in the light that He gives us, He will give us more light. We must study the Bible in light of where we are living in God's plan of the ages. Christ raised up Paul to be the pattern and spokesman to the Body of Christ in this present age of grace. That is why he said, "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee UNDERSTANDING in all things." (2 Tim. 2:7).