Q: I have noticed several times in your literature that you say "Spiritual Israel" is the Church of God. How do you come to this conclusion, and are you saying that we must become an Israelite or a Jew to be accepted by God? If so, how do I become one if I am a “Gentile”?

The Bible does state that we can become part of the Israel of God in the following manner: “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16).

If we choose to follow the Way of God, completely and fully, by following the lead of God's Holy Spirit dwelling within us, then we are the Israel of God or, in other words, Godly Israel or Spiritual Israel.

This can only be referring to those who have God's Spirit and comply with His commands, because we know that the physical Israelites (who did not receive the Holy Spirit) were incapable of obeying God in the manner that they should have. This was because of their inability to have the law of God written on the fleshy tablets of their hearts by and through the power of the Holy Spirit (compare Deuteronomy 5:29; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Romans 8:7).

This is not the case today. Since the giving of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, God has made His power much more readily available to those whom He calls in this day and age. It is given to a person who accepts God's calling and internalizes God's Word. He in turn can become an Israelite or a Jew inwardly (The term "Jew" can, at times, be used interchangeably with "Israelite." For more information on this, please see our QA on the subject).

Note how Romans 2:28-29 supports this conclusion: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.”

Revelation 3:9 states that some will claim to be "Jews"--that is, inward or spiritual Jews or Israelites--but they will not be telling the truth, but lie. In other words, they will claim to be true and converted Christians, but prove by their conduct that they are not Christ's disciples.

By the faith of Christ in us (compare Galatians 2:20, Authorized Version), we become a part of the seed of Abraham. Galatians 3:7-9 states: "Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.' So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."

This then is the mechanism by which a Gentile can be made right before God and change spiritually into an Israelite.

In fact, it is a must for any one who wishes to partake of the spiritual promises guaranteed to Abraham, to become a spiritual Israelite or a spiritual Jew: "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). We then can become inheritors of the same exact promises God made to Abraham many centuries ago.

Many times, Paul, as the apostle to the Gentiles, had to deal with the attitudes of Jews and their unwillingness to accept the Gentiles into the Body of Christ. It serves us to highlight one more section of Scripture that drives the point home.

In Ephesians 2:11-19 we summarize: "Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh... at that time you were... aliens from the commonwealth [citizenship] of Israel... But now... Christ Jesus... has broken down the middle wall of separation... For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father... therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."

Knowing that we are or can become spiritual Israelites helps us then to understand that when the Bible speaks of Israel, it can mean either spiritual or physical Israel. We must therefore discern which is being referred to by means of context. In Romans 9:8, Paul actually means both when he says: “....For they are not all Israel who are of Israel,” and the interpretation is quite straightforward, knowing what we now know. Paul is simply saying that they are not all spiritual Israel who are of physical Israel, because they have refused to walk according to God!

This is then reiterated when Paul pronounces in Romans 9:7, “nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham," signifying that just because they were of the physical lineage of Abraham, they would not automatically be of the spiritual seed of Abraham and partakers of his inheritance.

God is not a respecter of persons (1 Peter 1:17; Acts 10:34-35), and His hope is that ALL men will be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). He has a plan whereby, when we become members of the Church of God, we are then citizens of Israel--with our citizenship being in heaven (Philippians 3:20)--no matter who we are and where we come from. Thereby we were called out of the darkness into His marvelous light, and we became recipients of the incredible and wonderful promises made to Abraham, the father of the faithful (Romans 4:11, 16).

Lead Writer: Wray Zehrung