At first reading, with prompts from the past, it may seem that Gentiles were adopted into Israel when they accepted Christ. But it is far from the truth. Consider this;
- Ephesians 2:15 says that FROM TWO PEOPLES, a THIRD - the "New Man" - is made. This New Man is "ONE". To avoid the division that would occur because some of these people had a history of the Law of Moses, Christ took the Law onto the cross with Him FOR THE NEW MAN ONLY.
- 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says that this New Man is a New CREATURE with no past, and with a totally NEW beginning. Galatians 3:28 and Colossians 3:11 confirm this by declaring that within this New Man, there is no ethnicity, social standing or nationality
- Thus, from TWO peoples (the Nations and the Nation of Israel) a THIRD one exists since Christ's death.
Now, the issue of adoption is NOT to put anybody into Israel. "Adoption" is a legal term that makes the adopted eligible to be HEIR of the Adoptee's goods. The Promise of an INHERITANCE was made to Israel VIA Abraham. That is, Abraham is the HEIR and the Promises extended to his SEED. So, to make the Church HEIRS of Abraham's Promises they must be ADOPTED. This adoption is done by being IN Christ, Chief Seed of Abraham (Gal.3:29). It is NOT done via Israel.
But the student of scripture will immediately refer to Ephesians 2:11-20 where, at first reading, it would seem that the Gentile believers are made Israelites. But on precise examination, this is not so.
Ephesians 2:12 reads;
"That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world"
Ephesians 2:12 DOES NOT READ;
"That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world"
What then is a "Commonwealth". A "Common-wealth" is an association of nations that fall under one set of economic advantages. The nations are still individual nations but they share in a "Common WEALTH". Great Britain has a Commonwealth of nations. One of them is New Zealand. A New Zealander does not change his nationality, but enjoys privileges that a British citizen enjoys. An Argentinian is also a nationality, but does not enjoy the privileges of a New Zealander. He is an "alien" to Great Britain. So also the Church. It is a separate entity, but now having Christ as their Head, and being found IN Christ, they become eligible for the same privileges. In this case it is the Covenant of Promise.
Thus, the Church, a New Creature, a New Man, totally separate from the Nations and the Nation of Israel is connected to Abraham via Christ to make it eligible for the Covenant of Promise, made 430 years before the Covenant of Law. Therefore, the Church IS NOT Israel, IS NOT made part of Israel, and IS NOT under the Covenant of Law. But it IS:
Seed of Abraham, as the stars of heaven
- Eligible for the Promises to Abraham (Gal.3:29)
- Eligible for both Canaan AND the world (Matt.19:28; Rom.4:13)
The fate of Israel is what the prophets say. Even in their restoration, Israel stay an independent entity. Even in New Jerusalem on the New Earth, they are separate from the Church. They are "Gates" while the Church is the "Walls" of the City.
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