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The
Application of the Messianic Rule The Testimony of the Epistles. The kingdom of God, as
set forth in the epistles, is of the same nature and of the same
universal scope as that depicted in the gospels and foretold by
the prophets. Each writer contributes something in his own
characteristic manner that adds to our knowledge of Christ's
kingdom. With appropriate fitness, the opening words of Romans,
corroborates the harmony of the gospel and prophecy. "Paul,
a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
unto the Gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his
prophets in the holy scriptures." Rom. 1:1, 2. The gospel,
you will notice, is that which God promised through the Old
Testament prophecies. An illuminating definition of the Jew is
given in Romans 2: 17-29. The entire passage should be read
carefully in this connection. Suffice to quote parts of verses
17, 24 and 29; "Behold thou are called a Jew, and restest
in the law, and makest thy boast in God…For the name of God is
blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, (i.e. you who are
called Jews)…But he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart." This has already been
alluded to in chapter 2.
The 4th chapter of Romans should also be carefully studied
for enlightenment on the difference between the flesh and the
faith of Abraham. We quote from verses 13, 16, 17. "For the
promise that he should be the Heir of the World was not to
Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the
righteousness of faith. Therefore it is of faith that it might
be by grace, to the end that the promise might be sure to all
the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also
which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all
before Him whom he believed, even God." The universality of
God's promise to Abraham is seen in the words that "he
should be heir of the world." It was not confined to
Palestine. Nor was it to come to pass under the law but under
grace. Fulfillment of the promise is demonstrated by converts in
every land in the world today as a result of preaching the
gospel of grace through Jesus Christ. Each of these converts is
a child of Abraham according to Rom. 4:11 and Gal.3:29 for
"Abraham is the father of all them that believe."
How God Determines the True Israel. In Romans chapters
9-11, as already stated, Paul deals with Israel and the
Israelites. The answer to the question as to who are the real
Isrealites is given in Rom. 9:6-8. "For they are not all
Israel which are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of
Abraham are they all children; but in Isaac shall thy seed be
called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these
are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are
counted for the seed." This is a clear assertion that the
Israel of God is the born-again Israel of the faith of Abraham
and distinctly not the fleshly seed. It is exceedingly important
to remember this distinction between the Israel of the flesh and
the Israel of God. Gal. 6:16. The Israel of God is heir to all
the promises, while the other is under divine wrath for having
broken the covenant and having incurred the curse thereof. This
explains Paul's tremendous burden for his kinsmen according to
the flesh. He said he had continual sorrow of heart for them and
could even wish himself accursed from Christ if that would save
them, Rom. 9:1, 2. "My heart's desire and prayer for Israel
is, that they might be saved," he lamented in Rom 10:1.
Salvation is the Hope of Israel and the world. To attempt any
other form of righteousness is a mark of ignorance of God's
righteousness and is bound to fail, Rom. 10:3. The reason why
Israel made shipwreck in their search for righteousness is told
in Rom. 9:32, "Wherefore? Because they sought it not by
faith." We must beware that we do not make a similar
blunder and apply God's promises to the fleshly Israel today.
The flesh has no claim on the promises of God. If there were any
other hope for Israel besides the gospel, Paul certainly could
not have wished himself accursed, which means literally to wish
himself lost, in order that Israel might be saved. He was
willing to sacrifice himself in order to win his countrymen to
Christ. How certain it is that there is no other hope if Christ
is rejected.
How Israel is to be Saved. We continue our study of the
epistles with an examination of Romans 11. This chapter opens by
contrasting again the Israel of God and the Israel of the flesh.
"Hath God cast away His people? God forbid…God hath not
cast away His people, which He foreknew," Ch. 11:1, 2. What
did Paul mean by this statement? The answer is given in v. 7,
"Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but
the election hath obtained it and the rest were blinded."
Notice that God still has a people and that the promises of God
were inherited by them. They are called the election or the
remnant. All the rest of Abraham's natural descendents did not
obtain what they were seeking, and in rejecting Christ they were
blinded, or hardened, as the margin explains. The saved remnant
of Israel together with all the believing Gentiles, comprise the
Israel of God, the holy nation, the kingdom of priests and the
peculiar people described in 1 Per. 2:9.
The natural Israel sought an earthly kingdom with a Messiah
who would give them military and economic might and world
supremacy with carnal joys, but they did not obtain what they
sought. That is because what they sought did not correspond with
the promises of God as given in the prophets. The election, or
those who believed on Christ, obtained the promises, and they
obtained them in the manner described in the remainder of the
chapter.
In Rom. 11:26 we read, "And so, all Israel shall be
saved." The little word "so," is an adverb of
manner, thus it explains how Israel is to be saved, Paul
compares God's plan to an olive tree. The Jewish people are
represented as natural branches in the tree, but because of
unbelief they are broken from the tree and cast aside. In their
stead, wild branches, representing Gentiles were grafted into
the tree through the operation of faith. This, Paul declared,
demonstrated the "goodness and severity of God,"
because it revealed how the sin-benighted Gentiles, though
totally ignorant of God's eternal purpose in Christ, could be
saved and incorporated into a fellowship of oneness with the
covenanted remnant of believing Jews. At the same time it
demonstrates the severity of God toward the unbelieving Jews,
who condemned in the same manner as the unbelieving Gentiles.
God is absolutely impartial. His blessings are conferred in the
same manner as His judgments without respect to persons. Verses
22, 23.
To accomplish His divine purpose, God permitted a partial
blindness of Israel "until the fullness of the Gentiles be
come in." v.25. We recall that, the first believers were
exclusively Jewish and the first church was Jewish in
membership. Eventually, the gospel was preached to Gentiles and
they formed a part of the Christian church. As the number of
believers multiplied, the Jewish predominance lessened in
proportion to the Gentile element, which rapidly continued to
expand. Finally, the judgment of God fell upon the rejecting
Jewish nation and Jerusalem with its temple was destroyed and
the Jewish people were dispersed. When this took place in the
year 70 A. D., it can safely be said, that "The fullness of
the Gentiles had come in," that is, the Gentile believers
were no longer subservient or in any way dependent upon the
Jewish brethren. The Gentiles now partake of the "root and
fatness of the olive tree," v. 17. God does not exclude
Jews from this fellowship; in fact He welcomes their return to
be grafted in again, because "so" all the Israel of
God shall be saved. There is only one root, which in turn,
produces one tree. This tree includes all those who are united
with the root, (that is Christ) both Jews and Gentiles. This
fellowship comprises the Israel of God, which can only be saved
in the foregoing manner. God's Israel is a saved Israel, a
chosen people, a holy nation.
We conclude the remarks about the kingdom of God from Romans
by referring to Ch. 14:17, "For the kingdom of God is not
meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost." This definition eliminates the possibility of a
kingdom offering carnal satisfaction symbolized as meat and
drink. Those who are born again, need not be reminded of the
peace and joy that floods the soul when one believes on Christ.
This peace and joy and righteousness through the Holy Ghost, is
the heritage of those who are in the kingdom of God right now.
The Harmony of the Epistles Relating to the Kingdom.
It has already been pointed out that the kingdom of God is
opposite to the kingdom of Satan. In col. 1:13, 14; this truth
is emphasized as follows: "Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of
his dear Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood even
the forgiveness of sins." This reiterates the fact that the
new birth is the transaction wherein our sins are forgiven and
we are translated from Satan's power into Christ's kingdom.
Christ's kingdom is a present reality!
In 1 Cor. 4:20 we read, "For the kingdom of God is not
in word, but in power." Everywhere in the epistles the
kingdom of God is represented as a glorious present reality. It
is also shown to be a kingdom of power, but it is spiritual
power. Mere profession is not enough unless the fruit of the
Spirit accompanies the testimony.
Let us now compare 1 Cor. 6:9, Gal. 5:21 and Eph. 5:5. In
each of these passages a long list of sins of the flesh is given
with the admonition that they bar one from the kingdom of God.
Since sin is what keeps one out and salvation puts one into the
kingdom of God, it is easy to conclude that the kingdom of God
is opposed to that of Satan. Paul makes an honorable mention of
Aristarchus, Mark and Justus in Col. 4:11 as follows:
"These three are Jewish converts. They alone among such
have worked loyally with me for the kingdom of God."
(Weymouth's Translation). These three Jewish converts were part
of the saved remnant of Israel and they were working loyally
with Paul for the kingdom of God.
Sufficient Scriptures have been pointed out for us to see how
beautifully the kingdom of God taught in the Epistles harmonizes
in every sense with the teachings of the Gospels and the
inspired interpretation of the Old Testament prophecies. Not one
writer in the New Testament suggests or even hints that God's
plan was changed, abrogated, postponed, frustrated or that it
deviated from His eternal counsel and foreknowledge. From
beginning to end there is a simple, plain, harmonious and
glorious unfolding of the nature and worldwide scope of the
kingdom of God.
That it differed from the general expectation of the Jews of
Christ's time is clearly indicated, but the Bible makes it plain
that those unbelieving Jews were mistaken and that they
misinterpreted the Old Testament. Their opposition to Christ,
far from thwarting or postponing His plan, had the effect of
giving it the world-wide scope He had planned for it. Those who
rejected Christ, did so to their eternal ruin, even as it is
today, while those who accepted Him formed the remnant of Jacob
that was saved; today that believing host, including the saved
Gentiles, encircles the globe and comprises the seed of Abraham
like the sand of the sea. These believers are the true Israel of
God, a nation comprised of all people who own allegiance to the
commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, their Sovereign. Such is the
testimony of the epistles! | ||||
