Auto-generated Transcript:
Hello and welcome to another Five Good Minutes, where I answer your theological questions in five minutes or less.
Today’s question is: Is there a distinction between Israel and the Church?
For clarity, when I say Israel, I’m not referring to an ethnic group descended from Abraham, but to those who belong to God by faith in Jesus Christ—which includes both Jews and Gentiles.
Let me also be clear: this is not replacement theology. Replacement theology wrongly teaches that God abandoned Israel and replaced them with the Church. Instead, Scripture teaches that the Church is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan—comprised of all who believe, both Jew and Gentile.
If there’s a real distinction to be made, it’s between ethnic Israel and true Israel.
True Israel Is About Faith, Not Flesh
From the beginning, God’s people were never saved by ethnicity or DNA, but by faith.
Romans 9:6-8 says:
“Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel… It is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
This means that salvation is not based on physical descent, but on God’s promise, fulfilled in Christ.
In Romans 2:28-29, Paul writes:
“No one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly… but a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit.”
Faith in Christ Unites All Believers
Those who share Abraham’s faith, not necessarily his genetics, are counted as true sons of Abraham.
Galatians 3:7-9:
“Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham… In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
This shows that God’s promises to Abraham were always intended for all nations, not just one ethnic group.
Later in Galatians 3:26-29:
“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith… There is neither Jew nor Greek… And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
One People of God, Not Two
If you belong to Christ, then you belong to Abraham—which means you are part of true Israel.
So, God doesn’t have two separate peoples—one Jewish, one Gentile. He has one unified people, made up of all who believe in Jesus.
The Church is not separate from Israel. The Church is the true Israel, the continuation and fulfillment of God’s redemptive covenant.
This has been another Five Good Minutes.