Introduction: Why This Matters

Today, we venture into one of the most foundational — and often most misunderstood — debates in the Christian faith: What is the relationship between Israel and the Church?

This is not just an academic puzzle. It shapes how we read the Bible, understand God’s covenant plan, and view the world. At the heart of this topic is not politics, prophecy charts, or denominations — it's Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of every promise.

Part 1: The Abrahamic Covenant: The Foundation of the Promise

Genesis 12:1–3
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse,
and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”

Let’s begin at the beginning — with Abraham, the man called out from Ur, a pagan land, chosen not because of merit, but because of divine mercy.

God gave Abraham a three-part promise:

1. Seed — a multitude of descendants.
2. Land — a defined, physical inheritance.
3. Blessing — that through Abraham, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

This was more than a personal blessing. It was a covenant — a binding, sacred agreement. It was reaffirmed in Genesis 15 with a dramatic ceremony involving divided animals and a smoking torch. It was reiterated in Genesis 17 with the sign of circumcision. It was repeated to Isaac and Jacob. And it became the foundation for Israel’s national identity.

But then, the story begins to stretch beyond the borders of Israel. The prophets begin to speak of a Servant who would be a light to the nations. The Psalms begin to envision all peoples praising the Lord. And in the fullness of time, Jesus comes, born of a woman, born under the law, the true Seed of Abraham.

Galatians 3:16
“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ.”

Here’s the key question:
Do those promises to Abraham still apply directly to ethnic Israel, or are they fulfilled in Christ and extended to all who believe, both Jew and Gentile?

This is where the roads diverge. Two major views emerge. And it’s these views we’ll now examine.

Part 2: Historical Development and the Two Theological Views

In order to understand where we stand today, we must first understand where we’ve come from. The debate over Israel and the Church is not new. It is rooted in the very soil of church history.

A. The Early Church: A Spiritual Israel

The earliest Christians were Jewish. Jesus was Jewish. All twelve apostles were Jewish. The early Church saw itself not as a new religion, but as the fulfillment of God's ancient promises to Israel. They believed the Messiah had come, and that believing Jews and Gentiles were now united in Him.

Romans 10:4 — “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

As time passed, however, tension grew between Jewish synagogues and the Christian Church. When the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, and especially after the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 AD, most Jews rejected the followers of Jesus. In turn, the Church—now mostly Gentile—began to interpret Israel's role differently.

Justin Martyr (2nd century) argued that the Church had become the new Israel.
Irenaeus, Origen, and later Augustine continued this line of thinking.
By the 4th century, a view called supersessionism—or replacement theology—had become dominant: the Church had replaced Israel as God’s covenant people.

This view dominated Christendom for over a millennium. But it wasn’t without flaws.

It often led to pride, antisemitism, and the tragic assumption that ethnic Jews had no further role in God’s plan unless they converted.

B. The Reformation: A Return to the Word

During the Reformation, Martin Luther and John Calvin refocused the Church on Scripture. They emphasized covenant theology: the idea that God works through one overarching covenant of grace, from Adam to Christ.

Calvin believed that the Church had not replaced Israel, but had always been Israel in a spiritual sense. He wrote, “The covenant made with the fathers is so far from differing from ours in reality and substance, that it is altogether one and the same.”

To Calvin and many after him:

• The Church is the continuation of Israel.
• Baptism replaces circumcision.
• The promises are fulfilled in Christ and shared by all who believe.

C. The 1800s: The Rise of Dispensationalism

Then, in the 19th century, a dramatic shift occurred. John Nelson Darby, a British theologian and founder of the Plymouth Brethren, introduced a new system called Dispensationalism.

He taught that:

• God works in distinct time periods called dispensations.
• The Church and Israel are two separate entities with different destinies.
• The Church is a parenthesis in God's plan with Israel.
• After the rapture, God will resume His plan with national Israel.

This view was imported to America and exploded in popularity through:

• The Scofield Reference Bible (1909), which embedded dispensational notes into the biblical text.
• The founding of Dallas Theological Seminary.
• Books like The Late Great Planet Earth and Left Behind.

In the 20th century, many evangelical churches—especially in the U.S.—began teaching this view by default.

So now, two primary theological systems stand in contrast:

Dispensationalism vs. Covenant Theology

Now that we've surveyed the historical path that brought us here, let us go deeper into the actual theological content of the two dominant views.

Both Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology seek to be faithful to the Bible. But they differ in how they interpret key passages, especially concerning prophecy, promises, and the people of God.

Let’s break them down side-by-side.

Part 3: Two Interpretive Lenses — Dispensationalism vs. Covenant Theology

Now that we've surveyed the historical path that brought us here, let us go deeper into the actual theological content of the two dominant views.

Both Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology seek to be faithful to the Bible. But they differ in how they interpret key passages, especially concerning prophecy, promises, and the people of God.

Let’s break them down side-by-side.

📘 Dispensationalism: Two Peoples, Two Programs

Summary:
Dispensationalists believe that Israel and the Church are distinct and that God has two parallel plans:

• One for national Israel, involving land, temple, kingdom, and Davidic rule.
• One for the Church, a heavenly body redeemed by grace through faith.

📖 Key Scriptures:

• Romans 11:1 – “Has God rejected His people? By no means!”
• Romans 11:25–26 – “A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.”
• Zechariah 14:4 – “His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives…”

🧩 How They See the Bible’s Storyline:

• God made unconditional promises to Abraham and his descendants.
• These promises were not revoked, even when Israel failed.
• The Church does not fulfill these promises—Israel will, in the Millennium.

💪 Strengths:

• Takes Old Testament prophecies literally.
• Highlights God’s unchanging faithfulness to ethnic Israel.
• Encourages a positive view of the Jewish people.

⚠️ Weaknesses:

• Risks dividing the people of God into two permanent groups.
• Sometimes treats the Church age as an afterthought.
• Can overly politicize theology, especially regarding modern Israel.

📙 Covenant Theology: One People, One Plan

Summary:
Covenant theologians believe that there is one unfolding covenant of grace, fulfilled in Christ and extended to all who believe.

• The Church is not a replacement of Israel—it is the continuation and fulfillment of what Israel was meant to be.
• Christ is the true Israelite, and all who are in Him share the promises made to Abraham.

📖 Key Scriptures:

• Galatians 3:7–9, 29 – “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
• Romans 9:6–8 – “Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel… it is the children of the promise who are counted as offspring.”
• Ephesians 2:14–15 – “He has made the two groups one… and created one new humanity in place of the two.”

🧩 How They See the Bible’s Storyline:

• God made promises to Abraham, and those promises are fulfilled in Christ.
• Ethnic identity is no longer the marker of God's people—faith is.
• The New Testament Church is true Israel, made up of Jew and Gentile believers.

💪 Strengths:

• Maintains the unity of God’s people across time.
• Keeps Christ at the center of all fulfillment.
• Emphasizes salvation by grace, not race.

⚠️ Weaknesses:

• Can understate the importance of Israel in redemptive history.
• Risks being interpreted as replacement theology (though most reject that label).
• Sometimes spiritualizes promises without clear textual basis.

Summary Comparison:

Final Thought for This Section:

Here’s the pastoral challenge:
Do not let your theology be shaped by headlines. Let it be shaped by the whole counsel of God.

Whether you see the Church as grafted into Israel, or as walking a parallel path, the core truth must remain:

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” (Ephesians 4:4–6)

Part 4: Romans 9–11 – The Flashpoint of the Debate

If there’s one section of Scripture that draws the sharpest line between Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology, it is Romans 9–11. It is here that Paul takes us into the very heart of the question:

“Has God’s word failed?”
“What about the promises made to Israel?”
“If Gentiles are now part of God’s people, what happens to ethnic Jews?”

And Paul answers those questions with deep theological insight, personal anguish, and eschatological vision.

A. Paul’s Grief and God’s Sovereignty (Romans 9)

Paul opens this section not with theology, but with tears.

Romans 9:2–3
“I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race.”

He mourns because so many Jews had rejected their Messiah. The ones to whom the covenants, the law, the patriarchs, and the promises belonged—had not believed.

And then he writes one of the most profound statements in all of Scripture:

Romans 9:6 – “It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.”

That single sentence becomes a dividing line between the two theological camps.

Covenant View:

• Paul is redefining Israel spiritually.
• True Israel = the believing remnant.
• Being a physical descendant of Abraham is not enough — one must be born of the Spirit.

Dispensational View:

• Paul is distinguishing between ethnic Israel and spiritual Israel but still affirms a future for national Israel.
• The promises still stand for ethnic Israel in the future.

Then Paul walks through God’s sovereignty in election — from Isaac over Ishmael, to Jacob over Esau, to Pharaoh. His point? God is free to choose whom He will. Not all ethnic Jews are saved. Not all Gentiles are excluded. The dividing line is mercy, not bloodline.

B. Stumbling Over the Stone (Romans 10)

In Romans 10, Paul shifts from divine sovereignty to human responsibility.

Romans 10:3 – “Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

Paul says Israel stumbled over the stone of offense — Christ. They pursued righteousness by the law, not by faith. And yet he still says:

Romans 10:1 – “My heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”

He then declares one of the most universal invitations in the New Testament:

Romans 10:12–13 – “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him.”

The implication? There is only one way to be saved — for Jew and Gentile alike: faith in Christ.

C. The Olive Tree and the Mystery (Romans 11)

And then we reach Romans 11 — the most contested ground of all.

Romans 11:1 – “Did God reject his people? By no means!”

Paul appeals to his own Jewish identity — he is a Jew who believes in Jesus. He says there is a remnant chosen by grace. But then he unveils a mystery:

Romans 11:11 – “Because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.”

Paul explains a sequence:

1. Israel, as a nation, rejected the gospel.
2. That opened the door for the Gentiles to be saved.
3. But the Gentiles should not become proud.
4. Eventually, many Jews will be provoked to faith.

Then comes the climax:

Romans 11:25–26 – “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery… Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved.”

What does “all Israel” mean?

Dispensational View:

• A future mass conversion of ethnic Jews near the end of time.
• God will fulfill His promises to national Israel in a future millennium.

Covenant View:

• “All Israel” = the full number of the elect, both Jew and Gentile.
• Salvation has always been by faith, and God’s people have always included both groups.

Then Paul concludes with a breathtaking doxology:

Romans 11:33 – “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!”

Sometimes, after the deepest theology, the only thing left to say is worship.

💡 Application for Today:

Whether you believe “all Israel” means a future revival of ethnic Jews or the completed Church in Christ, here’s what we all agree on:

• God’s promises never fail.
• Salvation is always by grace through faith.
• We must reject arrogance, especially toward our Jewish neighbors.
• And we must preach the gospel to all.

Romans 1:16 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes — to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Part 5: The Modern State of Israel — Prophetic Fulfillment or Political Entity?

Let’s now turn our eyes to the modern era — specifically, the year 1948.

On May 14 of that year, the nation of Israel was officially reestablished after nearly 2,000 years of exile. For the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 A.D., there was a Jewish state in the historic land of Israel.

For many Christians — especially Dispensationalists — this was nothing less than the fulfillment of prophecy.

Isaiah 66:8 – “Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?”

They saw in Israel’s rebirth the hand of God restoring His people to their land, just as the prophets had foretold.

But is that what Scripture actually teaches?

🟦 Dispensational View: Rebirth as Prophetic Fulfillment

Dispensationalists believe the modern state of Israel is a clear sign of the end times:

• It is the beginning of God’s plan to fulfill Old Testament prophecies literally.
• It prepares the stage for the Tribulation, Antichrist, and the Millennial Kingdom.
• The Jewish people will eventually rebuild the temple, resume sacrifices, and accept the Messiah at His second coming.

Key supporting passages:

• Ezekiel 36–37: The valley of dry bones and the regathering of Israel
• Zechariah 12: God will pour out a spirit of grace on the house of David
• Matthew 24: Jesus speaks of Jerusalem and the fig tree budding

Therefore, in this view:

• The modern nation of Israel has theological significance.
• Christians are called to bless Israel (Genesis 12:3).
• Opposition to Israel is seen as opposition to God’s covenant.

🟨 Covenant View: A Political, Not Prophetic, Entity

In contrast, most covenant theologians view the modern state of Israel as a political reality — the result of international decisions and historical trauma, especially after the Holocaust.

They point out:

• Nowhere does the New Testament predict a return to the land.
• All covenant blessings now flow through Christ, not geography.
• The true Israel is the Church, made up of Jew and Gentile believers.

Therefore:

• While they may support Israel politically, they do not see it as a theologically central piece in God’s plan.
• National Israel, like any other nation, must come to faith in Christ to be saved.
• The land promises are fulfilled in the inheritance of the saints — a new heaven and new earth (Hebrews 11:13–16).

⚖️ Biblical and Pastoral Balance

So, where do we go from here? Is one side right and the other wrong?

Perhaps the more biblical and pastoral approach is this:

1. Yes, God has been faithful to preserve the Jewish people through centuries of suffering and dispersion.
2. Yes, we should honor the Jewish roots of our faith and condemn antisemitism in every form.
3. Yes, the establishment of Israel is significant — politically, morally, historically — and perhaps providentially.
4. But, the centerpiece of God’s plan is not a nation, a city, or a temple — it is Jesus Christ and His gospel.

As Jesus said:

John 4:21–23 – “A time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem… true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth.”

God’s promises are no longer tied to a physical location. They are tied to a Person.

✝️ The Danger of Misplacing Our Hope

Here’s the danger:
If we place our eschatological hopes in political movements or national borders, we risk confusing the mission of the Church.

Philippians 3:20 – “Our citizenship is in heaven.”

We are called to preach the gospel to all nations, including Israel — not to watch the news hoping for the next war that triggers prophecy.

We must remember:

• Israel is not the Savior.
• The Church is not superior.
• Christ alone is the fulfillment of every promise.

Part 6: Summary, Implications, and a Call to Humility and Gospel Mission

We’ve covered a vast landscape of Scripture, theology, and history.

So let’s now pause and gather the threads. What have we learned, and how should we live?

A. The Summary: Two Views, One Gospel

B. What Unites Us

Let us never forget: while we may differ in interpretation, we stand on common ground.

We believe:

• That the Scriptures are inspired and true.
• That Jesus is the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of the law, prophets, and promises.
• That salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.
• That the gospel is for Jew and Gentile alike.
• That God’s promises never fail, and His plan is perfect.

2 Corinthians 1:20 – “For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him.”

C. The Danger of Arrogance

Romans 11:20 – “Do not become proud, but fear.”

To Gentile believers, Paul gives a clear warning: Do not become arrogant toward the natural branches. Salvation is a gift of grace, not a trophy of pride.

Whether we think of ourselves as grafted in or spiritually descended from Abraham, we are recipients of mercy, not replacers of a people.

The Church must never use theology to justify antisemitism, nationalism, or apathy. We must be a people marked by gratitude, humility, and bold evangelism.

D. Our Mission: To Provoke and Proclaim

Romans 11:14 – “In the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.”

Paul wanted the Gentiles' faith and transformation to provoke his fellow Jews to seek Christ.

That is our call as well:

• To provoke Israel by our joy, our holiness, our love.
• To proclaim Christ to all — because He is the only hope.

We must avoid two extremes:

1. Watching Israel like it’s a prophetic TV show, while neglecting to share Jesus with our Jewish neighbors.
2. Forgetting Israel altogether, acting as if our faith was born in Rome or Texas.

No — we remember that salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22), and we celebrate that the gospel is for the whole world.

E. A Call to the Church

So Church, how should we live?

1. Study the Word deeply — be humble enough to know we might not have all the answers.
2. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem — not as a political slogan, but as a gospel prayer.
3. Reject racism and pride — in any form, toward Jew or Gentile.
4. Preach the gospel boldly — for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
5. Fix our eyes on Jesus — not on signs, not on speculation, but on the Savior who was pierced for our transgressions.

F. Final Exhortation: The Mystery and Majesty of God

Romans 11:33–36
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

In the end, we bow.

We worship.

We trust the God who sees the whole plan, even when we only see in part.

Benediction

May the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob bless you.
May Jesus, the Seed of promise, be your righteousness.
May the Spirit of truth lead you into deeper understanding.
And may we, as the one people of God, proclaim the gospel until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in — and all Israel is saved.

Amen.