Christ the promised Seed, Gentile inheritance, and Paul's final blessing
…God the Church? Christ the promised Seed, Gentile inheritance, and Paul's final blessing Galatians contains two of the strongest arguments for identifying the Church as Israel. First, Paul says that the promises were made to Abraham and his singular Seed, Christ. Everyone who be…
Read article →Unity in Christ and distinction in God's purpose
…en broken down, and Christ has made believing Jew and Gentile "one new man" (Ephesians 2:13-16). This is not a loose alliance between two communities which retain separate standing before God. There is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, and one baptism (Ephesian…
Read article →How the Law reaches its goal and appointed end in Christ
…h aspects Paul intends. The argument begins with righteousness Paul's subject in Romans 9:30–10:4 is not the abstract value of the Mosaic Law. It is the way in which righteousness is obtained. Gentiles who had not pursued righteousness attained it by faith. Israel, which pursued…
Read article →Fulfilment in Christ, the inclusion of the Gentiles, and Israel's future mercy
…eign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." —Luke 1:32-33 Jesus is the fulfilment. But the terms being fulfilled retain their meaning: David's throne and the house of Jacob. Luke does not explain the promise by replacing Jacob with the Gentil…
Read article →The olive tree, the natural branches, and the limits of the metaphor
…"For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles." —Romans 11:13 The singular "thou" which follows represents the Gentile believer and, more broadly, the Gentile constituency entering the people of God. Paul is not explaining that Gentiles have secretly…
Read article →What 'yea and Amen' in Christ means for Israel and the covenants
…ly to Christ, but Gabriel still says that He will reign "over the house of Jacob" (Luke 1:32-33). The new covenant is mediated by Christ, but Jeremiah still names "the house of Israel" and "the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31). Abraham's Seed brings blessing to every nation, but…
Read article →Conditional blessing, irrevocable promise, and fulfilment in Christ
…ion, give him a great name, and bless all families of the earth through him (Genesis 12:1-3). As the revelation developed, three features became prominent: descendants, land, and worldwide blessing. Genesis 15 gives the covenant an extraordinary form. God alone passes between the…
Read article →The covenant son and the sacrifice that points to Christ
…hall). The argument concerning the sacrifice comes principally from the sequence in Surah 37. Abraham prays for righteous offspring and receives "tidings of a gentle son" (Surahs 37:100–101, Pickthall). When the boy is old enough to accompany him, Abraham tells him of the dream i…
Read article →Defining the position before testing it
…he mediator of the new covenant, and the One in whom all God's promises are yea and amen (Galatians 3:16; Luke 1:32-33; Hebrews 9:15; 2 Corinthians 1:20). The Church also shares blessings once associated with Israel's covenants and hope. Gentile believers who were "aliens from th…
Read article →Circumcision of the heart and the identity of Paul's inward Jew
…ng addressed, follow the argument from verse 17, and allow Paul's next question in Romans 3:1 to control what his conclusion can mean. The crucial question is not whether Gentile believers receive an inward circumcision. They do. The question is whether Paul therefore calls them…
Read article →The crucifixion in history, Scripture and the Qur'an
…ried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). The language of receiving and delivering indicates transmitted tradition. Paul did not invent this proclamation while composing the letter. He had taught it to the Corinthians earlier,…
Read article →Election within Abraham's family, the believing remnant, and the future of the nation
…formal discussion of Israel begins at Romans 9:1 and ends with the doxology at Romans 11:33-36. Paul opens with grief over his physical kinsmen and closes in wonder at the depth of God's wisdom, knowledge, judgements, and ways. Romans 12:1 then turns from this theological argume…
Read article →Why the final seven is unfinished, future, and centred upon Israel and Jerusalem
…ar in Nehemiah 2, dated the decree to 14 March 445 BC, treated the sixty-nine sevens as 173,880 days, and arrived at 6 April AD 32. He identified the endpoint with Christ's presentation in Jerusalem shortly before the crucifixion. The calculation is ingenious and has rightly draw…
Read article →What God's faithfulness to Israel means for everyone who trusts His promises
…aid, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" —Numbers 23:19 God's constancy is not an abstract attribute. It is the reason His people can trust what He says. If the wording of a divine promise does not reliably disclose what God has committed Hi…
Read article →One Messiah, one gospel, and God's continuing purpose for Israel
…ng the argument through the covenants, the prophets, the teaching of Jesus, Acts, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, and the history of Christian interpretation, the cumulative answer is no. God has judged Israel severely. The nation remains largely in unbelief and cannot inherit saving…
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