Does Israel Include All Believers?

Q

Could it be possible that when God speaks of Israel He means all of God’s people that believe in him and try to follow in His foot steps?

A

Israel, the Gentile nations, and the Church are all separate and distinct groups of people in God’s perspective (1 Cor. 10:32). They all have different origins and they all have different destinies. When God speaks of Israel He’s referring to those we call the Jewish people, who have inherited the promised land. This does not include the Church, which has no homeland on Earth. Our citizenship is in Heaven (Phil. 3:20).

According to Galatians 3:28 when a Jewish person becomes a believer in Jesus, God considers that person to be a part of the Church. The same is true of a Gentile. So although the Church consists of people who were formerly Jews and people who were formerly Gentiles, they are all one in Christ Jesus and as such are part of the Church.