Chapter 1: Chosen to Bless the World (Who are the "Israel of God?")

By Hazel Holland

In order to determine who “Israel” originally was and why she was chosen, we need to go back before “Israel” existed in order to see a pattern of how God chose or elected certain people throughout history. As we saw in our last study, He did this to preserve the lineage through which Jesus Christ would eventually come. God’s choice of people had to do with preserving salvation history, rather than securing their eternal destiny (See last post at: http://sound-the-trumpet.blogspot.com/2010/02/election-determines-history-not-eternal.html).

In order to discover “Israel’s” roots, we will begin our study with the book of Genesis since it is here that God first chose to make a covenant promise in “seed” form to Adam and Eve. He promised them He would eventually send a Deliverer (Jesus Christ) to redeem mankind from the curse of sin that came upon the whole human race as a result of their sin (Genesis 3:15). In fact, Genesis is sometimes called the "seed-plot" of the entire Bible, because it is here where most of the major doctrines in the Word of God are introduced in "seed" form.

Subsequent to God's covenant promise to Adam and Eve, God chose Abel to preserve the lineage through which the Deliverer would come because Abel "believed", but Cain did not. This is evidenced by the fact that Cain refused to offer a lamb (a shadow of the Lamb to come) as a sacrifice for his sins, preferring instead to offer the fruit of his own labor as an offering to God. When Cain saw that Abel’s sacrifice was accepted by God, but his was not, He killed his brother it a fit of jealous rage.

After Cain killed Abel, God gave Adam and Eve another son, Seth, whose name meant "the appointed one". Later, the Bible tells us that God chose “righteous” Noah, a descendant of Seth, to save mankind when God judged the wicked men on the earth in the time of the Flood. Then through Noah’s son, Shem, in the ninth generation, God chose another man named Abram (meaning “exalted one”) to be the next person in line through whom His saving purposes would be made known to the world.

This pattern of representation, where God repeatedly chooses one person after another through whom His saving purposes would be made known to the rest of the world, is clearly seen from the very beginning of the Bible. The covenant promise originally given to Adam and Eve prepared the way for the blessing of all nations through the covenant promise God chose to make with Abram.

“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV).

I believe that it’s vital that we grasp the meaning of the call of Abram (later changed to Abraham) and to his seed after him to be a special nation in the context of God’s concern for all nations. The fact that God chose Abram to be a blessing to all nations shows that God chose him for the sake of the world, not for his own sake (Genesis 12:1-3 (NIV). In fact the covenant promise that God originally made to Adam in “seed form” and that was passed on to his “righteous” descendants was a promise of the coming Blessing that was to be shared with the world. It had been God’s plan right from the very beginning.

Thus, God’s election of Abram was not a sign of God changing His mind about the other nations, wanting to save some and reject others. No, not at all! The decision God made to call Abram reveals the path God had chosen to bring about the salvation of the many through the faith of the one. This is most clearly emphasized in Scripture by Jesus being presented to us as the new Adam, the one who represents the race as its Redeemer. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive” 1 Corinthians 15:22 (NASB).

Saved by Faith

Ever since God gave His covenant promise to Adam, there must have arisen a great yearning within the hearts of the “righteous” (those who “believed” in the promise of a coming Redeemer) in every generation that perhaps their generation would be the one who would see God’s promise fulfilled. How they must have longed for the coming Redeemer, the New Adam, who would buy back the world from the curse of sin.

After seeing generation upon generation dying as a result of Adam’s sin, the Hope that they held on to by faith must have brought them great joy! Simeon in the New Testament is an example of those who held on to their hope in the promised Seed. Remember his testimony on the day that he was moved by the Holy Spirit to go into the temple courts? The Scriptures tell us that when he saw Mary and Joseph he took the child Jesus in his arms and praised God, saying:

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” Luke 2: 27-32 (NIV).

So what we have seen so far from our study is that the “righteous” in the Old Testament were those who “believed” the promise that God originally made to Adam. Contrary to what some teach, it was not by works that they were saved, but by faith—faith in the coming Seed, Jesus Christ.

Now let’s look at a passage of Scripture from the New Testament that confirms this. Abraham is an excellent example of how people were saved in Old Testament times because he lived in a day when neither the Law of Moses nor the rite of circumcision existed as a part of Israel’s religion. In these verses the apostle Paul is censuring the Galatians for their lack of faith, and reminding them of their father Abraham who chose to put his faith in God’s covenant promise of a coming Deliverer.

“You foolish Galatians… Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

"Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer…

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us… in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith… Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as referring to many, but rather to One, ‘And to your Seed,’ that is, Christ.

"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants (seed), heirs according to promise’” Galatians 3: 1-3, 5-9, 13-15, 26-29 (NASB).

After reading these verses we can see beyond a shadow of a doubt that Abraham was chosen by God and acceptable to God by faith, apart from any works of law. And to think that this all happened many years before he was circumcised! So by Jewish definitions, Abraham was really a Gentile when he was saved, making him indeed “the father of all believers”.

This had been the pattern ever since the fall of Adam and Eve. Men like Adam, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, just to name a few, who “believed” in the promised Seed were considered “righteous” by God. They were acceptable to God based upon God’s faithfulness to His promise, not on their human performance.

In other words, God considered Abraham righteous because of his faith in God’s promise, and in God’s ability to provide what He promised. Although the Jews in Jesus’ time considered Abraham the star of the show, Paul insisted that it was the greatness of God that must be the center of our attention, NOT Abraham.

We don’t have to read very far in Abraham’s life to discover how often his faith failed. Although He believed God’s covenant promise, he had a son by Hagar. Although he believed God’s covenant promise, he lied about the identity of his wife Sarah to Abimelech, King of Gerar (Genesis 16, 20). The greatness of Abraham’s faith cannot be extolled here in any way, but only the greatness and mercy of the God in whom he trusted.

The point Paul is making in these verses we just read is that only those who receive the promise of the Spirit through faith in the coming Seed are the true children of Abraham. If we belong to Christ then we are Abraham’s children and joint heirs according to promise. Just as Abraham was chosen to be a blessing to the nations of the world because of his faith in the coming Seed, Jesus Christ, so are we.

The Reckoning Process

The way that God was able to provide salvation for those who “believed” in the promised Seed during Old Testament times was through the “reckoning process”. In fact, this has always been God’s way of providing salvation for those who “believe”—then and now. What this means is that our sins have been “reckoned” or “imputed” to Christ so that He was punished in our place. Additionally, Christ’s righteousness has been “reckoned” or imputed to us so that we are regarded and treated by God as righteous, because we are in Him by faith.

An example of God not imputing our sins against us is found in the story of King David’s sin of adultery with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband, Uriah (Psalm 32). David knew all too well that the law could only pronounce him guilty and worthy of death. Even though he knew that the law made no provision for his salvation, he knew the grace of God. So he plead for mercy and forgiveness on the basis of his faith in the coming Salvation, and He received it. Although David deserved to die, God did not impute his sin to him on the basis of the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross (still future). Instead, God imputed Christ’s righteousness to David in response to his faith.

Both Abraham’s “righteousness” and King David’s “righteousness” was not due to their law-keeping or their good works, but only to God’s grace. On the basis of faith alone, apart from works, God reckoned both Abraham and David to be “righteous”, and they are listed along with many other Hebrew Worthies in the Bible’s Hall of Faith (See Hebrews 11). Neither of these men, nor any of their offspring, had anything to boast about in and of themselves except God’s grace revealed in the promised Seed. Neither do we.

Thus, God’s plan right from the very beginning has been to announce to the world that a Deliverer was coming. People who chose to “believe” in the promise were reckoned as “righteous”. With each successive generation we will notice that God reveals a little more of His plan to bring His salvation to all peoples of the earth. The next chapter will be another link in the chain of salvation history that will help us to better understand who “Israel” was.

(Next: Chapter 2: Go here.