Is the Church Spiritual Jacob?

So, is the Church the New Jacob or Spiritual Jacob? We'll answer that and take your calls today. It's time for the Line of Fire with your host, biblical scholar and cultural commentator, Dr. Michael Brown. Your voice for moral sanity and spiritual clarity.

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Michael Brown, delighted to be with you. Here as always, friends, to infuse you with faith and truth and courage to help you stand strong on the front lines. If you're not getting our Frontlines newsletter, we just sent out the very first one yesterday full of edifying truth. It'll inspire you, inform you, equip you.

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I want to start with this question before we go to the phones. We often hear people say that the Church is the new Israel or the Church is spiritual Israel and many who hold to that mean that Israel in the natural, Israel after the flesh, is no longer Israel in God's sight. That the Church has now taken on the identity of Israel and that natural Israel no longer has a prophetic purpose.

Individual Jews can be saved but that natural Israel is no longer Israel in God's sight because the Church is the spiritual Israel so the promises to Israel are fulfilled now through Jesus in the Church. So since throughout the Old Testament Israel is called Jacob and Jacob is called Israel. You know you read through Isaiah starting in the 40th chapter and you know Jacob, Israel used interchangeably.

You have it through much of the Old Testament. So that leads me to ask the question, well is the Church the new Jacob? Is the Church the spiritual Jacob?

I imagine you'd say, no of course not. There's nothing in the Bible that says it. Well there's also nothing in the Bible that says that the Church is the new Israel or the Church is spiritual Israel by the way, right? But if the Church is not the new Jacob, the Church is not the spiritual Jacob, then the Church is not the new Israel or the spiritual Israel because you know Jacob and Israel are synonymous in the Old Testament. You say, what about the New Testament?

Oh, same here. So let's go over to Romans chapter 11, all right? For me I want my theology to flow out of the Word and where I see that my theology doesn't line up with the Word, let me adjust my theology, not adjust the Word. So Paul writes, Romans 11 25, lest you be wise in your own eyes to Gentile believers in Rome, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers. A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. So the Gentiles are not Israel, Israel is not the Gentiles. The fullness of the Gentiles comes and then and so in this way provoked by and on the heels of the fullness of the Gentiles coming in and this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written, the Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob, from Jacob. Israel's future salvation is the future salvation of Jacob.

Why? Because Israel is still Israel and Jacob is still Jacob. The Church is not the new Israel any more than the Church is the new Jacob and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.

Who's? Those who currently reject the Gospel, Jacob, Israel. As regards the Gospel, they, who, Jacob, Israel, are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they're beloved for the sake of their forefathers, who, Jacob, Israel, the ones currently rejecting the Gospel, the ones currently hardened, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. So the Church is not the new Jacob or the new Israel any more, excuse me, the Church is not the new Jacob or the spiritual Israel any, I'll get it right this time.

The Church is not the new Jacob or the spiritual Jacob any more than the Church is the new Israel or the spiritual Israel. Are we one in Jesus, Jew and Gentile believer? Yes. Are we equal in Yeshua? Yes. Is there salvation only through Yeshua for Jew and Gentile?

Yes, yes, yes. But a Gentile doesn't become a Jew, a Jew doesn't become a Gentile and the ekklesia, which is the whole assembly of all believers now in the New Testament, is not the new Israel or the spiritual Israel. Save Jews along with save Gentiles make up the ekklesia. All right, let us go to the phones and we'll start with Joshua in Durham, North Carolina. Thanks so much for calling the line of fire. Hey, thank you for taking my call, Dr. Brown. Always great to hear your voice.

Thank you, sir. I had a question on Isaiah 44-6, but I actually had another question more on today's topic. Can I switch it to a question about 1 Peter?

Go for it, absolutely. Awesome. Yeah, so I heard a sermon recently, pastors preaching out of 1 Peter, and he wasn't preaching replacement theology, but it seemed he was clearly assuming replacement theology, and he was, 1 Peter has a lot of exilic language in it. Yes. And I was just curious, is 1 Peter written, it seemed to me it's written specifically to believing Jews that are scattered throughout the Roman Empire. 2 Peter doesn't really have that language, it may be more to the wider body of believers. Or is Peter in 1 Peter referring to all Christians as the elect exiles of the dispersion, things like that?

Yeah. What are your thoughts? You know, it's interesting, I was about to get into some of this language and why people can think the church is spiritual Israel, but I didn't want to go too far with the opening question, so you asked the perfect question. So, scholars, there are three ways to discuss who 1 Peter was written to, right? One is Jewish and Gentile believers scattered around the world.

That's one option. Another option is like Jacob, James, Jewish believers scattered around the world. The third option is Gentile believers scattered around the world. The most recent scholarly take I read on this argued strongly that it is written to Gentile believers scattered around the world using language that often applies to Israel.

So, here's the thing, there's massive overlap. In other words, what God says about Israel in the Old Testament, a lot of it is realized spiritually by Gentiles who are followers of Jesus. In other words, being chosen, being loved by God, and having a certain destiny and calling, being sons and daughters of God, the ones who were rejected and now accepted. So, in many ways, the way God described his beloved Israel in the Old Testament, he describes all believers in the New Testament because we share that relationship with them. But it's just like he can say certain things about both men and women, but men don't become women and women don't become men. So, what about, for example, 1 Peter 2, for as you come to him a living stone rejected by men in the sight of God, chosen and precious, you yourselves are like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus the Messiah. For it stands in Scripture, behold, I...