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#Zola_Levitt_Ministries
04/24/2001 9:06 PM CT
9:06 PM: philo: tonights lesson is on dispensationalism
9:06 PM: philo: the most controversial idea is the church/israel distinction
9:06 PM: philo: wait as I start inserting material
9:07 PM: philo: The Second Characteristic of Dispensationalism: Israel / Church Distinction
9:07 PM: philo: Adapted from an article by Tommy Ice by Dr. John Sweigart
9:07 PM: philo: The second characteristic upon which dispensationalism is built is the fact that God has two peoples-Israel and the church.
9:07 PM: philo: This is probably the most difficult idea to understand. Tovah may have already covered some of it in her teaching.
9:08 PM: philo: Remember I am teaching normative dispensationalism. This may not reflect my own understanding of the matter.
9:08 PM: philo: What do we mean by this distinction and how does it impact our understanding of Scripture?
9:08 PM: philo: The Distinction Between Israel and the Church
9:08 PM: philo: "The New Testament consistently differentiates between Israel and the church," claims dispensational writer Arnold Fruchtenbaum.1
9:09 PM: philo: Fruchtenbaum supports this conclusion through a powerful twofold argument in which he first demonstrates
9:09 PM: philo: the biblical view of Israel and secondly,
9:09 PM: philo: by showing that the church is viewed in the New Testament as a separate entity.
9:10 PM: philo: Belief that God's single plan for history includes two peoples-- Israel and the church-- does not imply that there are thus
9:10 PM: philo: different ways of salvation. (This idea is often presented by opposition writers)
9:10 PM: philo: When it comes to the issue of salvation there is only one way, (by grace through faith)
9:10 PM: philo: since all peoples down through history descend from a single source-Adam.
9:10 PM: philo: Christ's saving work is the only way of salvation for anyone, whether they are a member of Israel or the church.
9:11 PM: philo: One should note that the Mosaic Law was never presented as a means of salvation but as a means for gaining and
9:11 PM: philo: maintaining the inheritance of the land after having experienced salvation from Egypt.
9:11 PM: philo: Israel
9:11 PM: philo: Fruchtenbaum notes that "the term Israel is viewed theologically as referring to all descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, also known as Jews, the Jewish people, Israelites, Hebrews, etc." (113).
9:11 PM: philo: He notes that national election (God's choice of people for a purpose) distinguishes Israel from those peoples who were not chosen that we know as Gentiles (113-14)
9:11 PM: philo: Fruchtenbaum outlines four reasons for Israel's election:
9:12 PM: philo: 1) They were "chosen on the basis of God's love . . . to be 'a kingdom of priests and a holy nation' (Ex. 19:6)
9:12 PM: philo: . . . to represent the Gentile nations before God." (Their job was to teach the nations the true knowledge of God).
9:12 PM: philo: 2) "God chose Israel to be the recipient of His revelation and to record it (Deut. 4:5-8; 6:6-9; Rom. 3:1-2)."
9:12 PM: philo: This logically follows from the first purpose.
9:13 PM: philo: 3) Israel "was to propagate the doctrine of the One true God (Deut. 6:4)."
9:13 PM: philo: (Remember though that the Hebrew word for "one" is ECHAD which implies a plural in unity ie a bunch of grapes.
9:13 PM: philo: 4) Israel "was to produce the Messiah (Rom. 9:5; Heb. 2:16-17; 7:13-14) (115)."
9:14 PM: philo: No biblically oriented Christian would deny these purposes relating to Israel.
9:14 PM: philo: The differences begin to emerge when we consider Israel in relation to the church.
9:14 PM: philo: "Some theologians insist," notes Fruchtenbaum "that at some point the church receives the promises given to Israel and
9:14 PM: philo: thus become the 'New Israel' (known as replacement theology).
9:15 PM: philo: Some believe the terms church and Israel are used virtually 'interchangeably,' most citing Galatians 6:16 and some Romans 9:6." (116).
9:15 PM: philo: (Philo's comment: Notice in Romans 9:6 Paul says, "For not all the ones descended from Israel are Israel.
9:15 PM: philo: But he is explaining the reason why "the word/promise of God did not fail."
9:15 PM: philo: He introduces in the context the subject as the unbelief of his fellow countrymen according to the flesh.
9:16 PM: philo: He never says that all the ones descended from Israel are now Gentiles. This is what people tend to read in the text.)
9:16 PM: philo: However, those commonly known as dispensationalists interpret the Bible literally
9:16 PM: philo: and thus do not confuse the terms Israel and the church,
9:16 PM: philo: since there is no basis in the text of any biblical passage for supporting such an approach.
9:16 PM: philo: Having noted important aspects of the biblical use of Israel, let us now examine the nature of the church.
9:17 PM: philo: The Church
9:17 PM: philo: Fruchtenbaum gives six reasons from the Bible supporting the notion that the church is a distinct work in
9:17 PM: philo: God's household separate from His people Israel.
9:17 PM: philo: (Notice that we use the term church here for clarity although the word ekklesia literally means a called out people or an assembly.
9:17 PM: philo: 1) "The first evidence that the church is distinct from Israel is the fact that the church was born at Pentecost, whereas Israel had existed for many centuries" (116).
9:18 PM: philo: This is supported by "the use of the future tense in Matthew 16:18 which shows that it did not exist in gospel history" (116).
9:18 PM: philo: Since the church born at Pentecost is called the "Body of Christ" (Col. 1:18), and entrance into the body is through "Spirit baptism" (1 Corinthians 12:13),
9:19 PM: philo: in which Jew and Gentile are united through the church,
9:19 PM: philo: it is evident that the church began on the Day of Pentecost.
9:19 PM: philo: Acts 1:5 views Spirit baptism as future, while Acts 10 links it to the past, specifically to Pentecost.
9:19 PM: philo: 2) "The second evidence that the church is distinct from Israel is that certain events in the ministry of the Messiah were essential to the establishment of the church
9:19 PM: philo: -the church does not come into being until certain events have taken place" (117).
9:20 PM: philo: These events include the resurrection and ascension of Jesus to become head of the church (Eph. 1:20-23).
9:20 PM: philo: "The church, with believers as the body and Christ as the head, did not exist until after Christ ascended to become its head.
9:20 PM: philo: And it could not become a functioning entity until after the Holy Spirit provided the necessary spiritual gifts (Eph. 4:7-11)" (117).
9:20 PM: philo: 3) "The third evidence that the church is distinct from Israel is the mystery character of the church (117)."
9:20 PM: philo: A mystery in the Bible is a hidden truth not revealed until the New Testament (Eph. 3:3-5, 9; Col. 1:26-27).
9:21 PM: philo: Fruchtenbaum lists "four defining characteristics of the church [that] are described as a mystery.
9:21 PM: philo: (1) The body concept of Jewish and Gentile believers united into one body is designated as a mystery in Ephesians 3:1-12.
9:21 PM: philo: (2) The doctrine of Christ indwelling every believer, the Christ-in-you concept, is called a mystery in Colossians 1:24-27 (cf. Col. 2:10-19; 3:4).
9:22 PM: philo: (3) The church as the Bride of Christ is called a mystery in Ephesians 5:22-32.
9:22 PM: philo: Compare this with 2 Corinthians 10:1 where Paul tells us that we were betrothed at conversion.
9:22 PM: philo: This lays the foundation for the teaching about the so-called rapture of the body of believers
9:22 PM: philo: to fulfill the Jewish marriage analogy.
9:22 PM: philo: (4) The Rapture is called a mystery in 1 Corinthians 15:50-58.
9:23 PM: philo: 4) "The fourth evidence that the church is distinct from Israel is the unique relationship between Jews and the Gentiles, called one new man in Ephesians 2:15" (118).
9:23 PM: philo: During the current church age God is saving a remnant from the two previous entities (Israel and Gentiles) and combining them into a third new entity-the church.
9:23 PM: philo: This unity of Jews and Gentiles into one new man covers only the church age,
9:23 PM: philo: from Pentecost until the rapture,
9:24 PM: philo: after which time God will restore Israel and complete her destiny (Acts 15:14-18).
9:24 PM: philo: 1 Corinthians 10:32 reflect just such a division when it says, "Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God."
9:24 PM: philo: 5) "The fifth evidence for the distinction between Israel and the church is found in Galatians 6:16" (118).
9:25 PM: philo: "It appears logical to view 'the Israel of God' (Gal. 6:16) as believing Jews in contrast to unbelieving Jews called 'Israel after the flesh' (1 Corinthians 10:18)" (124).2
9:25 PM: philo: This passage does not support the false claim of replacement theologians who claim that Israel is supplanted by the Church.
9:25 PM: philo: Instead, the Bible teaches that a remnant of Israel is combined with elect Gentiles during this age
9:25 PM: philo: to make up a whole new entity the New Testament calls the church (Eph. 2).
9:26 PM: philo: Replacement theology tries to teach that because Gentiles believers are described as the "seed of Abraham" (Gal. 3:29)
9:26 PM: philo: that this is equivalent to saying that they are Israel. This is clearly not the case
9:26 PM: philo: (Philo's comment: Remember it is possible by adoption to become a legal descendant without becoming a physical descendant)..
9:26 PM: philo: Paul's description of Gentile believers in Galatians 3:29 simply means that they participate in the spiritual (i.e., salvation) blessings that come through Israel (Rom. 15:27; 1 Corinthians 9:11, 14).
9:27 PM: philo: "Those who are the spiritual seed are partakers of Jewish spiritual blessings but are never said to become partakers of the physical, material, or national promises" (126).
9:27 PM: philo: Therefore, Israel's national promises are left in tact awaiting a yet future fulfillment.
9:27 PM: philo: 6) "In the book of Acts, both Israel and the church exist simultaneously.
9:28 PM: philo: The term Israel is used twenty times and ekklesia (church) nineteen times, yet the two groups are always kept distinct" (118).3
9:28 PM: philo: Thus, the replacement theologian has no actual biblical basis upon which he bases his theological claim that national Israel and the church have become one.
9:28 PM: philo: The Significance of the Distinction
9:28 PM: philo: If Israel and the church are not distinguished then there is no basis for seeing a future for Israel or for the church, as a new and unique people of God.
9:29 PM: philo: If Israel and the church are merged into a single program,
9:29 PM: philo: then the Old Testament promises for Israel will never be fulfilled
9:29 PM: philo: and are usually seen by replacement theologians as spiritually fulfilled by the church.
9:29 PM: philo: The merging of Israel's destiny into the church not only makes into one what the Scriptures understand as two,
9:29 PM: philo: it removes a need for future restoration of God's original elect people
9:29 PM: philo: in order to fulfill literally His promise that they will one day be the head and not the tail (Deut. 28:13).
9:30 PM: philo: The more that the believer sees a distinct plan for Israel and a distinct plan for the church,
9:30 PM: philo: the more they realize that when the New Testament speaks to the church it is describing a separate destiny and hope for her.
9:30 PM: philo: Israel's future includes the seven-year tribulation and then shortly before Christ's return to Jerusalem she will be converted to Jesus as her Messiah as the veil of unbelief is removed and then she looks upon the one Who was pierced and is converted.
9:30 PM: philo: On the other hand, the distinct hope (the rapture before the 70th week of Daniel) for the church is Christ's any-moment return.
9:31 PM: philo: Thus, a distinction between Israel and the church provides a basis of support for the dispensational understanding.
9:31 PM: philo: Those who merge the two programs most often have to depart from literal principles of interpretation about which we spoke last week or spiritualize the texts in some way.
9:31 PM: philo: ENDNOTES
9:31 PM: philo: 1 Fruchtenbaum, "Israel and the Church" in Issues in Dispensationalism ed., Wesley Willis, John Master, and Charles Ryrie, (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 129. This article by Fruchtenbaum is a highly regarded defense of the Bible's distinction between Israel and the church and should be read by all interacting with this subject. The remaining citations of Fruchtenbaum's article will appear in brackets after a quotation in the rest of this
9:32 PM: philo: 2 For an extensive and convincing treatment of Galatians 6:16 see Fruchtenbaum's article, 120-26.
9:32 PM: philo: 3 Fruchtenbaum lists all 73 times Israel is used in the New Testament and demonstrates that Israel always is used to refer to ethnic Jews and never is used of the church (118-20). For an exhaustive and definitive study of the word for church and how it is never merged with Israel in the New Testament, see Earl Radmacher, What the Church is All About (Chicago: Moody Press, 1972), 366-84, 389-93.
9:33 PM: philo: This finishes the lesson
9:34 PM: philo: for tonight
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