Hebrew Roots Movement – Believers are Grafted Into and Become Israel? Um . . . No.
Posted on September 2, 2011 by JGIG
There is a belief in the Hebrew Roots/Messianic/Netzarim movements that when one believes on Yeshua (Jesus Christ) that they become grafted into the ‘tree of Israel’, actually becoming Israel, obligating those believers to observe Israel’s Mosaic Covenant Law. There are also those who think that if one believes on Messiah, it’s actually because God has drawn them as a member of the ‘Lost 10 Tribes of Israel’ and that they have been part of natural Israel all along, they just haven’t realized it yet! (See “Ephraimites” on the Glossary A-F page for more information and resources regarding this belief.)
Law ‘keepers’ use passages in Romans 11 and Ephesians 2 along with a smattering of Old Testament verses regarding the sojourner with Israel to support the view that all believers actually become Israel by being grafted into the olive tree and that believers, by becoming part of the “commonwealth of Israel” actually change into Israel. These same people will go on to lament about how Christians are the ones who believe in replacement theology!
Someone on a forum posted this question about the issue (this thread has already been culled at Tree of Liberty’s Seminary Forum, so no link is available):
Let’s look at the grafting metaphor in Romans 11 coupled with actual olive tree grafting:
No, Jesus does!
What happened to the branches?
When an olive tree is prepped for grafting, all of the branches are cut off. After the Cross, unbelieving Israel was cut off. Those who believed then and believe now were/are grafted back in, along with believing Gentiles. All were/are grafted in by faith, and nowhere is there any indication that the wild branches become natural branches.
Do they all share in the life that comes from the Root?
Yes.
Do they maintain their identity?
Ethnically, yes.
As believers in Christ we become one tree, Jew and Gentile both grafted in by faith to the Root through Whom we receive life. Our primary identity is that we are in Christ! As a believer, I am in Christ first and foremost – I identify as a Christian who happens to be a Gentile, not a Gentile who happens to be a Christian.
It is at this point where I expect the HRM/MJer to chime in, “Yes! And you know that the tree is Israel, right? And if Gentiles are grafted into Israel, then Gentiles are subject to the same Law as Israel!” I’ll give them one point: Jews and Gentiles grafted into the Root are all subject to the same Law, but it isn’t Mosaic Covenant Law, it is the Law of Christ!
As if anticipating ‘the tree is Israel’ argument, Paul, in Romans chapter 9 says this:
After the Cross, the Law is NOT done away with; it continues to point to Christ. Instead of being that which foreshadowed Messiah in the observances which it required, the Law now serves as confirmation giving witness to Who Christ is and His fulfillment of the Law’s types and shadows! The Law’s types and shadows now reveal the Reality of He Who has come, that is Jesus Christ the long-awaited Messiah (Colossians 2:17)! This is what the Bereans were searching the Scriptures about; to see if what Paul told them about Jesus Christ being the Messiah was true. As a system of relationship with God, however, Mosaic Covenant Law has become obsolete. It has been replaced as a practical and functioning covenant by the New Covenant:
One’s ethnicity (flesh) does not change because one is grafted into the tree – natural branches grafted back in and wild branches grafted in live together as one tree drawing spiritual Life from the same Source, The Root, Who is Christ. Note that in the natural world, grafted branches continue to produce the fruit of the stock from which they were cut, receiving life from the root into which they’ve been grafted – their individual identity does not change, though they receive life from the same root, natural and wild branches alike. The overall identity of the Tree is one in Christ, however, even though the branches consist of both natural and wild branches. The believing Jew/Israelite and the believing Gentile are grafted in together, becoming ONE TREE by faith in Christ, who gives them ALL spiritual LIFE.
A quote from the tree-grafting article, “Yeah. It’s not a hybrid; it changes the whole identity of the tree.” [Bolding mine.] Several metaphors are used to describe those in Christ being the people of God, and they cover a lot of bases, showing that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. Whether Jew, Gentile, male, female, slave or free, we are all one in Christ. Whether natural branches or wild, we all receive Life from the Root, Who is Jesus. We are living stones, carefully placed by the Master Builder, built into a spiritual house, joined together by the Chief Cornerstone:
Tree grafting is not rocket science. Save for the chain saws and tape, grafting has remained pretty much the same since it was first tried, and the metaphor that Paul used nearly 2000 years ago holds up as well today as it did then. There are natural branches and wild branches, each retaining their identities, all drawing their life from the same Root. As seen above, many other metaphors are used to make the same basic point.
Those in the HRM will try to take behaviors expected of the sojourner with physical Israel under the Law in the Old Testament and apply those expectations to Jews and Gentiles alike in the spiritual Body of Christ. That is an inappropriate application. Israel and Her sojourners were under Mosaic Covenant Law, given until the Seed should come. The Body of Christ rests in the Gospel – the Seed has come, He did the work of the Cross, and we have died with Him and received Life from the Resurrected Christ. All, whether Jew or Gentile, come to relationship with Him through faith – heirs according to the Promise given to all mankind.
Promises given to all mankind and depicted in the flesh of Israel via the Law give way to the spiritual realities fulfilled in Christ.
Am I saying that Israel is ‘replaced’ by the Church (Body of Christ)? No. After the Cross, however, those who are a part of Israel must be saved just as the Gentile; through faith and trust in Jesus Christ Who died, Rose on the third day, and Ascended into Heaven and sits at the Right Hand of the Father.
What of natural/national Israel? I’m content to leave that up to God. I believe that He has further plans for Her according to His Word. There are lots of different opinions about how the last events will play out, but none of that has bearing on the salvation of the individual soul before God and who we are in Christ.
Do I boast over the natural branches? No. The offer of salvation comes to the Jew first and then the Gentile. There is special honor, in my opinion, for Israel, as She is the vehicle God chose to facilitate the coming of Messiah. Israel has endured much for Her chosen status. The balance of Romans 11 says:
As those in Christ we are grafted into the Root, abide in the Vine, become part of the Body of Christ. In Christ, we live in a spiritual reality in spite of our ‘fleshy’ existence. The Scriptures are clear: We are a New Creation in Christ, One Body, many parts, each with talents and giftings and callings which God desires us to use to spread the Gospel of Christ to every tribe, tongue and nation. He does not require that we become ethnically someone we were not created to be to in order to partake in His Kingdom, because flesh will not inherit the Kingdom of God:
We, as believers in Christ, need to understand who we are in Him. Don’t let anyone tell you that ‘you are now Israel and as such are subject to the Laws given to Her by God through Moses’. If you are in Christ, you are now dead to the Law and alive in Christ. If you are in Christ, you are part of the Body of Christ, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female - we believers are all one in Him!
Law ‘keepers’ use passages in Romans 11 and Ephesians 2 along with a smattering of Old Testament verses regarding the sojourner with Israel to support the view that all believers actually become Israel by being grafted into the olive tree and that believers, by becoming part of the “commonwealth of Israel” actually change into Israel. These same people will go on to lament about how Christians are the ones who believe in replacement theology!
Someone on a forum posted this question about the issue (this thread has already been culled at Tree of Liberty’s Seminary Forum, so no link is available):
Originally Posted by Munkh:“Munkh” was quite right in his/her assessment of what Romans 11 says in light of the realities of actual grafting practices.
I hear this term used a lot on TOL and just wanted to ask for clarification what others believe it means?
The reason I ask is because I often see it being referred to [as] Gentiles being grafted into Israel (Wild olives of Romans 11) and so becoming Israel but when you look at actual grafting, the grafted in branch does not become the same as the root in other words you can graft an Orange branch onto a Lemon tree and it still produces Oranges not lemons. It does get its sustenance from the Lemon tree roots and is supported by the roots but it is still an orange branch not a lemon.
So by that kind of poor example I have a hard time understanding how I as a Gentile become an Israelite or Jew simply because I was grafted in. I get my spiritual nourishment from the same source but I am still a Gentile.
I can find nothing in Romans 11 to lead me to believe otherwise so please help my confusion.
Let’s look at the grafting metaphor in Romans 11 coupled with actual olive tree grafting:
Romans 11:11-24
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
11 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12 But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!
13 I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry 14 in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap of the olive root, 18do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
Back to the Scripture in a moment, but if you please, read through this article on olive tree grafting, The Road Back to Tradition Begins With a Graft . The article is an agrarian one, not a religious one, so there is no bias in the article’s grafting perspective. It’s a short article with enlightening photos, and well worth the read.What I want you to notice is how when the grafting process on an olive tree is started, the olive tree is cut down to almost nothing.
There is basically only root stock left. The writer of the article describes it as “a brutal process, if you’re a tree”. Other resources available about olive tree grafting tell how resilient the olive tree is, and how, after grafting, it can actually be a stronger tree and bear more fruit as a result.
There is basically only root stock left. The writer of the article describes it as “a brutal process, if you’re a tree”. Other resources available about olive tree grafting tell how resilient the olive tree is, and how, after grafting, it can actually be a stronger tree and bear more fruit as a result. So back to the Scripture, and please do look at the article on grafting, as you’ll get a visual to go along with the Scripture which really describes a much more radical process than those of us unfamiliar with grafting may have in mind. Paul differentiates the Root from the branches, and as such, based on what I now know about grafting, the branches are the Body of Christ, made up of both Jews and Gentiles, and Christ is the Root. “You do not support the root, BUT THE ROOT SUPPORTS YOU.”
Does Israel support us? No, Jesus does!
What happened to the branches?
“‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ 20Granted. But THEY WERE BROKEN OFF BECAUSE OF UNBELIEF, and you stand BY FAITH. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.”
When an olive tree is prepped for grafting, all of the branches are cut off. After the Cross, unbelieving Israel was cut off. Those who believed then and believe now were/are grafted back in, along with believing Gentiles. All were/are grafted in by faith, and nowhere is there any indication that the wild branches become natural branches. Do they all share in the life that comes from the Root?
Yes.
Do they maintain their identity?
Ethnically, yes.
As believers in Christ we become one tree, Jew and Gentile both grafted in by faith to the Root through Whom we receive life. Our primary identity is that we are in Christ! As a believer, I am in Christ first and foremost – I identify as a Christian who happens to be a Gentile, not a Gentile who happens to be a Christian.
It is at this point where I expect the HRM/MJer to chime in, “Yes! And you know that the tree is Israel, right? And if Gentiles are grafted into Israel, then Gentiles are subject to the same Law as Israel!” I’ll give them one point: Jews and Gentiles grafted into the Root are all subject to the same Law, but it isn’t Mosaic Covenant Law, it is the Law of Christ!
As if anticipating ‘the tree is Israel’ argument, Paul, in Romans chapter 9 says this:
Romans 9:1-8
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.
6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
Note that it is Abraham’s offspring, not Jacob’s offspring that Scripture identifies as the children of the promise. Abraham’s seed was not identified as Israel; Jacob’s seed was the first to be identified as Israel. The promise is given to everyone, Israelites and Gentiles alike! This, later in the Romans 9 passage (I did not include the entire chapter for brevity’s sake):Romans 9:30-33
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” 33 As it is written:
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.” 33 As it is written:
“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Back to Romans 11:20:and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.
After the Cross, one is part of the tree not because of ethnicity; one is part of the tree because of faith.Flesh vs. Spirit
Obedience/disobedience to the Law resulted in blessings/curses – for the flesh. Obey the Law - live. Disobey the Law – die. The Law, however, could never impart spiritual life; only the Crucified, Risen, God-incarnate-Christ can do that. The Law could only guarantee a natural, physical life to those who walked in obedience to its edicts and regulations, and a swift physical punishment/death for those who rebelled, either for them or for a sacrifice offered in their stead, depending on the offense.Galatians 3:21-29
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.
26 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Romans 7:1-6
1 Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
1 Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
4 So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
Some in the HRM will retort, “But the Law is spiritual! Keep reading in Romans 7!” Okay, let’s do that:Romans 7:14-25
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Paul leaves us rather hopeless at the end of Romans 7! Even though the Law is spiritual, we are still flesh, and if Paul can’t get a handle on sin, what hope have we?! He gives us a hint where he’s going in Romans 7:25, and thankfully, Paul continued writing in Romans chapter 8:Romans 8:1-16
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Paul does such a powerful job of showing us our utter hopelessness in the flesh, and the great gift of being in Christ - But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. We are dead to Law (Romans 7:1) but alive in His Spirit! We are grafted into the Life-giving Root, Jesus!After the Cross, the Law is NOT done away with; it continues to point to Christ. Instead of being that which foreshadowed Messiah in the observances which it required, the Law now serves as confirmation giving witness to Who Christ is and His fulfillment of the Law’s types and shadows! The Law’s types and shadows now reveal the Reality of He Who has come, that is Jesus Christ the long-awaited Messiah (Colossians 2:17)! This is what the Bereans were searching the Scriptures about; to see if what Paul told them about Jesus Christ being the Messiah was true. As a system of relationship with God, however, Mosaic Covenant Law has become obsolete. It has been replaced as a practical and functioning covenant by the New Covenant:
Galatians 3:19a
19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
Hebrews 8:13
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
After the Cross several things happened (not an exhaustive list):13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
- The purpose of the Law was fulfilled when the Seed came and did the work of Redemption promised at the Fall and that promise reinforced to Abraham’s seed.
- The Law, as a functioning religious system, became obsolete because of the complete work of Christ. Primary evidence proving that the two covenants cannot operate at the same time is that the Old Covenant had a sacrificial system, CLEARLY made obsolete by the once-and-for-all sacrifice of The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10) .
- Unbelieving Israel was cut off (Romans 11:20). The ONLY way to be grafted back into the Life-giving Root is by FAITH in the Messiah, for both the Jew and the Gentile.
One’s ethnicity (flesh) does not change because one is grafted into the tree – natural branches grafted back in and wild branches grafted in live together as one tree drawing spiritual Life from the same Source, The Root, Who is Christ. Note that in the natural world, grafted branches continue to produce the fruit of the stock from which they were cut, receiving life from the root into which they’ve been grafted – their individual identity does not change, though they receive life from the same root, natural and wild branches alike. The overall identity of the Tree is one in Christ, however, even though the branches consist of both natural and wild branches. The believing Jew/Israelite and the believing Gentile are grafted in together, becoming ONE TREE by faith in Christ, who gives them ALL spiritual LIFE.
A quote from the tree-grafting article, “Yeah. It’s not a hybrid; it changes the whole identity of the tree.” [Bolding mine.] Several metaphors are used to describe those in Christ being the people of God, and they cover a lot of bases, showing that the ground is level at the foot of the Cross. Whether Jew, Gentile, male, female, slave or free, we are all one in Christ. Whether natural branches or wild, we all receive Life from the Root, Who is Jesus. We are living stones, carefully placed by the Master Builder, built into a spiritual house, joined together by the Chief Cornerstone:
1 Peter 2:4-5
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ.
4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ.Romans 12:1-2
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Ephesians 2:19-22
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
Before Christ’s work at the Cross, the people of God had an identity of Israel, and in Romans 11 they are represented by an olive tree. After Christ’s work at the Cross, God’s people have a whole new identity in Christ. Another metaphor used in the New Testament is that we are One Body, with many parts: 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.
Romans 12:3-8
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Over and over references to who we are in Christ hammer home that regardless of our ethnicity or position or gender, we are one in Christ! I, and every other person who is in Christ remains who God created us to be in the flesh while simultaneously becoming a New Creation and a part of His Body by His Spirit. Does that make all who are in Christ Jews/Israel? No, for the Scripture says there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female. Okay . . . I’m female, and I’m in Christ. Do I cease to be female in the physical? Of course not! I’m also a Gentile, and I’m in Christ. Do I cease to be a Gentile? No. Being in Christ does not mean our ethnicity/gender/social standing (caste, position, whatever) changes, but we do become members of the Body of Christ, and as such, are one IN HIM. [It is important to note here that the terms 'Jew' and 'Israel' are used interchangeably in Scripture.]3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
The Two House/Ephraimite Error
As mentioned at the top of this post, there are some who think they actually are Israel/Jews/Ephraim who are in the Messianic/Hebrew Roots/Netzarim streams of thought. There are some who think they heard that some great-grand parent might have been Jewish and they proudly take on that identity. Some actually shell out $$$ to have their DNA tested. Others ‘just have a feeling’ that they are part of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel (that aren’t really lost, by the way). One person who has come out of the HRM told me that some in the Hebrew Roots Movement claim to have had a mystical experience similar to the Mormon ‘burning in the bosom’ after which they ‘just know’ they are part of Ephraim (the Lost 10 Tribes).
The Bible, however, doesn’t teach that those who believe on Messiah become Israel, or that they are drawn to the Cross just because they are Israel. All of the metaphors used in the Scriptures written to the Body of Christ confirm that God makes everyone who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and His work at the Cross a New Creation, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or position. (See also the entry Ephraimite on the Glossary A-F Page for more information on the ‘Two House Doctrine/Ephraimite Error.)
ConclusionsTree grafting is not rocket science. Save for the chain saws and tape, grafting has remained pretty much the same since it was first tried, and the metaphor that Paul used nearly 2000 years ago holds up as well today as it did then. There are natural branches and wild branches, each retaining their identities, all drawing their life from the same Root. As seen above, many other metaphors are used to make the same basic point.
Those in the HRM will try to take behaviors expected of the sojourner with physical Israel under the Law in the Old Testament and apply those expectations to Jews and Gentiles alike in the spiritual Body of Christ. That is an inappropriate application. Israel and Her sojourners were under Mosaic Covenant Law, given until the Seed should come. The Body of Christ rests in the Gospel – the Seed has come, He did the work of the Cross, and we have died with Him and received Life from the Resurrected Christ. All, whether Jew or Gentile, come to relationship with Him through faith – heirs according to the Promise given to all mankind.
Promises given to all mankind and depicted in the flesh of Israel via the Law give way to the spiritual realities fulfilled in Christ.
Am I saying that Israel is ‘replaced’ by the Church (Body of Christ)? No. After the Cross, however, those who are a part of Israel must be saved just as the Gentile; through faith and trust in Jesus Christ Who died, Rose on the third day, and Ascended into Heaven and sits at the Right Hand of the Father.
What of natural/national Israel? I’m content to leave that up to God. I believe that He has further plans for Her according to His Word. There are lots of different opinions about how the last events will play out, but none of that has bearing on the salvation of the individual soul before God and who we are in Christ.
Do I boast over the natural branches? No. The offer of salvation comes to the Jew first and then the Gentile. There is special honor, in my opinion, for Israel, as She is the vehicle God chose to facilitate the coming of Messiah. Israel has endured much for Her chosen status. The balance of Romans 11 says:
Romans 11:25-36
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
25 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27 And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”
28 As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29 for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30 Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. 32 For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Now some will take that to mean that every individual in Israel will be saved as per God’s promise in this passage. Yet Scripture tells us that Jesus is the only Way to the Father. Some surmise that a representative number of Israel will be saved, thus fulfilling the promise. Like with many prophecies, we often don’t know how they will come about until God fulfills them and then we say, “Oh! That’s what He meant by that Scripture!” So I’m content to wait to see how God will fulfill His promises to Israel.How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay him?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
As those in Christ we are grafted into the Root, abide in the Vine, become part of the Body of Christ. In Christ, we live in a spiritual reality in spite of our ‘fleshy’ existence. The Scriptures are clear: We are a New Creation in Christ, One Body, many parts, each with talents and giftings and callings which God desires us to use to spread the Gospel of Christ to every tribe, tongue and nation. He does not require that we become ethnically someone we were not created to be to in order to partake in His Kingdom, because flesh will not inherit the Kingdom of God:
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.
50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Amen!We, as believers in Christ, need to understand who we are in Him. Don’t let anyone tell you that ‘you are now Israel and as such are subject to the Laws given to Her by God through Moses’. If you are in Christ, you are now dead to the Law and alive in Christ. If you are in Christ, you are part of the Body of Christ, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female - we believers are all one in Him!
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Other articles of interest:
- Tzit Tzit For the Believer In Christ?
- 12 Undeniable Truths That Drive Law ‘Keepers’ Crazy
- Old Testament Believers and New Testament Christians – From the Articles Page – Addresses the issue of how OT saints were ‘saved’ vs. how NT saints are saved, i.e. what salvation meant and how it was obtained before and after the actual work of Christ on the timeline. It clarifies several points that we see Law keepers bring up in debate over and over again as they misapply the phrase from Scripture, “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” and couple that with the claim that the Church (ekklesia, Body of Christ) also existed in the Old Testament. It did not, and this article clarifies the difference between OT believers and NT Christians. Excellent study. Highly recommended.
- Testimonies Page – Read the stories of those who had bound themselves to the Law and then been freed as they began to understand who they are in Christ!
- ETA: I also posted the above post on a forum I was invited to this past winter. Interesting responses and a good primer in how those who are Torah pursuant think. You can find the thread HERE.
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Note to readers: I’ve recently added some content to Glossary A-F and Glossary G-L, along with cross-linking related articles/posts. As I have time, I’ll be going back through past posts here at JGIG and adding related links to them to help make JGIG as comprehensive a resource as I can. If you come across dead/inaccurate links, please let me know via the Contact JGIG page. Thanks!May God grant you wisdom and discernment as you consider all of these things.
Filed under: "Law Keepers", Christianity, Discernment, Hebraic Roots, Hebrew Roots Movement, Messianic Judaism, Religion, Teachable/Unteachable, Torah, Uncategorized Tagged: | "Law Keepers", Christianity, Discernment, Hebraic Roots, Hebrew Roots Movement, Messianic Judaism, Religion, Teachable/Unteachable, Torah
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Visitors 10/10-10/11
Love in Christ,
Herb
Welcome to JGIG.
You lost me at “people are obviously plants.” Then you launched into how you think that the Torah is God. You say that Messiah is Torah, therefore, since Jesus is God incarnate and Jesus is Torah, in your view, Torah must be God. Nope. Torah is a partial expression of God; Torah is not eternal. Torah is not deity in any way, shape, or form. Unless of course you do not believe that Jesus is God incarnate; then what you believe is not Biblical Christianity in the first place. What you believe is certainly your choice, but mixing Kabbalistic Judaism with Christianity (or with Judaism for that matter!) is contradictory on many levels. For those wishing to check the definition for dabar, click HERE and also its root, HERE and notice that its definition is in no way Torah. Same with the word logos, used in John 1:1. Click HERE for its meaning.
Remember that all Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking,correcting, and training in righteousness, not just Torah:
While Torah is indeed part of God’s Word, it is not the sum total of God’s Word. There are the Prophets and the Writings, as well as the New Testament. And much of the New Testament was available at the time of the infant Church (Body of Christ):
Paul’s and the other Apostles’ letters were copied and passed around in the early Church (this is one of the reasons we have so much manuscript evidence for the New Testament) and were recognized as inspired by the Holy Spirit and recognized as Scripture. Jesus said this:
As for the rest of your post, you ignore the Promise made to mankind at the Fall of a Redeemer, and the Promise to Abraham, long before Israel ever existed (Israel being named with Jacob). God is not the God of the Jews/Israel only:
And how do we uphold the Law? By using it properly:
And who are we in Christ?
You seem to be under the impression that one who is in Christ and is not under Mosaic Covenant Law is just running around thinking that they can sin willy nilly. This of course is not true, as anyone who spends time reading the New Testament can testify:
God has given the Body of Christ LOTS of instructions about how we should live! Some are found in Torah, some not. The precepts of God stand for the believer in Christ; commandments found in Mosaic Covenant Law that were binding on Israel are not a part of what God expects of the Body of Christ. The Law points to Christ; the Law does not point to the Law. Gentiles are not expected to become Israel, Israel is not expected to become Gentile; we are all grafted into He who gives us LIFE – Jesus Christ!
And THAT, my friend, is what the post on which you commented is all about!
Every blessing,
-JGIG
And on that note, there is an often mis-interpreted verse in Acts, “they were first CALLED Christians in Antioch.” CALLED there doesn’t mean that’s what pagans or Judaism called them, but rather it’s a very special Greek word meaning, basically, designated by oracle, in other words, prophetic revelation. It was God who called them Christians, because they followed the Messiah according to the spirit. Judaism, not willing to acknowledge that Yeshua was the Messiah, called the burgeoning movement “Nazarenes.”
Ezekiel 37
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: 17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. 18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? 19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
Acts 1,6
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?
and than read Romans 11 again.
Acts 1:6-8
6 So when they met together, they asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
The disciples had no idea of the true scope of what the Work of Christ had accomplished; they would receive full knowledge about that later, through the Holy Spirit which Christ promises to them in verse 5, and also here:
John 16:12-15
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
And then Scripture like this, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:
Romans 1:16-17
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Now go and read Romans 11 again =o).