True Israel, Covenantal vs. Dispensational Theology, Covenantalism vs. Dispensationalism

1 Peter 2:9–10 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Peter here is talking to the Church… Jew and Gentile together… all those who trust in Christ.

We know that because he quotes the book of Hosea when he says once you were not a people but now you are God’s people which Paul interprets in the book of Romans to say the Gentiles are grafted in and are part of the people of God (Hosea 1:6, 9, 10, 2:23, Romans 9:25-26).

That’s going to matter here in a minute.

For now… look at how Peter defines God’s people… once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The people of God are under His mercy and grace.

They are called out of darkness and into His marvelous light.

And they are a people for His own possession… His own chosen and precious people.

Now here’s what’s interesting… Peter takes blessings and titles of Old Covenant Israel and applies them directly to the church.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession…

That goes directly back to Exodus 19 when God made His covenant with His people at Mount Sinai.

Exodus 19:4–6 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

A treasured possession… God’s own chosen and beloved people.

And so what you need to see is that the Church all those who trust in Christ is the New Covenant fulfillment of Old Covenant Israel.

Covenant v. Dispensational

This is a Covenantal rather than Dispensational understanding of Theology.

The True Israel are all those who have faith in Christ.

Galatians 3:7, 29 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham… And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Romans 2:28–29 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

So True Jews… God’s chosen people… are those that have faith in Christ.

Dispensationalism basically says there are two different peoples of God… ethnic Jews and the Church.

Covenant Theology says there is one people of God… all those that have faith in Christ.

Romans 10:12–13 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

People that get uncomfortable with this will call this Replacement Theology where the Church replaces Israel but the Church doesn’t replace Israel it is the fulfillment of Israel.

Again just like the physical things of the Old Covenant pointed forward to the true spiritual realities… physical Old Covenant Israel pointed forward to the True, Spiritual, New Covenant Israel in Christ.

The Circumcision of the flesh that marked Old Covenant Jews pointed forward to the Circumcision of the heart… the regneration, new birth we have in Christ.

Just as the flesh was cut off in the Old Covenant… our flesh… the old sinful man is cut off in Christ.

So its not Replacement Theology… its Grafted In theology.

Christ is the True Israel… the True Offspring of Abraham and all those that trust in Him are grafted into Him (Galatians 3:16).

The Natural Branches, ethnic Jews, that did not believe in Romans 11, were cut off and the Wild Branches, Gentile believers, were grafted in.

Now why do I say all that… Because I want you to see yourself as the True People of God in fulfillment of all the Old Covenant Promises to Israel in their true spiritual fulfillment.

Physically God fulfilled all of His Old Covenant promises to Israel.

Joshua 21:45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.

But Israel broke Covenant and the Old Covenant passed away.

It became obsolete to use the language of Hebrews and gave way to the New Covenant in Christ (Hebrews 8:13).

The Church… all those in the Old Covenant and the New Covenant who put their faith in Christ are the True Israel… the True beloved and chosen people of God (Galatians 6:15–16).

In other words… you are part of this long history of God’s chosen and beloved people going all the way back to Abraham.

Jew, Gentile… it doesn’t matter… all those who have faith in Christ are grafted in and counted by God as His own beloved people.

Zion

Now here’s why we did all that.

Having this covenantal understanding can help you read certain passages of Scripture and see their relevance and see how they apply to us today especially in books like the Psalms.

If we are really grafted in and included in Israel… then when we read verses that talk about Israel… God’s People… Mount Zion… we can read them for the promises they hold for us.

Now its not one for one… you’ve got to use sound rules of biblical interpretation for example when a Psalm uses “Jerusalem” is it referring to the physical Old Covenant city or is it using Jerusalem to refer to the people of God?

But generally if a Psalm is talking about Mount Zion or something like that you can read it in light of its New Covenant fulfillment in the Church.

For example Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and Paul says But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother (Galatians 4:26).

So as a general rule when I read the Psalms and see words like Mount Zion, Israel, and Jerusalem I filter that through the New Covenant lens and read those promises representing the people of God and the Church.

So, promises for us.

Let’s look at a few.