THE ISRAEL OF GOD

Circumcision of the Heart

What has gone wrong with the teaching of salvation? In this connection, I have to mention something that is unpleasant to talk about, but it is a historical fact that is not open to debate.

Why is the western Christian church unwilling to talk about the believer as an Israelite or as the Israel of God? When I say that you are the Israel of God”, does it sound strange and foreign to you? Yet in Paul’s teaching, and indeed in the whole New Testament [Covenant] teaching, if you are a true believer, you are a true Israelite. The God of Israel is your God precisely because you are an Israelite. Spiritually you are a Jew. I stress the word “spiritually”. Spiritually, not externally, you and I are Israelites.

Brothers and sisters, this is a teaching of the greatest importance. Because God is the “God of Israel”, He is your God if you are an Israelite. The term “God of Israel” occurs over 200 times in the Bible. The whole Bible talks about Israel. Open your Bible and you will find Israel all over the place. The name “Israel” occurs some 2,500 times in the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible. Do you see how important it is?

What has all this to do with our salvation? The constant talk about being saved by believing in Jesus and the like, has no foundation in the Bible, my brothers and sisters. Having spent my life studying the Bible and preaching the gospel, it was a shock for me to realize that we have not been expounding the whole teaching of the truth of salvation. It is essential for us to become spiritually; as opposed to physically; an Israelite.

In his first meeting with Nathanial, Jesus made an interesting comment: “Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit” (John 1:47). That comment was a bit strange coming from Jesus because Nathanael was already an Israelite, a Jew. You see, Jesus was already teaching the important truth that there is a true Israelite as opposed to an Israelite who is not true. That is what Paul expounds in Romans 2:28-29:

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. [ESV]

Here is something that if you fail to understand, you may miss salvation all together.

If you are not circumcised in heart, you are not saved.

A central truth of salvation expounded in many places in the Bible is that you must be circumcised in heart in order to be saved. This is expounded both in the Old Testament [Covenant] and the New Testament [Covenant], for example, Deuteronomy 30:6, where it says that Yehovah will circumcise your heart and those of your children. For what purpose? “So that you will love Yehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” - that is, that you may be saved.

If you are not circumcised in heart, you cannot possibly love Yehovah your God with all your heart and mind and soul and strength.

I hope you see the immense importance of this truth. The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed God’s punishment on “all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh … for all these nations are uncircumcised, and the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart” (Jeremiah 9:25-26, ESV). Israel, like the rest of the world, was uncircumcised of heart. Paul says in Romans 9.6 that not everyone descended from Israel belongs to Israel, and that it is not the physical children of Israel who are the children of Israel (verse 8). In other words, the physical Jews are not necessarily the children of Israel.

We who by the Spirit have received circumcision of heart, are the true Israel of God. We who are circumcised in heart are the true spiritual descendents of Abraham (Romans 4:11-12).

Paul’s statement in Colossians 2:11: “you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands” - is remarkable because he was speaking to the Colossian church which was made up of a few Jews but mostly Gentiles. Yet he said to them, “you were circumcised”. The circumcision that they received was not physical circumcision but circumcision of the heart. Paul says to the Philippians, “We are the circumcision” (Philippians 3:3). The term “the circumcision” simply means the Jews.

Paul is saying that we who have circumcision of heart are the real Jews.

Now do you see why Paul greets the Galatians as the “Israel of God”?

“And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16, ESV).

When you re-read the Bible and re-read the letter to the Romans, hopefully you will read them with new eyes, because you will realize that you are the real Jews, the true Israel, just like Nathanael who Jesus said was a true Israelite. Nathanael had received circumcision of the heart and not only of the body, which is why he is a true Israelite.

Citizenship in Israel, Covenant with God

In closing let us look at Ephesians 2:12: “Remember that at that time you were separate from God's anointed one, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” (NIV)

The Ephesian called-out assembly was not primarily a Jewish church, though it had some Jews there. Paul is telling the Ephesians that they were once separated from God's anointed one and excluded from citizenship in Israel, being foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God (Yehovah) in the world. But when you are united with God's anointed one, the situation is reversed, and all these spiritual blessings that you did not have, you now have.

As I said, those of the Israel of God are circumcised in heart. Paul explains what circumcision of the heart means just two verses before his statement about the Israel of God: “May I never boast except in the cross of our lord Jesus Gods anointed one, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14, NIV).

If you have been circumcised in heart, you have also been crucified to the world, and the world to you.

Paul goes on to talk about circumcision in the next verse: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation” (v.15). In verse 16, he says, “Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.” Paul is not speaking of two separate groups of people - those who abide by the rule versus those who belong to the Israel of God - they are one and the same group. Those who live by this rule are the Israel of God.

In the foregoing are two things which are intimately associated with the Jews: circumcision and covenant. We have already talked about circumcision, so now we say a few things about the important concept of covenant.

As we saw in Ephesians 2:12, we were foreigners to the covenant of promise, but now we are in the covenant. What is this covenant? The new covenant.

When you partake of the communion, do you understand what Jesus teaches about the covenant? Probably not, because you probably don’t know that you need to be a Jew and be circumcised of heart to be in the new covenant. And how many communion services have you attended? You have probably heard Jesus’ words in Luke 22:20 many times: “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (repeated in Matthew and Mark; see also 1 Corinthians 11:25.)

Have you ever established a covenant with Yehovah God? If not, what exactly does the communion mean to you? The blood of Jesus was shed so that you and I can be part of God’s new covenant with His people, the Israel of God. If you are not part of the new covenant, what are you doing at the communion?

The western Christian church doesn’t want to talk about Jewish things such as covenant. Ironically enough, “Old Testament” and “New Testament” are supposed to mean “Old Covenant” and “New Covenant”. The English word “testament” is a bit vague, but is supposed to mean “covenant”.

Brothers and sisters, now you can see how much we have lost. We are talking about matters of salvation.

If you are not in the new covenant, you are not saved and you have not inherited the promise of life that Paul talks about in 2 Timothy 1:1.

I hope you understand the New Testament [Covenant] teaching about covenant because it is not a matter of opinion or doctrine, but a matter of life and death.

In the New Testament [Covenant], salvation has to do with our being the true Israel, our being circumcised in heart by the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit), and our inclusion in the new covenant established by the blood of Jesus, Yehovah’s Lamb.

Brothers and sisters, this was what Jesus died for. This was why he lifted up the cup of the new covenant. You are not in the New Covenant if you haven’t established a covenant with God. May the Lord have mercy on His people.

I would like to close with one verse in the Bible, the word of God: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9, NIV).

Here Peter says that we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God Yehovah’s own possession. He is quoting from Exodus:19:5-6, which applied to the Jews, but which he now applies specifically to the Gentiles who have been circumcised in heart. And now they too are included in the wonderful new covenant with Yahweh.

Written by Eric Chang and edited by Bruce Lyon