The Church and Israel

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” [1]

This passage is the first time the word “Church” appears in the Bible. The word “Church” derives from the Greek word “ekklesia.” Ekklesia (ek “out from” and kaleo, “to call”) is people called out from the world and to God, the outcome being the Church (the mystical body of Christ) – called out from the world and into His eternal kingdom. [2]

Christ is the one doing the calling. The “called out” enter the kingdom of God...

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven...” [3]

The Church are those called by Christ to come out of the world and into the kingdom of God.

There is a parallel between Israel and the Church.

Israel began with Jacob and His twelve sons, and they were called to be distinct from all other people for the purpose of being God’s representatives on earth, and a royal priesthood. [4]

The Church began with Jesus his twelve disciples, and they were called to be distinct from all other people for the purpose of being God’s representatives on earth, and a royal priesthood. [5]

The word “Church” was first applied to those Jews who confessed Christ as the promised Messiah. Only later, in Acts, did the Church begin to include people from other nations.

Jesus and his twelve apostles were Jews, so was Paul, and the early church. None of these Jews saw following Christ as a conversion from Judaism, but as a recognition that Jesus is the promised Jewish Messiah.

The early church question was not about whether a Jew had to convert to Christianity — the question was about whether a Gentile had to convert to Judaism to be a Christian! The conclusion to this question was no. (See Acts 15:1-29).

The foundation of the Church is described in Ephesians 2:20: “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone.”

Christ established the Church with Himself as the cornerstone, and the rest of the foundation consists of the Jewish apostles and prophets who wrote the Bible.

What excites me as I study the Bible is God’s faithfulness! He is faithful to Gentiles and to Jews. The Church began with a move of God’s Messiah and Spirit among the Jews, spread to all the Gentiles nations, and will return to a major move among the Jews in Israel. God is faithful.

[1] Matthew 16:18
[2] HELPS Word-studies, The Discovery Bible New Testament, Gary Hill
[3] Matthew 16:19
[4] Exodus 19:6
[5] 1 Peter 2:9