One of the most difficult things any human will ever be called upon to do is to unlearn something he, or she, has learned and long accepted as established and unarguable truth. This difficulty becomes even more profound when that person realizes that just about everyone they know believes exactly the same as they do in some given matter. It is almost impossible for them to reconcile to their minds that their revered religious instructors and teachers could be wrong in some of the most basic matters discussed in the Word of God. That is why most Baptists live and die Baptists. Most Methodists live and die Methodists, etc., etc., etc. People, by and large, just do not change their religious beliefs. Then, too, they DO have a handful of scriptures that seemingly support them in their beliefs. To their mind, to change their beliefs they would have to deny the plain Word of God in some spiritual matter, concerning some Bible doctrine they hold to be true. Also, many have some experience they can point to, or fall back on, that seemingly supports them in their erroneous beliefs. If I have been “talking in tongues” most every Sunday in church, it will be hard, if not impossible, for someone to convince me that such a practice is not supported by scripture. I have the experience, partner, don’t confuse me with the facts. If someone has attended a seance and had grandmother speak to them from “the other side,” you will have a difficult time at best convincing that person that their grandmother is asleep in the grave, knowing nothing, awaiting a resurrection to life and wakeful conscious mind activity once more. Plus, that person may well have some scriptures they are certain supports them fully in their belief about grandmother’s present state.
I learned a long time ago that those who embrace spiritual error generally do not consider ALL the scripture texts and passages that address a given doctrine or belief. Scriptures that contradict their beliefs or practices are either pointedly ignored or frankly never considered. Perhaps that person embracing error just doesn’t know about these other texts or passages. And, of course, when they have “an experience” that supports their viewpoint, then they are quite effectively “locked in” to their present belief and will probably proceed through life and eventually die holding to their error. That’s just the way it is.
I felt I needed to lay that groundwork before discussing any further this Biblical doctrine of Gentile believers being spiritual Israelites in God’s eyes. Recall once more that God is called the God of Israel ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-EIGHT times in the Bible and ONLY ONCE called the God of the Gentiles! (See Romans 3:29). God inspired that phenomenal record intentionally and for a purpose. He wants us to see and view Him as just that – the God OF ISRAEL, as He wants us to see what Satan definitely does not want us to see, that any and ALL believers are and comprise spiritual Israel. Paul, the apostle to the GENTILES, was chosen by God to reveal this profound truth to the church. It is through Paul’s letters primarily – but not totally – that Gentile believers are given the revelation that in God’s eyes they are Israelites, the only true Israelites in God’s eyes – spiritual Israelites.
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),
Donald Wiley