Yes and that is biblical. Paul said that in every generation a remnant is righteous. Paul also said that there is a veil placed over their eyes for now, and that that blindness in part will last only until the pleroma (full number) of gentiles be come in. then all Israel will be saved according to teh terms of teh new covenant in Jerewmiah 31.
And I agree 100% with the verse! However this speaks only for the body of Christ (the bride of Christ) and not for Isreal and the promises God will fuflfill to Israel in the future.
You seem to forget teh context of why Paul wrote this letter, which is critical to understanding and learning. Paul is showing the distinction between natural and spiritual Israel(the Israel of God)
Teh "as many as walk..." is to gentile believers. Why? Because Paul showed by adding the connective "kai" (and) which in every language shows another person, place or thing is being discussed. INI Galatians the second is a group of people-the Israel of god, which are not part of the as many as walk crowd. Paul is teaching the gentiles in Galatia who are believers that there are two types of Jew or Israeli in the world, natural Israel, which are the ones who were troubling Israel and the Israel of God, fellow believers in messiah who are Jewish.
Paul said in Christ there is no distinctions, but Paul never ended showing natural distinctions. Many times He spoke of Jew, Gentile and the church of god!
Galatians 6:15-16 states,
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on [Gr.
epi]
them, and mercy, even on [Gr.
kai epi]
the Israel of God.”
You attempt to create two peoples of God in this reading, despite the fact that Paul’s whole import in this reading is that there is only one harmonious people of God. Dispensationalists make much of the words
“and upon” (
kai epi) and present this as proof that there is a distinction among God’s people. However, this flimsy argument is quickly nullified by (1) looking at the whole trust of Paul’s argument, (2) taking a closer look at the original Greek and (3) exploring similar usages of the Greek phrase in Scripture.
First of all, the Greek language scholar will know:
kai has both a copulative and a cumulative force. The Greek word
kai can be translated “and” or “even.”
Copulative refers to the joining together of coordinate words or word groups and expressing addition of their meanings. Cumulative refers to a snowballing effect. It means increasing by successive additions. It is formed by the addition of new material of the same kind. The best way to illustrate this is that the word can be equally translated as “and” or “even.”
For example, in Luke 9:23 Jesus said:
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and [Gr.
kai]
take up his cross daily, and follow me.” According to plain and straightforward contextual reading of this verse, and an examination of the original Greek, Jesus is speaking about the same thing. We are looking at one behavior, not two. To argue otherwise is to totally negate the meaning of the text.
This Greek coupling of
kai epi in Galatians 6:16 is found together in a couple of other places in the New Testament. It is always helpful to compare similar or identical usages elsewhere in Scripture. This gives us a greater sense of meaning. Significantly, in these cases rather than suggesting a distinction in factions they actually show an enlargement of detail relating to the exact same subject matter. The coupling together of these words simply adds greater depth or more information to what has already been outlined. In each NT case, it is used in a cumulative sense. The second noun basically adds emphasis or further data to the first. It is therefore acceptable to interpret the same as
“even on.”
An example of this is found in Christ’s words in Matthew 21:5, which similarly reads,
“Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon [Gr.
epi]
an ass, and [Gr.
kai epi]
a colt the foal of an ass.”
The same idea is presented here (surrounded by the exact same key Greek words) as Galatians 6:16:
epi ... kai epi (“on ... even on”). No one would be as naïve as to argue that the “ass” and the “colt” mentioned above are two different beasts. No, it is obvious that this is speaking of the one same animal. It literally reads, “
on an ass,
even on a colt the foal of an ass.” The “even on” simply adds further detail upon the description already given on the matter. In this case, not only is it an ass, but it is “a colt the foal of an ass.” This verse assists us in our understanding of Galatians 6:16, and illustrates the real import of this much-debated text.
The same formation of Greek words is found in the same sequence, in order to present the same idea in Revelation 14:6, which reads,
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto [Gr.
epi]
them that dwell on the earth, and [Gr.
kai epi]
to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”
No sensible Bible student would suggest that that there are two different companies in view in this reading. Even though the word
kai is translated “and” (like Galatians 6:16) in the KJV, it doesn’t negate the fact that those that are said to “dwell on the earth” are in fact those of “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”
The Greek words
kai epi are simply used here to broaden the information already given about the singular subject in view. They are not therefore two distinct peoples, they are the same. We see the exact same pattern as we have in Matthew 21:5: “unto ... even on” (
epi ... kai epi). This passage simply states, “
unto them that dwell on the earth,
even on every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.”
Galatians 6:16 therefore agrees with these other two passages. The construction of the passage in the original Greek leads us to the obvious conclusion that we are looking at one unitary people. It is important we acknowledge the sequence of the words – “on ... even on” (or
epi ... kai epi). Just like Matthew 21:5 and Revelation 14:6, the 2 mentions connect together and refer to the same subject matter. There can be no doubt: the phrase “the Israel of God” is carefully and deliberately related to all those who have experienced the new birth (who are the focus of this passage). This serves to add description to the regenerate.
