I appreciate your good spirit, even in disagreement. My position is that Paul did not separate physical characteristics from the promise God made to Abraham concerning the nation Israel. What he said was that physical characteristics alone would not fulfill the promise's requirement, since it is both the physical characteristics and the presence of faith that were required in the promise.
We can clearly see that there are many Jews in Israel who do not have faith, indicating that it is not just by physical characteristics that a person is qualified to be a son of God. There are also many nominal Christians in Christian countries who also would not qualify with their lack of genuine faith, since they subvert essential Christian doctrines from their belief system.
So what Paul said is entirely true, that physical characteristics alone do not generate faith, which is needed. But it is at the same time essential that there be national distinctions in order to fulfill the promise, since a specific nation was mentioned, ie Israel, along with a multitude of other nations--not just remnants, but entire "nations."
This has all been seen in history, Israel devoted to covenant relationship with God, and Christian nations following suit. It should be no surprise that God intends to achieve this again, though with greater permanence in the future.
The issue is not "physical characteristics" or lack thereof, it's really about ethnicity. And nothing God has ever done as really had anything to do,
ultimately speaking, with ethnicity. Yes, everything was
shown and taught and illustrated through lesser Israel, which consisted of mostly ethnic Jews. But there were some aliens... Gentiles... taken into the commonwealth of Israel, foreshadowing the full inclusion of Gentile believers upon the coming of Jesus. This is why
God allowed Satan to "deceive the nations" (in Revelation 20 terms) throughout the Old Testament and up to Jesus's advent. He was able ~ again because God allowed it, even ordained it to be so ~ to prevent the Gospel from being spread to "the nations" outside/beyond Israel. Again,
ultimately speaking, God's Israel was never and never will be limited to just ethnic Jews. But it
suited His purposes for this to be the case for a time, namely from Adam through Moses and the prophets. But when Jesus came, that was no more... it was revealed
in full. The Gospel was opened to the Gentiles, and Satan's power to "deceive the nations" was completely taken away.
When Paul says in Romans 2 that
"no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical; 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," this was really always true, even from the beginning. Rather than Paul saying "physical characteristics alone" do not generate faith, he was saying ethnicity does nothing to determine who is able to have faith... or to whom God's promises are limited to. So... What we call "lesser Israel" in the Old Testament was picture" of God's "greater Israel." This is exactly what Paul is saying at the end of Ephesians 2 (vv.11-22)...
"Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called 'the uncircumcision' by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands ~ remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, Who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in Whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
As has been said, the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
Yes, we can know that there are many Jews in Israel who do not have saving faith and thus do not believe. That means either ~ and we do not know which, which should produce in us the same desire to share the Gospel with them as with anyone else of any other ethnicity ~ of the following:
- that they are not yet called by God and thus are not yet (in the case of Elect Jews who are not yet born again of the Spirit) part of God's Israel but will be
- that they never will be part of God's Israel (as is true with all the non-Elect, Jew or Gentile).
Which group anyone who is not right now a believer falls into only God knows. And He will bring His Israel to completion (Romans 11:25-26).
Thank you for the kind words regarding my spirit; same to you.
Grace and peace to you, Scott.
