07/06/2025
⛪️🙏Article 16 “The Everlasting Covenant: God’s Faithfulness Through Every Generation
”Who Is the True Israel? Biblical Truth in Light of the Cruz–Carlson Exchange
> *“Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel… in Isaac shall your offspring be named.”*
—Romans 9:6–7
In a now‑viral interview, Senator Ted Cruz and commentator Tucker Carlson debated biblical support for the modern nation of Israel. Cruz appealed to the phrase, “those who bless Israel will be blessed,” and insisted the Bible commands support for the nation. Carlson challenged him sharply—both on his handling of Scripture and even whether he understood what "Israel" biblically refers to .
But the crux of the debate—what and who is “Israel”?—deserves careful theological clarity, not political sound bites.
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🔍 Romans 9: God Defines Israel Privately and Publicly
Paul’s argument in Romans 9 is critical: “Not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.” (v.6). He draws a sharp distinction between physical descent and children of promise (v.8), quoting Genesis: “through Isaac shall your offspring be named” (v.7)—not Ishmael—or mere lineage.
True Israel, Paul says, is those whom God sovereignly names as His, by faith, not by flesh (Rom. 9:6–8) . This squarely rebuts any ethnic or nationalistic claim that modern Israel, in and of itself, is biblical Israel.
Paul expands in Romans 9:24–26: both Jews and Gentiles are called into God’s mercy, fulfilling prophecy about calling those who were “not My people” to be “My people” (Hosea 2:23; cited at Rom. 9:25–26) .
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🧬 The True Israel: A Covenant People, Not an Ethnic State
Cruz’s appeal to supporting “Israel” lacks clarity if one assumes the modern nation automatically carries biblical identity. The Apostle Paul clarifies: true Israel is the remnant of faith, including believing Jews and believing Gentiles united through Christ (Rom. 11:16–24) .
True Israel is not replaced by the church, but rather, the covenant people now includes all who are in faith—Jew and Gentile alike—into the promises originally given to Abraham and Isaac (Gal. 3:27–29).
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🏛 Covenant Theology Reminder: Corporate Election and Covenant Continuity
Paul’s teaching in Romans reflects an Old Testament pattern of corporate election: a people chosen as a body (corporate), not every natural-born individual. The modern movement of Commonwealth Theology emphasizes “Yes distinction, no separation”: Jews and Christians remain distinct yet belong to one covenant family under Christ (Rev. 21:12; Rom. 11:16–24) .
Covenant Theology affirms:
The Abrahamic covenant is not renegotiated—it is inherited by faith.
Election remains corporate, rooted in God’s sovereign promise, not human genealogy (Rom. 9).
The church is the continuation and expansion of the covenant people—true Israel continues, but not in the fleshly sense.
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🔎 What Romans 9 Means Today
Not all ethnic Jews are part of Israel in the scriptural sense. True Israel is those whom God has sovereignly called (Rom. 9:7–8).
Not all believing Gentiles are ethnic Jews, but they are included in true Israel by covenant through faith.
This is not spiritualizing ethnicity—it is recognizing God’s promise-centered definition over human accident.
The Jewish people who reject Christ are still physically Jewish—but Paul reserves “Israel” for the remnant of faith. Similarly, Gentile believers, though not Jewish by birth, are grafted into true Israel (Rom. 11:17–24) .
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🎯 Application: How Should Christians Today Think About Israel?
1. Avoid ethnic reductionism: modern supporters of Israel who view the nation as fulfilling all biblical promises miss Paul’s point in Romans.
2. Celebrate biblical Israel, but define it biblically—as the people who trust Christ, across Jew and Gentile.
3. Support both Jewish believers and nations sympathetically, but not as automatic harbor for theological identity.
4. Pray for Israel’s spiritual remnant: that Jewish people would turn to Christ (Rom. 11:11–12, 15).
5. Hold to covenant hope: God promises blessing to those who bless His covenant people—true Israel, by faith.
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🔚 Final Word: The Covenant People of Promise
Cruz and Carlson’s exchange may have highlighted confusion—but Scripture stands clearer.
True Israel is God’s promise-bound people, gathered by grace through faith—not explained by politics, bloodlines, or nationalism.
Romans 9 teaches: ethnic lineage is not guarantee. Sovereign faith is.
The covenant continues—beyond race, beyond geography—under Christ, through the gospel.
So bless true Israel. Pray for remnant faith. Stand with those in covenant with the Lord, in whom God’s promises find their faithful heirs.
✒️ The Pilgrim’s Post - from the chorus in the chaos group The Chorus In The Chaos
