By Faith & Through Faith

It is critical that we, especially as Gentiles grafted into Israel, understand Paul’s tremendous effort to reveal the big picture of the believers in the Gospel of Grace throughout the whole of Scripture were all justified by faith in the Holy One to come! 

And “those believers” are called God’s Elect, His Church – the election of grace! Paul’s intent was not to say “those guys are out and you guys are in, but to reveal God’s greater plan of how He would include both into His Church, the Israel of God.

Let’s understand the word for church in both the Hebrew and Greek, 

edah in Hebrew means congregation, assembly, or gathering. The Congregation of Israel appears 331 times in the OT.

kahal in Hebrew means assembly, but also congregation or multitude. Strong's goes as far as to note that it can mean a multitude or gathering of nations! The Assembly of Israel appears 123 times in the OT.

ἐκκλησία ekklasea is the Greek word for church, which means congregation, assembly, citizens or gathering.

When Jesus spoke of His (edah, kahal and ekklasea) Church, He spoke of us as His betrothed Beloved. Remember what He said about Abraham, that he (Abe) rejoiced to see His (Jesus’) day? Think about all the Beloved listed, by Paul, in the Book of Hebrews chapter eleven: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, etc. all of which died in faith before Jesus’ time. They are all mentioned as the Elect of God, His Church! They were all promised redemption and to be in the resurrection, some to even having a better resurrection!

When the mighty and humble Stephen, a Jew, in the Book of Acts was witnessing about Jesus to the Jews, he said:

This is He, that was in the Church in the wilderness with the angel which spoke to him on mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us… Acts 7:37

Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the Congregation of Israel all drank from Christ Jesus in the wilderness.

Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud (Hoopah), all passed through the sea, all were baptized (mikvah) into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink (covenant meal). For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 1 Cor 10:1-14

In Paul’s explanatory letter to the Hebrews, he writes a summation statement to this point saying,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Heb 13:8

The Church has always been and will always be His Chosen, those who were predestined by the election of grace. Those who have responded to Him by faith (Old Testament) and through faith (New Testament) – both Jew and Gentile are God’s ONE Body of Believers.

There is ONE body and ONE Spirit, just as you were called in ONE hope of your calling; ONE Lord, ONE faith, ONE baptism; ONE God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Eph 4:4-6

The mystery of Christ first swirled about in the heart of God, then became a spoken promise as the Seed of the Woman, was offered to all the families of the earth through Abraham, was illustrated and structured through the Mosaic Law, and finally progressively found full expression in the Man, Christ Jesus! The Gospel of Grace has always been God’s revealed will in the earth! As one family, one Bride, our family roots are in the One Root, Jesus, the Great Seed of God!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (Gentile). For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Rom 1:16, 17

We can see through Scripture that God kept the Mystery of Christ a secret; that He Himself would be Israel's Atonement and not only save His betrothed Bride of Christ, Israel, but graft in believing gentiles! This is His own desired Bride, a helpmate comparable to Himself, the One New Man, from Jew and Gentile!