Jesus: the Door to the Promises

Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:

“For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles,
And sing to Your name.”

And again he says:

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”

And again:

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
Laud Him, all you peoples!”

And again, Isaiah says:

“There shall be a root of Jesse;
And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,
In Him the Gentiles shall hope.” (Rom. 15:8-12)

What promises did Jesus confirm when He became a servant to the circumcision?He confirmed the Old Testament promises. Jesus told the Jews that the Old Testament Scriptures wrote of Him, and that even Moses had written of Him (Jn. 5:39;46).

And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. (Lk. 24:27)

Unfortunately most Jews rejected His claim, and as always occurs when we do not receive a love for the Truth, they embraced lies based on nationalism, genealogy, or ritual; and this has continued to this very day. What is even sadder is that much of the Gentile church in the west is so apostate today, she is lending her support to the works of evildoers and thinking she serves God by doing so. But whether they join hands or no, they will not inherit the promises.

Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. (Gal. 4:30)

It is in Christ that ALL the promises find their fulfillment:

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. (2 Cor. 1:20)

Now notice in the Romans 15 passage, what effect the fulfillment of the promises would have on the Gentiles. They would be rejoicing “with His people;” they would hope in Him, and they would submit to His Kingly reign along with the believing Jews. We don’t see a cutting off of all God’s Hebrew people, but instead a grafting in of Gentiles with those Hebrews who are faithful. (Same language we see in Rom. 11) Certainly, Paul does not have every single Gentile in view here, but those who are converted to Christ.

The believing Gentiles are grafted into the Olive Tree, which is God’s chosen people–a tree which was stripped of many (but thankfully not all) Jewish branches due to their unbelief (Rom. 11:17-24). (This is not the first time the Olive Tree was pruned; see also Jer. 11:1-17 for an earlier time. One can also see the death of the first generation of Israelites in the wilderness as a pruning, as well as smaller judgments which swallowed up particular families, etc. We must endure to the end to remain in the Olive Tree.)

The Olive Tree is a picture of God’s kingdom.

How can a kingdom (the Israel of God) be made of people from all over the earth?! Christ’s kingdom is within every believer, and is not something that can be observed in this carnal realm or advanced through carnal means (Lk. 17:20-21). But oh, how the carnal man rankles at this teaching, always seeking to set up something that satisfies the lust of his eyes and flesh, and his pride of life.

Herein is the mystery of God revealed, and how the Israel of God shall be populated with the saved–by faith. God’s Kingdom is the Israel of God, and it is not of this world. Away with these lies that keep repeating that His kingdom is of this world! Away with these foolish statements that we must strengthen the hands of evildoers to be blessed! (“We must bless the modern earthly state of Israel to be blessed”=satanic lie.) To enter the kingdom which Jesus came preaching, and to be blessed, every man is commanded to repent of sin and believe upon Christ. When he does so, he becomes an heir with Jesus of the promises.

There is NO PHYSICAL JEW OR GENTILE in Christ! The flesh profits nothing–absolutely nothing. In Christ and His kingdom, there are only “True Jews” and “Israelites In-Deed” who have entered the kingdom of God by loving and submitting to its King (Rom. 2:28-29; Jn. 1:47). He is the only Door to the Promises.