In the last post, we saw a number of passages that seem to pose an issue for Pauline dispensationalism, the belief that Paul preached a different gospel than Jesus (while he was on earth) and the other apostles. The differences between Paul’s gospel and the gospel to Israel aren’t as large as some dispensationalists make them out to be — for example, although Paul never claimed that works are necessary for salvation (in fact he argued the opposite), he did claim that good works come from salvation. Furthermore, in many places throughout his epistles, Paul indicated that the body of Christ is included in true Israel (2 Cor. 3:6ff; 6:16; Gal. 3; Eph. 2:11-21; Phil. 3:3; Tit. 2:14), and only in one place did he possibly distinguish between the two (Gal. 6:16). [1] Yet there are differences between Paul’s gospel and the gospel to Israel. How can this be explained?
Torah in the Israelite Writings
To understand this, we need to go on a little tangent. Jesus preached to Israel that in order to enter God’s kingdom, they needed to follow the entire Torah and Prophets (Matt. 5:17-20), and his disciples also taught that one must follow God’s commandments to be saved (John 14:15-24; 15:10-12; Jas. 2:10-24; 2 Pet. 1:10f; 1 John 2:3-6; 5:1-4). But what did it mean for Israelite believers in Jesus to follow Torah? When asked by a Jewish lawyer which commandment is the greatest, Jesus responded,
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [Deut. 6:4-5] This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ [Lev. 19:18] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt. 22:37-40)
In the Markan account, the lawyer responds that following these two commandments “is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Jesus “saw that he answered wisely” and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:33-34). In his sermon on the mount, Jesus told the people of Israel that anyone who taught others to break the least of Torah’s commandments would be “called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19). Even though the lawyer was denying the need for sacrifices and temple rituals, it seems that Jesus didn’t consider this to be disobeying Torah.
As the Messiah who spoke the very words of God (John 3:34; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10), the ‘second Moses’ to whom Israel was commanded to listen (Deut. 18:15-19; cf. John 6:14; 7:40; Acts 3:20-23), Jesus has the power to authoritatively re-interpret the Mosaic Law for Israel. If he says that those who love God and their neighbor fulfill Torah, and this is much more important than temple rituals (as indeed he did), then this is the interpretation Israel is expected to follow. This is supported by Jesus’ sermon to his disciples in the gospel of John, in which he said,
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you... I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.” (John 15:10-14, 17)
Jesus establishes here that for his Israelite disciples to abide in the love of him and his Father, they must follow his commandments; he also establishes that the commandment they must follow is to love one another.
John says the same thing many times in his other writings: “Whoever loves a brother or sister abides in the light, and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling” (1 John 2:10); “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brothers and sisters. Whoever does not love abides in death” (3:14); “this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he commanded us” (3:23); “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God” (4:7); “The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (4:21; cf. Matt. 22:35-40); as well as other examples.
James, too, said to the dispersed tribes of Israel, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well” (Jas. 1:1; 2:8). Therefore, Jesus’ disciples understood his teaching to mean that those who love others fulfill Torah, become part of the Israel of God, and God and Christ abide in them.
But what about the temple rituals? The epistle to the Hebrews, which is regarded as an Israelite writing by Pauline dispensationalists, was written as a polemic against those who saw earthly temple rituals as still necessary. It’s bookended by statements about the purification of Israel’s sins through Christ’s blood (Heb. 1:3; 13:20-21). Jesus is the heavenly high priest (2:14-3:6; 4:14-5:10; 6:19-20), who has no need to offer sacrifices daily like the earthly priests, because his sacrifice was offered once for all (7:26-28; 8:1-7; 9:6-14, 25-28; 10:1-18). The temple rituals and purity regulations have been replaced by new types of ‘sacrifices,’ namely praises to God and doing good for others (13:9-16).
There are, however, two texts that have been put forth as evidence that Jesus and his disciples did believe the temple rituals were necessary for Israel. The first is from Jesus’ polemic against the leaders of the Pharisees:
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.” (Matt. 23:1-3)
This passage is used by some to argue that Jesus endorsed the Pharisees’ interpretation of Torah, and only disagreed with their hypocrisy. But this raises more questions than it answers. If this is true, how can it be squared with Jesus’ disciples’ belief that those who love God and others fulfill Torah, and Jesus’ own statements elsewhere to the same effect? Why does the epistle to the Hebrews so strongly deny the need for temple rituals if Jesus himself affirmed it? And what about the Israelites who lived after the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, such as John the disciple — were they forced to disobey God because the temple had been destroyed?
Based on these considerations, it’s very unlikely that Jesus was endorsing the Pharisaical interpretation of Torah as something that Israel would always have to follow. Instead, he was saying that because they were the Jews’ religious leaders, they should be respected and followed (“[they] sit on Moses’ seat, therefore [Gk: oun] do whatever they teach you”). Later on in the history of the church, there were “believers of the sect of the Pharisees” (Acts 15:5), but the apostles considered them to be misguided, and their ‘yoke’ unable to bear (15:10), in contrast to Jesus whose “yoke is easy and burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
Another text that has been interpreted to mean that Israel is still required to keep the temple rituals is from the book of Acts:
The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present... Then they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands of believers there are among the Jews, and they are all zealous for the law. They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, and that you tell them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs. What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. So do what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow. Join these men, go through the rite of purification with them, and pay for the shaving of their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself observe and guard the law.” (Acts 21:18-24)
In this passage, James and the elders tell Paul about the “many thousands of [Jewish] believers” who were all “zealous for Torah.” The crux of the issue is v. 21, where they say that the Jewish believers “have been told” that Paul teaches other Jews to forsake Moses and “the customs” (i.e., temple rituals), and so they urge Paul go through a purification rite.
Does this mean that James thought the temple rituals and purity rites were necessary, despite what he said in his epistle (Jas. 2:8)? No, because James and the elders say that some of the Jewish believers “have been told” this about Paul, not that they told them this. Perhaps it was the unbelieving Jewish leaders who told them this, in an attempt to sow division between the body of Christ and the Jewish believers, or perhaps it was the misguided “believers of the sect of the Pharisees” mentioned in Acts 15:5.
To summarize, the Israelite believers in Jesus are required to love God and love others, but not needed to complete temple rituals or rites of purification, which according to the letter to the Hebrews have been performed once for all by Jesus in the ‘heavenly temple.’ They also must believe that “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God” in order to have eonian life (John 20:31; 1 John 5:1-5). Of course, this doesn’t only apply to ethnic Jews, but also to gentiles who “fear God and practice righteousness” (Acts 10:34-35). As the vast majority of those who follow Abrahamic religions — Christians, Messianic Jews, and Muslims (with the sole exception of non-Messianic Jews) — believe that Jesus is the Messiah, they are all potential members of the Israel of God, so long as they love God and others.
The Body of Christ and Israel in Paul’s Writings
According to Paul, in order to be saved under his gospel and become part of the body of Christ, one must believe that “Christ died for our sins... and that he was raised on the third day” (1 Cor. 12:27; 15:1-4). This gospel isn’t difficult to believe, but certain teachings have obscured its message, such as the immortality of the soul and the deity of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:3-4). [2] Unlike Jesus’ message to Israel, according to which one must continue to follow God’s commandments in order to abide in him and see his kingdom (Matt. 5:17-20; John 14:21-24; 15:9-10; cf. 2 Pet. 1:10-11; 1 John 3:18-24; 4:12), according to Paul, one is not required to do good works to be in the body of Christ (Rom. 3:27-28; 4:5; 11:5-6; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Php. 3:9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:4-5).
Yet Paul also said that good works were the result of a saving faith in his gospel, the effect of God and Christ’s work within us (2 Cor. 9:8; Gal. 5:22-25; Eph. 2:10; Php. 1:6; 2:12-13; Tit. 2:11-14; 3:8). Those in the body of Christ, therefore, are led by God to love him and others, though this certainly isn’t a prerequisite of our salvation. Furthermore, those in the body of Christ necessarily believe that Jesus is the Messiah, as it’s part of Paul’s gospel that the Messiah died for our sins and was resurrected (1 Cor. 15:3).
In fact, Paul explicitly says, “the ‘right’ declaration of Torah is fulfilled in us, who walk not according to flesh, but according to spirit,” because Jesus condemned Sin (Rom. 8:3-4; cf. 13:8-10; Gal. 5:14). Torah is not annulled, but established by faith in Jesus the Messiah (Rom. 3:30-31), which also fulfills the Deuteronomic promises about Torah being written on the hearts of God’s people (Deut. 30:1-14; Rom. 2:25-29; 10:6-10). This new fulfillment frees God’s people from needing to follow all the commandments of Torah, thus circumventing the problem of “the ‘Torah’ of sin and death” that happens when we actively try to avoid sin (Rom. 7:13-8:2), and establishes instead a “righteousness according to faith” (Rom. 3:20-26; 9:30-10:13; Gal. 2:5-21; 3:10-14; Phil. 3:7-11).
Based on this, it seems that everyone in the body of Christ would actually also qualify for membership in the true Israel! This explains why Paul identifies the members of the body of Christ as part of Israel, even though he also clearly distinguishes his gospel from the gospel to Israel. To be sure, the means by which we are saved is very different from the rest of the Israel of God, which is blinded to the truth of Paul’s gospel and relies on good works to continue abiding in God. The body of Christ acts as the vanguard of true Israel, with the added benefit of being “the first fruits of salvation through... belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13), and the extra task of being “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17-20).
The existence of the rest of the Israel of God, who have eonian life despite not believing in Paul’s gospel, appears to be recognized by Paul in his letter to the Romans:
...in the day of wrath and revelation of God’s righteous judgment, who will render to each according to his works. To those who are seeking glory, honor, and immortality by endurance in good works, he gives eonian life. Yet to those who are self-seeking, disobey the truth, and have confidence in unrighteousness, he gives wrath and anger. Tribulation and distress on every man’s life who works evil, the Jew first and also the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. (Romans 2:5-10)
This passage establishes that those who endure in good works receive eonian life (defined as “glory, honor and peace” in v. 10), while those who selfishly pursue unrighteousness (Gk: adikia) and disobey the truth (Gk: alētheia) receive wrath and anger, tribulation and distress.
Although I previously thought that this passage spoke of a future judgment (the same one described in Revelation 20:10-15), now I think this interpretation is unsustainable, in light of what Paul said previously: “the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness [Gk: adikia] of men, who suppress the truth [Gk: alētheia] in unrighteousness [Gk: adikia]” (Rom. 1:18). Paul refers back to this statement, which speaks of the present wrath of God against evil people, using many of the same Greek terms in Rom. 2:8. The “day of wrath” refers not to a literal day, but to the entire present age — consider that the entire period of the Messiah’s reign over the gentiles is also referred to as a “day” (Isa. 11:10-12; 42:1-4; Zech. 2:11; 14:9; 2 Cor. 6:2; cf. Acts 17:30, 31).
The men who do good and receive eonian life in Rom. 2:7 are most likely the other members of true Israel, who believe in Jesus as Messiah and persist in loving God and others. These aren’t members of the body of Christ, because their salvation is based on works, but they nonetheless receive eonian life, meaning that they must be members of the Israel of God.
Conclusion
The view of Pauline dispensationalists, that Paul preached a different gospel than Jesus (while on earth) and his disciples, is challenged by a number of facts from the New Testament. However, the basic content of the dispensationalist idea must be true due to the differences between Paul’s message and that of the other apostles.
In these two posts, I presented an alternative view of dispensationalism which accounts for the facts that challenge Pauline dispensationalism while retaining its basic idea. According to this view, the body of Christ is a part of true Israel, representing the vanguard of God’s people, but (unlike the rest of the Israel of God) is saved simply by believing in Paul’s gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4) rather than by good works and following Torah. I’m not 100% wedded to this idea, and I could certainly be convinced that it’s wrong, but I think it’s at least more biblical than the conventional hyper-dispensationalist view that the body of Christ and Israel are completely separate.
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[1] In Galatians 6:16, Paul blesses peace and mercy upon the body of Christ, “and upon [Gk: kai epi] the Israel of God.” The Greek conjunction kai can be either additive (1 and 2) or explicative (1, namely 2) — see BDAG lexicon for this word — thus Paul could either be distinguishing or identifying the body of Christ and the Israel of God in this verse. For an exegetical defense of the latter position, see Christopher W. Cowan, “Context Is Everything: ‘The Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16,” SBJT 14, no. 3 (2010): 78-85.
[2] See my post about “Paul’s Gospel and Christianity.”
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