The nature of the relationship between Israel (that is, Old Testament Israel) and the Church has been the subject of much misunderstanding and debate. Has the Church replaced Israel, or are they two distinct groups that God is working with separately? To answer this question, we must first clarify what is meant by the term “Church.”

The word “Church” (ἐκκλησία) originates in the Old Testament Septuagint as the designation for the assembly of the Lord’s covenant people (cf. Deut. 4:10; Josh. 8:35; Psalm 22:22 LXX).

This assembly or congregation gathered under the guidance of their elders, in submission to God’s Word, establishing the foundational structure and governance that continues in the Church today.

Even outside the biblical context, in classical Greek and Greco-Roman society, ἐκκλησία referred to a political assembly or gathering of citizens—an organised community with shared purpose and authority.

Therefore, when Jesus spoke of the “Church” prior to the establishment of any New Testament congregation, His listeners would have understood the term clearly in this longstanding sense according to both Scripture and the contemporary and historical context (Matt. 16:18).

The Church is not a new institution introduced by Paul or the New Testament writers. Rather, it is the continuation and fulfilment of God’s covenant people—the assembly of Israel—now gathered around Christ, the Shepherd of Israel.

Throughout the Old Testament and into the New, the assembly or Church of God’s people is always presented as a holy, faithful community. As such, unfaithful and rebellious persons are to be excluded by God’s command (e.g. 1 Cor. 5:9-13). Without faith in Christ, there is no promise, no hope, no inheritance, because it is only through Christ that these are obtained (Jn. 14:6). As such, Paul explains that “not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel” (Rom. 9:6), because Israel, as the New Testament defines it, is not determined by the flesh, but by faith in the promise (Rom. 9:8).

This forms the basis of church discipline and practices such as excommunication, serving as both a precursor and a solemn warning of the final judgment, when those outside of Christ will be definitively removed.

Thus, the Church is not a replacement but the true continuation of God’s covenant people, fulfilling the promises made to Israel throughout Scripture.

The Good News of the Gospel is that these covenantal privileges now extend to the Gentiles (i.e. Nations), so that through faith in Christ, they too are welcomed into the Church—the assembly of God’s covenant people.

It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul could write to the Greek Church in Ephesus, saying:

“You Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by which is called the circumcision [Jews], which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time seperated 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, you who were once 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.”

Ephesians 2:11-16

This was always God’s purpose—that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles (Gal. 3:8, 14), uniting Jew and Gentile into one new man, one body in Christ (Eph. 2:15–16).

Thus, in Christ, all the promises are fulfilled and secured. To be “in Christ” is to share in His identity as a child of Abraham and, therefore, to be an heir of all that God promised to the patriarchs, regardless of your ethnic background (Gal. 3:26–29).

The Good News is not that God has replaced Israel with the covenant assembly, but that He has perfected this assembly in Christ and included the nations as fellow heirs of all the blessings promised to Abraham and his descendants (Eph. 3:6).

It is for this reason that God promised Israel, “I will make you a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). Israel was called to be a light—a witness of God’s saving Gospel—to the nations. Jesus said of Himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). And of His Church, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14–16). Therefore, to identify Israel, look for the light—the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Church is not a novel institution nor a replacement for Israel, but the mature and redeemed assembly of God’s covenant people—rooted in the Old Testament, fulfilled in Christ, and extended to all nations. Through Christ, both Jew and Gentile are gathered into one body, the true Israel of God, heirs together of the promises, the covenants, and the inheritance once spoken to the patriarchs.

The Gospel does not announce the abandonment of Israel, but the expansion and perfection of Israel in the Messiah. In Him, the dividing wall is torn down, and a new humanity is formed—united not by bloodline, but by faith.

This is the mystery now revealed: that the Church, as the body of Christ, is the gathered assembly of God’s people from every tribe, tongue, and nation—one flock under one Shepherd, forever.