⁴ [my kinsmen according to the flesh] who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, ⁵ whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

Christianity was born out of Judaism, which “encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people” (Wikipedia). Jesus was Jewish by birth. So was Paul, through and through. The apostles also. There was never any thought of starting a new “religion” or sect. Christianity began as a Jewish movement, with the rich heritage of Judaism. Paul perceived that his message of the Gospel and justification was a natural extension, a fulfillment of all God had in mind for the Jews.

The Jews were adopted by God, as it were. Out of all the populace of the earth, God chose Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans (in modern day Iran near the coast of the Persian Gulf). When God began forming Abraham’s descendants into a nation, God said, “Israel is My son, My firstborn” (Ex 4:22). Their sonship was not like that of the second person of the Trinity, who is the only begotten Son (John 1:14, 3:16, 18, Acts 13:33, etc.) Like a human son shares the same DNA and comes physically from his father, so Jesus shared of the spiritual substance with His heavenly Father, being of the same nature as God. Theologians have labored to define and describe the nature of Jesus’ sonship, but the analogy God uses regarding Jesus is of the natural born child. God’s people are like adopted children, who are given the rights and privileges of the natural born child. This is God’s (and Paul’s) description of the Jews.

Notice that the Jews’ special relationship to God hasn’t changed. Paul uses the present tense when he says “to whom belongs the adoption as sons.” This is not something of the past, but an ongoing, enduring relationship. We don’t believe, as some do, that the church has replaced Israel completely and that the Jews no longer have a special relationship with God. Paul writes that all the blessings and privileges of sonship are still theirs. He does not repudiate any of that, nor does his message undermine the teaching of the Old Testament, which included the covenants, the Law, the temple and its activities, and the promises of God. Christ Himself came in and through that entire system of the Israelite religion, that is, Judaism.

The God of the Jews is (and continues to be) the God of all creation, sovereignty and supremacy. The Christian God is one and the same as the Jewish God, and He is the one, true God over all. There is no other. Amen!

Lord, I pray Your Jewish people will come to the blessing of true justification.