THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD - Part 10 - By Daniel J. Musokwa

Daniel J. Musokwa

This is the last installment in this series of teachings titled "The True Israel of God" by my brother and friend Apostle Daniel J. Musokwa of The New Testament Ministries - Tanzania. It is fairly long and it is presented in the form of a letter. I have taken the liberty of posting it here on Ever Increasing Grace - my blog as a ten part series for easy reading. 

I would encourage everyone who reads this to take some time and check out the preceding installments by clicking on the following links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8 and Part 9

Daniel can be reached at: kainos.diatheke@gmail.com

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Rom 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring - not only to THOSE WHO ARE OF THE LAW(Jews) but also to THOSE WHO ARE OF THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM(the church). He is the father of us all.

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This was God’s promise to Abraham and his offspring… well guess what! Romans 4:16 lets me know that I am entitled to all of Abraham’s blessings by faith in Jesus Christ. With me putting absolute faith in Jesus Christ, God will bless all those who bless me, and curse all those who curse me… I didn't ask for this, but I guess it came with the package, you know, with being Abraham’s seed and all. Shadows and types my friends. Furthermore…

Gal 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

And again…

Eph 3:6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.

The holy Scriptures are replete with verses talking about us believing Gentiles being co-heirs with the Jews! Remember, the Book of Romans is very clear that “not all who are descendants of Israel are Israel, and nor because of such, are they all Abraham’s children. It is NOT the natural children who are God’s children – Romans 9.” Everything that was promised to Abraham is now accessible to ALL believing Jews and believing Gentiles together! Now, all believing Jews and Gentiles have a common spiritual Jerusalem who is our mother (or our common spiritual abode or safe haven). This is the Gospel of the Kingdom; “there is therefore now neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free… but Christ is all, and is in all!”

I know there is a lot of religious pressure to say “yes, but God loves the Jews, they are His people.” Granted, but in what way exactly does He love Benjamin Netanyahu more than He loves Ahmadinejad? Be careful now friends. If the Israelis are His people, in the New Covenant, what does that make the Fijians then? Do you honestly believe that in this New Testament dispensation God could love one people MORE than or above all others?

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

My Bible tells me “for God so loved the whole WORLD that He gave His only son!” Verse 18 above says “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” 

Does that description fit the unbelieving Jew and Gentile of today? They do not believe in the name of Jesus as God’s Messiah. Paul says that if they persist in unbelief, they will not be grafted back into the commonwealth of the true Israel of God, the church!

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Paul lamented for his people, the Israelites, that they were missing out on something that was to be originally theirs… salvation at the hands of a Jewish Messiah! The blessings of Abraham are at work in the Jews (Isaac) and Arabs (Ishmael) to this day regardless of their spiritual condition. This simply proves that God is faithful and that His gifts are irrevocable. But we must love both sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and share with them our spiritual blessings… even Jesus Christ.

Shalom!

THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD - Part 9 - By Daniel J. Musokwa

Daniel J. Musokwa

This teaching titled "The True Israel of God" by my brother and friend Apostle Daniel J. Musokwa of The New Testament Ministries - Tanzania is in the form of a letter. I have taken the liberty of presenting it here on my blog as a ten part series for easy reading. I would therefore encourage you to take some time and check out the preceding installments by clicking on the following links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Part 5, Part 6, Part 7 and Part 8

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Paul puts it this way:

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Gal 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.

Gal 4:23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

Gal 4:24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.

Gal 4:25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.

Gal 4:26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

Did you see that my friend? There are two women here who represent the two covenants, Sara and Hagar. Hagar corresponds to the Old Testament and the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children who were born naturally or in the ordinary way (4:23). She is still a slave to the Law of sin and death. “BUT,” Paul says, “the Jerusalem that is above (the spiritual Jerusalem) is free, and she is our mother!”

The Old Testament Jew belongs to an earthly Jerusalem which is Hagar, BUT the New Testament son of God belongs to a spiritual Jerusalem, Sara, who is our mother! Spiritual Jerusalem is the church! In the OT people had to gather together in Jerusalem to worship God, but in the NT the people are the temple and where two of three of them are gathered together in His Name, the church is in session and the spiritual Jerusalem is constituted! So yes, we read the beautiful words of King David about praying for the peace of Jerusalem and we take a hint:

“Pray for the peace of the church: "May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels." For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you." For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your prosperity.”(Psalm 122, the New Testament reading).

Most probably your ‘heresy detectors’ are blinking red right now, but I guarantee you that this is the truth of the Bible. You who want to be moored down to the Old Testament, are you only concerned with praying for the peace of the physical Jerusalem? What about Darfur? What about Baghdad? What about Shanghai? When did you last pray for the underground church in these cities? Didn't you know that you are Blood-relatives with the persecuted members of the spiritual Jerusalem in the cities I've just mentioned? Why do you feel the need to pray for the physical Jerusalem more than your own Blood-of-Christ relatives, who are the true Jerusalem? Can we truly be so blinded by the Old Testament that we cannot even see that we are agents of peace to the whole world, not just the physical Jerusalem? May your eyes be opened to the truth in the name of Jesus Christ, and may this Truth set you free!

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A Christian in the New Testament spiritual era; does he gain more ‘points’ by praying for the physical Jerusalem than he does praying for Baghdad? Not at all! After all, what is so special about Jerusalem in this dispensation? Shadows and types my friend, shadows and types!

But Brother Daniel; didn't God promise Abraham that “I will bless those that bless you, and I will curse those who curse you?”

Gen 12:2-3"I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Yes He did; bless God, but guess what?  

TO BE CONTINUED >>>

THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD - Part 8 - By Daniel J. Musokwa

Daniel J. Musokwa

This teaching titled "The True Israel of God" by my brother and friend Apostle Daniel J. Musokwa of The New Testament Ministries - Tanzania is in the form of a letter. I have taken the liberty of presenting it here on my blog as a ten part series for easy reading. I would therefore encourage you to take some time and check out the preceding installments by clicking on the following links: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Part 5, Part 6 and Part 7

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Let me conclude this short letter with the words of the Apostle Paul:

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Rom 10:1-2 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be SAVED. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is NOT BASED ON KNOWLEDGE.

Rom 10:3 Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

Rom 10:4 Christ is the END of the law so that there may be righteousness for EVERYONE who believes.

The physical nation of Israel is no longer God’s chosen people or a holy nation. There is only one holy nation now, the church of Jesus Christ which includes all believers, Jewish and Gentile! Yes, they still have the physical blessings because the gifts of God are irrevocable. Same with the Arabs, they still have the riches because of God’s blessings upon Ishmael, at Abraham’s behest. Let me ask you a very tough but simple question, but you have to answer it to yourself very honestly and in light of the New Testament era that you are in right now:

1.   Do you believe that God loves Israelis any more than He loves Saudi Arabians or Somalis? (For God so loved THE WORLD…)

2.   Do you believe that the Jews are somewhat more special to God than the Gentiles in the New Testament era?

The answer to both questions is NO! Every New Testament Scripture I have quoted supports my answer. The only thing that you as a Christian could do for the Jewish people is to have a desire, like Paul, that they may be saved (Rom 10:1).

What About Jerusalem?

I love the nation of Israel the same way I love Tanzania or Egypt! “But Brother Daniel, the Bible says:

Psa 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you be secure.

Psa 122:7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels."

Psa 122:8 For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you."

Psa 122:9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,  I will seek your prosperity.”

Yes it does. But you must remember the biblical law of ‘shadows and types.’ David, the prophet, was talking about a physical Jerusalem here. But prophetically he also new of a spiritual Jerusalem that would come for he also prophesied numerous times about the Messiah. The writer of the Book of Hebrews in chapter 12 lets us know that we have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire…

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” – Heb 12:22-24.

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The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us that, in the spirit, we have (NOW) come to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God (because in the NT we are His temple), to the church of the firstborn(Jesus) whose names are written IN heaven! This is interesting, the names of the members of the church are written IN heaven; so heaven must be different from the heavenly (spiritual) Jerusalem that the writer is talking about here! This spiritual Jerusalem is also different from the New Jerusalem spoken of in the Apocalypse, the Book of Revelation. The spiritual Jerusalem is the global congregation of all the temples of the Holy Spirit, the church!
TO BE CONTINUED >>> 

THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD - Part 7 - By Daniel J. Musokwa

Daniel J. Musokwa

Here is the 6th installment...I would encourage you to click on these links and check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 and Part 6 of this series of teachings, solidly based on the Word of God, titled "The True Israel of God" by my brother and friend Apostle Daniel J. Musokwa of The New Testament Ministries - Tanzania.

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Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you (Gentiles)who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Eph 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two - one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,

Eph 2:15-16 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

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Verse 14 says that Jesus Christ is our peace because He has made the two (Jew and Gentile) one by destroying the dividing wall of hostility (the Law with its Commandments) in His flesh! Mind you, Jesus destroyed the ONLY THING that distinguished the Jew from the Gentile with ALL ITS COMMANDMENTS and REGULATIONS! I can’t say it any louder than that. The reason He did that was “to create ONE NEW MAN out of the two, thus making peace… to reconcile BOTH of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their HOSTILITY!” So in this New Testament there is ONE NEW man, the Gentile is not singularly recognized here, neither is the Jew! They can only be recognized as one NEW man, the church! The church is now “… a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God…” – 1 Peter 2:9.

The nation of Israel could only exist now as a holy nation in the minds of those who through the Old Testament have their hearts veiled in blindness (2 Co 3:14-15), not anywhere else in the New Testament economy of God!  

Eph 2:17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.

Eph 2:18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Eph 2:19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household,

Eph 2:20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

How about that! So now there is a new Israel, the Gentiles too are members of God’s household together with the natural Israel. As a church, we are together built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. And for that reason… “He has made us competent asministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” - 2 Cor. 3:6

TO BE CONTINUED >>>

THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD - Part 6 - By Daniel J. Musokwa

Daniel J. Musokwa

Here is the 6th installment...I would encourage you to click on these links and check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 of this series of teachings, solidly based on the Word of God, titled "The True Israel of God" by my brother and friend Apostle Daniel J. Musokwa of The New Testament Ministries - Tanzania.

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But God is able to graft them back into grace IF they do not persist in unbelief! These things are so open and so clear to be understood. Yet why has the church been so wrong? The Old Testament is why! Every church that still preachers and instructs in the Old Testament for doctrine, instead of illustration, will almost invariably see Israel as God’s chosen people, and not the church!

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Gal 6:14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Gal 6:15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Gal 6:16 Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

Please notice here what Paul, the Apostle, calls the people “who follow this rule”… people who “boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” – he calls them “the Israel of God!” There is no doubt that the church is now the Israel of God, God’s children and God’s chosen people; the Scriptures prove this beautifully! 

Eph 2:11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-

Eph 2:12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.

The former condition of those of us who are Gentiles by birth was that of “separation from the promised Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world!” That is such a dire and fatal condition to be in! You must remember that God cut a covenant with His people Israel (Lev 27:34), and not the Gentiles! As far as the Old Testament is concerned the Gentiles are dogs, even a Jewish rabbi named Jesus thought and actually said that (Mat 15:22-28)! The minute a Gentile, whom now because of ‘grace’ is included in citizenship with the true Israel of God, decides to go back to the Old Testament he automatically disappears from the radar-screen of God’s grace.

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Why is this so? Because the Old Testament was not equipped to view Gentiles as heirs together with Israel… it was not designed to give the gentile righteousness by the Law at any level. The Law only prophesies that the gentiles will be saved through the Messiah, but it offers no salvation and no absolution to them within its precepts. Even the slaves or gentiles that used to live in Jewish households, they were circumcised according to the Law – but not for their own relationship with God… they were circumcised for the sake of ceremonial cleanness in a Jewish home. The same way those who keep dogs make sure they’re clean in order to keep flees away from the home.

TO BE CONTINUED >>>

THE TRUE ISRAEL OF GOD - Part 5 - By Daniel J. Musokwa

Daniel J. Musokwa

I would encourage you to click on these links and check out Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 of this series of teachings, solidly based on the Word of God, titled "The True Israel of God" by my brother and friend Apostle Daniel J. Musokwa of The New Testament Ministries - Tanzania.

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Col 3:11 Here there is NO Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Col 3:12-13 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

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Paul says “here there is NO Greek or Jew…” Here where? In Christ! (Read all of Colossians 3) It means “In Christ there is NO Greek or Jew… but Christ is all, and is in all!” I tell you the New Testament does not have hidden within it somewhere another special covenant for the Jew! In the New Testament, there is neither Jew nor Gentile but Christ is in all! What part of that Scripture is too difficult for us to understand! Where is the Jew therefore? Where is the Gentile therefore? In Christ, they are one and the same. In Christ, you are not disadvantaged if you cannot trace your natural lineage back to Abraham; and you are not advantaged if you can! What matters is the new seed of heaven, even Jesus Christ.

In verse 12 of Colossians 3 Paul says something that would be almost blasphemous and heretical to most evangelicals today! He says to the Colossians “Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved…” How about that! Paul, a Jew of Jews, of the tribe of Benjamin, calls Gentile Colossians “God’s chosen people” as well as “holy and dearly loved!” That comes as a shocker to us evangelicals, doesn't it! You see now friends, it is true what Paul said to the church in Rome; “it is not the natural descendants of Abraham who are God’s children but rather, those who are children of the promised Holy Spirit through Jesus the Christ of God!” Here’s more:

Gal 3:26-27 You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are ALL ONE in Christ Jesus.

Gal 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

What can I say? In this dispensation there is neither Jew nor Greek for we are all one in Christ Jesus! He says “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise!” It doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, your father is Abraham if you are in Christ Jesus! 

Hallelujah!

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So really, is this “Replacement Theology?” My honest answer would be, I truly don’t know. Since I never went to Bible College so I wouldn't really know what to call it, so for now I’ll just call it the Gospel of the Kingdom… I’ll call it “grace given freely to the Gentile as well as the Jew”. There’s nothing more foolish and reckless than for the church to continue insisting that the Jews are still God’s only chosen people! They were that in the Old Covenant economy which was just a type and shadow of the good things that were to come, but NOT still so in the New Covenant where the Blood-washed church is God’s chosen people! I am truly humbled that through the Jew we received the New Covenant and that through them we received a Saviour of the world. But that alone does not deify them as anything above the rest of humanity! At best, they denied Jesus as the Messiah and crucified Him on the cross. Remember that to this very day they are still denying His Lordship and divinity! They have been ‘cut-off’ from Christ, according to Paul. Keep that in mind.

TO BE CONTINUED >>>