THE “NEW ISRAEL” AND THE “NEW PEOPLE OF GOD”

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE "NEW iSRAEL" AND THE "NEW PEOPLE OF GOD"

The traditional Jewish teachings held that the Messiah (Mashiarch) would be a human, political, and military leader who would restore the nation of Israel to its former glory. The primary difference between the Jewish and Christian concept of the Messiah is that Judaism expects an earthly human leader who will usher in Messianic Age of peace and justice for all humanity, while Eastern Orthodox Christianity believes the Messiah is Jesus Christ, "the Son of God, the Only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light; true God of true God: begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, was buried. And the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; whose Kingdom shall have no end…" (Creed).

The very name "Christ" signifies "Anointed One." (the name "Jesus" signifies "Savior.") The Lord Himself referred to Himself the words of the Prophet Isaiah when He read them in the Synagogue at Nazareth: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sighs to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised to preach the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4:18-19).

Following the ancient custom, in order to gain a fuller illumination of the whole work of salvation accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ, view it most often from three aspects, namely as (a) the High-Priestly Ministry of the Lord, (b) His Prophetic Ministry, and (c) His Royal Ministry. These three aspects are called THE TRIPLE MINISTRY OF THE LORD.

The common feature of the three ministries, the Prophetic, the High-Priestly, and the Royal, is that in the Old Testament the calling to these three ministries was accompanied by anointing with oil, and those who worthily passed through these ministries were strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Lord Jesus Christ is not only the Lamb of God Who is offered as a sacrifice for the life of the world; He is at the same time also He Who offers, the Performer of the sacrifice, the High Priest. Christ is "He Who offereth and is offered; that accepteth and is distributed" (the inaudible prayer at the Cherubic Hymn in the Divine Liturgy). He Himself is offered as a sacrifice, and He Himself also offers the sacrifice. He Himself both receives it and distributes it to those who come.

Christ the Evangelizer (The Prophetic Ministry of the Lord)
The evangelistic, or instructive, or prophetic ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was expressed in the fact that He proclaimed to men, in all the fullness and clarity to them, the will of the Heavenly Father, for the salvation of the world, and granted to them the new, more perfect law of faith and piety which serves for the purpose of the salvation of the whole human race. This ministry was performed immediately by the Lord Himself and through His disciples, who, in accordance with His commandment, proclaimed the Good News TO ALL PEOPLES and handed it down to the Chruch in all times. The Lord proclaimed the Good News of (1) the teaching of faith, and (2) the teaching of life and piety.

Christ the Head and King of the World (The Royal Ministry of Christ)
The Son of God, the Creator and Master of Heaven and earth, the Eternal King according to Divinity, is King also according to His God-Manhood, both His earthly ministry until His death on the Cross, and in His glorified condition after the Resurrection.
The Prophets prophesied of Him as a King, as we read in the Prophet Isaiah: "Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Messenger of Great Counsel, Wonderful, Counselor, the Might God, Potentate, the Prince of Peace, Father of the age to come… Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon His Kingdom" (Isaiah 9:6-7, Septuagint).

The Royal Ministry of the Lord before His Resurrection was expressed (a) in His miracles, in His authority over nature; (b) in His authority over the powers of hell, concerning which there is the testimony of His numerous exorcisms of demons and of the word of the Lord: "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18); and in His authority over death, manifested in the resurrection of the son of the widow of Nain, the daughter of Jairus, and Lazarus of the four days.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself speaks of Himself as a King before His Resurrection when He was being judged by Pilate: "My Kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36-37).

Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ is the Messiah and Savior of the whole world and those who believe in Him and follow Him are the children of God, the Ecclesia, the new people of God, the Body of Christ, those who are saved. Our Holy Orthodox Church teaches that the "chosen people of God are now ALL WHO BELIEVE IN AND FOLLOW CHRIST, a concept that fulfills and expands upon the ancient covenant with Israel to include ALL NATIONS THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. This understanding is rooted in Scriptural passages like 1 Peter: "But you are a CHOSEN GENERATION, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION. HIS OWN SPECIAL PEOPLE, THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE PRAISES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT; WHO ONCE WERE NOT A PEOPLE BUT ARE NOW THE PEOPLE OF GOD, WHH HAD NOT OBTAINED MERCY BUT NOW HAVE OBTAINED MERCY" (1 Peter 2: 9-10) and is based on the belief that through Christ’s Sacrifice and the New Covenant, ALL PEOPLE RECEIVE HM ARE ENGRAFTED INTO THE BODY OF CHRIST BECOMING A "ROYAL PRIESTHOOD" AND "HOLY NATION/".

The Old Testament Covenant with the Jews is seen as a foundation, but THE PURPOSE IS FULFILLED IN CHRIST, OPENING GOD’S AGAPE (LOVE) AND MERCY TO ALL PEOPLE. The Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is understood as the spiritual "New Israel," composed of both believing Jews and Gentiles WHO HAVE ACCEPTED THE NEW COVENANT (NEW TESTAMENT). Through faith, repentance, baptism, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, individuals are born again and become part of GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE, regardless of their former ethnic or religious background. This new status brings with it responsibilities, such as declaring God’s wonderful deeds and living in His "Marvelous Light," according to Orthodox teachings.

To refer to unbelievers as the "chosen people of God" is a heresy. Unbelievers are known to be antichrists and anti christianity. Why would some so-called professed Christians would insist on calling the unbelievers as the "chosen people of God"? It indicates their ignorance and willingness to preach blasphemy and heresy which brings "defective reasoning and confusion of thought". These heretics have fallen away from the truth and the true faith. The Holy Apostle Peter writes: "But there were also false prophets among the people , even as there will be FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU, WHO WILL SECRETLY BRING IN DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, EVEN DENYING THE LORD WHO BOUGHT THEM, AND BRING ON THEMSELVES SWIFT DESTRUCTION. AND MANY WILL FOLLOW THEIR DESTRUCTIVE WAYS, BECAUSE OF WHOM THE WAY OF TRUTH WILL BE BLASPHEMED. BY COVETOUSNESS THEY WILL EXPLOIT YOU WITH DECEPTIVE WORDS; FOR A LONG TIME THEIR JUDGMENT HAS NOT BEEN IDLE, AND THEIR DESTRUCTION DOES NOT SLUMBER" (2 Peter 1-3).

We see the Holy Apostle’s main concern: "False Teachers" who are unholy and communicate or teach heresy. They are arrogant, sensual, and greedy, and they deny accountability in their lives. Isolating themselvs from Apostolic Doctrine concerning Christ, they hold their own "privateor personal interpretations," misconstruing doctrines about the Second Coming and the ultimate authority of Jesus Christ over us. Being deceivers they tech as though they possess true apostolicity. Jesus Himself warns us, "Beware of FALSE PROPHETS who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15). [Resources: Orthodox Dogmatic Theology and New Testament]

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George