What Did Paul Really Say?
Throughout Christian history, the relationship between Israel and the nations has been at the heart of theological discussion. Who belongs to God's people? Are Israel's promises still in effect? And how do the Gentile nations fit into this plan?
Paul addresses these questions in many of his letters, but his thoughts come through most powerfully in Ephesians 2:11-3:12 and Romans 9-11. At these texts, we encounter the "mystery" that Paul says is now being revealed: the Gentiles are no longer "foreigners and strangers" (Eph. 2:19), but have been joined with Israel in the same inheritance in Christ.
But what does this actually mean?
Not Replacement, but Unity
If we read Ephesians 2:11-22 carefully, we notice that it doesn't speak of Israel's rejection or replacement, but of how Jewish and Gentile Christians are now "one new man" (2:15). This is a crucially important observation.
Paul doesn't say that Gentiles now take Israel's place or that Israel is absorbed into something completely new. Rather, he speaks of reconciliation—the uniting of two groups. "He himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" (2:14). This image is not the church having become a "spiritual Israel," but a genuine, shared inheritance in which both retain their identity.
This idea has been lost to many Christian interpreters over the centuries. Paul's message is not simply "Israel is now the church," but that the barrier preventing full unity between Israel and the nations has been removed in Christ.
What Does Paul Mean by "Mystery" (Eph. 3:6)?
In Ephesians, Paul uses the word mystērion (mystery), referring to the fact that God's plan has not changed but has now become fully visible through Christ. This mystery is that the Gentiles are "heirs together with them, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (3:6).
Notice that this doesn't say Israel's inheritance has been nullified or that God's people have received a completely new meaning. Rather, it's about Gentiles now having an open path to become partakers of what Israel had already received. God's plan has thus expanded, not changed.
Romans 9-11 and Ephesians 2-3: Two Perspectives on the Same Reality
Paul seems to speak in two different ways about Israel and the Gentiles. In Romans 9-11, he contemplates Israel's position and explains why not all Jews have yet acknowledged Christ. He culminates with the assertion: "All Israel will be saved" (Rom. 11:26). Here the perspective is broad in terms of historical and eschatological development: Israel still has a role in God's plan, and ultimately its fullness will return to fellowship with Christ.
In Ephesians, however, the perspective is different. It doesn't address Israel's future but the present new reality: in Christ, Gentiles have already become partakers of the inheritance. It doesn't deny Israel's future fulfillment (as in Romans 11), but its emphasis is on what Christ's death and resurrection have already accomplished.
The Olive Tree: A Picture of Organic Unity
Perhaps nowhere is Paul's vision clearer than in his olive tree metaphor in Romans 11. The natural branches—ethnic Israel—have been broken off due to unbelief, while wild branches—believing Gentiles—have been grafted in. But Paul is careful to warn the Gentiles against arrogance: "Do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you" (11:18).
This imagery reveals something profound about Paul's understanding. The Gentiles haven't replaced the tree—they've been grafted into it. The root system remains the same. Israel's calling and election remain, even when individual branches are temporarily broken off. Most remarkably, Paul envisions these natural branches being grafted back in when they come to faith: "And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again" (11:23).
The Mystery Revealed: Two Peoples, One Purpose
When we put together Paul's teaching across his letters, a remarkable picture emerges. The mystery isn't that God has abandoned his promises to Israel, but that he has made a way for the nations to share in those promises without becoming Jews. The covenant with Abraham always included the promise that "all nations on earth will be blessed through you" (Gen. 12:3), but how this would happen remained mysterious until Christ.
In Christ, the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile has been torn down, but not by eliminating the distinctions. Rather, both groups now have access to the Father by one Spirit (Eph. 2:18). Jews remain Jews, Gentiles remain Gentiles, but both together form one new humanity in Christ.
This is radically different from the replacement theology that dominated Christian thinking for centuries. Paul doesn't envision the church as having taken over Israel's role, but as Israel's calling finally reaching its intended global scope. The light to the nations that Israel was meant to be is now shining through the Messiah to draw all peoples to himself.
Implications for Contemporary Understanding
Paul's actual teaching challenges both extremes that have dominated Christian thinking about Israel. Against replacement theology, he insists that God has not rejected his people and that Israel's calling remains. Against rigid separation of Israel and the church, he emphasizes the fundamental unity of all who are in Christ, whether Jew or Gentile.
This has profound implications for how we understand mission, evangelism, and the nature of God's people. If Paul is right, then Christian mission isn't about replacing Judaism but about inviting all nations to share in the blessings promised to Abraham. It's about expanding the tent, not building a new structure.
For Jewish-Christian relations, this suggests a model of partnership rather than competition. Messianic Jewish communities that maintain their Jewish identity while following Jesus may actually represent Paul's vision better than centuries of Gentile-dominated Christianity assumed.
The Continuing Mystery
Even as we recover Paul's lost vision, mysteries remain. How exactly will "all Israel be saved"? What does this mean for contemporary Jewish people who don't yet recognize Jesus as Messiah? How should this affect Christian relationships with the modern State of Israel?
Paul himself acknowledges that some aspects remain hidden: "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Rom. 11:33). The apostle who received this revelation still bows in wonder before aspects he cannot fully understand.
Recovering What Was Lost
Throughout this series, we've traced how a clear apostolic vision became obscured through historical circumstances, cultural pressures, and theological misunderstanding. The early church's separation from Judaism, the influence of Greek philosophical thinking, the rise of Christendom, and centuries of antisemitism all contributed to losing sight of Paul's remarkable teaching about the unity of Jew and Gentile in Christ.
But what was lost can be recovered. Careful attention to Paul's actual words, freed from the assumptions of replacement theology, reveals a vision both more complex and more beautiful than what dominated Christian thinking for so long. It's a vision of God's faithfulness to his ancient people combined with his heart for all nations. It's a picture of unity that doesn't erase distinction and of fulfillment that doesn't abandon promise.
As contemporary Christianity grapples with questions of identity, mission, and relationship with Judaism, recovering Paul's lost vision offers a way forward that honors both God's particular calling of Israel and his universal love for all peoples. The mystery is being revealed once again, and with it, possibilities for understanding God's plan that previous generations could hardly imagine.
The vision was lost, but it is being found again. And in that recovery, we discover not just ancient truth but contemporary hope for a fractured world still searching for the unity that only Christ can bring.
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