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The Church as Spiritual Zion - part 3 of 3 (Amplified and KJV) Contrary to cultural and “religious” traditions, God extended salvation through faith in Christ to include Gentile believers as well as Jewish believers: “And He made no difference between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith….” God’s purpose for visiting the Gentiles was “to take out of them a people [to bear and honor] His name” {Acts 15:9, 14}. Those who restrict the meaning of scripture to literal interpretation fail to recognize that God works on both the natural and spiritual level. This is not to say the spiritual level eradicates and replaces the natural, but rather, accompanies and completes it. In “…speaking to you who are Gentiles” {Rom 11:13}, Paul warns against their becoming “proud and conceited” {v. 20}: “For if God did not spare the natural branches [because of unbelief], neither will He spare you [if you are guilty of the same offense] {v.21}. Through Zechariah, God declared, “…for behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH” {Zec 3:8} and through John, Jesus declared, “I am the vine, ye are the branches,” {John 15:5}. That “the branches” must abide in “the BRANCH” indicates a uniting which results in a Corporate Branch (Christ, the head; His followers, the Body), a Corporate Zion. To support his claim that the gospel is not limited to the Jews and that the Jewish believers should not be surprised that God did not act as they had supposed, Paul asks, “Did Israel not understand? [Did the Jews have no warning that the Gospel was to go forth to the Gentiles, to all the earth?]{Rom 10:19}. In answer, he quotes from Moses and Isaiah. Writing to the Galatians, Paul again refers to the unity and oneness of those who accept the Lordship of Christ: “There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek…for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ [are in Him Who is Abraham’s Seed], then you are Abraham’s offspring and[spiritual] heirs according to promise” {Gal 3: 28-29}. Through the use of analogy, Paul explains that God cut off the Jews, referred to as “fallen branches,” and that “…you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree (referring to the Gentiles), “and against nature grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much easier will it be to graft those natural [branches] back on [the original parent stock of] their own olive tree” {Rom 11,23-24}. Paul then sets forth God’s purpose for the cutting off and the grafting in: This blindness and hardness of heart “…has [temporarily] befallen a part of Israel [to last] until the full number of the ingathering of the Gentiles has come in” {Rom 11:25}. Near the conclusion of his discourse, Paul’s statement that “And so all Israel will be saved…” {Rom 11:26} does not mean that every Jew and only Jews will make up the “Israel” of God. Obviously, not all natural Israel (Jews) will believe on Christ; and as already stated, His body will be made up of both Jews and Gentiles; therefore, the “Israel” of which Paul speaks is composed of the elect believers from both groups, those who have been “called according to his purpose,” i.e. those “whom he did foreknow…did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,” those “whom he called...justified and glorified” {Rom 8:29-30}. Those out of every tribe and tongue who have chosen to be chosen and who have proven themselves, like their Master, to be faithful and true, make up the Overcoming Church, God’s spiritual Zion. Through the power and blood of Christ Jesus, spiritual Zion has been given both the anointing and the authority to conquer every foe: “Behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you” {Luke 10:19}. “Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass; and thou shalt beat in pieces many people; and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth” {Mic 4:13}. That spiritual Zion will join with the Lord in judgment is clear: “And deliverers shall go up on Mount Zion to rule and judge Mount Esau, and the kingdom and kingship shall be the Lord’s” {Obe 1: 21}. Even now, God’s trumpet, His prophetic word, is going forth and His army being prepared: “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain” {Joel 2:1}. The Lord is uttering His voice through a people so saturated with His Word that the sword they carry and the word they have become blend into one Living Word. “And the Lord utters His voice before His army, for His host is very great, and [they are] strong and powerful who execute [God’] word” {Joel 2:11}. Those who will complete Joel’s army, i.e. spiritual Zion, are even now in the final stages of training, preparation, strengthening and transformation. With Christ, they have been co-crucified and co-buried; and by the same resurrection Spirit that raised Him from the dead, they are being quickened to rule and reign with Him. May each of us hear and respond to the call: “Come forth, O, Zion, Army of the Living God.” -Ruth French December Newsletter 2005 | Comfort Through Rest | Christmas Presents, or Christ's Power? Pastor's Journal December 2004 | Eye of a Needle part 1 of 3 | Church as Spiritual Zion part 3 of 3
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