The Israel of God

Introduction: The Question of Galatians 6:16

Galatians closes with a blessing that has divided interpreters for centuries:

And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

— Galatians 6:16 (NASB95)

The question is simple: who is “the Israel of God”? The answer is not. It reaches beyond one verse into a larger question: has the church replaced Israel, or does God still distinguish between them?¹

This matters for every believer. How we read this verse shapes how we read God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament, Paul’s argument in Romans 9–11, and the hope of Israel’s future restoration. Galatians 6:16 is often cited as the single clearest New Testament text calling the church “Israel.” If it does not say that, an important pillar of replacement theology falls.

The Text and Its Grammar

The whole debate turns on one small Greek word, kai. The verse reads:²

kai hosoi tō kanoni toutō stoichēsousin, eirēnē ep’ autous kai eleos, kai epi ton Israēl tou theou.

— Galatians 6:16 (Greek text)

Translated woodenly: “And as many as will walk by this rule, peace upon them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” Three grammatical features deserve attention.

1. The meaning of the final kai. Its ordinary meaning is “and,” joining two things. It can also be “explicative,” meaning “even” or “that is,” so that the second phrase renames the first. The explicative use is real but uncommon, and it should not be assumed without clear reason. Most English versions (KJV, NKJV, NASB95, ESV) read “and.” The NIV and some others read “even.”
2. The repeated preposition epi (“upon”). Paul writes “peace upon them” and then “upon the Israel of God.” Repeating the preposition naturally signals a second, distinct group receiving the blessing.
3. The placement of “mercy.” In the Greek, “mercy” follows “upon them” and stands right beside “the Israel of God.” English versions such as the NASB95 smooth this into “peace and mercy be upon them.” Paul’s greetings also normally put mercy before peace (1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2). The unusual order suggests a two-part blessing: peace on all who walk by the rule, and mercy also on a particular group.

The verse also echoes Jewish prayer. Psalm 125:5 and Psalm 128:6 close with “Peace be upon Israel,” and the ancient synagogue benediction asked for peace and mercy “upon us and upon all Israel Your people.”³ In that setting, “Israel” meant the Jewish people.

For Further StudyGalatians 6:11–18 · Psalm 125:5 · Psalm 128:6 · 1 Timothy 1:2 · 2 John 1:3

A Brief History of Interpretation

For roughly the first century after Paul wrote, no Christian writer called the church “Israel.” Justin Martyr, writing his Dialogue with Trypho around AD 160, is the first to describe Christians as the “true Israel.”⁴ From there the idea spread, and by the medieval period it was the standard reading. The Reformers largely kept it, and Calvin read Galatians 6:16 as the whole church of Jew and Gentile.

The Jewish-believers reading never disappeared. In 1865, J. B. Lightfoot’s influential commentary on Galatians argued that Paul meant faithful Jewish Christians.⁵ In the twentieth century, Peter Richardson’s study (1969) showed how late the church-as-Israel idea arose.⁶ S. Lewis Johnson’s essay (1986) made the full exegetical case, and it remains the standard defense.⁷ Meanwhile, some scholars, such as Franz Mussner and Susan Eastman, have argued that Paul had all of national Israel in view.

The church-as-Israel reading, then, is old, but it is not apostolic. It arose after the New Testament era, and the text itself must decide the question.

View 1: The Church as the Israel of God

This view holds that “the Israel of God” is the whole church, Jewish and Gentile believers together. The final kai is read as “even,” so the phrase renames “those who will walk by this rule.” It is the majority view in Reformed and covenant theology, held by John Calvin, Herman Ridderbos, William Hendriksen, N. T. Wright, and G. K. Beale.⁸

Main Arguments

• The flow of Galatians. Paul argues that “those who are of faith” are “sons of Abraham” (3:7) and “Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (3:29). Calling the church “Israel” seems the natural climax.
• No distinctions in Christ. “There is neither Jew nor Greek … for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (3:28). Singling out Jewish believers at the end, it is argued, would undercut the letter’s point.
• Spiritual identity. Paul elsewhere says a true Jew is one inwardly (Romans 2:28–29) and that believers are “the true circumcision” (Philippians 3:3).
• The new creation. Verse 15 says that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, “but a new creation” (6:15). The “rule” of verse 16 is this new-creation principle, which creates one new people.
• Old Testament background. Beale argues the verse draws on Isaiah 54:10, where peace and compassion are promised to restored Israel, now fulfilled in the church.⁹
• Israel’s titles given to the church. Peter calls believers “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Peter 2:9–10), language first spoken to Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19:5–6).
• Hosea applied to Gentiles. In Romans 9:24–26, Paul applies Hosea’s promise, “I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’” to Gentiles called by God.
• Gentiles brought near. Ephesians 2:11–22 says Gentiles were once “excluded from the commonwealth of Israel” but are now “fellow citizens with the saints.”

Weaknesses

• It depends on the less common, explicative meaning of kai.
• Paul never clearly calls Gentile believers “Israel” anywhere else.
• Being Abraham’s descendants (3:29) is not the same as being “Israel.” Abraham is father of believing Gentiles too (Romans 4:11–12), but Gentiles are never renamed Israel.
• No early Christian writer identifies the church as “Israel” until Justin Martyr, around AD 160.

For Further StudyGalatians 3:6–9 · Galatians 3:26–29 · Romans 2:28–29 · Philippians 3:3 · 1 Peter 2:9–10 · Ephesians 2:11–22

View 2: National Israel and Its Future Salvation

This view holds that “the Israel of God” is ethnic Israel as a whole, and that verse 16 is a prayer for God’s future mercy on the nation. Like View 3 (below), it reads kai as “and.” Unlike View 3, it does not limit the phrase to Jews who already believe. Scholars such as Franz Mussner and Susan Eastman have argued for versions of this view.¹⁰

Main Arguments

• The word “mercy.” In Romans 11:30–32, mercy is God’s future gift to Israel. Paul may be anticipating the day when “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
• Jewish prayer background. The synagogue benediction prayed for mercy upon “all Israel,” meaning the nation.
• Covenant faithfulness. God has not rejected His people (Romans 11:1–2), and His gifts and calling are irrevocable (11:29).

Weaknesses

• Galatians is severe toward law-based Judaism (4:21–31). A blessing on unbelieving Israel at the end of this letter seems out of place.
• The blessing is tied to those who “walk by this rule,” the rule of the cross and new creation (6:14–15). Unbelieving Israel does not yet walk by it.
• Romans 11 has a clear future context. Galatians 6 does not.

View 2 rightly affirms Israel’s future. But that truth is taught clearly in Romans 11 and does not need to be read into Galatians 6:16.

Holders of View 2 are allies on the larger question. Both View 2 and View 3 reject the idea that the church has replaced Israel, and both expect God to keep His promises to the nation. The disagreement is narrow: whether Galatians 6:16 is the place where Paul teaches that future.

For Further StudyRomans 11:25–32 · Jeremiah 31:31–37 · Zechariah 12:10 · Galatians 4:21–31

View 3: Jewish Believers Within the Church

This view holds that “the Israel of God” is the believing remnant of ethnic Israel: Jewish people who have trusted Christ and walk by grace, not Law. The final kai keeps its normal meaning, “and.” Paul blesses all believers who walk by the rule, and then adds a special word of mercy for Jewish believers. This view is held by J. B. Lightfoot, S. Lewis Johnson, Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Michael Vlach, and most dispensational and Free Grace scholars.¹¹

Main Arguments

• Normal grammar. “And” is the ordinary meaning of kai, and the repeated “upon” points to a second group. The burden of proof lies on those who claim an unusual meaning.
• Paul’s consistent usage. “Israel” appears more than sixty times in the New Testament, and every clear use refers to the Jewish people.¹² Paul uses it eleven times in Romans 9–11 alone, always of ethnic Israel.
• Romans 9:6 is the key parallel. “For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” (Romans 9:6). Paul distinguishes believing Jews from unbelieving Jews within Israel. He does not add Gentiles to Israel. “The Israel of God” is this believing Israel within Israel.
• It fits the crisis in Galatia. The Judaizers claimed that true Israel must keep the Law and be circumcised. Paul answers that the true “Israel of God” is the Jew who rests in Christ alone. The phrase stands in deliberate contrast to Israel “according to the flesh” (the Greek of 1 Corinthians 10:18).
• Galatians itself names this group. In 2:15–16 Paul writes, “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus.” Early in the letter, Paul identifies Jewish believers who rest in faith alone. “The Israel of God” in 6:16 calls back to that group.
• The remnant of grace. Paul describes believing Jews as “a remnant according to God’s gracious choice” (Romans 11:5). The “Israel of God” is that remnant, defined by grace and not by works, which is the theme of Galatians.
• Paul is the model. Paul never stopped calling himself an Israelite (Romans 11:1; Philippians 3:5). Yet he counted his law-righteousness as loss to gain Christ (Philippians 3:7–9; Galatians 1:13–16). He is himself an “Israel of God” Jew.
• It fits Paul’s pastoral heart. After a letter that sharply rebukes law-keeping Jewish teachers, Paul assures faithful Jewish believers that God’s mercy rests on them. This mirrors his anguish for his kinsmen in Romans 9:1–5.
• Equality is not erasure. Galatians 3:28 teaches equal standing before God in Christ. It does not erase every distinction, any more than it erases male and female. Jewish believers remain Jews, just as Paul still called himself an Israelite.
• Church history. No Christian writer calls the church “Israel” before Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho, about a century later. Reading that later idea back into Paul is anachronistic.

Weaknesses

• Some find it surprising that Paul would single out one group in a letter stressing unity.
• Mercy for a Jewish subgroup could seem out of step with “neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision” in verse 15.

Both objections lose force once the context is clear. Paul is not elevating Jewish believers. He is identifying which Jews are truly God’s Israel: those who live by faith, not by the Judaizers’ rule.

Answering View 1’s Key Texts

• Ephesians 2:11–22. Gentiles are brought near to Israel’s covenants and blessings. But Paul says God made of the two “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15), not a new Israel. Gentiles share Israel’s blessings without becoming Israel.
• 1 Peter 2:9–10. Peter writes to those “scattered” abroad (1 Peter 1:1), translating the Greek diaspora, a term for Jews living among the nations. His use of Israel’s titles fits a largely Jewish audience. Even if Gentiles are included, sharing Israel’s titles does not make the church Israel.
• Romans 9:24–26. Paul uses Hosea to show that God calls a people who were “not My people.” He applies the principle to Gentiles, but in the very next verses he turns to Israel’s remnant (9:27–29) and keeps the two distinct.

For Further StudyRomans 9:6–8 · Romans 11:1–5 · Galatians 2:15–16 · Philippians 3:4–9 · Ephesians 2:14–16 · 1 Corinthians 10:18

Evaluation

View 3 is the only reading that satisfies all five tests below without strain.

View 1 has theological appeal but rests on an uncommon grammatical choice and a meaning of “Israel” found nowhere else in Paul. View 2 respects the grammar but clashes with the context of the letter. View 3 keeps the plain grammar, Paul’s consistent vocabulary, and the argument of Galatians together.

Conclusion: The View to Maintain

“The Israel of God” in Galatians 6:16 refers to Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. This is the view The Gospel Vault maintains, for five reasons.

1. It reads the grammar plainly. “And” is the normal meaning of kai, and the repeated “upon” marks a second group.
2. It honors Paul’s vocabulary. Paul never calls Gentiles “Israel.” Making Galatians 6:16 the lone exception is an argument from theology, not from the text.
3. It matches Paul’s own definition. Romans 9:6 describes an Israel within Israel, the believing remnant. Galatians 6:16 names that same remnant “the Israel of God.”
4. It answers the Judaizers. The false teachers claimed that the Law defined God’s Israel. Paul replies that God’s Israel are Jews who boast only “in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (6:14).
5. It preserves the Israel–church distinction. The church is one body of Jew and Gentile with equal standing in Christ (Ephesians 2:14–16). Yet God’s covenant promises to national Israel remain, and He will fulfill them (Romans 11:25–29).

This view also guards the gospel of grace at the heart of Galatians. Whether Jew or Gentile, a person enters God’s family by faith in Christ alone, apart from the works of the Law (2:16). The Jewish believer is not made more Israelite by keeping the Law. He is God’s true Israel because he trusts the Messiah. And the Gentile believer, though never renamed Israel, is a full heir of Abraham’s blessing by the same faith (3:14, 29).

The church has not replaced Israel. In Galatians 6:16, Paul blesses the whole church with peace, and he extends God’s mercy to the believing Israel within it.

Why This Matters

This verse is about more than a name. It is about whether God keeps His word.

God made unconditional promises to Israel: a land (Genesis 15:18), a throne (2 Samuel 7:16), and a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–37). In Jeremiah, God says Israel will remain a nation before Him as long as the sun and moon endure. If the church has simply replaced Israel, those promises have been redirected or set aside.

That should concern every believer. The same God who promised Israel also promises eternal life to everyone who believes in His Son (John 3:16; John 6:47). If He could drop His promises to Israel, how could we be sure of His promises to us? Paul answers that question directly:

for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

— Romans 11:29 (NASB95)

Reading Galatians 6:16 correctly protects that confidence. God keeps His word to Israel, and He keeps His word to us. Our assurance rests not on our performance but on the faithfulness of the One who promised.

Glossary

Lord, thank You.

End of Study · The Israel of God