Israel, Jesus, and the Restoration Motif—Gal. 3:16
- Ron Cantor
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
Part 2
Let’s continue to clarify Galatians 3:16. Many adherents of Fulfillment Theology claim that Jesus is the one and only seed of Abraham. They argue that Paul “redefined Israel,” as N. T. Wright puts it, around Jesus, but this view creates serious theological and textual problems—especially in light of Romans 11.
Paul writes: “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved... for God's gifts and his call (to Israel) are irrevocable." (Rom. 11:25–26, 29)
If “Israel” in Galatians 3:16 is redefined as Jesus or the Church, then Paul's entire argument in Romans 11 becomes nonsensical. Who, then, is hardened (v. 25)? Who is restored (v. 26)? Is Jesus hardened? Has the Church fallen away? Paul claims to be an ethnic Israelite (v. 1), but didn’t he write in Galatians 3:16 that Jesus is the only seed exclusive to any other person or group?
The early Church wrestled with Paul’s writings. Even Peter noted: “[Paul] writes the same way in all his letters... His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures.” (2 Peter 3:16)
Thomas Schreiner comments, “The point is not that Paul is unclear, but that some truths are deep and easily misunderstood by those who lack stability and sound doctrine.” 5 Douglas Moo adds “This verse is one of the clearest affirmations in the New Testament that Paul’s letters were already being viewed as Scripture alongside the Old Testament.” 6
Paul often used midrash and typology—a Jewish hermeneutic (interpretive method)—to reveal deeper truths that non-Jews didn't comprehend; hence, Paul is “hard to understand.” For instance, Matthew interprets Hosea 11:1 (“Out of Egypt I called my son”) as a prophecy about Yeshua’s return from Egypt, even though, in context, it clearly refers to Israel coming out of Egypt in the Exodus. This kind of interpretation adds meaning without canceling the original interpretation.
Jesus tells us to hate our family members (Luke 14:26). Using hyperbole to make a point was an accepted literary device in Paul’s day and is in ours as well. Hate, in this context, is clearly understood to emphasize our love for Jesus. Craig Keener explains: “The language of ‘hate’ reflects a Semitic expression meaning to love less or put in second place.” 7 Surely Jesus did not want us to actually cut our hands off or gouge out our eyes (Matt. 5:29–30), but was emphasizing the seriousness of sexual sin.
Paul is doing something similar in Galatians. He highlights that Yeshua is the ultimate seed—but not the exclusive one. He is the fulfillment of the promise to all who believe, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile (Gal 3:28), but he is not the cancellation of it to ethnic Israel.
If the promise was only to Jesus, how did Abraham’s seed ever possess the land? How did David rule? How did Israel remain a people in exile for 2,000 years and return to their land? Clearly, the promise was not voided. The land promise was reaffirmed to Isaac and Jacob (Gen. 26:3; 35:12). Paul affirms these in Romans 3:1–4, 9:4, and 15:8.
Paul’s point in Galatians is not about the land—it’s about the basis of covenant inclusion for Gentiles. The Galatians were being pressured to be circumcised to enter Abraham’s covenant. Paul’s response is: You’re already part of the promise—not through circumcision, but through Yeshua.
• “All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Gen. 12:3)
• “You will be the father of many nations.” (Gen. 17:4)
• “Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed.” (Gen. 22:18)
These point to the global body of Messiah. But Paul never says the Jewish people have been replaced.
Revelation confirms their continued role: “Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.” (Rev. 7:4)
In the end, Paul does not redefine Israel—he reveals how Israel’s destiny finds its climax in Messiah, without negating God’s ongoing covenant with the Jewish people. The root remains holy (Rom. 11:16), the branches will be grafted back in (v. 24), and “all Israel will be saved” (v. 26).
This is not replacement. It’s restoration.
From as early on as 49 CE, the enemy has been seeking seduce the Church into rejecting Israel. This is why Paul wrote Romans. It is why he poured out his heart wanting them to comprehend God’s longing for Israel to know him through Yeshua.
I speak the truth in Messiah—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. (Rom 9:1-4)
[5] Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, The New American Commentary, vol. 37 (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2003), 389.
[6] Douglas J. Moo, 2 Peter and Jude, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 202.
[7] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 213.
