God’s Israel vs. the Church in the Triune God: Integrated Comparison Table
Galatians 6:16 May peace and mercy come upon all who walk in this standard—on the
Israelites of God.
Matthew 16:18 And I tell you,
you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church, and the gates of Hades will not
overcome it.
Revelation 5:10 And they will
become a kingdom and a priesthood for our God, and they will reign on the earth.
Revelation 21:7 The one who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my Son.
|
Item |
God’s Israel |
The Church in the Triune God |
Key Points of Integration |
|
Core definition |
The true
Israelites, the spiritual Israel, which is the church (Gal. 6:16; Rom. 9:6b,
2:28-29; Phil. 3:3) |
The church in
God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, in the
processed Triune God (1 Thes. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; Matt. 28:19) |
Two aspects of
one entity: the former speaks of who
these people are (identity), the latter of where these people are (sphere and element) |
|
Main perspective |
Identity,
destiny,
and function (the human side) |
Organic union,
sphere, and
element (the divine side) |
Identity is
based on organic union: because we are in the Triune God, we become God’s
Israel |
|
Members |
All believers
in Christ, both Gentile and Jewish, who are the true seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:7, 29) |
All believers
who are in Christ and in the Triune God (1 Cor. 12:4-6;
Eph. 4:4-6) |
The members are
the same, regardless of race; all are “in Christ” |
|
Basis of becoming |
Not by flesh,
bloodline, or physical circumcision, but by circumcision of the
heart and serving God in spirit (Rom.
2:28-29; Phil. 3:3) |
By faith in
Christ and being baptized into the name of the Triune God (Matt. 28:19) |
Both are a new
creation in spirit and in Christ (Gal. 6:15), not based on outward qualifications |
|
Relationship to the Old Testament |
The fleshly
Israel of the Old Testament was a type; the spiritual Israel of the New
Testament is the reality |
In the Old
Testament there was only the outward side of God; in the New Testament the
church enters into the divine Trinity |
From type to reality, from an outward relationship to an inward union |
|
Expression of the Triune God |
Being sons of
God to express God (Gal. 3:26) |
Being in the
Triune God, experiencing the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (2 Cor.
13:14) |
To express God,
we must first be in God, be joined to God, and enjoy God |
|
Destiny in the economy |
To be sons of
God expressing God and to be kings reigning in God’s kingdom
(Rev. 5:10; 21:7; 22:5b; 12:5a) |
Being in the
processed Triune God, the ultimate consummation of God’s economy |
The realization
of our destiny depends on the enjoyment of the organic union: only by being constituted in the Triune God can we express and reign |
|
Function and responsibility |
To represent
God, exercise His authority, and carry out His administration on earth (Gen. 1:26, 28; Luke
10:19; Rev. 12:5, 7-11) |
The corporate
life and
service in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit (Eph. 4:4-6; 1 Cor. 12:4-6) |
The function of
reigning issues from the corporate union, not from individual effort |
|
Understanding of the Spirit |
Serving God in
the spirit (Phil. 3:3) |
Both “God the
Father”
and “the Lord Jesus Christ” imply the Spirit; the
church is in the One who, with the Father and
the Son, has become the life-giving Spirit (John 14:20) |
The Spirit is
the reality for entering into and experiencing the Triune God, and is the key joining the two aspects |
|
Understanding of the “Triune God” |
In God’s New
Testament economy, believers become sons of God and God’s Israel |
The Bible has no such thing as the church being merely
in God; the church is in the processed
Triune God (Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14) |
The emphasis is
on the Triune God who has been incarnated, who passed through death and resurrection, and who
became the life-giving Spirit |
|
Effect of the vision |
Seeing our
identity and destiny gives us a sense of dignity and mission |
Seeing the
vision of the church in the Triune God governs our thoughts, activities, and
whole living (Prov. 29:18a; Acts 26:19) |
Vision enables
living: with a consciousness of identity and the enjoyment of organic union,
our living and service are changed |
|
Practical implications |
Not boasting in
the flesh, serving in the spirit, expressing Christ, and carrying out God’s administration on earth |
Living in the
Triune God, enjoying Him, and being joined together in the church life |
Practically, it
is one and the same path: living in the
spirit, enjoying Christ, and expressing God and reigning for God in the church |
One-Sentence
Integration
God’s Israel is
the church’s “identity and
destiny,” while being in the Triune God is the church’s “organic union and sphere”; because the church is in the processed Triune God,
it becomes God’s Israel, expressing God and
reigning for Him to fulfill His purpose.
*Please refer to the 2026
Autumn Training for Elders and Responsible Brothers, General Topic: The God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Chapter 1: Introduction
