Rom 2:29 ;Rom 9:6,8
29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
What seed ? The Children of the promise are the seed of Israel !
The seed of Israel that shall be Justified per Isa 45:25
In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
That seed of Israel is the same as the seed of Abraham in Gal 3:29
29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed [Israel], and heirs according to the promise.
That Israel is the Church ! Which belongs to Christ..To deny this is to deny scripture and call God a Liar..
Now even though they are ignored or twisted, there are many scriptures in the NT where OT Prophecies regarding Israel's restoration or regathering are made to be realized in the Church, the One Christ builds Matt 16:18
18And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The greek word for build is Oikodomeo and means:
to build a house, erect a building
a) to build (up from the foundation)
b) to restore by building, to rebuild, repair
Notice He said I will be building MY Church, the Church of Me, in other words, it was presently His Church, that He would be building upon, for He himself is the foundation, so if He existed then and now, then so did His Church..The building material is but part of and erected from the foundation, Now who is the foundation ?
1 Cor 3:11
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
So this points to the Church as being the True Israel of God, the body of Him who is the True Israel of God, the seed of Abraham, Christ.
Now notice something, Who is the seed of Abraham to whom the promises of God were made ? Lets look at Gal 3:16
16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ
Now, none but a fool would deny that Christ is the seed of Abraham from this scripture. Now Who is the Head of the Church, the Body ? Lets read here Eph 5:23
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body.
Now, is this the same Christ which is the seed of Abraham in Gal 3:16 ?
If it is, then whats to keep us from saying that the seed of Abraham is the Head of the Church ?
Did this Seed of Abraham exist in the OT ?
And this True Israel is made up of both believing Gentiles and believing Jews, for this is the Israel that is of Abraham's Faith, and not of His blood..hence the differences outlined here by Paul Rom 9:6-8
6Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
7Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
8That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
The Children of Faith are the True Children of God as per Gal 3:26
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were True Israel, Children of God, by Faith in Christ, not because of their blood or Ethnicity..Now there Faith in Christ constituted them the seed of Abraham as per Gal 3:29
29And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
So from the Faith perspective, Did Christ Church, of which He is the Head of as the seed of Abraham, did it exist in the OT..
Did Abraham Isaac, and Jacob believe in or Have Faith in a Living Christ ?