The Meanings of "People of God"

This post is a part of my dissertation. It is a bit difficult at times, but I am sure you can get the overall meaning. Feel free to comment.

The Two Kinds of People of God

Because the Church consists of only redeemed persons, as opposed to the church as an organization, there is no need to differentiate between redeemed and non-redeemed persons within it. However, there is an ethnicity called Israel, a nation called Israel which includes Gentiles, and an Israel that is a component of the people of God, consisting of only redeemed persons. God calls ethnic Israel “my people,” which is true because God created Israel from Abraham. They have a relationship “to” God as their Creator. Redeemed Israel has a relationship “to” and “with” God as they live within the covenant-sphere defined by the commandments. Therefore, it is vital to know to which groups Scripture spoke.

People of God

The phrase “people of God” appears five times within Scripture (Judg 20:2; 2 Sam 14:13; Heb 4:9; 11:25; 1 Pet 2:10). The instances in Judges 20 and 2 Samuel 14 refer to legal matters involving the nation. Hebrews 4:9 maintains the continuity between the people of God in the Old and New Testaments, indicating that, for the writer of Hebrews, there is only one people of God.[1] Hebrews 11:25 refers to ethnic Israel. 1 Peter 2:10 quotes Hosea 1:6, 9; 2:1, 23, which speaks of the rejection and restoration of the nation of Israel, especially Judah, whom God delivers by his power. Peter’s message is that, like Israel, Gentiles have now received mercy from God and are now his people.[2] While this affirmation mentions only one ethnicity, it has not negated the multi-ethnic nature of the people of God. However, it demonstrates a greater inclusion of the Gentiles whom the Jewish leadership and the people they instructed rejected.

My People Israel

The phrase “my people Israel” appears in the OT thirty-eight times, and as one would expect, it refers primarily to the nation of Israel, but at times it also refers to those redeemed Israelites who enter God’s rest. The Psalmist makes this point clear when he speaks of the first generation in the wilderness that rebelled (Ps 95:8–11). Therefore, faith is the difference between those to whom God made the promises and those who will inherit them. The author of Hebrews says the same to his readers, encouraging them to hold on to what they believe and draw near to God through Jesus, their High Priest (Heb 4:1–11). The differences section addresses this issue more fully.

Another reference that further defines Israel appears in 2 Samuel 7:10 and 1 Chronicles 17:9, which is part of the Davidic Covenant. Robert Bergen affirms that God did not fulfill these promises in David’s lifetime; later prophets understood them to refer to a future period (cf. Isa 9:7; 16:5; Jer 23:5-6; 33:15-16).[3] To this list, one should add Jeremiah 30:3, where God promises to restore his Israel to their land in the future. Jeremiah follows this with a lament because of the “time of Jacob’s distress [and] he will be saved from it” (Jer 30:7). J. A. Thompson asserts that this is the Day of Yahweh, filled with horror, but God adds this promise of the deliverance of his people.[4] Also, God raises “David” to reign over them as they all serve the Lord (Jer 30:9 cf. Jer 33:15–16). For those who come to God, they are his people (Jer 30:22). However, this does not occur until the “latter days” (Jer 30:24). God follows with promises of restoration, except for those who live a lifestyle of sin (Jer 31:30). Walter Kaiser asserts that “sinners will receive immediate retribution for their own sin, for this is what Moses teaches in Deut 24:16 (cf. Ezek 18).”[5] This observation supports the notion of a redeemed Israel and one that remains in sin.

At this point, it is clear that Israel, which God calls “my people Israel,” does not always refer to the same group of Israelites. The recurring theme is that while the nation receives the promises. These promises refer to and are received by those who are faithful.[6] It seems that unbelieving Israel is in the same position as the unbelieving pagans around them. This position does not negate the promises of a final national restoration but defines who makes up that nation. Therefore, the eschatological nation of Israel is composed of redeemed Israel, which is part of the people of God.

Israel and the Congregation of Israel

However, this definition does not encompass the entire description of Israel as given in the Mosaic Law or the prophets. Concerning the nation of Israel and the congregation, the male stranger was a part of them after they received circumcision (Exod 12:48–49). While not a “thirteenth tribe,” they attained the right to participate as a native-born member of the nation. Their status changed, for example, from a Canaanite to a member of Israel of Canaanite origin. There are prominent examples throughout Scripture, such as Rahab and Ruth. However, other foreigners appear in key places in the OT. One such foreigner is Obed-edom (2 Sam 6:10–12; 1 Chron 13:13–14; 15:18, 21, 24, 25; 16:5, 38). Obed-edom is a “Gittite” or native resident of Gath and likely a Philistine. Robert Bergen asserts that he is a Levite.[7] Nancy Tan presents him as a stranger or resident alien “whereby they become integral participants in the community of Israel, consequently sharing the same destiny as determined by Yahweh.”[8] The Chronicler affirms Obed-edom and members of his family as gatekeepers (1 Chron 26:1–9, 15), and Ezra mentions gatekeepers as Levites (Ezra 2:70). Tan asserts that the Chronicler intends to “emphasize Obed-edom’s identity as a Levitical priest.”[9] Obed-edom was a faithful priest, for God blessed him and his household (2 Sam 6:11). This fact stands in sharp contrast to the pagan Philistines of Obed-edom’s hometown of Gath when the ark arrived in 1 Samuel 4:9. At that time, God did not bring a blessing but a curse in the form of עֹפֶל, a tumor[10] because they treated the ark as they would an object associated with a foreign idol. Therefore, Obed-edom was from the same locale and ethnicity, but he was not a pagan associated with an idol; instead, he served YHWH as a faithful Levite and worshipper. Obed-edom’s blessing came not because he became a member of the nation; rather, the difference is faith.

While there are other examples of Gentiles becoming part of the nation of Israel, it is evident that when one speaks of Israel, it is a multi-ethnic society whose membership includes believers and non-believers. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that the group of those who had faith in YHWH was a multi-ethnic group as well. This group is the “Israel,” which is a component of the people of God.

[1] Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993), 255.

[2] Wayne A. Grudem, 1 Peter, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 96, Ebook.

[3] Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 1996), 7:339.

[4] J. A. Thompson, The Book of Jeremiah, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980), 555–56.

[5] Walter C. Jr. Kaiser, Walking in the Ancient Paths: A Commentary on Jeremiah (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2019), 368.

[6] God gave Abraham the promise of descendants, which would become a nation, his name would be honored, his descendants would inherit Canaan, and through his descendants, humanity would be blessed.

[7] Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, 7:330.

[8] Nancy Nam Hoon Tan, “The Chronicler’s ‘Obed-Edom’: A Foreigner and/or a Levite?,” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 32, no. 2 (December 2007): 227.

[9] Tan, “The Chronicler’s ‘Obed-Edom’: A Foreigner and/or a Levite?,” 228.

[10] R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1980), s.v. עֹפֶל.