We who believe in Christ Jesus also have a dual status. On the one hand, we are sons of God, members of the divine family. On the other hand, we are kings-to-be, those destined to be kings. Kingship is related to the Israel of God. We should be not only sons of God, but also the Israel of God. To be proper sons of God it is sufficient to have the fruit of the Spirit, such as those virtues listed in 5:22 and 23. But to be kings, the Israel of God, we need another kind of living, a particular kind of walk by the Spirit. We need both the living of sons of God and that of the Israel of God.
Many Christians do not have the first kind of walk by the Spirit, much less the second. We thank the Lord that, by His mercy, many in the church life today do have the first kind of walk by the Spirit to live Christ. But now the Lord is calling us to go on to have the second walk by the Spirit, the second kind of living. This is the living not merely of sons in the divine family, but of those who will be kings in God’s kingdom. May our eyes be opened to see that we are kings in the royal family! Our destiny is not only to be sons of God; it is to be kings reigning in the kingdom of God.
Do you live in a kingly way? If you live in this way, you will be kingly even when you laugh. If we see that Paul’s word about the Israel of God implies that we need a kingly walk, the aspiration to live in a kingly way will be stirred up within us. We may even want to pray, “Lord, cause me to live and walk in a kingly way so that I may be qualified to be part of today’s Israel of God.”
In a sense, the nation of Israel is the Israel of God and a testimony of God, even though many Israelites are rebellious and very sinful. However, the real Israel, the spiritual Israel, is the church. But because both the nation of Israel and the church are in a low condition, there is the need for the Lord to recover the real Israel of God. For such a recovery, we need two kinds of living, two kinds of walk. In the first walk we shall have such virtues as love, joy, peace, meekness, and longsuffering, all of which are the expression of the Christ who lives in us. We also need the second kind of walk so that we may be the Israel of God bearing God’s kingship, representing Him with His authority, and executing His governmental administration.
These two kinds of walks are illustrated by our life as citizens of the United States. On the one hand, we are persons living in an ordinary way; on the other hand, we are citizens of this nation. As persons, we need to be loving, peaceful, joyful, faithful, and meek. However, in order for the United States to remain a strong nation, we also need to live as good citizens, fulfilling all the requirements of the government. As citizens, we need to pay taxes, serve in the army, and fulfill other obligations. Spiritually speaking, we are both the sons of God and the Israel of God. As sons of God, we need to be loving, joyful, peaceful, faithful, and meek. As the Israel of God, we must walk according to the elementary rules of God’s New Testament economy.
Whereas those Christians who truly desire to go on with the Lord usually care only for the first kind of walk and desire to be spiritual, holy, and victorious, we need to care also for the second kind of walk. In particular, we need to care for the church life. However, many Christians who are “spiritual” or “holy” do not care in the least for the church life. These Christians are interested in prayer, Bible study, gospel preaching, or improving their behavior. According to their concept, this is all that is necessary. But because they do not walk according to the principle of the new creation, it is not possible for them to become the Israel of God.
The new creation is synonymous with the church. The term the Israel of God is also a synonym for the church. Why, then, did Paul not use the word church in Galatians 6? The answer is that Paul’s intention was to point out that the church is a new creation, a new constitution. It is especially needful for us today to realize that the church is a new constitution. When we use the word church, many think of a building with a steeple or of a certain religious organization. But according to the Bible, the church is a new creation. Because our inner being has been constituted of the divine nature, we have become a new creation.
Both the old creation and the new creation are corporate entities. There were not two old creations, and there are not two new creations. Both the old creation and the new creation are uniquely corporate. We who believe in Christ are all one new creation, just as we are all one church.
The expression “the new creation” denotes the nature, the inward and intrinsic organic constituent, of the church. The church is an organism with an intrinsic constitution. This constitution is the new creation. Paul says that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, neither being religious nor unreligious, avails anything, but only a new creation. By this he means that in the universe the only thing that avails or matters is the intrinsic and organic constitution, involving the mingling of God with man. We need to walk not only with certain virtues that express Christ; we also need to walk according to the principle, the rule, of such a new creation.