'For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our Fathers were all under the Cloud, and all passed through the Sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the Cloud and in the Sea;'

He is including those Gentiles in with the Hebrew People as having come out of Egypt. Every Gentile that loves Jesus is part of the Commonwealth of Israel. That does not make them a Jew, but seed that Abraham was promised. Genesis 17:5 records Yahveh saying:

'No longer shall your name be called Abram (Avram), but your name shall be Abraham; For I will make you the Father of a multitude of nations.'

Each peoples remain distinct, but part of the Commonwealth of Israel.

A very common mistake that many people make about Romans 2:28-29 is that all Gentiles that believe in Jesus are now Jews or spiritual Jews. This is not the case:

'For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God,'

If you check all the accounts where the word Jew and Israel are used in the Brit Hadasha (the New Covenant), you'll find that in 99% of them, the writers use the terms in the way that can only mean the literal flesh and blood descendants of Avraham, Itzhak and Yakov (Abraham, Isaac & Jacob). So what does it mean here in Romans? And what about the 'Israel of God' (Galatians 6:16)? Ephesians 2:11-12 speaks of the Commonwealth of Israel:

'Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called 'Uncircumcision' by the so-called 'Circumcision' which is performed in the flesh by human hands, remember that you were at that time separate from the Messiah, excluded from the Commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the Covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.'

Commonwealth: An Englishman is not a Canadian, but both have the same king (or queen), and their rule of life (law), is built upon from the same foundation (the Magna Carta).

A Gentile is not a Jew. Shaul says in 1st Corinthians 7:17-20:

'Only, as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And so I direct in all the churches. Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? He is not to be circumcised.'

'Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the Commandments of God' (how often do you hear this verse preached on the radio or television?). 'Each man must remain in that condition in which he was called.'

Shaul, by rabbinic juxtaposition, is relegating circumcision to the waste bin...to elevate that it is the doing of the Commandments that really count. He really isn't throwing circumcision away, but prioritizing what is of utmost importance. Paul 'throws out' circumcision, or says that it 'is nothing' to emphasize that it is the doing of God's Commandments that matter more than if one is a Jew or Gentile (circumcised or not).

I brought that Scripture up to show that Shaul still saw a difference between Jew and Gentile. There is much here but for our topic the point is that now the Gentile and the Jew who love Yeshua are both part of the Commonwealth of Israel, the Israel of God. They make up fully the Israel of God.

The ones who are truly circumcised, like Father Avraham, whether Jew or Gentile are part of it. But the Gentile is not a Jew. An Israelite, yes, in terms of being part of the Commonwealth. Seed of Abraham, yes. Jew, no. Jew in this case would be defined as those who come from the loins of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, or like Ruth, have been brought into the Jewish People.

The Israel of God is only mentioned once in all the New Covenant. Paul doesn't teach on it as much as use it to highlight a response to the Judaizers. They were wanting the Gentile to be circumcised in order to be saved; to become part of the Jewish People, the People of God.

Shaul tells them that faith in Messiah Yeshua already saves them and makes them part of God's People. David Stern posits that the term Israel was a technical term referring specifically to the place of the Jewish People as the People of God.1 Dr Stern says that Paul was saying that both the Messianic Jew and Gentile, and the Jewish People were the Israel of God.

Stern makes a strong argument against Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Presbyterian (Covenant) theology. They state that the Church is the New Israel and the Jewish People are the Old Israel. (Just from that verse in Galatians 6:16!) What that means is that the Church has replaced the Jewish People as God's People.

Another error he cites is with Dispensationalism. They believe that 'the Israel of God' refers to only Jews and that the Church is in an entirely different category.

What Shaul is saying in Romans 2:28-29 is that if you took two Jewish men, both of whom were circumcised, the real Jewish man would be the one who was circumcised in the heart (by the Spirit of Yeshua).

Looking at the second chapter of Romans, we find that it is specifically talking to the Jew. It culminates at verses 28 and 29. And then Shaul turns to his those who would put down the circumcised in the flesh Jew, but not the heart, with Romans 3:1-4a:

'Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the Word of God. What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be!'

Can you see how it follows that same line of thought, that one should not put down the Jew who doesn't believe in Yeshua. This will be magnified in chapters 9-11 as he tries to balance justification by faith and not Torah (Law). And the place of the unbelieving Jew in both God's Eyes (and Gentile eyes); Romans 11:26:

'and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob'.

And in Gentile eyes; Romans 11:18:

'do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you'.

In Romans 11:19-21, Paul expressly tells the Gentiles that they have been grafted into the Tree:

'You will say then, 'Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.' Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.'

The point being that Christianity is not 'something new' but an on going organic process that the Lord began with Father Avraham.

He is looking for a People who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. They will be one Flock with one Shepherd. My Jewish history is now your history, even though you weren't born Jewish. The Hebrew kings like David, are your kings, just as a Canadian can say that Queen Elizabeth is their queen. It does not make them an Englishman, but part of the Commonwealth of England.