One New Man

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Yeshua,

The year was 2002 and I was a new believer in Jesus, yet I still had many questions about Christianity. I knew that Jesus (in Hebrew Yeshua or Yehoshua) was a Jewish man, but for some unknown reason none of the churches we had attended resembled the Jewish culture and religion I had grown up with. Was Christianity a completely new religion, or was it an offshoot from biblical Judaism? If so, then how did the church become so disconnected from its spiritual foundation? I understood Israel to be the nation and people of God, but the church was comprised of many nationalities, most of whom were not Jewish. How could we as Hebrews, the natural descendants of Abraham fit into this large mass of gentile Christians?

I spent the next several years intensely studying the bible. Equipped with a new-found understanding of Old and New Testament scripture, it was evident that God held an unfathomable love for the Jewish people. However, all these questions about the church and Israel remained unanswered. So the Lord took me on a journey of reading historical books that brought into perspective the transition of the early church. From my study it seemed as though pride and religiosity had taken the Church away from its Jewish foundation. Christianity was all about having a life-long personal relationship with the God of Israel. This relationship was enabled through the sacrifice of Yeshua, the King and Savior of Israel—a relationship that was rooted in God’s love for all people, and very significantly the Jewish people.

However, from my perspective the church had evolved into a man-made institution of religious denominations segregated over contradicting theologies that for the most part diminished if not outright rejected the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.[i] I was now living in a no-man’s land, caught between two worlds—one Jewish that continued to reject its Jewish Messiah, and the other gentile that continued to reject the Jewishness of its Messiah. How would the two be reconciled into one?

The Lord already held the answers. His plan was simple and yet marvelously hidden. This mystery would unfold over generations, starting with Abraham, one person from whom the entire foundation of humanity would unfold.[ii] Through Isaac and Jacob the great nation of Israel would emerge, a people whom the Lord had chosen out of every tongue and tribe to be His special treasure and heritage. Israel would be a gift to all nations, as from them would come the blessed Messiah, Yeshua.[iii] Israel was to become a light to the gentiles and a blessing to every nation, bringing God’s message of salvation to every person and filling the whole earth with His blessings.[iv] The nations would be grafted into Israel, the natural branches of Abraham, to become “one” people of God comprised of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.[v]

God’s simple plan was unfolding with yet another dimension. Israel failed in her calling and by-in-large rejected her Messiah. For this reason, the Lord is fulfilling His prophesy and has turned to the gentiles (the nations) to provoke Israel to jealousy.[vi] The gentiles who are now grafted into Israel join their Messianic-Jewish brethren as “one new man” in Christ to complete the great commission.[vii] In provoking Israel to jealousy, the gentiles were to arouse the unsaved Jewish people to accept their Messiah and fulfill Israel’s calling to become a light to the nations. The message of salvation would then go forth from Jerusalem to the farthest ends of the earth.[viii] Yeshua would return with His congregation of saints, the church, to Jerusalem to establish His earthly kingdom over the remnant of now saved Israel and the remnant of all the nations.[ix]

The Apostle Paul wrote this about the Jews: “my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all…” (Romans 9:3-5, NKJV).[x] “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:1-2).

And, Paul wrote this about the gentiles: “you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:15). “And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree…” (Romans 11:17).

In other words, Paul is saying that to the Jews belonged all the promises of the covenants (which are fulfilled in Christ), and to the gentiles belong nothing of the covenants unless they are adopted in the Kingdom of God by the blood of Yeshua, and grafted into Israel to become “one new man” with them in Christ,[xi] as it is written, “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers [i.e. sharers] of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). God has dealt severely with the natural branches that rejected their Messiah, even cutting them away to give place for the gentiles to be grafted in.[xii] But Paul also warned the gentiles not to boast or become proud against the Jews, saying, “for if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either” (Romans 11:21).[xiii]

Brethren, if you desire to know where God’s heart is, look for His people, Israel?[xiv] In these last days, the church must grow strong in faith and prayer, grow deep in knowledge of scripture, grow powerful in the presence of the Holy Spirit and grow in love for all people, especially the Jewish people. The church must fulfill her purpose and calling with respect to Israel, provoking the Jewish people to jealousy, praying for and standing with Israel and joining with Israel to complete the great commission. Israel and Jerusalem will be at the very center of Yeshua’s earthly kingdom.[xv] Those who bless Israel will be blessed and partake in her blessings.[xvi] God deeply loves Israel, and any spiritually mature Christian should also love Israel.[xvii]

The Lord has answered my questions about Israel and the church straight from His written word. Israel was to become the church by inheriting all of the promises from Abraham through Yeshua. The church is God’s assembly of all His creation—a great nation and a company of nations that would join together under the God of Israel. It is in spite of our natural differences that God’s power of “oneness” is demonstrated, for we are “one” people of God through Yeshua and the Holy Spirit dwelling within. Our nationalities and cultures are not homogenized in Christ, but through Him and His kindred Spirit we can embrace our differences, for we are all uniquely created in His image. We are therefore “one” in Christ and “one new man” comprised of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues.[xviii] God has not replaced Israel with the church. We collectively are the church.

Amen!

About House of David Ministries:

We are a One New Man congregation that is passionate about building the Kingdom of God, and seeing every nation, people, and tongue standing before the Lord as One New Man in Christ Yeshua.

We are faithful to teach the church about its Hebraic roots, and believe in the restoration of the church to its biblical foundation. We are not exclusively Jewish or Messianic, but desire to see all nations joined to Israel as one people of God, bringing each of our uniquely created and redemptive gifts into the Kingdom.

We are located in Haymarket, Virginia, about 20 minutes west of Fairfax off Interstate 66. We invite you to join us at our home fellowship on Sunday evenings. All are welcome. For information about our meeting times and locations, call Pastor Eric at (703) 655-8182 or visit our website at www.thehouseofdavid.org.

[i] U.S. Membership Denominational Ranking: Largest 25 Denominations/Communions –2004 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches show that 14 out of the 25 denominations, representing 79.5% of membership hold a supersessionism or replacement theological viewpoint.

[ii] Ephesians 3:1-7.

[iii] Genesis 12:2, 22:18, Exodus 19:5, John 4:22, Galatians 3:16.

[iv] Isaiah 27:6, Acts 13:47.

[v] Genesis 35:11, Romans 11:17, Revelation 7:9.

[vi] Deuteronomy 32:21, Romans 11:11.

[vii] Ephesians 2:15.

[viii] Acts 1:8.

[ix] Zechariah 14:4-5.

[x] All Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Bible (NKJV) unless otherwise noted, Thomas Nelson Inc., 1982.

[xi] Ephesians 2:12-16.

[xii] Romans 11:17-24.

[xiii] Ibid.

[xiv] Zechariah 2:8.

[xv] Isaiah 60:12.

[xvi] Ibid.

[xvii] Romans 11:28, Romans 15:27.

[xviii] Ibid.

About Pastor Eric Michael Teitelman

Pastor Eric Michael Teitelman is Hebrew follower of Yeshua, and an ordained bi-vocational pastor with the Southern Baptist Convention. He currently oversees the House of David Ministries—a Hebraic itinerant teaching and worship ministry focused on building the Kingdom of God by bringing Jewish and gentile Christians together as one new man in Christ Yeshua (Ephesians 2:14-16). He and his wife Kim live in Haymarket, Virginia.

Pastor Eric was raised in Bat Yam, Israel for much of his childhood. In 2002 after reading the New Testament, Pastor Eric received Yeshua as His Lord and Savior. With a firm knowledge of Old and New Testament scripture, and a deep understanding of Jewish culture and rabbinical writings, he brings a unique Hebraic perspective to his teachings.

Established in 2008, the House of David Ministries serves as a teaching resource to the body of Christ, helping Christians gain an understanding of their Hebraic foundation and spiritual heritage, embracing the church’s calling with respect to the nation of Israel, and understanding God’s kingdom purposes and prophetic promises for the church and Israel.

Pastor Eric is also involved with other ministries in the Washington D.C. area, including: catalyst for One Heart D.C., advisory board member with the International Christian Host Coalition and the U.S. Capital Region National Day of Prayer, D.C. coordinator for Cry Out America and the National Day of Prayer Taskforce, board member for Capitol Hill Prayer Partners, regional prayer and worship leader with the Virginia 242 Prayer Movement (David’s Tent, Fredericksburg Prayer Furnace, Loudoun Burn, & The Watch Manassas), Pastor and spiritual director for the National Capital Area Emmaus, and prayer cell leader for World for Jesus Ministries (Virginia monthly prayer call).

Eric Michael Teitelman

Pastor•Teacher•Worship Leader

House of David Ministries

P.O.Box 473

Haymarket, VA 20168

eric@thehouseofdavid.org

www.thehouseofdavid.org

703.655.8182