A Saviour unto Israel
Acts 13:23
Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
This was not peter here, but Paul, the apostle unto the gentiles, who makes this very important statement, and sheds much light upon for whom Jesus Christ came to save as according to promise..
Another important scripture that lends to the truth of this is Lk 1:68-69
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, [see Matt 1: 21]
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake [or promised] by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
This promise of redemption of His people, as the Lord God of Israel, hath been revealed and promised since the world began..
This takes us back to the first proclamation of the promised salvation or redemption to Gen 3:15
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel
This seed of the women would be Israel [Christ and His People] .and the which, salvations first promise is to and for this seed Israel, the seed of the women..
This is some what typed out or signified in Rev 12:1-2
1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. [the birth of Jesus Christ]
This women had also a seed as we see later in Rev 12:17
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
[ so Christ and his Members are the seed of the women Gal 3:16,29]
So salvation and redemption from the conception of the world, had only a particular seed in view, which later became known as Israel.
But now, its important to understand, that the Israel Paul is referring to in Acts 13:23 is not Israel according to the flesh. But Israel according to Promise.
Lets show here how Paul discerned another Israel other than national Israel Rom 9:6
Not as though the word [or promise] of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel [Acts 13:23],] which are of Israel [nationally]:
You see, the promises of redemption and salvation as stated in Lk 1:68-70, to the people of God, the God of Israel, the promise were not to national Israel..but a spiritual remnant within that nation, and as we will find out, a spiritual remnant among the nations of the world, which constituted Israel,[Rom 11] the one Paul preached in Acts 13:23
Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
Now Paul had the Israel of God [Rom 9:6] in view when he made this statement in the above.
Now get this next point, for its tricky, but nevertheless its extremely important because of the symmetry and analogy of scripture.
The difference between what Paul preached here in Acts 13 :23 and what peter taught here in Acts 5:31
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
The difference is this. For peter was correct in that Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God to give repentance to a certain chosen people Israel. But what peter did not know but what Paul did know is this:
That Israel was no longer viewed as a mere physical ethnic nation, but that Israel was comprised of Gentiles as well, who became Israel.
Notice Eph 2:12,19
12 That at that time ye [gentiles] were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
They [Gentiles] are now no more strangers and aliens, but fellowcitizens [of Israel Gods Chosen people] and so now they also have the same right to be called Israel,
in fact, even more of a right than the non elect jews of that nation. Because the Israel of God was never non elect jews, but Elect Jews like Jacob over Esau or Isaac over Ishmael. Children of promise.
So salvation and redemption has always been limited unto Israel as a people, but the mystery that was not clearly unveiled since the world began [Gen 3:15]
Eph 3:3-6
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: [Lk 1: 68-70]
In that Israel was made up of Gentiles also. Yes that's the unveiling in more detail by Paul of this mystery [Israel of God was never a physical nation but a Spiritual people or Nation Rom 2,1Pet 2 ]
but nevertheless, true to promise, salvation and redemption is and has always been limited to a Chosen people [Israel] not limited to a certain geographical location as national Israel in the middle east or a certain ethical people [respect of persons], but the scope of this Israel of God is world wide. But nevertheless its only to the world of Gods Israel, all others, are blinded.
You know how Paul says in Rom 9: 6
For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
So likewise, they are not all the world [for whom Christ died] which are of the world [the inhabited earth]
Just like there was an Israel within Israel that God had a respect and favor for, likewise there is a world within the world that God has a special regard for, and that world is the Israel of God, the Spiritual seed of Abraham.
www.sermonaudio.com