Romans 11:17–18; Genesis 12:1–3; Ephesians 3:6

Today, many Christians don’t realize that everything we enjoy in Christ — salvation, justification, the indwelling Spirit — flows from promises God first made to Israel.

In Romans 11, the apostle Paul, God’s chosen apostle to the Gentiles, gives a powerful warning:

“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, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.”
— Romans 11:17–18

Paul says we Gentiles have been grafted in — not to replace Israel — but to partake of the blessings that flow from the root.

And what is the root?
 

The root is God’s covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and later confirmed through David.

When God promised Abraham that “in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3), He was setting the foundation for both Israel’s role in world redemption and for the future salvation of Gentiles.

The Church, the Body of Christ, is not a new tree — it is grafted into the blessings God initiated with Israel.

Paul also reminds us in Ephesians 3:6 that Gentiles are:

“fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.”

Notice that word again — partakers — not replacers.

Why This Matters

If we lose sight of this truth:

• We become arrogant and boastful toward Israel — exactly what Paul warned against.
• We distort God’s faithfulness by imagining He broke His promises to Israel — which He absolutely did not (Romans 11:29).
• We fail to appreciate the amazing grace we stand in today — grace that came through Israel’s Messiah, Jesus Christ.

And tragically, the Church’s failure to heed Paul’s warning has already borne terrible fruit.

The false teaching known as Replacement Theology — the idea that the Church has permanently replaced Israel in God’s plan — has been used as a tool of Satan to justify centuries of hatred, persecution, and even mass murder of the Jewish people.

It was Christendom, not the world at large, that branded the Jews as “Christ killers,” fueling horrifying lies like the blood libels and ultimately contributing to atrocities like the Holocaust.

The historical record is undeniable:

When the Church forgets that it is a guest at Israel’s table, it becomes an agent of cruelty instead of a minister of grace.

In Closing

As Gentile believers, we should approach our salvation with humility, gratitude, and a deep respect for God’s covenant faithfulness to Israel.

The root supports us — not the other way around. And God’s promises will never fail.

“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
— Romans 11:29