Does Galatians 3 teach that the church is the true spiritual Israel? This is one of the passages people most frequently bring up when I discuss Israel’s future. It doesn’t matter where in the Bible we are exploring. People will immediately appeal to Galatians 3, saying that Israel cannot have a distinct future because Paul’s language is too clear to allow for an ongoing distinction between Israel and the church. I understand why people find this convincing. It is a simple argument, and many respected commentators and theologians make it. But I think we need to slow down and examine what the text actually says, along with the assumptions we bring to it. In Galatians 3:7–9, Paul identifies those who exercise faith as sons of Abraham. Verse 29 similarly says, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.” There is no disagreement here: Gentile believers…