Flesh and Spirit: Why Christian Zionism Can’t See the Kingdom — Post 2
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:14, KJV
Christian Zionism begins with the wrong man.
It sees with the eyes of the natural man — the man of ancestry, of borders, of ceremonies, of outward signs. And it exalts the natural nation — Israel according to the flesh — as though the purposes of God were bound to earthly bloodlines and earthly geography.
But the Gospel reveals something far greater: God’s eternal plan was never to restore the first Adam, or to preserve a natural lineage, but to bring forth a new creation in Christ. This is a kingdom that cannot be seen with carnal eyes, and it is precisely this that Christian Zionism cannot receive — because it is spiritually discerned.
The Natural vs. The Spiritual
From the beginning, Scripture lays out a pattern: the natural comes first, then the spiritual.
“Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:46
This is a divine pattern — one repeated in creation, covenant, and redemption:
- Ishmael, then Isaac
- Esau, then Jacob
- Saul, then David
- The First Adam, then the Last Adam
- The earthly Jerusalem, then Jerusalem which is above
To return to the natural — to exalt the first — is to miss the purpose of God. It is to cling to the shadow and reject the substance.
Israel According to the Flesh
Paul draws a hard distinction between “Israel after the flesh” (1 Cor. 10:18) and the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).
He grieves over his kinsmen in the flesh — not because they were still in the covenant, but because they had rejected it.
“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children…”
— Romans 9:6–7
In other words, ethnic descent does not guarantee covenant status. This is a key point Christian Zionism resists. It asserts that natural Israel — even in unbelief — retains a covenantal role in God’s prophetic plan.
But the New Testament completely redefines “Israel” through the lens of Christ:
- Only those who are of faith are counted for the seed (Gal. 3:7)
- There is no more Jew nor Greek in Christ (Gal. 3:28)
- The true circumcision is that of the heart (Rom. 2:28–29)
- The children of promise are reckoned by faith (Rom. 9:8)
Christian Zionism’s Fatal Assumption
The central error of Christian Zionism is this:
It assumes that God’s plan continues to revolve around Israel according to the flesh.
But God’s Word says otherwise. Flesh profits nothing (John 6:63). The fleshly line was never the goal. Even in the Old Testament, God’s purposes always pointed forward to the spiritual Seed — Christ.
To exalt the natural man and the natural nation is to rebuild the wall Christ tore down (Eph. 2:14), and to set up again the divisions abolished by the cross.
The Seed Was Always Christ
“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
— Galatians 3:16
This is not replacement — this is fulfillment.
The promise was never to the many, but to the One — and all who are in Him share that inheritance.
So who are the heirs of Abraham?
“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
— Galatians 3:29
There is no second vine. No dual track. No flesh-based inheritance. There is only Christ — and those united to Him by faith.
The Spiritual Man Sees the Kingdom
The natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit — including the nature of the true Israel, the New Covenant, and the Church’s spiritual inheritance.
He looks for physical fulfillment: a nation, a temple, a throne in Jerusalem.
But the spiritual man sees Christ on the throne now. He sees that the believer’s citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). He knows the Church is the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16). He worships on Mount Sion, the heavenly Jerusalem, and not Sinai (Heb. 12:22).
Why This Matters
This isn’t a matter of semantics or eschatology trivia. It’s a question of which man you’re walking after:
- The natural man, bound to national identity, earthly allegiances, and visible signs
- Or the spiritual man, whose life is hid with Christ in God, and who walks by faith, not by sight
Christian Zionism blinds many sincere Christians to the full riches of the New Covenant. It causes them to long for what God has already fulfilled — and to support a program He never authored.
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing…”
— John 6:63
It is time to turn from the natural — and walk in the Spirit.
Next: Not All Israel — The Covenant Reframed
Why God’s People Are Defined by Promise, Not Pedigree