9:6 not all Israel. In this section, Paul is clearly speaking about his “kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3), not about the Gentile church. Nevertheless, God’s election of Israel refers ultimately only to those Israelites who become true children of God by faith. In the coming kingdom, the nation of Israel will be the leading nation of the world (Zechariah 14:16), with the twelve apostles judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:29,30), but the Israelites who participate in the kingdom will only be those who have acknowledged the returning Christ as their Messiah and Redeemer (Zechariah 12:10-11). In the meantime, Israelites who accept Christ in this age are also part of true Israel, while simultaneously being part of the Christian church, in practice being no different from Gentile Christians (Colossians 3:11).