Just as Israel became the first fruits of the world by entering into covenant with God, Jesus incarnated into the most genuine fruition of his essential character.

By electing a covenant people, God demonstrated to humankind that striving for him is not a vain thing. He rewards those individuals who seek him according to his divine attributes, the highest wisdom, and the ultimate standard of fairness.

There is spiritual edification in recognizing that God stays faithful in his covenants, that he forgives all sin despite whatever historical or sociopolitical circumstance.

The spiritual kingdom of Israel, nevertheless, subsists not on ethnicity or family ties, but on faith.

There, in the Levantine crossroads between Europe, Africa, and Asia, the sovereign nation of Israel would exemplify what right looks like.

By defining Logos as a hypostasis of the divine, John underscored the most important aspect of Jewish religion: faith in one God.