Editing Epistle to the Galatians (section)

=== Meaning of "Israel of God" ===
Many scholars debate the meaning of the phrase "Israel of God" in Galatians 6:16, wherein Paul wishes for "peace and mercy" to be "even upon the Israel of God".{{Sfn | Schreiner | 2010 | p = 381}}  As Schreiner explains, scholars debate whether "Israel of God" refers to ethnically Jewish believers "within the church of Jesus Christ", or to the church of Christ as a whole (Jewish and Gentiles all included).{{Sfn | Schreiner | 2010 | p = 381}}  Those who believe that "Israel of God" only refers to ethnically Jewish believers, argue that had Paul meant the entire church, he would use the word "mercy" before "peace", because Paul "sees peace as the petition for the church, while mercy is the request for unredeemed Jews".<ref>{{Cite book|last= Richardson |first=Peter|title=Israel in the Apostolic Church|publisher= Cambridge University Press|year=1969 |location= Cambridge |pages= 76–80}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last= Burton |first= Ernest DeWitt|authorlink = Ernest DeWitt Burton|title= A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians |publisher= Scribner's |year= 1920 |page = 358}}</ref> Other scholars, such as [[G. K. Beale]], argue that the Old Testament backdrop of Galatians 6:16—e.g. a verse such as Isaiah 54:10 wherein God promises mercy and peace to Israel—suggests that "the Israel of God" refers to a portion of the new, eschatological Israel "composed of Jews and Gentiles".<ref>{{Cite book|last= Beale |first= G. K.| authorlink = Gregory Beale|title= Peace and Mercy Upon the Israel of God: The Old Testament Background of Galatians 6:16b |year= 1999}}</ref>