In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth per Genesis 1:1. This God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This God is the God of Israel.
Per Genesis 32:28 Israel is a name which God himself chose. Therefore, God has the right to give that name to anyone he chooses and under what conditions he chooses.
The name Israel has two connotations: a natural one which is about biology and a spiritual one that has nothing to do with biology.
The word Israelite refers to a person who is biologically a descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, in at least one instance a person who is seemingly not a biological descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is referred to as an Israelite. This observation stems from consideration of 1 Chronicles 2:17 and 2 Samuel 17:25 concerning the father of Amasa. In this document the word Israelite is used to always refer to a person who is a biological descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The word Gentile has two connotations: a natural one which is about biology and a spiritual one that has nothing to do with biology. A biological Gentile is one who is not a biological descendant of Abraham, Isaa, and Jacob. A spiritual Gentile is a person whether biologically an Israelite or biologically a Gentile who does not recognize and/or worship God. In this document the word Gentiles is used to always refer to a person who is not a biological descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The application of the principles of natural Israel and spiritual Israel before Christ’s sacrifice differs from application under Christ. By before Christ I mean before Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. By under Christ, I mean after Christ death, burial, and resurrection.
The name Israel in a natural sense refers to those who are biologically descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was the first one to be given the name Israel.
God first chose to give the name Israel to Jacob and then to his biological descendants. He did so both in a natural sense and a spiritual sense. And these became known nationally as the Israelites.
God then chose to give the name Israel to others who were not biological descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but who joined themselves spiritually to Israel. These became known as strangers or proselytes or non-Israelites or Gentiles before Christ. For simplicity, these are generally referred to as Gentiles.
This joining by Gentiles involved agreeing to recognize and worship God. The worship elements for both Israelites and Gentiles progressed over time as God gave various instructions to them. Per Genesis 17:1-14 and Exodus 12:48-49 a fundamental necessary instruction was that both Israelites and Gentiles were to be physically circumcised to be in covenant or right standing with God.
Under Christ, Gentiles who spiritually join the nation of Israel by faith in Christ, become known as Christians per Acts 11:26; 26:28-29; and 1 Peter 4:16.
Per scriptures such as Matthew 16:18 and Acts 7:38 it is reasonable to conclude that before Christ and under Christ, Israel in scripture is identified as the church consisting of both Israelites and Gentiles. In this sense the word church means the called out, the set apart, the assembly of those who are a part of those who recognize and worship God.
Given the presence of racism in the world, it is important that disciples of Christ not speculate about skin color of the original Israelites or their descendants to the exclusion of other skin colors. Rather, it is wise and loving and equitable to take the position that original Israelites and their descendants could be of a variety of skin colors. This observation is supported by the generally accepted belief that of Noah three sons presumably by the same wife/mother, two of them, Shem and Ham, were Blackish in skin color and the other one Japheth, was Whitish in skin color. It is best all Christians whether Israelite or Gentile not consider skin color to be of any spiritual significance.
For the same reason that Christian should not exclude persons from salvation and other blessings based on skin color, Christians should not exclude any person from identifying as a descendant of the original Israelites. If a person believes he or she is a descendant of original Israelites then all should accept it as so regardless of the present day seemingly mixture of nationalities. The person’s identification should be accepted regardless of the person’s skin color or rationale or criteria on which the person bases that belief.
Reference:
The Question of Who Has a Right to Identify as an Israelite
