By Doug Bell
Galatians 3:
6 "just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 ¶ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith..."
14 "so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith..."
29 "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise."
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Who are the 'True' Children of Abraham? As we have mentioned before, there are people known as "Dispensationalist," (And their beliefs are in the footnote below). Briefly, they have a belief that God has two different peoples; Israel and the Church. "Dispensationalists hold that the Church has not replaced Israel in God’s program and that the Old Testament promises to Israel have not been transferred to the Church. Dispensationalism teaches that the promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament (for land, many descendants, and blessings) will be ultimately fulfilled in the 1000-year period spoken of in Revelation 20. Dispensationalists believe that, just as God is in this age focusing His attention on the Church, He will again in the future focus His attention on Israel (see Romans 9–11 and Daniel 9:24)." 1.
That isn't the view that this blogger holds, (Mine is a Covenant Theology). In fact, by looking at our verses above in Galatians, we find that there are not two peoples of God, but only one! Again, the question is "Who are the 'true' children of Abraham?" What do these and other Bible verses teach?
First, Abraham is THE example of what it means to be put in a right relationship with God. Vs. 6 "just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”.
And "True Israelites" (in faith like Abraham), are not necessarily his literal descendants. Paul tells us in the book of Romans 2:
28 "For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, (physically) nor is circumcision outward and physical.
29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God."
Notice how Jesus tells the Jews in John 8 that they were 'Literal' Jews (Abraham's Offspring) But, they were NOT Abraham's Children:
37 "I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you..."
39 ¶ "They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,"
Secondly, Abraham is not just the Father of the (believing) Jews, but also of all Gentile believers.
7 ¶ "Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith..."
(c.p. Ephesians 2:11-22; Romans 4:9-12).
Third, the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:
16 "Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise..."
29 "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise."
In other words, all believers, whether Jew or gentile, they too are Abraham’s offspring, IF they were belong to Christ.
Fourth, 14 "so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith..." Covenant Theology doesn't teach a "replacement theology". That is, that the Church replaces Israel. Rather, that the Church "joins" Israel in God's plan of salvation.
"There is one tree in the Old Testament that consists primarily of ethnic Jews, although some gentiles (e.g., Ruth) are brought in. This is the one tree that exists when Christ comes. He doesn’t chop it down, and He doesn’t plant a new tree. He prunes the unbelieving Jewish branches off, leaving only the believing Jewish branches. He then begins to graft believing gentiles into this one tree. This tree with ingrafted gentile branches does not “replace” the old tree. These gentiles are now part of the old tree by faith in Jesus Christ." 2.
Who then are the "True Israel" ie., Children of Abraham?
28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise."
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