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3. The Children of the Flesh and the Children of God Third, in verse 8 Paul states the argument a third time in more general terms without naming Israel or Abraham so that we see the principle involved. "That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants." This, he says again, is why the word of God has not failed -why the promises of God have not failed - even though many of Israelites according to the flesh are accursed and cut off from Christ. It’s because the promises are for the children of promise - the children of God - and not every child of Israelite flesh is a child of promise.

When Paul distinguishes "children of the flesh" and "children of God" he means that not all physical Israelites are "children of God." And that means that the term "children of God" is not a mere ethnic or physical or historical term. It has its full saving meaning just like it does in Romans 8:16, 21, and Philippians 2:15 (cf. Hosea 1:10). And when he then says that these "children of God" are "children of promise," he means that they have their spiritual position not because of their physical connections, but because of God’s effective promise. The promise produced the position.

Good points. Genetically, the man Jacob/Israel had 12 sons and then Joseph’s inheritance was a double portion to Ephraim and Manasseh. Many peoples that are descended from these lines do not even know their heritage. Those ‘tribes’ migrated and spread all over the world. When Jesus/Immanuel (God with us) laid down His life as a perfect sacrifice He rent the veil and opened up salvation and God’s promises to ‘whosoever believeth in Him’ of any genetic race. Some tribes have lost the promises on a national level, but Jesus opened up salvation and the promises to each of us individually based on our willingness to believeth in Him, regardless of nationality or race.

According to St. Paul, there is no more Jew and Gentile. The true Jews are those not of the circumcision of the flesh, but of the heart. The true children of Abraham are Christians, not those of biological descent. The Church is the New Israel. I am pro-Israel, not because of religious reasons, but strictly political ones.

I love it when an article appears when I am looking for information on a topic

Our Sunday school is studying all the various eschatology’s

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