Seed of Abraham
As the Gospel of Matthew declares, Jesus is the “son of Abraham.” The lowly man from Nazareth is the Messiah and King of Israel, the promised “Seed” of the Patriarch. He brings the covenant promises to fulfillment. He is the covenant heir, and our receipt of the inheritance is based on our faith in him.
God promised to bless Abraham and his “seed,”
and through him, He would bless “all the families of the Earth.” His
descendants would be as innumerable as the stars of heaven. But the terms of the
covenant raise questions.
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[Photo by Sam Goodgame on Unsplash] |
Who is the “Seed” of Abraham? Is membership in the covenant determined by physical descent from the Patriarch? How will the covenant result in “blessings” to the Gentile nations if it is limited to the biological relatives of Abraham? - (Genesis 17:4-8),
John the Baptist warned the religious leaders
of Israel not to appeal to their physical descent from Abraham for confirmation
of their covenant status. “Broods of vipers! Who suggested for you to be fleeing from
the coming wrath? Bring forth fruit worthy of repentance; and think
not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. I say to you, God
is able out of these stones to
raise up children to Abraham” –
(Matthew 3:9).
Repentance and submission to the Messiah were
mandatory for entrance into the Kingdom, not biological descent. The reference
to “stones” by John was metaphorical and pointed to the plan of God to
bring Gentiles into His covenant community - (Matthew 8:8-12, Genesis 12:3, 13:14-16).
In Luke, the angel Gabriel announced that
God was about to fulfill His covenant promises. The son born of Mary would fulfill
the promise “to Abraham and his seed.” God remained faithful to His “holy
covenant, the oath which he swore to Abraham our father - (Isaiah
9:6, Luke 1:31-73).
Jesus limited his ministry to the children of
Israel, but he did not exclude Gentiles entirely from his efforts. His interactions
with non-Jews anticipated the future opening of the Gospel to the nations. While
many Jews rejected him, he responded positively to Gentiles who approached him with
faith - (Matthew 15:22-28, Acts 10:44-48).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus declared
to one group of Jews, “What things I have seen with the Father I speak; you
also, then, what things you have heard from your father are doing.” They
responded by pointing to their descent from Abraham. To this, he countered:
- “If you are children of Abraham, then you would do the works of Abraham, but you seek to kill me, a man who has spoken the truth to you… this Abraham did not do” - (John 8:38-44).
They did “the works of their father,”
the Devil! Biological descent was no guarantee of participation in the inheritance.
Faith and actions mattered, not D.N.A.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul pointed
to the faith of Abraham. Jews and Gentiles alike were under sin, and therefore all
men were set right before God on the same basis, namely, faith. He demonstrated
from the Hebrew Scriptures that Abraham was justified when his “faith was reckoned
for righteousness,” even though he was uncircumcised. Circumcision was the
“sign” of the covenant given after the fact. Therefore, it could
not be the basis for entrance into the covenant community or justification
before God - (Romans 4:9-16).
The promise to Abraham is not received by performing the required rituals of the Law, but instead, through faith. Otherwise, faith and the promises are rendered void.
Because the promise
is from faith, it is “firm to all the seed, not to that from the
Law only, but to that also which is such by the faith of Abraham, who is
the father of us all.” All men of the same faith as Abraham are included in
his “seed” and heirs of the promises, circumcised or not.
THE ONE PEOPLE OF GOD
Gentiles and Jews alike become the “children”
of Abraham through Jesus Christ. Physical descent does not qualify anyone for membership
in the covenant community. Ishmael was Abraham’s biological son, yet he did not
receive the promise. Likewise, Jacob was accepted, but Esau was rejected. God
always intended to shower “the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy
which he prepared beforehand for glory, whom he also called, even us, not only
from among Jews but also from among the Gentiles” - (Romans 9:23-36, Hosea
1:9-10, 2:23).
Paul did not refer to two peoples of God, but
only one, and it included believing Jews AND Gentiles. Inclusion was
accomplished in the same way for both - “If you will confess that Jesus is Lord
and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be
saved… For there is no distinction of Jew or Greek, for the same Lord is
Lord of all…for whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved” - (Romans 10:9-13, 11:16-20, Isaiah 28:16).
Paul is explicit in Galatians. Some
Jewish believers claimed Gentiles must be circumcised, and otherwise “live
like Jews.” But he labeled this teaching as a “different Gospel, which
is not Good News at all.” He used the Abrahamic promises to argue for Gentile
inclusion in the covenant. They entered it through faith without submitting to
circumcision, and he presented Abraham as the exemplar of this faith - “He
believed God and it was reckoned to him for righteousness,” therefore, “they
who are of faith are the sons of Abraham” - (Galatians 1:6-7, 3:6).
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[Photo by Joshua Woroniecki on Unsplash] |
The Hebrew Bible foresaw that “God would declare the Gentiles righteous.” Therefore, it announced beforehand the good news to Abraham. Those who are from faith “are blessed with believing Abraham.” Jesus redeemed us so that the “blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in him.”
- “All are sons of God through the faith of Christ Jesus; for as many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Therefore, there cannot be Jew or Greek… now, if you are of Christ, you are Abraham’s Seed, according to promise, heirs” - (Galatians 3:19-29).
Hence, in Jesus, all ethnic, cultural, economic,
and social boundaries were eliminated in the one covenant people of God. The
basis for inclusion and the receipt of the promises was and remains the “faith
of Jesus,” not biological descent or “the works of the Law.”
RELATED POSTS:
- One Spirit, One People - (By his death and resurrection, Jesus formed one covenant community - One New Man - based on faith in him, not ethnicity or nationality – Ephesians 2:11-22)
- The Assembly of God - (The Christian use of the term church or ekklésia is derived from the assembly of Yahweh gathered for worship as described in the Hebrew Bible)
- Salvation for All - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to men and women of every nation and people)
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