This is a vitally important question, because Abraham’s seed is to be the recipient of great promises. The Bible says all the nations of the world will be blessed by Abraham’s seed. It says his seed will number as the stars of the sky and inherit the world. So who is it?
Unfortunately, many Christians interpret the phrase carnally. To them the seed is the Jews and national Israel. To them the seed is spread not by the Spirit but by sperm. How many times have you heard that the Jews are God’s chosen people, or, more incredibly, that Christians must act reverently and deferentially toward the current inhabitants of political Israel—regardless of their relationship with Christ?
The problems with this view are numerous.
One obvious problem is that Abraham had many children, yet the seed was passed only to one: Isaac. Ishmael was a carnal seed of Abraham, yet tradition tells us he was the father of the Arabs. After Sarah died, Abraham remarried and had many more children who had nothing to do with Israel. God “hated” Abraham’s grandson Esau and excluded him from the line of blessing. So right off the bat most of Abraham’s carnal seeds were out of the running.
So what does it mean to be of the seed of Abraham? Rather than me rambling on, let’s see if Scripture makes it clear.
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3: 7).
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3: 26-29).
“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed” (Romans 9: 6-8).
“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4: 13).
Pretty straightforward. The seed represents faith in Christ. If one of your children believes, he is of the seed. If another of your children doesn’t believe, he is not of the seed. It actually has nothing to do with genetics. The genetic descendants of Abraham are not necessarily God’s people. In fact, they never were. They were only considered so on an individual basis if they were saved by grace through faith in the Messiah.
The Sunday school song actually gets this right:
“Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham.
I am one of them and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord.”
That’s not a song to be sung by ethnic Jews only, though they can certainly sing it if they are saved. And one day, most of them will sing it (Romans 11: 26)--along with the majority of the world (Psalms 22: 27; Isaiah 2: 2; Habbakuk 2: 14).
So if Christians are the seed, they will number as the stars of the sky, they will cause all nations to be blessed through the “gospel of the kingdom,” they will inherit not just a sliver of dry land in the Mideast, but the world. It will not be a political dominion but a spiritual one.
Kind of changes the perspective doesn’t it?
Dispensationalists have to devise a theology that takes Christians off the map (the imminent Rapture) so that national and carnal Israel can supposedly receive all those promises. But the promises were never given to national Israel or Abraham’s fleshly offspring. They were given to those who, like Abraham, have faith in Christ.
Unfortunately, many Christians interpret the phrase carnally. To them the seed is the Jews and national Israel. To them the seed is spread not by the Spirit but by sperm. How many times have you heard that the Jews are God’s chosen people, or, more incredibly, that Christians must act reverently and deferentially toward the current inhabitants of political Israel—regardless of their relationship with Christ?
The problems with this view are numerous.
One obvious problem is that Abraham had many children, yet the seed was passed only to one: Isaac. Ishmael was a carnal seed of Abraham, yet tradition tells us he was the father of the Arabs. After Sarah died, Abraham remarried and had many more children who had nothing to do with Israel. God “hated” Abraham’s grandson Esau and excluded him from the line of blessing. So right off the bat most of Abraham’s carnal seeds were out of the running.
So what does it mean to be of the seed of Abraham? Rather than me rambling on, let’s see if Scripture makes it clear.
“Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3: 7).
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3: 26-29).
“For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed” (Romans 9: 6-8).
“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4: 13).
Pretty straightforward. The seed represents faith in Christ. If one of your children believes, he is of the seed. If another of your children doesn’t believe, he is not of the seed. It actually has nothing to do with genetics. The genetic descendants of Abraham are not necessarily God’s people. In fact, they never were. They were only considered so on an individual basis if they were saved by grace through faith in the Messiah.
The Sunday school song actually gets this right:
“Father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had Father Abraham.
I am one of them and so are you, so let’s all praise the Lord.”
That’s not a song to be sung by ethnic Jews only, though they can certainly sing it if they are saved. And one day, most of them will sing it (Romans 11: 26)--along with the majority of the world (Psalms 22: 27; Isaiah 2: 2; Habbakuk 2: 14).
So if Christians are the seed, they will number as the stars of the sky, they will cause all nations to be blessed through the “gospel of the kingdom,” they will inherit not just a sliver of dry land in the Mideast, but the world. It will not be a political dominion but a spiritual one.
Kind of changes the perspective doesn’t it?
Dispensationalists have to devise a theology that takes Christians off the map (the imminent Rapture) so that national and carnal Israel can supposedly receive all those promises. But the promises were never given to national Israel or Abraham’s fleshly offspring. They were given to those who, like Abraham, have faith in Christ.
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