It amazes me to find the mindset of many Christians as to who they are in the Kingdom of God.
Some see themselves as stepchildren and some as Gentile sinners.
In Genesis 17:4: “As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.”
This verse out of the Old Testament focuses upon the word nations. This word in Hebrew means goy or goyim, which is a non-Jew, heathen or Gentile.
God said to Abraham that he would be a father of many heathen. And that the promise would be to his seed.
In Romans 4:17: “As it is written, ‘I have made thee a father of many nations, before him whom he believed, even God.'”
Here again, the word nations in the Greek is ethnos, from which we get ethnic, which means non-Jew, heathen or Gentile.
We read that the covenant that God made with Abraham was toward his seed. Abraham had two sons, the one from a bondwoman and other from a freewoman.
In Galatians 4:23: “But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.”
Ishmael was produced through unbelief, and Isaac was produced through faith. The promise to the seed would come through the lineage of Isaac, and all the way down to Jesus Christ.
Jesus had to deal with the mindset of those who were the fleshly seed of Abraham in Matthew 3:9: “And think not to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham to our father’ for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”
They could not understand that God was about to open the door of salvation unto everyone, including Gentiles.
Yet, the Bible says this about Old Israel in Romans 11:25: “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.”
They could not understand of a church comprised of both Jew and Gentile, where there is no difference between them. They could not see that the seed of Abraham would not be a fleshly lineage through unbelief, but a spiritual lineage through faith.
Paul says this in Galatians 3:28-29: “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.”
So, if you have repented and have been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and have received the Holy Ghost, you are the seed of Abraham, through faith.
It is the promise!
Mike Palevo is senior pastor of Davie Apostolic Church.
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