08.09.2016 – New Testament: Rom 9.9

To read the Bible in a year, read Romans 9 on August 9, In the year of our Lord 2016

By Don Ruhl

If having descended from Abraham makes one a child of God, then anyone who has descended from any of his eight sons—especially the older two, Ishmael and Isaac—would automatically be children of God. However, Paul by the Spirit argued,

For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son” (Romans 9.9). 

The promise God made to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations came through Sarah, not Hagar nor Keturah. Therefore, child-of-God status is a spiritual thing, not a matter of the flesh. That means that being a child includes more than the nation of Israel and the Arab nations, but the promise is for all people.

Questions:

• Is it special to you to be a child of Abraham?
• Do you consider him and Sarah as part of your spiritual lineage?