Ecclesiology
The Seed of Abraham & the Elect
Lesson XV
Introduction - We notice when God
gave Abraham the Promise of a seed:
Genesis 13:16
(16) And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth:
so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, [then] shall thy seed also
be numbered.
Genesis 15:5
(5) And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now
toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said
unto him, So shall thy seed be.
Genesis 22:17
(17) That in blessing I will bless thee, and in
multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the
sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his
enemies;
Genesis
13:16 A seed as the dust of the earth
Genesis
15:5 Tell the stars…so shall thy seed be
Genesis
22:17 Thy seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand of the sea
In that promise there is that of a
heavenly people - the stars, and an earthly people - the dust and sand.
Genesis 24:60
(60) And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou
[art] our sister, be thou the [mother] of thousands of millions, and let thy
seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
Genesis
24:60 Rebekah, Isaac’s wife, was to be
the mother of thousands of millions.
Figure that figure!
Genesis 32:12
(12) And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and
make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
Numbers 23:10
(10) Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of
the fourth [part] of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my
last end be like his!
We
notice the promise to Jacob as to his seed:
Genesis
32:12 As the sand
Numbers
23:10 Who can count the dust
To
Jacob we have not found a promise of a seed as the stars, only the sand.
The
point is that Abraham’s seed through Jacob is an earthly seed.
I - Jacob-Israel is identified as
Abraham’s Seed
1 Chronicles 16:13
(13) O ye seed of Israel, his servant, ye children of
Jacob, his chosen ones.
2 Chronicles 20:7
(7) [Art] not thou our God, [who] didst drive out the
inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and gavest it to the seed
of Abraham …
Psalm 105:6
(6) O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children
of Jacob his chosen.
Jacob
is the name after the flesh, so here Israel after the flesh is called Abraham’s
seed.
Isaiah 41:8
(8) But thou, Israel, [art] my servant, Jacob, whom I
have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
Jeremiah 33:25-26
(25) Thus saith the LORD, if my covenant [be] not with
day and night, [and if] I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and
earth;
(26) Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David
my servant, [so] that I will not take [any] of his seed [to be] rulers over the
seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for I will cause their captivity to
return and have mercy on them.
Judges 2:1
(1) And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to
Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto
the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break
my covenant with you.
Without
any question, the Lord is speaking here about the Children of Israel after the
flesh. Anyone who dares to say that God
has cast away Israel, on the basis of these Scriptures, that one is calling God
a liar. This is serious stuff!
Luke 1: 54-55
(54) He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of
[his] mercy;
(55) As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his
seed forever.
John 8:37-39
(37) I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to
kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
(38) I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and
ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
(39) They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our
father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the
works of Abraham.
John 8:37-39 Speaking to the Pharisees (from verse 13), Jesus says in verse 37,
“I know ye are Abraham’s seed.”
In
verse 39, the Pharisees say, “Abraham is our father.”
Jesus
replies, “If ye were Abraham’s children ye would do works of
Abraham (i.e., works of faith).
We
learn from these verses that all of Abraham’s seed are not all Abraham’s
children. In fact, in verse 44
Jesus says to these Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the Devil.”
Romans 4:13
(13) 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.
And
the seed of Abraham after the flesh will yet have a great place in the earth.
Romans 9:7
(7) Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, [are
they] all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.
Here
we learn that some of the seed of Abraham (i.e., the sons of Keturah and
Ishmael), do not inherit the promises made later to Isaac and to Jacob.
Romans 11:1
(1) I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God
forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of
Benjamin.
Surely
these words show clearly, that in this verse the seed of Abraham has to do with
2 Corinthians 11:22-23 “Are they
Hebrews? So am I.”
2 Corinthians 11:22-23
(22) Are they
Hebrews? so [am] I. Are they Israelites? so [am] I. Are they the seed of
Abraham? so [am] I.
(23) Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I [am]
more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more
frequent, in deaths oft.
Genesis 14:13
(3) And there came
one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of
Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these [were]
confederate with Abram.
Genesis
14:13 is the first time the word “Hebrew” is found in the Bible. A nickname given to Abraham by a resident of
Sodom. The word means “the man from the
other side of the river”. Abraham had
come from across the
“Are they Israelites? So am I.”
Here Paul identifies himself with Jacob because Jacob was the first
Israelite.
Genesis 32:28
(28) And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob,
but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast
prevailed.
“Are they the seed of Abraham?
So am I.”
Here he again identifies himself with Abraham.
“Are they the ministers of
Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more.” Here he identifies himself as a Christian.
These
Scriptures certainly identify the seed of Abraham with
II - The Seed of Abraham also
includes the sons of Hagar and Keturah
Genesis 25:6 Sons of the concubines (plural)
(6) But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham
had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet
lived, eastward, unto the east country.
a.
Hagar
Genesis
16:1-11 Hagar
was an Egyptian maid. Her son was
Ishmael. Note verse 12 speaking of
Ishmael.
Genesis
16:12
(12)
And he will be a wild man; his hand [will be] against every man, and every
man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
Genesis
16:16 Abraham was 80 years of age when Ishmael was born.
Genesis
17:4-5 God
changed his name from Abram (Daddy) to Abraham (Big Daddy) the father of many Nations.
Genesis17:20, Genesis 21:13 Of Ishmael a Nation - is Abraham’s seed
Genesis
17:15-16 God promised that Abraham’s wife, Sarah, would
have a son.
Genesis
17:18 “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” Abraham wanted God to be satisfied with the
efforts of his flesh to fulfill God’s promise.
Genesis
17:24 Abraham was circumcised in his
flesh when 99 years of age.
Genesis
21:1 Isaac was born. ‘Isaac’ means ‘laughter’ for both Abraham and
Sarah had laughed (Genesis 17:17 for Abraham and Genesis 18:12 for Sarah).
Romans
4:19 tells
us that both Abraham and Sarah were as good as dead. Isaac’s birth was, therefore, more miraculous
than that of Jesus, for Mary’s body was not ‘dead’.
Genesis
21:12 Abraham
was reminded that the seed of the covenant would come through Isaac and not
Ishmael. See also Genesis 17:19.
Genesis 17:19
(19)
And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call
his name Isaac: [and] I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, and with his seed after him.
b.
Keturah
Genesis
25:1 After
Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah.
However in verse 10 Sarah was still called Abraham’s wife. This is my reason for listing Keturah as a
concubine.
Genesis
25:1-2 Keturah
bare Abraham six sons.
1
Chronicles 1:32 These sons are named again.
In verse 33, three grandsons are named.
I have been told that in Hebrew there is no word for grandson.
These are also Abraham’s seed, additional seed, but
in no way do they take the place of or replace Israel.
Hebrews
11:17 Isaac is called Abraham’s only
begotten son, unto whom Abraham gave all that he had. See Genesis 25:5.
Hebrews
11:17
(17)
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received
the promises offered up his only begotten son,
Genesis
25:5
(5)
And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
Isaac was Abraham’s heir, although
Ishmael had been born before him.
So
we learn to interpret New Testament words by knowing the Old Testament. “Only begotten” as used in John 3:16 and
“firstborn” as used in Colossians 1:15 have not to do with genealogy but rather
with position as heirs of all.
III - Abraham’s Seed is also Christ
Galatians 3:16 It is plainly stated.
Galatians 3:16
(16) Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which
is Christ.
Hebrews 2:16
(16) For verily he took not on [him the nature of]
angels; but he took on [him] the seed of Abraham.
Of
course, He is not only the Seed of Abraham, He is the seed promised to Eve, to
Shem, to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David and finally to Joseph and Mary. Tracing this genealogy is important because
it refutes the arguments of Islam and some who are teaching that great blessing
is to come to this world through Ishmael.
The great blessing will come through Christ and no other.
IV - Last of all:
Galatians 3:29
(29) And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed,
and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:29 The
seed of Abraham includes all, who since Abraham, have become believers in
Christ. Notice the text does not say
heirs according to the promises but heirs according to the promise. The promises still belong to Israel.
Romans 9:4
(4) Who are Israelites; to whom [pertaineth] the
adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the
service [of God], and the promises;
What
promise do believers receive in Abraham?
It can only be justification by faith only and alone.
Galatians 3:26
(26) For ye are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26 We are children of God by faith.
Romans 4:16
(16) Therefore [it is] of faith, that [it might be] by
grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only
which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is
the father of us all,
That
is, father of all who have faith.
This
explains what is meant by Lazarus going to Abraham’s bosom when he died.
Luke 16:22
(22) And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was
buried;
This
also explains the phrase used for Zachaeus in Luke 19:9, “for he also is a son of Abraham.”
Luke 19:9
(9) And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come
to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
Not
only was he a Jew, but a Jew who had received salvation because of his faith
like Abraham’s faith.
V - The Word “Elect”
The
word “elect” as used in Scripture can only be rightly interpreted by the
context. Scripture calls both Israel and
the Church “elect”.
Isaiah 45:4
(4) For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I
have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not
known me.
Isaiah 65:9
(9) And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out
of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my
servants shall dwell there.
Isaiah 65:22
(22) They shall not build, and another inhabit; they
shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree [are] the days of
my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isaiah
45:4 Israel mine elect
Isaiah
65:9 seed out of Jacob mine elect
Isaiah
65:22 my people mine elect
Remember
the following verses record the words of Jesus before the cross, when He was a
minister of the circumcision.
Romans 15:8
(8) Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises [made] unto the
fathers:
Matthew
24:22 Elect’s sake
Matthew
24:24 Deceive the elect
Matthew
24:31
Gather his elect
Luke
18:7 Avenge his own elect
All
these verses in the context are talking about Israel as God’s elect
Matthew 24:22
(22) And except those days should be shortened, there
should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be
shortened.
Matthew 24:24
(24) For there shall arise false Christs, and false
prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were]
possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Matthew 24:31
(31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other.
Luke 18:7
(7) And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day
and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
The
Church is also the elect.
Romans 8:33
(33) Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's
elect? [It is] God that justifieth.
Colossians 3:12
(12) Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and
beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering;
Titus 1:1
(1) Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the
truth which is after godliness;
1 Peter 1:2
(2) Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Romans
8:33 God’s elect
Colossians
3:12 elect of God
Titus
1:1 God’s elect
1
Peter 1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God
All
these Scriptures are talking about the Church
As
Israel is elect so is the Church but that does not make them one and the same. This is not a final word on either of these
subjects, but perhaps it will be helpful.
VI - Additional thoughts
Romans 2:28, 29
(28) For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither
[is that] circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
(29) But he [is] a Jew, which is one inwardly; and
circumcision is [that] of the heart, in the spirit, [and] not in the letter;
whose praise [is] not of men, but of God.
I
suggest a reading on into Romans chapter
3 is necessary here, lest we come to the conclusion that Jews are only
saved people.
Romans 3
(1) What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit [is
there] of circumcision?
(2) Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were
committed the oracles of God.
(3) For what if some did not believe? shall their
unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
(4) God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a
liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and
mightest overcome when thou art judged.
(5) But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness
of God, what shall we say? [Is] God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak
as a man)
(6) God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?
(7) For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my
lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?
(8) And not [rather], (as we be slanderously reported,
and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose
damnation is just.
(9) What then? are we better [than they]? No, in no wise:
for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
(10) As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not
one:
(11) There is none that understandeth, there is none that
seeketh after God.
(12) They are all gone out of the way, they are together
become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
(13) Their throat [is] an open sepulchre; with their
tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps [is] under their lips:
(14) Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
(15) Their feet [are] swift to shed blood:
(16) Destruction and misery [are] in their ways:
(17) And the way of peace have they not known:
(18) There is no fear of God before their eyes.
(19) Now we know that what things soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and
all the world may become guilty before God.
(20) Therefore by
the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the
law [is] the knowledge of sin.
(21) But now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
(22) Even the righteousness of God [which] is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no
difference:
(23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God;
(24) Being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
(25) Whom God hath set forth [to be] a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of
sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
(26) To declare, [I say], at this time his righteousness:
that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
(27) Where [is] boasting then? It is excluded. By what
law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
(28) Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by
faith without the deeds of the law.
(29) Is [he] the God of the Jews only? [is he] not also
of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:
(30) Seeing [it is] one God, which shall justify the
circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
(31) Do we then make void the law through faith? God
forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Some
time ago I was asked the question:
Romans
2:29 speaks of a circumcision of the heart, in the spirit. The product is a Jew. Is this person saved?
My
reply:
It
has helped me to read both verses 28, 29 as follows: “He is not a Christian who is one
outwardly. Christianity is of the heart
in the spirit, not merely in the flesh.
Thus a Jew, not circumcised in heart is a Jew outwardly but not a saved
man.
Romans
9:6 states, “they are not all Israel which are of Israel.” Likewise they are not all Christians who
merely say they are Christians.
Romans 9:6
(6) Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect.
For they [are] not all Israel, which are of Israel:
John 8:37-44
(37) I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to
kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
(38) I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and
ye do that which ye have seen with your father.
(39) They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our
father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the
works of Abraham.
(40) But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you
the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
(41) Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to
him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, [even] God.
(42) Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye
would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of
myself, but he sent me.
(43) Why do ye not understand my speech? [even] because
ye cannot hear my word.
(44) Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of
your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in
the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Jesus
acknowledged the Pharisees to be Abraham’s seed, thus of the Nation of
Israel. But when they made claim that
Abraham was their father (verse 39), He
told them they were not Abraham’s children, but rather of their father the
Devil (verse 44). A Jew may be a Jew by
natural seed, and by the outward act of circumcision, but that does not make
him a true Jew or a true Israelite.
Philippians 3:3
(3) For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the
spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Romans 11: 26
26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob:
Paul’s
argument in Romans chapter two is that Jews by natural birth are no better off
than Gentiles if their circumcision is only outward and not of the heart.
All
believers are the circumcision of the heart (Philippians 3:3) but that does not
make Gentiles, Jews nor Jews, Gentiles.
It does mean however, that both Jews and Gentiles are saved. True Israelites have faith, and finally “all
Israel will be (not are being) saved” (Romans 11: 26).