The Israel That Matters

Tree of Life said:

God gave amazing promises to Abraham and to his offspring. Among everything that the offspring of Abraham would inherit, the promises were the most important (Galatians 3:29, Hebrews 6:12).

We also see in Scripture that the promises given to Abraham have an unfolding meaning as we travel down the timeline of Scripture. For example, Abraham was not only promised the land of Canaan, but the whole world (Romans 4:13, Matthew 5:5).

Who are the legitimate heirs of Abraham? Several times in Scripture we see that God does not care merely about fleshly descendants, but about those who share the faith of Abraham (Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 3:7). We also see that Christ is the true seed of Abraham and the one to whom the promises were made (Galatians 3:16). Furthermore, the faith of Abraham is most fully realized in faith in Christ (Galatians 3:8-9, John 8:56). Only the one who believes in Christ today truly shares the faith of Abraham. No one who denies the Son has the Father (1 John 2:23).

So who is the Israel that really matters? Who are the true heirs of the promises of God? It’s those who believe in Jesus Christ - aka the church.

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~Cassia~ said:

I think there's an earthly inheritance and a heavenly inheritance ; the former being Abe's ancestry like the sand of the sea and the latter beings like the stars of the sky.

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~Cassia~ said:

I think there's an earthly inheritance and a heavenly inheritance ; the former being Abe's ancestry like the sand of the sea and the latter beings like the stars of the sky.

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Tigger45 said:

I wonder if we can’t take that analogy one step further with Christ establishing an earthly/institutional church ie,. Orthodox and extending that out to a spiritually/heavenly grouping of all true believers in Christ Luke 9:49-50.

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W2L said:

Doesnt the sand of the sea represent all those who are saved, both Jew and Gentile, i.e. Gods children?

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Tree of Life said:

God gave amazing promises to Abraham and to his offspring. Among everything that the offspring of Abraham would inherit, the promises were the most important (Galatians 3:29, Hebrews 6:12).

We also see in Scripture that the promises given to Abraham have an unfolding meaning as we travel down the timeline of Scripture. For example, Abraham was not only promised the land of Canaan, but the whole world (Romans 4:13, Matthew 5:5).

Who are the legitimate heirs of Abraham? Several times in Scripture we see that God does not care merely about fleshly descendants, but about those who share the faith of Abraham (Romans 2:28-29, Galatians 3:7). We also see that Christ is the true seed of Abraham and the one to whom the promises were made (Galatians 3:16). Furthermore, the faith of Abraham is most fully realized in faith in Christ (Galatians 3:8-9, John 8:56). Only the one who believes in Christ today truly shares the faith of Abraham. No one who denies the Son has the Father (1 John 2:23).

So who is the Israel that really matters? Who are the true heirs of the promises of God? It’s those who believe in Jesus Christ - aka the church.

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Open Heart said:

....The verses that speak of Abraham’s spiritual seed apply to the New Covenant and it’s promise of eternal life. Not land.

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~Cassia~ said:

I think there's an earthly inheritance and a heavenly inheritance ; the former being Abe's ancestry like the sand of the sea and the latter beings like the stars of the sky.

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~Cassia~ said:

Because I believe there is a 1000 yr future reign and there is no factual evidence that the NJ won't be suspended in the sky for the 1000 yrs what I believe your accurately describing is eternity.

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