Unlimited: The Children of the Promise
Mar 6, 2023 547
In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring (Romans 9:8).
The vital principle that Paul states here is that who you are and what you can achieve doesn’t depend at the end of the day on your family and genetics, but instead on what God has promised. You do not become a child of God by what specific church you go to or which pastor or ministry you follow. You become a child of God, not by physical descent, but according to the promise.
What is the promise? It isn’t a physical thing; it’s a spiritual thing. The promise consisted in the word of God.
It is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.
So how do you become a child of God? How do you properly respond to a promise of God? The answer to both of these questions is identical:
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (John 1:12–13.)
The apostle John here explains how we receive Christ. It is by believing in him. In the writings of John, receiving is the same as believing. Paul and John’s message about salvation is the same. We become God’s children by believing in his word, by believing in his promise.
Spiritual Application
Which is your favourite Bible promise about salvation? What can you do in a practical way to make it the focus of your spiritual meditations this week?
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