The Children, the Heirs, of Abraham

Rom 4:13 For the Promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Heir of the world - Last we looked at the reality that the promise to Abraham in Gen 15 really seemed to pertain to the supernatual giving of a son by the power of God. Here, the focus is on the second part, that the decedents would be as numbered as the stars of the sky and what the children all were:

Gen 15:3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” 4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

So we see that Abraham asked for an Heir. You give me no heir – Abraham’s use was that of an heir being a child. He was not only going to be an heir of a child named Isaac, he was going to be an heir of the entire world of children, spiritual children who were born again by God in the same manner that follows here in Gen, born of the covenant of imputed righteousness.

Look ahead to John 3 and realize that in order to be a child of God, Abraham had to be born again. So he first had to be born, born through faith, and in order to be born by faith, he would need to have a element of exercising his faith for God to make him a twice born child who was born of faith. To be born of faith, he would have to exercise his faith in something that God would give him to believe in, and to believe it, in order to be born by believing. Although Abraham asked for a child as it appears, it was actually going to be the means for God to make a promise for Abraham to have something to exercise faith in, in order to be born of Faith. Unless a man be born again, he will by no means, enter the Kingdom of God. So, in order to be born of God, he would need to have a faith object in order to believe and in believing be born of God.

In order for Abraham to first be born, he would have to have something to believe God for in order to be born of Faith. So God gave a faith mechanism of a child, and the means of becoming a child of God through faith was made to Abraham by calling Abraham to put his faith in a promise that God would give him a child and a father of many nations. Abraham became a child of God, by being born into the family of God thruough faith. In fact, he became the Father, or the first born of all who would ever be twice born. The faith was exercised in a promise of a child, the promise Abraham believed was unique to Abraham compared to the rest of the children of faith, but he had an opportunity to become a child of faith, by exercising a faith in God, and in so believing God, that faith/exercise of belief is the means that God made Abraham the first child that he created on earth, that I will call children born of Faith.

We have a series of births and children being born here. And everyone being referred to here, both Isaac, and all the children as the stars, where really referring to the children who were born like Abraham, not physically born of woman, but born thru a second birth by believing a promise of God. Abraham was born this day, as all children of God are born. We don’t often hear this, but Abraham was born this day, born of faith, and born as a child of promise, a child of God thru faith. He was born thru faith apart from any works or any acts pertaining to the law. Abraham, was the recipient of the sign of the circumcision (not physical, rather imputed righteousness), following his birth. His birth was that of a nature that he believed God. Abraham was born in that he believed a promise made to him by God. So it is with all who believe God for a promise, and are born like believing Abraham, born of a nature that they believe God. When one is born by believing, they are circumcised (not physically) just like Abraham with a seal of righteousness. Abraham would be the first born this way, and he would also be the father of all who follow that are born through this way of faith. The children who are born again, born twice, thru faith would be the descendants of Abraham, and he would be their father, regardless of the fleshly lineage, he would be the father of all those who are twice born, born again thru faith in a promise.

Now, you might step back and say, that is not gotten from Chapter 15 of Genesis, to which I would say, I agree, it seems pretty imposing to try and say that these truths are birthed in Gen 15. But when we go to Rom 4 and Gal 3, we learn that this is what Paul is telling us. Specifically for our study of Romans 4, we see that the first 15 verses have the purpose of explaining just these facts.

Rom 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

Paul here in 4:12 is talking about children like Abraham, a new child of God, who walk in steps of faith like Abraham, to become children of faith. Apart from Abraham’s physical children, be it Ishmael’s sons, or Jacob’s sons or Esau’s sons, or the sons of Lot, Abraham would be the father of all the heirs who would be born thru the life giving channel that results in the second birth thru faith. This is not talking about the children of the physical covenant of circumcision, rather Paul says that the true circumcision is those who receive the sign of the circumcision, the seal of righteousness of faith (which Abraham was circumcised with long before he was given the physical covenant of outward physical circumcision). And Paul tells us in Romans 4:11, he received this circumcision (while still uncircumcised in the flesh), that he would the father of all those who would be circumcised with the circumcision or seal of imputed righteousness as children born thru faith, faith in a promise.

IN order to understand Romans 4:11 and 12, one must understand that there are two groups being referred to distinctly:
1) Children born by faith and receiving a circumcision of imputed righteousness
2) Children who would be born of physical lineage and who would have a physical circumcision of the foreskin of the male
Note the distinguishing quality of these two groups
a) Children born of promise
b) Children born of physical lineage
Note that there are two circumcisions:
i. Those who are circumcised with a seal of righteousness
ii. Those who are circumcised with a physical circumcision of the foreskin

Apart from seeing these two groups of children, this will be really confusing. But when you see these two groups of descendants, you will begin to see the light. And understand that group one, the children of faith, the children of promise are the only children of God. The children of group one are the children of God, they are the children of Abraham, and the are as innumerable as the stars of the sky and they are the heirs of the world, and heirs of the promise. There are some children in group 2 who are Group 1 children, but not all, and not all group 2 were intended nor entitled to be Group 1 Children.

So we can see that Paul’s intended use of the heirs that were the recipients of promise here in verse 17, we see that the are group 1) children born of group a) promise thru faith and are in the group i) circumcision group who are circumcised with a seal of righteousness.

As straight forward as that may seem, it is needful throughout the book of Romans to refer back to this, when Paul refers to children and born of flesh, or use of circumcision to see if he is referring to i) or ii).

The good news is that all who are born of God, are children of God, and we have the privilege of a promise to exercise our faith in that we may become Group 1) a) i) children. Praise be to God.