THE DOCTRINE OF SPIRITUAL
Deuteronomy 30:6 And the
LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your descendants, to
love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you
may live.
Colossians 2:9-11 All the fullness of God dwells in Christ bodily. And you are
complete in him… In whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision made
without hands.
Galatians 3:7 Realize therefore that those who trust in Christ are the
children of Abraham.
Philippians 3:3 For we who worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and do not trust in the flesh, are those who are truly circumcised.
Romans 2:28-29 For he is not a Jew, who is one
outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he
is a Jew, who 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.
Romans 9:7-8 And they are not
all Abraham’s children, just because they are descended from him: on the contrary,
Through Isaac shall your descendants come. That is, It is not the children of
the flesh who are the children of God: but the children of the promise are
counted as the descendants.
Gal 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according
to the promise.
Gal 4:22-26 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a
slave woman, the other by a free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in
the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born in fulfillment of a
promise. Those events provide an allegory: for the women represent the two
covenants. The one from mount Sinai, whose children
are in bondage, is Hagar. For Hagar represents mount
Sinai in
Galatians 4:28-29 Now we,
brethren, like Isaac, are the children of promise. But even as the son born after the flesh then
persecuted the son who was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Romans
Romans
4:16 It is of faith, that it might be by grace; in order that the
promise might be sure to all of Abraham’s offspring; not only those who are of
the law, but also those who are of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of
us all,
Romans
4:17 (As it is written, I have made you a father of many nations,) he [Abraham]
is our father in the sight of God in whom he believed, God who gives life to
the dead, and calls things that are not as though they were.
[Comment:
These verses tell us that God sees no difference between Jew and non-Jew, for
all who trust in Christ are Abraham’s seed, and thus God’s chosen people. For the
descendants promised to Abraham (whose number would be like the stars of
heaven) are not those who are his descendants through the flesh, but those who
are spiritually his descendants through faith in Christ.]
Matthew
Matthew 10:7 And as you go,
preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 11:12 And from the
days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven advances with power, and
those endued with power take hold of it.
Luke 17:20-21 Now having
been asked by the Pharisees, when the
Ezekiel 47:22-23 And it will come to pass, that… the foreigners living among you, who have borne children
among you: should be treated as the children of Israel born in the country;
they should receive an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel… that in whatever tribe the foreigner
lives, there you will give him his
inheritance, says the Lord GOD.
2Thessalonians
[Comment:
Since no sinner can be a citizen of God’s heavenly kingdom, we become citizens
of God’s heavenly kingdom through faith in Christ alone. For that reason, God
sees no difference between physical descendants of Abraham who trust in Christ,
and those from other nations who trust in Christ. If God has chosen to bring
them to faith in Christ then they are His chosen people.]
Conclusion
God expects His church to
teach what the Bible says, not human opinion and conjecture. Therefore, when
the Bible tells us that, “those who trust in Christ are the children of
Abraham” (Galatians 3:7), or, “he is not
a Jew, who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in
the flesh: But he is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of
the heart” (Romans 2:28-29), then that is what God wants us to believe and
teach.
Gary
Ray Branscome