Israel / The Seed is
Christ
When Israel [was] a child, then I loved
him and called My son out of Egypt. Hosea 11:1
And he was there until the death of Herod; so that
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the LORD through the
prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called My Son."Matt 2:15
The verse in Hosea that refers to Israel, is
obviously attributed to Christ in the New Testament. Therefore, we
know that Israel of the Old Testament was a type of Christ.
And to Abraham and to his Seed
the promises were spoken. It does not say, And to seeds, as of many;
but as of one, "And to your Seed," which is
Christ. And I say this, A covenant having
been ratified to Christ by God in Christ, the Law (coming into being
four hundred and thirty years after) does not annul the promise, so
as to abolish it. For if the inheritance [is] of Law, [it
is] no more of promise; but God gave [it] to Abraham by
way of promise.Galatians 3:16-18
For as many as were baptized into Christ, you put
on Christ. There cannot be
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor
free, there is no male nor female; for
you are all one in Christ
Jesus. And if you [are] Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed
and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:27-29
For all the land which you see I will give to you,
and to your
seed
forever. And I will make your
seed
as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the
earth, then shall your
seed
also be counted.Rise up and walk through the land, in the length of
it and in the breadth of it, for I will give it to you.Genesis
13:15-17 And I will give the land to you in which you are a stranger,
and to your
seed
after you, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. And
I will be their God.Genesis 17:8
God has made it clear in the above passages that
the promises
plural made to Abraham's seed were
actually made to Christ and that as believers in Christ, we are
Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Every usage of the
word seed to Abraham in relation to a promise in the book of Genesis
includes the land promise. The New Testament expands Israel to now
include all believers in Christ.
Another expansion of the promises to Abraham
occurs in Romans 4:13. 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.
For if they of the Law
[are] heirs, faith is made void and the promise is made of no
effect; because the Law works out wrath, for where no law is,
[there is] no transgression. Therefore [it is] of
faith so that [it might be] according to grace; for the
promise to be made sure to all the seed, not only to that which is of
the Law, but to that also which is of [the] faith of Abraham,
who is the father of us all. Romans
4:13-18. Notice that the land promise is not limited to Canaan as it
was in the Old Testament. God says we are heirs of the world. Notice
also that the passage says that the heirs are not they of the law
only, but those of
faith.
Today, the church is analogous to Israel under Joshua when they
conquered the promised land. The difference is today our weapons are
not physical, the sword of the spirit which is the word of God(2
Corinthians 10:4, Ephesians 6:11-17) and our task is to conquer the
whole world (Romans 4:13)
And I have other sheep who are not of this fold. I
must also lead those, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall
be one flock, one Shepherd.John 10:16 Again, Jesus says we have been
made one people.
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