ESOCS Devotional 26 March 2025 – Children of the Promise
MEMORY VERSE: “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 NIV
TEXT: ROMANS 9:1-13
tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.
6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
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Paul started out this chapter by expressing his sadness at the rejection of Israel on the account of Christ. He said in verses 4 and 5, “Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen”(Romans 9:4-5). However, in today’s passage, he is saying that while Israel holds a wonderful heritage, their ancestry cannot bring them into right relationship with God. Paul said, it is not children of the body of Abraham who are God’s children, but the offspring of the promise will be counted as Abraham’s true descendants (Romans 9:8). In other words, Israel still has to put their faith in Jesus Christ to be counted righteous, holy and blameless before God. To be God’s true child in this world can only come through faith in the Saviour. It cannot come through reliance on a natural lineage or the faith of the patriarchs.
It is amazing to belong to the promise and subsequently be a part of God’s wonderful redemption plan initiated in the garden, prophesied throughout the prophets and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. God chose us and His hope is that we will chose Him. It is through the blood of Jesus that we have obtained this sweet and precious promise. Paul reminded us how we were once foreigners and separated from Christ Jesus without hope. We have been brought near and made the true seed of Abraham because of the promise spoken to him centuries ago (Ephesians 2:12-13). The promise was Jesus. It was nothing we could do to obtain it and it was everything that Jesus did for us, which brought us into fellowship with the Father. Paul said in Ephesians that He had an intense, wonderful and great love towards us so he reached out in mercy to include us in the promise and to save us by grace (Ephesians 2:4-5).
The amazing thing about being born again into the family of God is that He dwells on the inside of you and fellowships with you in a personal, loving way. It is an intimate relationship. Peter said concerning this, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (I Peter 2:9-10). Just like the heritage that Israel shares, once we are born into the family of God we become part of a holy nation and royal priesthood.
CHALLENGES
- Do you believe you have been counted amongst the children of the promise?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me so much by counting me to be amongst the children of the promise by faith.
FURTHER READING: Judges 8:18–35; 9:1–32; Romans 9:14– 33
ESOCS Devotional 26 March 2025
