children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring” (Romans 9:7–8). Jesus made clear to the Jews of His day that they were not simply children of Abraham by racial descent. In fact, the gospels make plain that because they rejected the promise (i.e., the gospel), the Jews ceased to be children of Abraham (Matthew 3:9).
Page 21