I noticed recently a post on a social media sight that a lady had written about one of her children being sick. There was a response in which the one posting said, "l love covenant children!" When I read the lady with the sick child's response to the comment, I was immediately filled with praise and thanksgiving to God! She responded, "Don't know if he's in the covenant of grace yet as he doesn't believe." God be thanked that He had given her understanding as to who the "covenant children" really are. The children of the everlasting covenant are not the physical children of professing believers who sprinkle their babies and try to make that act the same as circumcision was under the old covenant. That old testament act was typical of a spiritual act which only the sovereign Spirit of God can perform. Paul says in Romans 2:29, "But he is a Jew, which 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." This does not come by an earthly birth but through being born again of the Spirit. This work of the Holy Spirit results in a revelation of Christ in us by His taking the things of Christ and showing them to us. Revealing to the sinner the things God has "freely given" to us through the crucified Christ. His blood is “ the blood of of the everlasting covenant.” David, as a father and a believer, did not view his children in this connection according to the flesh. As a matter of fact, most of them did now show themselves to be covenant children but rather lost, wicked sinners. David said, “Although my house be not so with God, yet He hath made with ME an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure and this all my salvation...” (2 Sam. 23:5) Although David by grace was the man after God’s own heart, that did not apply or transfer to any of his children naturally. Abraham likewise had a son who was not, Ishmael; but thankfully he had one who was, Isaac. Grace does not run in blood lines! The covenant children are those God chose in Christ before the world began and sent His Son to die as their Substitute, putting away their sins. Christ alone is the Angel of the covenant and no covenant blessing is anyone’s apart from Him. All covenant children will be born of God and be enabled to believe the truth of Christ. Whether it is your child or mine, if they never know God in truth or believe on Christ, they aren’t and never were the covenant children!
Gary Shepard
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
The Church of Christ under the Gospel are the spiritual seed, the seed according to the promise. “But he is a Jew, which 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.” {Rom.2:29} None are to be looked upon as the sons of Abraham by natural generation, as they are borne of the bodies of believers under the Gospel. {Rom.4:16} “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” {Gal.3:26,29} Observe it, you must first be Christ’s, before you are Abraham’s seed, not Abraham’s seed as soon as you are born; it is by faith that ye are manifested to be Christ’s, and being thus manifested by faith, then they are Abraham’s seed according to the promise. Abraham’s promised seed are only believes, such as are indeed Christ’s. It is true, some may profess faith in hypocrisy, of whom we having no ground to the contrary, are bound to receive, but none are indeed Abraham’s seed, but they that are Christ’s.
Thomas Collier 1647
GLORYING IN CHRIST ALONE
As Israel could not be freed from her bondage, but only by God himself, and that with a strong hand, and a stretched out arm in the pouring out his judgments upon Pharaoh and all Egypt; so cannot man’s soul be brought out of his carnal and hypocritical estate by any means but by the sheer power of God, by his vials poured out upon all green things, to destroy them; signifying the taking away all earthly things that gave contentment to the carnal mind, as also all pleasing ways of religion; and by vials being poured out upon the seat of the beast, signifying the carnal and hypocritical mind of man that delights in anything besides God; as Israel was said to worship all the host of heaven, beasts of the earth, fowls of the air, and even creeping things, anything but the true God; so now men worship their forms of religion, their Sabbath keeping, their baptism, their forms of baptizing, &c., anything except faith in Christ. Again; men lead one another from one form of religion to another; none destroys all but God, as he leaves nothing for man to look upon but Christ crucified.
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