Can people be offspring of, but not children of, the parent? Although this was not about babies as such, so Jesus once said!
Or of the visible family line but not of the actual family? I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did (John 8:37-39 ESV). Jesus acknowledged the Abrahamic ancestry of his opponents that day; they had the antecedents. However, he says they were not actually (being) children of their ancestor. They (unfortunately) listened to their father... None of us (perhaps to our good fortune) are bound to replicate our ancestors; for either good or ill. We make our own choices, each one of us. It is not simply a matter of ancestry, of genetics or a bad/good tree.
To be a true child of Abraham was a vital matter. Individuals falter and be in desperate need of mercy, forgiveness and power to change. This was true of the "Children of God". So it was God sent his Son. As a New Testament writer tells us: “For it is clear that he (Jesus) did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:16-17 NRSVUE). Jesus did indeed come to his own. They needed help. They needed more than that.
Jesus spent himself for the people. He shared their humanity and their ancestry, but not their failure, disobedience, and rebellion against God. He so much wanted to help them. Some did respond and carry forward God's work for the world. That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV). This was said by Paul, the Jew and missionary apostle of Jesus. Notice that ultimately it is the "world" God sought to reconcile to himself.
In refuting opponents from Judaism, Paul himself had reason to expound his own ancestry and his experience on his journeys: Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles (2 Corinthians 11:22-26 NIV). Note that Paul may have been seen as a disreputable character. He had been threatened by Jews and by Gentiles (non-Jews). Nonetheless, we see he was unashamed of his Jewishness.
It was a live issue that God's own people, anciently chosen by God, had not chosen Jesus. Were they not truly the chosen? Paul faced that question: I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Or don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah -- how he pleads with God against Israel? Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to take my life! But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal. In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace (Romans 11:1-5 CSB). So God's dealings were not exclusive to a particular ethnic group. God's choice and promises had always been conditional - "IF". In the people there were those who bowed to him, and to him alone, even if others did not.
Speaking to a hostile Jewish crowd Paul described himself thus: I am a Jew, born in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia. But I grew up here in Jerusalem where I was a student of Gamaliel and was taught to follow every single law of our ancestors. In fact, I was just as eager to obey God as any of you are today (Acts 22:3 CEV). He knew where they were "coming from", even though he had been converted by Jesus. He was still a Jew, but now one Jew obedient to Jesus and trusting him for mercy.
The ancient sign of incorporation in the people of God was (male only) circumcision. We know that, like Paul, the baby Jesus had been circumcised. Paul spoke about the practice: Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. For we who worship by the Spirit of God[a] are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault (Philippians 3:2-6 NLT). That "faultlessness" would be in the estimation of Paul's peers and community and himself. But, inwardly, he could not deny to himself that he was a sinner, needing to be saved. Inwardly, there was something not right for Paul (Saul) - Jesus knew. So Paul recounted: King Agrippa, while on the road at midday, I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic,[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads’ (Acts 26:13-14 CSB). God's Spirit had been jabbing Paul. Paul had been finding it hard to hold on to rejecting Jesus and being sure he was right and righteous.
So Paul could explain: even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. But I received mercy because I acted out of ignorance in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them. But I received mercy for this reason, so that in me, the worst of them, Christ Jesus might demonstrate his extraordinary patience as an example to those who would believe in him for eternal life (1 Timothy 1:13-16 CSB). Once he had been arrogantly proud of his fanatical achievement in keeping the Law as he and his sect interpreted it. He had taken action against any who wanted to question his religion. Now he, the worst sinner, knew he was the beneficiary of God's patience.
The people who received the message had turned it down, which was a problem then. The quote from Jesus at the top of this post addresses that problem. Paul spoke and wrote more about it. This in the later years when the Jesus movement was more widely known about. So, we find Jewish leaders in Rome saying to Paul: But we would like to hear from you what you think, for with regard to this sect we know that everywhere it is spoken against” (Acts 28:22 NRSVUE). Paul had earlier written to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 1:7). Following is some of what he wrote: It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[a] 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 9:6-8 NIV). This is quoting Genesis 21:12 where Abraham was told by God right back at the beginning that simple physical descent was not the point. Labels can be helpful, or misleading. They are not conclusive!
Also quoting the ancient book of Genesis, Peter had made the point one day to people in Jerusalem: You are the descendants of the prophets and of the covenant that God gave to your ancestors, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ When God raised up his servant,[a] he sent him first to you, to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:25-26 NRSVUE). His hearers had ancestry. Just like us they also had wicked ways. Like us they could accept or reject Jesus.
Moreover, Jesus himself connects to Abraham (and more). The two genealogies of Jesus list Abraham as his ancestor (Luke 3; Matthew 1). The different content of those genealogies may be due to the maternal line and the line through the putative father.
Before Jesus became known there was John (the baptist). He made no bones about the foolishness of depending on family line: But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:7-13 NIV). Very blunt words for those "congregants". All of the hearers needed (need) forgiveness from mercy. However, their hazard was hiding themselves in religion and not actually opening themselves to God's voice. To depend on family connection was foolish. Is foolish. God is concerned with what lies within you; within me; within each of us.
Paul discussed the Genesis account of the reality of Abraham’s standing with God. How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith[a] while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe[b] without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them, and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised (Romans 4:10-12 NRSVUE). So Abraham becomes the ancestor of two groups - but both groups put their trust in God. Can you see it? He is the ancestor of God's invisible family, visible to God.
At that time (and perhaps today) it was a problem that some who were “people of the Book” did not trust in Jesus. They had a lot from God but suffered dislocation and even destruction. Paul addressed that: It cannot be said that God broke his promise. After all, not all of the people of Israel are the true people of God. In fact, when God made the promise to Abraham, he meant only Abraham's descendants by his son Isaac. God was talking only about Isaac when he promised (Romans 9:6-8 NLT). I have omitted more of what Paul says and you may wish to examine the extended discussion in the document, Romans.
As we saw above, Paul, like John and Jesus, valued his family inheritance; their history mattered. This was true for many at the time. They varied a lot but may all have been known as "Jews". The label had become commonplace by the time of the New Testament. The word originally connected to Judah, the kingdom ruled by David's descendants. In the (ferocious) Old Testament book "Esther" we see the word used in anti-Semitic concepts.
In this present time there are people in many places who call themselves, or are called, Jews. In a book about making a solution to the current troubles in the ancient "Holy Land" I found this interesting analysis of Jews there today, made by an Israeli Jew. [This has also been informally confirmed to me in relation to Jews in Australia in 2026 (personal conversation).]
Nearly half of Jews self-identify as secular (hiloni), while religious and Orthodox Jews are in the minority (22 percent). The rest are traditional, observing holidays like Passover and Yom Kippur, but not attending synagogue regularly (Maoz Inon, 2026).
I wonder if all those "Jews" in modern Israel see themselves as connected to the ancestor, Abraham? I cannot cite numbers but the above statement seems to me might be appropriate for "Christians" today. What numbers would you put on our community? Do we have "secular", "religious", "Orthodox" and "traditional" Christians do you think? If so, does it matter?
So, can I distinguish “outward” Christians from “inner” Christians? The word Christian is firmly established as a label. The label and its solemn outward sign (baptism) is borne by so very many. For Jesus and for Paul and the others we see that what is important and essential and vital is the inner truth of the person’s relationship to God. Today, as in Jesus’ day, the term “child of God” may be true or not. Individuals are always welcomed by God into the family. That is up to the person concerned and to them alone. Others may pray and encourage - only the individual can receive him.
The clear message in the preceding discussion is that the inner aspect is what really matters. This is critical.
I hope it is crystal clear that every hearer (reader) is invited into the family of God. But - did Jesus actually invite everyone? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:27-28 NIV). That was Jesus speaking to his own in the day. But I see it is relevant right now. That was the direction of the Risen Saviour: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age”[d] (Matthew 28:18-20 NRSVUE). Notice he said he wants disciples from all nations, disciples baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The invitation is genuine and it stands right now. One who accepts is made a child of God and has the opportunity and task of being taught all Jesus commanded. The child of God is also a child of Abraham, in the sense discussed above. There is nothing racial or exclusive in that.
Canongate Books, Edinburgh 2026
The Future is Peace
ISBN 9781837264117
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