Abraham’s Four Seeds: Who is the seed of Abraham? Who is the true heir of God’s promise?  Scripture teaches that there are four senses that must be distinguished and not confused:

1. Natural physical seed. Every person who was in any way physically descended from Abraham, such as Ishmael, Isaac, the six sons of Keturah, and by extension Esau, Jacob, etc.
2. Natural, yet special seed tied to God’s elective and saving purposes: namely Isaac, and by extension Jacob and the entire nation of Israel. (All of the physical seed of Jacob and his twelve sons.)
3. The Messiah is the third sense of the “seed of Abraham.” In Gal 3:16, Paul argues that the singular use of “seed” in Gen 12:3 and other places is a reference to the true/unique “seed of Abraham,” namely Christ.
4. Spiritual seed: believing Jews and Gentiles in the church. Given the new era that Christ has inaugurated, the way into Abraham’s family is not dependent on circumcision or the Torah, but comes through faith and spiritual rebirth. Only those who have experienced conversion are those who are Abraham’s “seed” in this spiritual sense. To be a member of Abraham’s family now is not tied to a specific physical lineage, nor circumcision, nor any kind of physical links to other believers - such as one’s parents! Rather, one becomes a part of Abraham’s family only through faith union in Christ brought about by the Spirit (Gal 3:26–29).

External circumcision of the flesh in the Old Testament signifies several things:

• First, in the context of the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants, its primary purpose was to mark out a physical seed in preparation for the coming of Messiah. In this regard it did its job well. But now that Christ has come its job is complete and the New Testament has abrogated it as a covenantal sign.
• Second, under the Mosaic covenant, circumcision begins to point to spiritual and typological realities. In this regard, physical circumcision pointed to a need of a spiritually circumcised heart. In this sense, it is typological of regeneration.

Internal circumcision of the heart:

• Old Testament texts: Deut. 30:6; Jer. 31:31-34; Ezekial 36:22-36
• New Testament Texts: In Romans 2:29 and Philippians 3:3, Paul has announced that the time of antitypical circumcision has come; and, therefore, it is also time to redefine who the Jew is—both in light of Old Testament anticipation, and the inauguration of the new covenant in Christ. The Jew is now one who bears heart circumcision and boasts in Christ - not in external circumcision.  The “true Jew” is the one who serves by the Spirit of God.