God ' s Plan was a
Spiritual People
One Man in Christ Spiritual Israel
Abraham had two sons and similarly, God has two peoples, one He has accepted the other He rejected
You may have heard the phrase‘ First the natural then the spiritual’ and not understand where it was from or what it was about. It is however, a very important principle in understanding the plan of God. He has been communicating this key truth to us from the very beginning of time but not many seem to be getting it.
The indicators began flashing from as early as the story of Cain and Abel, two sons from among the very first children ever born of a woman. It hinted to us the conflict that would ensue between two peoples, those of the flesh or carnal vs those of the Spirit. Cain did not give sacrificially as an act of worship, so his sacrifice was rejected by God. This caused Cain to become resentful of his brother which led Cain to kill his own brother.
Cain represents the unbelieving Jews whose sacrifice God rejected. God said through Amos,“ I hate, I despise your feast days, And I do not savor your sacred assemblies. Though you offer Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them, Nor will
I regard your fattened peace offerings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs …” Amos 5:21-23( NKJV) These Jews rebelled against God and made themselves His very enemies. As Cain murdered Abel so their children later murdered Jesus.“ Those Jews killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and they even chased us away. God doesn’ t like what they do …” 1 Thessalonians 2:15
Abel gave sacrificially as an act of worship and was accepted by God. He represents Jesus who gave himself as a sacrifice and those whom He will sanctify. This symbolism was also clearly demonstrated in the story of Isaac and Ishmael. In summary, God promised Abraham a son but his wife Sarah was barren. Sarah therefore, presented a good idea to Abraham. To help God fulfil His promise they decided that Abraham should go with the servant girl, and it did work. She became pregnant and had a son. A further problem developed however, as it became apparent that they did not get the desired result. Their plan was to get an Isaac but they ended up with an Ishmael instead. Isaac
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