“These who saw Christ’s day before it came, had great differences as to what they knew,… But they were all washed in the same blood, all redeemed with the same ransom price, and made members of the same body! Israel in the covenant of grace is not natural Israel, but all believers in all ages!“ ~ C.H. Spurgeon

“Jesus Christ Immutable,” quoted from the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol. 15 – page 8.

C.H. Spurgeon – “The Breaker and the Flock” – Sermon # 1954 – March 20, 1887 – Text: Micah 2:12-13

“I regard this passage as setting forth a vision of spiritual things in which Micah dimly saw the gathering together, and the heavenward march of the true Israel, namely, the elect of God, whom He has given to His Son Jesus, and whom the Lord Jesus has undertaken to save. “He is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart” (Rom 2:29). As Paul, by the Spirit of God, interprets the whole story of the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it is clear that we, brethren, the children of the promise, are the true seed, even those who are born by divine power and as believers are the spiritual family of believing Abraham. If we have the faith of Abraham, we are the children of Abraham, and with us is the covenant made, for the seed of Abraham is not reckoned according to descent by the flesh, otherwise would the covenant blessing have fallen to Ishmael and not to Isaac, to Esau and not to Jacob. The covenant is to a spiritual seed, born according to divine promise through divine power. The line in which the Lord has determined that the covenant blessing should run was ordered by divine sovereignty, “that the purpose of God according to election might stand.” The Lord purposed that they which are born after the Spirit should be the true heirs, and not those that are born after the flesh. We therefore believe, that to us, even to us who rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh, appertain the promises and the covenant. It shall come to pass that all the elect of God shall yet be gathered together from the places where they have wandered in their sin, and for them a clear way shall be opened up to the land of their inheritance”

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“…The more exact the agreement of the promise to the case, the greater the comfort which it will yield. In this school the believer will learn the value of plenary, ay, of verbal inspiration; for in his own instance he may have to dwell upon so slight a matter as the number of a noun, as Paul did when quoting the promise made to Abraham he remarks, ‘Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ’ (Gal. 3:16).”

According to Promise—The Lord’s Method of Dealing with His Chosen People, CH Spurgeon; The Gospel Hour Inc., Oliver B. Green, Director; Greenville, SC; pp 105-106 

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Spurgeon’s understanding of “seed” & “children of promise”

               The following is also directly quoted from Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s book, “According to Promise” – or “The Lord’s Method of Dealing with His Chosen People”:

The Two Seeds   

“For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.” – Galatians 4:22-23

   “Do not forget that our Lord himself said, ‘Ye must be born again’. If you have not been born again from above, all your church-going, or your chapel-going, stands for nothing. Your prayers and your tears, your Bible-readings, and all that have come from yourself only, can only lead to yourself. Water will naturally rise as high as its source, but no higher: that which begins with human nature will rise to human nature; but to the divine nature it cannot reach. Was your new birth natural or supernatural? Was it of the will of man or of God? Much will depend upon your answer to that question.”

“Between the child of God and the mere professor there is a distinction as to origin of the most serious sort. Isaac was born according to promise. Ishmael was not of promise, but of the course of nature…”

   “Gentle reader, here let me inquire as to your salvation. Are you saved by what you have done? Is your religion the product of your own natural strength? Do you feel equal to all that salvation may require? Do you conclude yourself to be in a safe and happy condition because of your natural excellence and moral ability? Then you are after the manner of Ishmael, and to you the inheritance will not come; for it is not an inheritance according to the flesh, but according to promise.”

    “If, on the other hand, you say, — “My hope lies only in the promise of God. He has set forth that promise in the person of his Son Jesus to every sinner that believeth in him; and I do believe in him, therefore I trust and believe that the Lord will fulfill his promise and bless me. I look for heavenly blessedness, not as the result of my own efforts, but as the gift of God’s free favor. My hope is fixed alone upon the free and gratuitous love of God to guilty men, by the which he has given his Son Jesus Christ to put away sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness for those who deserve it not,” –then this is another sort of language from that of the Ishmaelites, who say ‘We have Abraham to our father.’…”

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According to Promise—The Lord’s Method of Dealing with His Chosen People, CH Spurgeon; The Gospel Hour Inc., Oliver B. Green, Director; Greenville, SC; pp 5-9