Who is counted as the seed in Romans 9?
According to Romans 9, the true seed is not counted by physical descent from Abraham but by God's promise. Only those who are children of the promise are counted as the seed. The singular seed is designated, so Ishmael, the son of the flesh, is excluded while Isaac, the son of promise, is heir.
Les explains that the Greek word zera can refer to many or one, but the article in Romans 9 designates the singular seed. He then takes us back to Genesis 21, where Sarah demands that the bondwoman Hagar and her son Ishmael be cast out, because the son of the flesh shall not be heir with the son of promise, Isaac. Abraham loved Ishmael, but God's covenant line was through promise, not flesh. Thus, only the children of the promise are counted as the seed.
That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
More Questions
What does the singular word "seed" refer to in Romans 9?
The singular word "seed" in Romans 9 refers to the seed of the woman promised in Genesis 3:15, running all the way up through the coming of Christ.
How do you know if "seed" in Romans 9 means one person or many people?
Whether the word "zera" (seed) in a given passage refers to many descendants or to one descendant has to be determined from the context of the text, since the word itself is used in the same context either way.