Therefore, recognize that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
Parallel translations
- WEB Know therefore that those who are of faith, the same are children of Abraham.
- KJV Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
- BSB Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham.
- NKJV Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.
- NLT The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Those who have faith are the true children of Abraham. Spiritual descent from Abraham comes through faith, not physical lineage.
Overview
Paul redefines Abraham's family around faith rather than ancestry or law. Gentile believers, then, are genuine heirs of Abraham simply by believing as he did. This dismantles the agitators' claim that one must become a law-keeping Jew to belong to God's people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gal 3:9So then, those who are of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.
- Rom 9:7–8Neither, because they are Abraham’s offspring, are they all children. But, “your offspring will be accounted as from Isaac.”
- Gal 3:26–29For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.
- Rom 4:24but for our sake also, to whom it will be accounted, who believe in him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from the dead,
- Ps 100:3Know that Yahweh, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- John 8:39They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.
- Rom 4:11–16He received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they might be in uncircumcision, that righteousness might also be accounted to them.
- Luke 19:9Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.
- Luke 21:31Even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that God’s Kingdom is near.
- Heb 13:23Know that our brother Timothy has been freed, with whom, if he comes shortly, I will see you.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the law's curse, that we might receive the Spirit and be sons — justified by faith in him, not by works.
How Galatians 3:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.