Gal 3:16 "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."
Back when I was a Baptist, I remember having read John Reisinger's book "The Four Seeds," and in it he made the Baptistic argument from Gal 3:16 that children weren't included in the covenant in the New Testament because the true seed promised to Abraham was Christ, so the only real "seed of Abraham" are those individual believers who are in Christ (and not their children). I know this is wrong on several levels, but could you please explain how to address this argument *specifically* in terms of how this verse relates to believers' seed being included in the covenant?
(My understanding is that, first, the argument is denying the visible/invisible aspect of the covenant and denying the reality of the OT covenant, that it wasn't merely an ethnic but a spiritual reality. Also, I think the right way to understand Gal 3:16 is that Christ is the primary promised seed as he is the Mediator of the covenant...and believers are also the seed of Abraham, clearly...as well as all their children in the visible covenant community and the believing children also in the invisible aspect of the covenant community. Is this correct?)
Back when I was a Baptist, I remember having read John Reisinger's book "The Four Seeds," and in it he made the Baptistic argument from Gal 3:16 that children weren't included in the covenant in the New Testament because the true seed promised to Abraham was Christ, so the only real "seed of Abraham" are those individual believers who are in Christ (and not their children). I know this is wrong on several levels, but could you please explain how to address this argument *specifically* in terms of how this verse relates to believers' seed being included in the covenant?
(My understanding is that, first, the argument is denying the visible/invisible aspect of the covenant and denying the reality of the OT covenant, that it wasn't merely an ethnic but a spiritual reality. Also, I think the right way to understand Gal 3:16 is that Christ is the primary promised seed as he is the Mediator of the covenant...and believers are also the seed of Abraham, clearly...as well as all their children in the visible covenant community and the believing children also in the invisible aspect of the covenant community. Is this correct?)