Bible Strands

Romans 9:8

So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Paul addresses the Roman church while clarifying how God’s covenant promises function despite Israel’s current unbelief. He explains that physical descent from Abraham does not automatically confer covenant status.

The words — οὐ τὰ τέκνα τῆς σαρκός (ou ta tekna tēs sarkos) literally means “not the children of the flesh.” The text states that physical lineage is disqualified as the basis for covenant standing, which interpreters conclude points to a supernatural origin for true offspring.

The thread — The text explicitly rejects fleshly descent as the criterion for God’s children, a pattern that runs through John 1:13, Romans 4:11, and Galatians 3:26. These passages collectively trace the line of promise from Abraham’s son of faith to believers united in Christ.

Why it lands — The text declares that only those counted as offspring through promise are God’s children. It requires readers to examine their standing against divine promise rather than human lineage or religious heritage.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

τοῦτ᾽tout᾽Thatἔστιν,estinisοὐounotτὰtatheτέκναteknachildrenτῆςtēsof theσαρκὸςsarkosfleshταῦταtautathese [are]τέκναteknachildrenτοῦtou<the>θεοῦ,theouof God,ἀλλὰallabutτὰtatheτέκναteknachildrenτῆςtēsof theἐπαγγελίαςepangeliaspromiseλογίζεταιlogizetaiare regardedεἰςeisasσπέρμα.spermaoffspring.

King James Version

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.

Cross-references