And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.

and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

But each one will be raised in proper order: Christ, first of all; then, at the time of his coming, those who belong to him.

You are looking at the outward appearance of things. Are there some there who reckon themselves to belong to Christ? Well, let them think again about themselves, because we belong to Christ just as much as they do.

You should realize, then, that the real descendants of Abraham are the people who have faith.

Now, God made his promises to Abraham and to his descendant. The scripture does not use the plural "descendants," meaning many people, but the singular "descendant," meaning one person only, namely, Christ.

So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.

It says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, the other by a free woman.

These things can be understood as a figure: the two women represent two covenants. The one whose children are born in slavery is Hagar, and she represents the covenant made at Mount Sinai.

But the heavenly Jerusalem is free, and she is our mother.

Now, you, my friends, are God's children as a result of his promise, just as Isaac was.

But what does the scripture say? It says, "Send the slave woman and her son away; for the son of the slave woman will not have a part of the father's property along with the son of the free woman."

Sarah saw them and said to Abraham, "Send this slave and her son away. The son of this woman must not get any part of your wealth, which my son Isaac should inherit."

But God said to Abraham, "Don't be worried about the boy and your slave Hagar. Do whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I have promised.

He is also the father of those who are circumcised, that is, of those who, in addition to being circumcised, also live the same life of faith that our father Abraham lived before he was circumcised.

And so the promise was based on faith, in order that the promise should be guaranteed as God's free gift to all of Abraham's descendants---not just to those who obey the Law, but also to those who believe as Abraham did. For Abraham is the spiritual father of us all;

Abraham believed and hoped, even when there was no reason for hoping, and so became "the father of many nations." Just as the scripture says, "Your descendants will be as many as the stars."

His faith did not leave him, and he did not doubt God's promise; his faith filled him with power, and he gave praise to God.

Nor are all of Abraham's descendants the children of God. God said to Abraham, "It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised you."

This means that the children born in the usual way are not the children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God's promise are regarded as the true descendants.

God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised."

So then, you are no longer a slave but a child. And since you are his child, God will give you all that he has for his children.

Now, you, my friends, are God's children as a result of his promise, just as Isaac was.

When God promised Abraham and his descendants that the world would belong to him, he did so, not because Abraham obeyed the Law, but because he believed and was accepted as righteous by God.

For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless.

Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we will also share his glory.

Paul, Apollos, and Peter; this world, life and death, the present and the future---all these are yours,

The secret is that by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God's blessings; they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus.

so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.

What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.

To those who were to receive what he promised, God wanted to make it very clear that he would never change his purpose; so he added his vow to the promise.

It was faith that made Noah hear God's warnings about things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved. As a result, the world was condemned, and Noah received from God the righteousness that comes by faith.

Listen, my dear friends! God chose the poor people of this world to be rich in faith and to possess the kingdom which he promised to those who love him.

Those who win the victory will receive this from me: I will be their God, and they will be my children.