You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
28 Now [de] we [hemeis], brethren [adelphos], as [kata] Isaac [Isaak] was [kata], are [esmen] the children [teknon] of promise [epaggelia]. KJV-Interlinear
28 And you
brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. NASB
And before anyone gets the wrong idea, being barren as a woman, is not the source of blessing, neither is having children coming out of your ears.
Both Abraham and Sarah had passed the time of having children. Both were lacking in that regard, but God sent them a promise, which promise referred to a child that would not be born for many, many centuries, but that child would come through them.
Naturally that meant that they had to have a child in order to be a part of that future line which was to go through them.
So, out of death, sexually speaking, God gave life, or the renewed function of procreation. This is something that humanity cannot accomplish on his own.
A child, Isaac, was born as a result of a promise, not out of the parents plans, for they had already given up when life seemed to have passed them by as far as children go.
Both believed, and out of that faith, came Isaac.
Consequently, when every person believes in Christ, they (we) too become offspring of a promise that was given long ago.
It is not the children of the flesh that are the promise, but the children of faith which comes out of that promise.
Abraham and Sarah believed. We all believe in Christ. And that is the sum total of the spiritual life, whether it be salvation or spiritual growth.
Human works and/or human good, are concepts that are rejected within Gods plan.
We all approach God, through Christ, without portfolio. We bring with us nothing to Gods plan.
To attempt to earn, or even presume that you deserve something from God, is an entitlement concept of this world, which is totally false and deceiving.
